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Aeolian Islands - day trip or overnight stay

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My wife & I are planning our second vacation in Sicily for late April / early May 2016. We will rent a car again, as well. Last time 'round we used Taormina as our base and visited the eastern portion of the island. We loved Taormina so much, we're going back, but this time we're also planning on spending time in Cefalu and, time permitting, the west coast, e.g., Erice.

On our way from Taormina to Cefalu we are thinking of visiting the Aeolian Islands, mostly because of their volcanic "sights". Can that be done via a day trip or is it better to stay overnight (or more than one night), perhaps to see the volcanic flows at night?

If a multi-day stay is recommended, which island might be "best"?

Also, how much time in Cefalu might be recommended?

Thanks for any tips...

Posted by
11613 posts

The island of Lipari is the largest. I had a view of Mount Etna from my terrace. There are two main hotel areas, one near the beaches and one near the port; the hotels near the beach are only a five-minute bus ride from the port.

I visited Stromboli and Vulcano by ferry in one day from Lipari, trying to fit Panarea in as well did not work out for me. If you get an early start, you could visit all three.

Posted by
1 posts

I would recommend an overnight stay at least for one night if you have time. There is so much to see and if you want to see the volcanic flow of Stromboli at night, then I suggest you stay there. OR you can stay at Lipari or Vulcano and take a night boat trip to see Stromboli. Lipari is the first port of call and from there you can take the ferries to Lipari, Panarea, Stromboli etc. If you are hikers then its worth going to Vulcano to do the crater walk, about 1 hour up, 1 hour down. Or if not, take a tour of the island and you will see the crater from many different angles.. As for Cefalù, yes very beautiful but small so one night is enough if you are keen to see more of Sicily. You can find the ferry links on my guide for the Aeolian Islands here http://hubpages.com/hub/Travel-to-the-Aeolian-Islands-in-Italy . Hope you have a good trip

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