mousireid

After reading through the posts I seem to be no further on in making a decision about which island to stay on. We just want to be near a beach or pool for the little ones and still have a 'charming' experience. I think Vulcano would be a novelty to bathe in the mud but am not sure it would be THE place to stay. Nothing 'hip' about us, just a family lounging moment (three year old and eight months pregnant woman with anbother family who have a seven year old). I think a change of scene and chance to have been there to relax are high on my priorities before the next one comes along! Hoping for late May timeframe and price not a problem.

PJI

I think Lipari is the place to go. You can always take the ferry over to Vulcano. Take an evening boat ride and see the vulcano erupt - facinating.

Check with your local ITT for hotel info/discounts.

cmt

I would recommend NOT going to Vulcano unless you and your family all lack a sense of smell. The stink of sulphur is overpowering and disgusting. I saw people bathing in the hot shallow mud, and it looked pretty unappealing and unsanitary to me. I have a very sensitive sense of smell and couldn't stand being even near it.

Lipari must have a place that meets your needs, but I just don't know exactly where. When I was there it was early May and the water still too cold for swimming.

I loved Salina, but that is probably not a good choice for you if you don't walking to do much walking. (It's beautiful islaznd for hiking.)

GAC

A couple of observations:

1. Pregnant women should NOT do any mudbaths on Vulcano island. There is a minimal amount of radioactivity which cannot be beneficial to pregnant women. I'm not a physician, but I don't think it's a good idea.

2. Lipari is your best bet. It's got the most to offer for a family. Late May is wonderful, not too crowded, and weather is likely to be very good.

3. Don't expect great beaches. Most are volcanic and very small. Even Canneto beach, on Lipari, isn't that great. It you want great beaches, go to Sardinia.

mousireid

Thank you all for the info! GAC - I never even considered the dangers of mud bathing - so thanks for that I would have been disappointed to reach it only to put our health at risk. Without a beach is fine too, we're not fussy, even sticking a big toe in eth ocean will be enough! Thanks again.

Elizabeth_S

I second (third?) the Lipari recommendation - we stayed at Hotel Carasco (Hi GAC!) and loved it - as Patrick said in another thread it's not as far to town as it's made out to be and the shuttle is very convenient in any event. The pool is lovely and I seem to recall it has a small kiddie area - but my memory might be poor!

From the pool there are stairs down to a swim platform so you can swim in the ocean as well.

GAC

Hotel Carasco's May tariffs are pretty good: 90 Euros per day bed and breakfast, or 120 Euros per day half board, all based on a double occupancy. Fare for single occupancy is 50% the twin rate (because the hotel is nearly empty during this timeframe).

Compare the above with the twin bed and breakfast rate of the Hotel Poseidon at Marina Lunga -- 75 Euros -- with no panoramic restaurant, no swimming pool, no veranda, no large public areas, no view whatsoever!

BTW, don't worry about securing accommodations on the islands in late May: just about everything is wide open at that time!

wantagig

I had to write in defense of Vulcano. We stayed at the Hotel Les Sables Noir. It was just lovely.

I had heard so much talk of the horrible smell of the island. I didn't think I wanted to go. My husband said "Do you really think the Framon Hotel people would have a hotel in an area that stinks to high heaven?" (Here's their web site:
http://www.framonhotels.com/ENG/default.htm)

The hotel is situated on a large black sand beach. We liked it so much we extended our stay to 3 nights. The staff is wonderful. It's a place to go to relax. No "night life".

We found Lipari to be really noisy (everyone but Everyone has a motor scooter and you better stay out of their way), the hotels to be overpriced, and the locals unfriendly. I was so disappointed. The centro storico was really interesting, but that was the only highlight of Lipari for us. After one day we left and went to Vulcano.

Everyone on this Fodors site has wonderful things to say about Lipari, so I think we just had some really bad luck. That made the visit so disappointing-the fact that everyone raves about Lipari, yet this was the only town where we were treated badly.

GAC

I also happen to like the Hotel Les Sables Noir. I think that the black beach is quite striking. And the sulphur smell does not bother me as much as others.

Vulcano is indeed a very, very beautiful island (as are all of the Aeolian Islands).

There is less to do on Vulcano compared to Lipari. This might actually appeal to some travellers.

And Vulcano is also strikingly different from Panarea and Salina, for example.

Choices can be so difficult ......

caroline_edinburgh

I just stopped at Vulcano on the way to Panarea. Can't remember how strong we found the smell, but we did find it very gloomy - there seemed to be a strange yellowish haze hanging over the place. Maybe that's just near the dock, though ?

I swam a bit in Panarea in late April/early May. It depends what you're used to, I suppose : mousireid, you live in Sicily, don't you (lucky you !), so presumably you know whether or not you'll fancy swimming then ?