Aeolian Islands
 

We are thinking of traveling to Greece and the Aeolian Islands this May. I have not even started to plan. I am not sure if we will do the Aeolians first or after Greece and we would probably stay about a week. Does anyone know which airlines would fly between Greece and the islands and which airport would we use, I am assuming on Sicily. We would be fine with another mode of transportation as well.
My 2nd question is which island should we home base.thanks in advance.

The are ample flights from Rome to either Palermo or Catania in Sicily and I imagine you would fly from Athens to Rome to catch those flights.

Back in July we flew into Catania, spent a few days in Taormina and then travelled up to Milazzo to ferry over to the Aeolian Islands. We were based in Lipari for 4 nights. Lipari is the largest and central of all the islands, it has all the infrastructure catered for tourism. From there we did boat trips daily to the other islands.

IMHO the prettiest island is Panarea, a much smaller, car free island from which you can view volcanic activity in nearby Stromboli. It is also more glitzy if that's your thing.

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There are 2 or 3 weekly direct flights between Athens and Catania. Fares start around 80 EUR.
Otherwise fly via Rome.

neckervd ,do you know which airlines have direct flights between Athens and Catania?

Tidy,

I spent 5 nights on Lipari in early May 3 yrs ago as my number one priority on my Sicily trip. I wished I had at least 2 more days. There is so much to enjoy and other islands to visit. There are quite big differences between the islands, so you would not get bored. I did do a Boat excursion to Panarea and Stromboli. Panarea was nice, but almost completely shut down in eraly May. I dont thin I would want to base there unless I wanted a lot of quiet and didnt mind doing most of my own cooking! Plus its quite far from the other islands so not a great choice if you want to visit some of the others. Its closest to Salina.

I would return in a heartbeat so Im recommending spending your full week in the Aeolians.

Check for my TR and also that of aprilliacs. She got me interested in the islands!

Alos, not sure how frequently the hydrofoil service runs from Palermo prior to peak season. Best to depart fromMilazzo for frequent departures.

Buon viaggio!

You could also take the overnight ferry from Naples, but that would be too much travel time for a 1 week trip.

"neckervd ,do you know which airlines have direct flights between Athens and Catania?"
Aegean Airlines: Monday, Wednesday, Friday
Easyjet flies from Athens to Naples. The combination of such a flight with the twice weekly overnight ferry from Naples to Stromboli and most Aeolian Islands might be a good solution too. There are also catamarans between Naples and the Aeolian Islands.