Hi Folks - I wrote last week about my September trip to Bari for a family reunion. Initally, my plans were to go from Bari to Taormina for the remainder of the trip - roughly 5 days. However, I checked out the San Domenico in Taormina and it was wildly priced - like $500 per nite. Yikes!! I like first class accomodations but this was a little cost prohibitive.

So we redirected our plans, to explore either Lipari or Panarea. Now we are trying to decide which place to make our home base. We calculated that we could go from Bari to Naples and then take the hydrofoil from there to either island. Sounds like a plan so far. Does anyone know how far the travel between Lipari and Panarea?

As for accomodations, it appears that the top choices are Hotel Carasco in Lipari and Hotel Raya on Panarea. Am I correct in assuming this from those who have stayed there? If not, please advise. Certainly the prices on these two islands is more in line with what we hoped to spend per nite.

Quite frankly there is so little information about the Aeolian Islands its hard to make an informed choice as to why we would select one over the other. So was hoping that those of you who have been there could lend some insight. It would be a total relaxing vacation at this point so we would just need a nice beach/pool, some good food and some things to do/see during the day/nite should we get the urge.

Lipari seems to have more activity because of the island's size but the Hotel Carasco doesnt "appear" as desireable as Hotel Raya - that place looks like paradise personified. I suppose I am just concerned that 5 days on Panarea would make us feel as if we left the planet. Maybe I'm just being a overly-analytical New Yorker!!

Anyway, please flood me with your ideas, thoughts and recommendations. You well heeled travelers know better than me.

Thanks in advance
Tim

Yes, Lipari, being the largest of the Aeolian Islands,has a bit more to do than the others but it certainly isn't so much that you have to make it your base. If my main objective was to relax for five days, I'd do it at the gorgeous Hotel Raya on Panarea and when I felt the need to explore, take the very quick boat ride (15 minutes or so) to Lipari, or to Stromboli, also very close by. I'm not sure why you'd want to drive all the way to Naples and then take the boat over to the islands. I would simply drive from Bari to Milazzo, park the car there for five days (there are many garages at the boat terminal)and take the quick hydrofoil to the islands.

If I were you I would stay in Lipari because it is the most inhabited. There are more restaurants and the is shopping there. If you stay in Panarea, you will probably take the boat to Lipari frequently. That's ok though because the islands are quite close (probably less than an hour, I can't remember but we did it daily I didn't notice that it took a long time).

I stayed at Filicudi and we took the boat to Lipari each day rather than stay on Filicudi (Filicudi is very wild, Panarea is better). But all in all you can see all of the islands by paying a fisherman to take you on his boat and he can take you from Lipari to Volcana and Panarea and you can get out and swim, lunch etc. Its very nice.

Another option is to stay in Lipari for one night or so if you want to have dinner there (I'm not sure if the boats run at night). We rented an apartment for very cheap from a local woman so we wouldn't have to travel back to Filicudi for the night.

Sorry this is so long but another point is that there aren't really beaches because these are volcanic islands, I don't know about Panarea, but Lipari doesn't have a beach. With respect to pools, the islands have to have water brought in from the mainland and thus maintaining a pool would be difficult. But people usually rent a boat or shop in Lipari. I'd check with the hotel for possible beaches/pool.

Hope this was helpful! Wish I was going!

hi grinisa - you are a wealth of information and quick to boot!!

oh so you think we should drive from bari to milazzo? thanks for the suggestion. how long a trip is it? is there a train that does the same thing? we generally arent fans of driving in italy especially on our last venture last year where we drove from venice to milan - in a small, tin box - and i was gripping the wheel for dear life as truck after truck passed me by and shook my car. i am sure that these roadways arent as heavily traversed but we would prefer a train. and our ultimate flight is out of milan back to nyc if that is relevant.

thanks again
tim

I've posted extensively on the Aeolian Islands, and can confirm that Raya is no. 1 on Panarea, and Carasco is no. 1 on Lipari (even though Villa Meligunis near Marina Piccola is a four star property and therefore "outranks" Carasco, but without a pool, and without the grand views of the Carasco). I've also posted on the Carasco on this site. Personally, I would make Lipari my base for 5 days, since Panarea is the smallest of the seven islands, and has very limited things to do, particularly after the middle of September, when tourism begins to drop off significantly. Panarea is also too "touristy", in my opinion. By contrast, Lipari Town has the "look and feel" of a small Sicilian town, and is not overwhelmed by tourism. Everything else on the seven islands are mere villages or hamlets. Lipari has a very good selection of hotels, restaurants, and shops, a large grocery store, etc. Lipari is also the largest of the islands, with plenty to explore by public bus, private boat, or rented motorscooter. Lipari's archeological museum is world-class and beautifully situated on the ancient acropolis. Panarea is at least one hour by hydrofoil from Lipari (longer by car ferry, which is the preferred means of transportation, particularly in heavy seas). The ferries, all run by Siremar, stop briefly at Santa Maria di Salina, making the trip in about two hours. Some hydrofoils also stop at Salina, while others go direct to Lipari.

By the way, the San Domenico is not the only great hotel in Taormina: there are many other, less expensive, properties which are highly recommendable!

I personally would not drive from Bari to Milazzo: too far!!! I would take a morning train to Naples, and then the afternoon hydrofoil direct to either Panarea or Lipari, whichever you end up choosing. Be certain to look up the SNAV hydrofoil schedules from Naples, which stop running around mid to late September (the slow but scenic Siremar overnight car ferry from Naples operates year-round, even in heavy seas; in September it runs five times weekly).

The train from Bari to Naples takes between 31/2 to 4 hours, depending if you go Eurostar through Caserta or Intercity direct. The hydrofoil to the Aeolians from Naples will take approximately four hours, if the seas are favorable and the boats running (not usually a problem in September, but you never know). The drive form Bari to Milazzo is 6 and a half hours plus an hour or two on the hydrofoil to the Islands, depending on which one you choose. This is why I would choose to drive. You can be on your chosen island in about eight hours after departing Bari. It is pretty much a sure thing. Travel time with train/hydrofoil for Naples is eight hours too, but that doesn't include any time waiting for the ferry in Naples, getting from train station to ferry dock, and what happens if the boats aren't running? The traffic on the roads from Bari to Milazzo won't be as bad as between Milan and Venice and the drive through Calabria is a beautiful one. How are you planning to get from the Aeolians to Milan for your return flight? I assume you are flying from Milan to Bari. Getting to Milan is going to be a long haul no matter how you look at it. If it were me, I would spend the time relaxing at one of the resorts in Puglia I previously mentioned and hopping a return flight from Bari to Milan to go home.

The afternoon hydrofoil leaves Naples Mergellina at 14:30, arrives in Panarea at 19:05 (65 Euros) and in Lipari at 20:30 (75 Euros). If the seas are rough, the service could be suspended. Driving from Bari to Milazzo would be faster, but is still many hours on the road!!!

From Lipari (or Panarea) back to New York (via Milan), your fastest option is to take the SNAV hydrofoil direct to Reggio Calabria, then fly non-stop to Malpensa airport (if you can find a good connection without having to overnight in either Reggio C. or Milan). Another possibility is to take the SNAV hydrofoil to Palermo, overnight there, then fly nonstop to Malpensa the next morning.

Do not stay at the Hotel Carasco. The manager is miserable and lets everyone know it. I could make a long list of what we didn't like about the hotel. It does have a nice view, which you would be better off getting from another hotel. We weren't the only guests that felt that way. Many were complaining.

Sorry you had such a bad experience at the Carasco, which is the opposite of my own very pleasurable stay there last year. Perhaps going in high season, when the hotel and the island are packed with tourists, makes the experience worse. The wife of the hotel proprietor is English and takes great personal care in managing the hotel.

Hi Trourke,

I'm going to the Aeolian Islands in May 2004 and was wondering: if I have only 3 days for the islands, where should I stay? I know that I want to see Stromboli's eruptions at night (either from a boat or actually hiking it at night). Should I stay on Lipari or Vulcano or Stromboli? My main interest is in exploring the natural environment, not so much museums and stores. THANKS!

bettyo: if you want to HIKE Stromboli at night, you should probably spend one night on Stromboli. If you merely want to VIEW the eruptions at night from a boat, you also have the option of taking a private boat tour from Lipari which leaves mid-afternoon and returns around midnight. If sea conditions are rough, you're better off spending the night on Stromboli in both cases. You'll have no problem finding lodging in May (anywhere on the islands).

Thanks, GAC!

I can't tell you which island is better for a base, but I can tell you that we are just back from Lipari and loved the Villa Meligunis. What a wonderful hotel with a lovely staff.

What was Lipari like in February?

It was a little chilly and windy, but the sun was shining -- as long as it wasn't raining, we were fine.

The seas where rough the day we were supposed to leave and all of the hydrofoils to Milazzo had been cancelled, but we were able to get a ferry later in the afternoon when the winds let up. We would have been happy to have been stranded there for another day.

The Villa Mellingus does have a pool, but when we saw it in early Oct, it wasn't that clean and they wanted 230E for a small room.

We found that the hotels in Lipari were over priced compared to other hotels in Sicily. We arrived without reservations (off season) and so I also inspected Giardino Sul Mare, Gattopardo, Villa Agustus, and a taxi driver took us to see an apartment she had. None of those that I saw were at all impressive for the price.

Everyone on this board has had a great time in Lipari. Unfortunately, we had the worst experience of our trip in Lipari. We would never return. After one day and night of unfriendly people, we left and went to Vulcano where we stayed at the Les Sables Noir. We loved it so much there that we stayed an extra night (3).

I think Bettyo70 would really love Vulcano for the nature. You'll hear about how the island "smells" due to Sulpher pools. We were concerned that the whole island smelled rotten, but the truth is that it's only smelly in one area where you can take a sulpher bath. For great views, you can do a 45 minute to one hour round trip hike up the volcano and back.