Well, after much thought and research, we have decided to skip driving to the island of Sicily from Rome and staying along the way in Calabria. We are convinced that we should fly to Sicily and stay in Sicily. So, we are doing 4 nights in Taormina and 3 in the Aeolians with just a couple nights in Rome. We are liking Therasia on Vulcano but are not loving the thought of Vulcano, so we are looking at the Sigmund as well as the Tritone on Lipari. Is anyone very familiar with these islands / resorts and can you offer any advice? We want upscale but my goodness our dollar is worth very little... Cyndy
Cyndy, unfortunately, I couldn't find anything on the forums for these properties but I did find mention of Lipari in this trip report, Sicily in February and this one A Week Exploring Sicily. Also some travel notes on Sicilian Volcanos, Sicily Volcanoes.
Last year the tour boat from Cefalu stopped at Lipari and Vulcano. Lipari is charming and inhabited. Vulcano is stinky from the sulfur mud that some people seem to want to wallow in, there is little settlement, maybe 3 or 4 tourist shops and a restaurant or 2. Some people climb the volcano. Otherwise, complete boredom sets in after about 15 mins.
I spent 2 weeks on Vulcano for my honeymoon and from the villa that we rented we couldn't smell the solfur, but if you go to the village you definitely can't avoid it!
We did indeed climb the vulcano, which is not a problem because it is not really active like Stromboli, and we hired a scooter to go around the island and discover all the beaches around it.
Then we also hired a motorboat and went to Lipari with that as well as touring Vulcano. We would have done it again, but the sea became rough so we were a bit stuck on the island.
Lipari is lovely so I think you would be better off staying in Lipari and may be do the opposite: take a boat and go around Vulcano!
At the back of Vulcano from the main village there is a beach and a little restaurant. LOVELY fish and grilled food!!! Recommended if you are in the area!
being a larger island, there's plenty more to do and the island is much prettier than Vulcano. Have you thought about Stromboli? It's a beautiful place to stay and the cost of accommodation isn't as high as other islands in the area.
Actually, I was thinking of Lipari or Vulcano because we are getting there via Milazzo and it was my understanding that these two are the easiest to get to from Milazzo. We were thinking Therasia is just very upscale and that would be a plus for Vulcano but Lipari would be more interesting. I just can't seem to find a great review for a luxury or first class place on Lipari. Anybody know anything about The Tritone? Thanks for all the input so far, I really appreciate the help.
Capofaro in Salina is a very nice place and might work for you. I don't know much about upscale on the islands, but I did stop at Capofaro for a drink last summer. The thing about Capofaro is that there really isn't anything walkable around it. Salina is smaller than Lipari.
Have you checked out Panarea? It is the most upscale of all the islands. Very pretty. It's small and easy to walk to shops and restaurants. There are no cars allowed, only scooters and golf carts. There's a nice (small) beach and some interesting ruins to explore. It's where a lot of wealthy folks vacation and the view of all the yachts on the beautiful amazingly blue green water from the top of Calla Junco (the ruins) is breathtaking. There is a helicopter in Panarea that makes shuttle trips to the other islands.
Posts: 187 | Location: western maine mountains | Registered: 26 February 2005
There are 2 companies that operate helicopter transfer services and even helicopter tours. Both companies are based in Panarea – Air Panrea and Icarus - Air Panarea - Icarus. It is possible to reach Panarea from Catania airport, but this service is very very expensive
FYI, someone from Italy sent me this link. It's a seaplane that goes from Catania Airport or Palermo Airport to Lipari (not sure about the other islands).
I went on board this boat last summer for a quick visit while it was docked in Panarea and getting ready for its next trip. It reminded me of a windjammer that I did once on the Maine coast.
leaves from Milazzo day 1 on board, cocktails, dinner day 2 Panarea day 3 Stromboli day 4 Salina (Santa Marina) day 5 Salina (Pollara) day 6 Lipari day 7 Vulcano day 8 breakfast, disembark. transfer to airport or hotel
Posts: 187 | Location: western maine mountains | Registered: 26 February 2005
Thanks for all the info! Capofaro was our first choice but it is just too remote. We are now considering the Carasco but not quite sure that Lipari will be for us. Can anyone give me an idea of what it is like on Lipari maybe compared to somwhere on the mainland ? Panarea just seems too difficult to get around from as does Salina as the hotel sigmun was a great choice there. We only have 3 nights before moving on to Taormina. The falling dollar has really made us rethink how we are travelling so a helecopter would be prohibitive(but thanks for the idea and link). Cyndy
Lipari is clearly your best bet for variety of accommodations, restaurants, public transportation to the mainland and to the other islands in the archipelago, and variety of things to see (including the world-class National Archeological Museum). I find that Lipari Town is a great place to spend up to a week (or longer, if you have the time). Salina would be an excellent second choice, although it is much more rustic, quiet, laid-back and remote than Lipari (and the Hotel Signum, while lovely, requires using the public bus service or renting a very uncomfortable tandem motorized cart). The Pensione Mamma Santina, in Santa Marina di Salina, would be a better choice in terms of proximity to the hydrofoils and ferries (and also a very nice property, read my review on this website). I personally find Salina to be the most beautiful of the seven islands. Panarea is also lovely, but there is very little to do there, it's rather expensive, and both Lipari and Salina are better "hubs" to visit the other islands.
I stayed at the Carasco on Lipari several years ago and liked it very much, although it has also received numerous negative comments (primarily for lack of modernization). I understand that air conditioning has now been added to most rooms. I can tell you that the views from many rooms, as well as from the restaurant, are truly exceptional and memorable. I see from their new website that the hotel has recently been upgraded to 4-stars (from 3-stars). Perhaps this reflects the addition of air conditioning. You can walk to the Carasco from town in about 15 minutes, and they have a free shuttle into town departing hourly during the day (but not in the evenings, after dinner, undoubtedly to discourage guests from dining outside of the hotel!!!).
[QUOTE](and the Hotel Signum, while lovely, requires using the public bus service or renting a very uncomfortable tandem motorized cart). QUOTE]
I would just like to state that as a 6'0 driver of the cart, it wasn't all that bad since most of your drives are under 10 minutes, and in good weather it's down right fun!
Posts: 110 | Location: NJ | Registered: 27 January 2006
