What happens on a Panarea and Stromboli boat trip?
The Panarea and Stromboli boat trip hour by hour: check-in, landing tax, what to do with two hours on each island, food, seasickness and the late return.
A Panarea and Stromboli boat trip is a long day of 8 to 13 hours, depending on your port: a crossing to Panarea, about two hours ashore there, two hours or more on Stromboli with time for dinner, a stop off the Sciara del Fuoco at dusk, and a crossing home in the dark.
Nobody guides you ashore, food is rarely included, and you get back late. Plan the two landings in advance and you will use them well.
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The day, hour by hour
The shape of the day is the same from every port; only the clock times change. Here are two big-boat timetables, from Milazzo in Sicily and from Tropea in Calabria.
| Navisal from Milazzo | Tripodi from Tropea | |
|---|---|---|
| Check-in | at least 1 hour before sailing | show your booking at the boarding point |
| Departure | 11:45 (11:15 from 15 September) | 10:30 |
| Panarea | about 2 to 2¼ hours at San Pietro | about 13:00 to 15:45 |
| Stromboli | about 2¼ to 2½ hours at Scari | about 16:45 to 19:20 |
| Sciara del Fuoco | short stop as the light goes | about 30 minutes |
| Back in port | about 21:30 to 22:30 | about 22:15 |
From Lipari the day starts later and the crossings are shorter. The Arianna boat trip with snorkelling leaves from Corso Vittorio Emanuele II 93 in Lipari town in the afternoon and runs into the evening, about 10 hours in all. It passes Canneto and the old pumice quarries, crosses to Panarea in about an hour, and slows along the coast past Cala Junco, Caletta dello Zimmari and Capo Milazzese for a swim. After time ashore in Panarea’s harbour it circles the islets, with another swim, and stops over the “boiling sea”, where volcanic gas bubbles up through the water. Then it lands on Stromboli, reboards at sunset, passes Strombolicchio and waits off the Sciara del Fuoco with a glass of Malvasia and biscuits before a crossing of about an hour back to Lipari. It costs $68 per person and is rated 4.7 from 47 reviews; commentary comes from the skipper in Italian, English and Spanish, and some reviewers found the island stops short.
All times on every listing are approximate. Crews announce re-boarding times during the day, and on Stromboli the departure is fixed: Savadori says plainly the boat will not wait. Set an alarm on your phone the moment you step ashore.
Check-in and the landing tax
Arrive early. Navisal asks you to be at its Via dei Mille ticket office in Milazzo at least an hour before sailing, to swap your voucher for boarding instructions. The Tropea operators want you at the port at least 30 minutes ahead, and Empeeria in Lipari 20 minutes. Bring a passport or ID card; Comerci lists it, and Regina Eolie accepts a copy. Parking and transport to the port are not included on any of the big-boat trips.
Then there is the Aeolian landing tax, a levy every non-resident pays to land on the islands. It is currently €5 per person in summer (1 June to 30 September) and €2.50 out of season (1 October to 31 May). The levy belongs to the Comune di Lipari, whose rules make the shipping companies collect it with the ticket, which is why you pay it at the boat desk and not on the island. Whether it is in your price depends on the operator:
- Tarnav, from Milazzo, includes it in the ticket.
- Navisal collects it at the Milazzo ticket office when you check in, in cash.
- Eolie Savadori collects it in cash at the Tropea check-in desk.
- Comerci and Tripodi, from Tropea, take it before boarding; it is not in the price.
- Noema, on the Cefalù coach-and-boat day, asks for it in cash.
Carry the exact amount in coins or small notes for everyone in your booking, children included unless your operator says otherwise. Savadori notes that card facilities can be limited and that American Express is not accepted.
Two hours on Panarea
Panarea is the smallest of the seven inhabited Aeolian islands, about 3.4 km², with no private cars: people walk or use small electric carts and taxis. Every boat lands at the pier in the San Pietro area, so that is where your two hours begin.
With limited time, choose one of three plans.
Stay in San Pietro. Walk up the white lanes behind the harbour, past the shops and bars, to the church of San Pietro, which looks out over the sea towards the islets. Have lunch at the port and you will not feel rushed. This is the right choice on the shorter stops of an hour to an hour and a half.
Go to Cala Junco. This rock-ringed cove at the island’s southern tip is a walk of 30 to 45 minutes each way, depending on the source, so on a two-hour stop most people take one of the island’s small taxis there and back. You swim in a natural amphitheatre of rock, then return for a late lunch. Some boats, such as the Arianna and Tornado trips, stop off Cala Junco for a swim before docking, which saves you the journey.
Visit Capo Milazzese. On the headland beside Cala Junco are the stone foundations of a Middle Bronze Age village from the 14th to early 13th century BC, about twenty oval huts on a promontory above the sea. Luigi Bernabò Brea found it in 1948, and the site gave its name to the Milazzese culture. It is about 3 km and an hour’s easy walk from the port, so again a taxi makes it fit. Pair it with Cala Junco.
If you want sand, Cala degli Zimmari, Panarea’s only sandy beach, is about 20 minutes’ walk from the port. Outside high season fewer places are open on Panarea, and Tarnav’s listing suggests a packed lunch as a backup.
Two hours or more on Stromboli
Boats land at Scari, the island’s main port. The pier was damaged by a storm in January 2026 and repair works ran until 22 May 2026, so check your operator’s notes if you are reading this about a later year. There are no private cars here either, just walking, three-wheeled Ape taxis and electric vehicles.
The black beaches start beside the port. Ficogrande, a short walk along the shore, has fine black sand and was once the yard where wooden fishing boats were built. Expect pebbles at the water’s edge; reviewers recommend water shoes.
The other classic walk is uphill through the village to the church of San Vincenzo, an 18th-century church whose square looks out to Strombolicchio, the rock stack about 1.5 km offshore. On the way, a plaque on Via Vittorio Emanuele III marks the house where Ingrid Bergman stayed while filming Rossellini’s Stromboli in 1949. You can walk the steady incline or take an Ape taxi.
Dinner is the other reason to keep an eye on the clock. Comerci suggests booking a sit-down meal ahead, because many boats arrive on summer afternoons, while bakeries and bars on the main street sell arancine, focaccia and granita if you would rather eat quickly and spend longer on the beach. Two hours is not enough for a hike on the volcano; that needs a separate guided trip, covered in the Stromboli volcano hike.
Food, drink and seasickness
Plan on paying for your own lunch and dinner. On the small Lipari boats run by Arianna and Tornado, a glass of Malvasia delle Lipari, the island’s sweet DOC wine, comes with biscuits at the Sciara stop; Empeeria serves a glass on its cruises too. Comerci has a snack bar on board and lets you bring a packed lunch, and some Empeeria travellers mention a simple pasta dinner offered on board for an extra charge. SAT, on the Taormina day, does not allow takeaway food or drink to be eaten on board.
The crossings are open sea, and the Sciara stop is the roughest part of the day, because the boat holds position off an exposed coast. One Empeeria passenger described people being sick there after a long wait for the weather. The NHS advice for motion sickness on boats is to sit in the middle of the boat, watch the horizon, get fresh air, and avoid heavy meals and alcohol; pharmacies sell tablets and patches. Go easy on the dinner on Stromboli. On the big motorships, Tarnav notes the engine is noticeable below deck, so sit outside if you can.
What to bring
- Cash for the landing tax, lunch, dinner and taxis on the islands
- A passport or ID card
- Swimwear and a towel, which most boats do not supply
- Water shoes for the pebble beaches
- Sunscreen, a hat and sunglasses for the afternoon
- A warm or windproof layer for the evening crossing; the deck cools fast after sunset
- Binoculars for the Sciara del Fuoco, which you watch from 2 nautical miles away
- A charged phone with the re-boarding time noted
Leave umbrellas and bulky beach gear behind; Comerci asks you not to bring them.
Getting back late
The return is the part people underestimate. Navisal is back in Milazzo between about 21:30 and 22:30, depending on sunset. Tarnav arrives between about 21:45 and 22:15 in summer, 21:00 to 21:30 from 15 September and 20:00 to 20:30 from 1 October. From Tropea, Tripodi is due at about 22:15 and Comerci at about 22:30, with Comerci and Savadori continuing to Vibo Marina at about 23:30. Tornado’s small boats are back in Lipari between 21:00 and 22:00, and the Taormina and Cefalù coach days reach their pickup points around midnight.
If you are staying away from the port, book your onward taxi before you sail. The volcano stop itself is never guaranteed: activity varies and the sea decides whether the boat can stay. Read what you see at the Sciara del Fuoco before you go so the evening matches your expectations.
Frequently asked questions
How long is a Panarea and Stromboli boat trip?
About 8 to 12 hours from Lipari, about 10 hours from Milazzo, and 12 to 13 hours from Tropea, longer still with a coach from Taormina or Cefalù. You get roughly two hours on each island.
Is the landing tax included in the price?
Usually not. It is currently €5 per person in summer and €2.50 out of season. Tarnav includes it; Navisal, Savadori, Comerci, Tripodi and Noema collect it at the port, often in cash.
Is there a guide on the islands?
No. Commentary is given on board, live or recorded, and on several boats mostly in Italian. On Panarea and Stromboli you explore on your own.
Can I swim on the trip?
Yes, on most trips. Small boats such as Arianna and Tornado stop at sea several times and provide masks; on the big boats you swim from the black beaches near Scari during the Stromboli landing.
What time will I get back?
Between about 21:00 and 22:30 at Lipari, Milazzo or Tropea in summer on most boats, later at Vibo Marina, and around midnight on the Taormina and Cefalù coach days. Tarnav returns earlier from mid-September.
Ready to book? Check dates for the Arianna Panarea and Stromboli trip with snorkelling (our breakdown), compare departures from Lipari and from Milazzo, or read which tour is right for you.
See Stromboli Erupt from the Sea
Sail from Milazzo to Panarea and Stromboli, with free time on both islands and a stop under the Sciara del Fuoco as the light goes.
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