Stromboli Volcano Hike

What you are allowed to climb

Stromboli is about 924 metres high (INGV), but no visitor goes near the top. The summit has been closed since the paroxysm of 3 July 2019, which killed a hiker. The rules today come from the Comune di Lipari ordinance of 5 May 2025, the latest one in INGV’s archive as of 1 October 2026.

As of the May 2025 ordinance:

• Alone, you can walk up to 290 metres, on the Strada vicinale Parroco and the Mulattiera Salvatore di Losa above the village.
• With an authorised guide, you can go up to 400 metres. That is the maximum altitude for anyone.
• Guided groups are capped at 25 people per guide, and above 290 metres you must wear a mountain helmet and a dust mask, both supplied by the guides, and sign a risk waiver.
• Guided excursions may run only between 11:00 and midnight.
• Breaking the ordinance carries a €500 fine.

So you can hike Stromboli without a guide, but only to 290 metres. The view of the crater area and the Sciara del Fuoco from 400 metres needs a guide. The craters themselves sit on a terrace at roughly 700 to 750 metres, well above where any hike stops. From the 400-metre viewpoint, Sicilia Adventure puts them about 350 to 400 metres away as the crow flies.

The ordinance also closed the Sentiero Natura after storm damage in October 2024, and on the Ginostra side the limits are 130 metres alone and 400 metres guided along the Punta Corvi trail.

How hard the sunset trek is

The three guided treks on this page all go to 400 metres and take about five hours. Sicilying gives 2.5 to 3 hours up and 1.5 to 2 hours down, with a rest about every 30 minutes. Sicilia Adventure rates its route easy to medium with 500 metres of total ascent. Reviewers mention heat, steep switchbacks, sandy stretches and some washed-out sections, so you need reasonable fitness and proper shoes. Open-toed shoes are not allowed on the Ashàra hike.

The operators list who should not go: pregnant women and people with heart problems on all three, and Sicilia Adventure also excludes children under 9, people over 70 and anyone with a low level of fitness. If you have vertigo or breathing problems, Ashàra lists those too.

Bring water, snacks, a windproof jacket and a small daypack. Reviewers mention the heat on the way up, and every operator asks for a windproof layer for the top.

Timing: when the trek starts

The treks are built around sunset. Ashàra meets two hours before sunset, Sicilying three hours before, and Sicilia Adventure sets its time by the season. Sunset on Stromboli is 20:27 in mid-June, 19:56 in mid-August, 19:09 in mid-September and 18:23 in mid-October. In mid-October, an Ashàra group meets at about 16:20 and gets back to the village late in the evening. Explosions are easiest to see after dark, but activity varies and none are guaranteed; the guide can change or stop the hike for weather or volcanic risk.

The hike does not include the boat

None of these treks include getting to Stromboli. They start in the village, so you must already be on the island, and they end after dark. Ashàra and Sicilia Adventure both say you need to stay overnight on Stromboli, as there is no way off the island after the hike.

This is where many plans fall apart. Day boats from Milazzo and Lipari give you about two hours on Stromboli. The Navisal cruise from Milazzo plans about 2 hours 15 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes at Scari, and the Tornado small-group tour from Lipari about 2 hours. That is not enough for a five-hour hike, and the boat leaves before the group comes down. Even the longest Tropea stop, three to four hours, is too short.

If you want both, take a ferry to Stromboli and sleep there. From Lipari the fastest crossing takes under an hour, with up to eight crossings a day in summer. Hike on the first evening and catch a boat the next day. The boat tour or ferry guide compares the two ways of getting there.

If staying over is not possible, watch from the sea instead. A Stromboli by night trip gives you an afternoon ashore and a stop off the Sciara at dusk, from 2 nautical miles out.

Which trek to book

The Ashàra Sunset Trekking to the Sciara del Fuoco (our breakdown) is the most-reviewed hike on this site, at 4.7 from 1,697 reviews and from $34 per person. It includes the helmet and headlamp and runs in English, French and Italian.

The Sicilying Sunset Trek Towards the Craters (our breakdown) starts earlier and includes a dust mask, but you bring your own headlamp and boots. It costs from $40 and has fewer reviews (32). The Sicilia Adventure Sunset Trekking on the Volcano (our breakdown) lends hiking shoes if you need them, comes down the Punta Labronzo mule track and costs from $34.

Check dates for the Ashàra sunset trek.