From Vulcano: Panarea & Stromboli Boat Tour (Small Group)

About This Experience

If you are staying on Vulcano, this trip saves the ferry hop to Lipari: the boat leaves from the port on Vulcano and brings you back to the same wharf at night. It is a speedboat with a skipper and a deckhand and a small group on board. The first leg runs north past Lipari to Panarea, where the opening stop is Cala Junco, a rocky natural pool protected by the FAI, for a swim.

From Cala Junco the boat moves to San Pietro, Panarea's harbour, for about two hours ashore. You can walk the village, look round the shops or have lunch in a restaurant at your own cost. Then comes a slow run by sea round the islets: Bottaro, where fumaroles bubble up from the sea floor, and Lisca Bianca with its Grotta degli Innamorati, followed by two more swim stops in open water.

Stromboli is about 50 minutes further on. The boat stops for a swim in the dark volcanic water before landing at Scari, where you have about two hours. That is time to walk into the village, lie on the black sand by the port or eat an early dinner, again at your own expense. Two hours does not allow a climb on the volcano, which needs a separate guided hike.

At sunset the boat heads past Strombolicchio to the Sciara del Fuoco and waits offshore to watch the volcano. Explosions depend on Stromboli's activity that evening, and the stop depends on the sea. Water, biscuits and a glass of Malvasia are served on board. The crossing back to Vulcano takes a little over an hour, arriving between 9 and 10 pm.

Highlights

• Departs from and returns to Vulcano, with no ferry to Lipari needed
• First swim at Cala Junco, the FAI-protected rock pool on Panarea
• About two hours ashore in San Pietro and two more at Scari on Stromboli
• Bottaro's fumaroles and Lisca Bianca's Grotta degli Innamorati from the water
• Four swim stops, the last in the dark sea off Stromboli
• Sunset off Strombolicchio and the Sciara del Fuoco, sea permitting

What's Included

• ✓ Small-group speedboat trip from Vulcano with a skipper and a deckhand
• ✓ Landings at San Pietro on Panarea and Scari on Stromboli
• ✓ Snorkelling kit and flotation aids
• ✓ Safety equipment on board
• ✓ Water and biscuits with a glass of local Malvasia
• ✓ An evening stop off the Sciara del Fuoco, sea permitting

Not Included

• Lunch on Panarea and dinner on Stromboli
• Beach towel and swimwear
• Hat, sunglasses and sun cream
• Flip-flops or water shoes
• Gratuities

What to Bring

• Swimwear and a beach towel
• Hat, sunglasses and sun cream
• Flip-flops or water shoes
• A warm layer for the night crossing back to Vulcano
• Cash for lunch and dinner ashore

Good to Know & Caveats

• The listing names Vulcano port as the meeting point but gives no start time; check your confirmation for the exact spot and hour.
• You are back on Vulcano between 9 and 10 pm, so eat on Stromboli or plan a late dinner.
• Stromboli's activity varies and explosions are never guaranteed; the Sciara del Fuoco stop depends on the sea.
• The volcano stop begins around sunset, and on some evenings the glow shows best only once it is fully dark.
• The same operator runs this day from Lipari's Marina Corta, so choose the port nearest where you are staying.

Meeting Point

Vulcano port (Porto di Levante), Isola di Vulcano; the boat returns to the same wharf.