Ferry from Vulcano to Alicudi

Vulcano Guide

The small Italian volcanic island of Vulcano lies in the Tyrrhenian Sea and is around 25 km to the north of Sicily, and is the most southerly of the eight islands that make up the Aeolian Islands. The island is only around 21 sq. km and its highest point is just under 500 m above sea level. There are a number of volcanos on the island, and includes one of four active, non-submarine, volcanoes in Italy. The most recent volcanic activity is the Gran Cratere at the top of the Fossa cone, the cone having grown in the Lentia Caldera in the middle of the island, and has had at least 9 major eruptions in the last 6,000 years. However, the island's volcanoes have been quiet since around 1890 when Fossa erupted and deposited around 5 meters of pyroclastic material on the summit. The island is also famous for its hot springs which are located a short walk from the harbour. For the brave, visitors are able to walk to the crater of a volcano where you can observe smoke coming out of the ground!

Hydrofoil and ferry services connect Vulcano to the other Aeolian Islands and to Sicily and the mainland. Access from Milazzo in Sicily is convenient, as Vulcano is the boat's first stop from there as they continue to the other islands.

Alicudi Guide

The Italian island of Alicudi in one of the Aeolian Islands which is located off the coast of Sicily and mainland Italy. It is the most remote of the Aeolian Islands and also has the island group's smallest population, with around 100 inhabitants. The island's only form of transport are its donkeys which can frequently be heard braying. Because of the island's small population, and size, and because its tourist infrastructure is perhaps not as well developed as some of its neighbours, it has managed to retain a great deal of its rugged, authentic charm. The island's simplicity is an attraction for certain types of visitors; adventurers, artists and writers.

The island is actually a volcanic cone protruding from the sea which is now covered in vegetation and extinct. There are a number of footpaths, that begin from the little port on the island, that climb the island's steep slopes, passing cultivated terraces. Formerly, the island was called Ericusa which derives from the heather (Erica) that grows on the island's slopes. Some of the island's houses are well maintained and some are abandoned and are mainly located in the east of the island as the island's western slopes are steep and inaccessible.

There are scheduled ferry services to Alicudi from the other Aeolian Islands, from Sicily and from the Italian mainland.