Aeolian Islands Day Trip from Taormina: Lipari and Vulcano

Our tour guide was very sweet and lively. Bus driver was great. Boats were fine. Nothing to complain about, this was exactly as advertised. Unfortunately a big bulk of this tour is travel time to the islands. Get picked up at Taormina by 7 and you're at Mazzaro by 830.. you're at the first island by around 10.. then same thing on the way back.. Unfortunately nearly half of the excursion is dedicated to bus and boat (although the boat is nice to be on, especially sitting outside). Recommendations: Do the bus tour of Lipari if youre unfamiliar with the island. When at Vulcano, do the mud baths first, so you can wash yourself off for the rest of the time in the ocean. I did the sulfur bath 5 days ago and I still smell a little! lol. Also bring some water to wash your feet after the beach, as their black sand sticks pretty badly. Nevertheless, the price is right if you want to visit these islands are you're already near Taormina. The cost to drive to Mazzaro, park at Mazzaro, then the cost of the ferry.. this makes it worthwhile. You're just stuck with their timeframes.

Would have liked a bit more time on Lipari and less on Vulcano. Taxi tour on Lipari was very enjoyable.

It is less expensive to take this tour than to get transport up to the Messina port, ferry, ferry between islands, etc. The islands are unmissable, especially on Lipari where there is a lot to see. However, they do not use a private motorboat, it is just a ferry that is VERY crowded. All in all, this tour is probably the most convenient way to get to the Islands.

Loved the islands of Lepari and Vulcano. We were picked up at a bus stop near our hotel, and then driven about 2 hours to the port picking up people along the route until we had a full bus. The boat trip was beautiful- sea was so blue! We stopped at a few scenic places for photo opportunities. Plenty of time allotted at both islands. We did the mud baths. They did not smell nearly as bad as I thought they would. Went into the sea near plumes of hot geysers. Incredibly warm! Do it!

I found this trip not to be up to the standard that we have come to expect from Victor. First at the collection point they were 20 minutes late in collecting us and secondly we understood for information provided by you that we would sail around Stromboli to see the active volcano in the evening this did not happen.

Pick up at 7.00 am from a hotel very close by 50m from our hotel the lovely Baia delle Sirene at Via Nazionale. Relaxing tour with lovely scenery and a smooth boat ride. Tour instructed us to be early at port if you want to find a place upstairs as this tour is a crowd puller. The trip to port is about 11/2hrs. Not much to do at both islands but Lipari has much more history and places to visit. I did not do lunch at Lipari but at Vulcano as I was not interested in the stinky mud baths. Excellent lunch at Da Vincenzino especially their spaghetti vincenzino. The Mercedes 12 seater which drove us to port and back was very uncomfortable as it springs a lot at the back seats. Every bump would respond on your back. Otherwise enjoyable day out.

Good reliable transport and interesting Guide who had a heavy bias towards the German language! The trip was a relaxing break from the busy life of Taormina. Lipari has a pretty town, interesting to wander the streets. Vulcano has less to offer in that respect and you need to plan the time there either in the mud pool, on the beach/ having a swim or having a longer uphill walk if you are not to be bored. A long day but good value for money.

When we arrived on Vulcano, Santo SAT tours guide told us that there was NOT enough time to hike to the top of the volcano crater and be back in time for our boat departure. One disappointed member of the tour party questioned Santo's advice, but Santo repeated in no uncertain terms that there was insufficient time to hike to the top of the crater. Santo then led us to a non-descript restaurant and told us that lunch was on the terrace, which of course was not included in the tour. We ignored the push towards lunch at the guide's chosen restaurant and wandered the area. Finally we decided to walk to the volcano and hike as far up as far as we could, time permitting. As we got higher, we were horrified to see many others from our boat but not in our tour group already most of the way back down! Many of these people did not look particularly fit. No one in our group would have had difficulty in reaching the top. We would have had plenty of time to hike to the top of the crater and make the boat departure, but now it was too late for us. One seldom has the opportunity to climb to the top of a volcano crater. On the boat, we heard happy people discussing their experience at the top and saw their pictures. But we missed our chance because of very strange advice from our guide. You pay to go on a tour so you can trust and benefit from good advice from the guide. In this case, we received bad advice and were let down.

Loved this tour. Both islands are beautiful. Lipari is very picturesque with its beautiful streets and building. Vulcano mud lake was a great experience

I can highly recommend this trip. Picked the coach up at Taormina which took as to the port. Had plenty of time to explore both islands. When we got to Vulcano we were shown the mud baths ... bit to smelly for my liking!