Independent editorial · Since 2006
Italy’s islands, honestly reviewed.
The English-language guide to Sicily, Sardinia, Capri, Ischia, the Aeolian and Egadi archipelagos, and every island in between. Ferry timetables, hotel picks, honest opinion. Cefalù and Sant’Andrea spelled correctly.
Archipelago hub · Isole Eolie
The Aeolian arc: seven islands, one volcanic story.
North of Sicily, the Aeolian (pronounced Ay-oh-lee-an) arc runs from Alicudi in the west to Stromboli in the east. Each island keeps its own character: Panarea’s yacht set, Salina’s caper farms, Stromboli’s nightly eruptions, Lipari’s ferry-hub bustle. Ferry from Milazzo year-round, seasonally from Naples.
Lipari
The archipelago’s ferry hub and only real town. Base here for onward hops.
Ferry hub
Vulcano
Sulphur mud baths, a summit crater hike, and the smell that gave volcanoes their name.
Day-trip friendly
Stromboli
Europe’s most reliably active volcano. Evening boat tours watch the Sciara del Fuoco glow.
Editors’ pick
Panarea
The smallest and glossiest of the seven. Yacht season peaks in August.
Splurge
Salina
Twin-peaked, green, and quiet. Caper farms, Malvasia wine, and the calmest base.
Slow travel
Filicudi
Rustic, remote, low-lit. One road, a handful of pensioni, and dolphin research boats.
Off-grid
Alicudi
No roads. Donkeys carry the luggage. The purest test of whether you actually want quiet.
Off-gridEditors’ picks
Where to start if you have one hour.
Transport transparent
Ferry routes, indexed honestly.
The most-searched routes to Italy’s most-visited islands. Times are aliscafo (hydrofoil) where available, traghetto (car ferry) otherwise. Direct Ferries and Ferryhopper both let you compare operators; we link to whichever has the fuller inventory on that route.
Archipelago hub · Arcipelago Toscano
The Tuscan archipelago: Elba, Giglio, Capraia.
Seven islands protected as Italy’s largest marine national park. Only three take non-resident visitors at any scale: Elba (the biggest, best for a full week), Giglio (Argentario’s cliff-hanging neighbour), Capraia (walkers, ex-penal colony, remote). Ferries from Piombino, Porto Santo Stefano, and Livorno.
