The Aeolian Islands by boat: volcanoes, wind and a week from Portorosa

The Aeolian Islands lie off the north coast of Sicily: seven inhabited volcanic islands – Lipari, Vulcano, Salina, Panarea, Stromboli, Filicudi and Alicudi – a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2000. No other area of the Mediterranean shows so clearly that the earth is still at work: fumaroles on Vulcano, black sand and, on Stromboli, a volcano that has been active almost without pause for millennia.

• Short distances: Vulcano, Lipari and Salina are close together; Panarea and Stromboli are a longer day's leg away, Filicudi and Alicudi further west.
• Deep water: the islands are volcanic cones rising steeply from great depths. Anchorages with good holding are rarer than on shallow coasts; many bays are calm only in the right wind.
• Stromboli in the evening: many guests go to the north-west side of Stromboli in the evening to watch the eruptions from the water. For the sea off the Sciara del Fuoco and for climbs to the crater, orders of the authorities apply that depend on the volcano's activity. Ask your provider for the current situation before you go.

In summer the maestrale from the north-west often blows; the scirocco from the south-east brings warm air and swell. Because many anchorages are open, you choose harbour or bay by the wind: south-east and east sides in a maestrale, north sides in a scirocco. There are harbours on Lipari, Vulcano and Salina; in high summer they fill up early.

Most boats for the Aeolian Islands are based on the north coast of Sicily, for example in Portorosa near Furnari or in Milazzo. From there Vulcano is one leg away. Our week-long route idea from Portorosa goes via Vulcano, Lipari, Panarea and Stromboli to Salina and back; for four days there is a shorter loop. Both give the legs in nautical miles.

A sailboat is ideal for the longer legs between the islands. A catamaran lies more calmly in open bays and gives groups more room. By motorboat even Panarea and Stromboli can be reached in a day.

Legs are longer than in many other areas and anchorages more demanding. With little experience you are well advised to take a skipper, who also knows the rules for Stromboli. Which documents the provider asks for on boats without a skipper is shown on the boat.

June and September are ideal: warm sea, stable weather, room in the harbours. In July and August harbours and buoys are in high demand; in May and October it is quiet, but the weather is more changeable.