Lipari and Salina by boat, pumice, the Il Postino bay and Lingua.

Salina is the green island of the Aeolians: two extinct volcanoes covered in forest, Malvasia vines and caper terraces. From Lipari you can get there by hydrofoil, but on a small boat you also see the coast you cannot see from the road, and you swim along the way.

The route

With Da Massimo, the boat leaves at 10:00 from Marina Corta, in Lipari. First it goes round Monte Rosa and the Canneto promenade to the Cave di Pomice, the old pumice quarries, where the coast is white and the water a very clear blue: this is the first swim of the day. Then it passes Acquacalda, on the northern tip of Lipari, and crosses to Salina.

In Salina it stops at Santa Marina, the largest village, and continues past Malfa to the bay of Pollara, an old crater open to the sea where Massimo Troisi filmed Il Postino. There is another swim there. Then it skirts Rinella and reaches Lingua, a village beside a salt lagoon, where you stop to have lunch on your own.

In the afternoon the boat returns to Lipari along its west coast: the Grotta degli Innamorati, with a swim, the beach of Vallemuria, the sea stacks, the Grotta degli Angeli, the Scoglio della Mummia and the Spiaggia di Vinci. You arrive at 17:00.

Price and what to bring

It costs €50 per person, with reductions for children. Lunch is not included: in Lingua there are bars and restaurants by the sea. Wear your swimwear, and bring a towel, water shoes, a cap, sun protection and some cash. The boat has partial shade, but the midday sun at sea burns.

Who it is for

It is the most complete excursion for seeing Salina without sleeping there, and it works for families: the swimming stops are long and children can go down the ladder. If you get seasick, sit at the stern and ask the skipper to warn you at the most open crossings, between Lipari and Salina.

If you would rather stay in Salina, the Liberty Lines hydrofoil stops at Santa Marina and Rinella. In Santa Marina you can eat at 'nni Lausta, on the terrace on its first floor.