All tours on this holiday have now departed. Future departure dates will be confirmed in due course.
Rocce Azzurre Hotel
Lipari colourful streets
Rocce Azzurre Hotel
Rocce Azzurre Hotel
Panarea island
Stromboli
Salina
Santa Maria Salina
Lipari
Stromboli
Lipari Town Centre
Lipari
Stromboli
Lipari
Island hopping and boat trips
Time to relax and enjoy the hotel facilities
Atmospheric, family-run hotel with wonderful sea views
Lovely Mediterranean climate and food
The seven Aeolian islands off the north coast of Sicily comprise an area of 1,216km squared and make up one of the most traditional regions of Italy, with a pace and way of life little altered for centuries. Unsurprisingly it was chosen as the location of the charming film Il Postino. The Aeolian archipelago is of important volcanic origin having fascinated volcanologists and tourists alike for years. The island of Stromboli contains one of the most active volcanoes in the world and presents an almost-daily show of red hot rocks. The archipelago's importance is evident from the life that has existed on the island since the Neolithic age, while approximately 900 plant species have been recorded on the islands, including four endemic species.
The largest island of this UNESCO World Heritage Site is Lipari, and this is where you will be based. You will stay at the Rocce Azzurre Hotel, which commands a panoramic position and a sea-view terrace restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean, and is walking distance from the town centre and main harbour. The hotel boasts free Wi-Fi and a private sun deck that practically floats on the sea, plus there is also a public beach next to the hotel.
Your days are a mix of organised tours including boat trips to Salina, Panarea and Stromboli and free time to either explore independently or relax and enjoy the hotel facilities. This is a fasinating, unique region of Italy, just waiting to be discovered.
Day 1: Fly from London Gatwick to Catania.
On arrival, transfer by coach to Milazzo (approx. 2 hours) and onwards by ferry to Lipari (approx. 1 hour 30 mins) before a short steep walk to the Rocce Azzurre Hotel. This evening there will be a welcome drink at the hotel before dinner.
Day 2: Lipari
Our day begins with a walking tour of Lipari, "the hub of the Aeolian Islands", to experience the slow pace of life. We pass through paved cobbled streets in the old part of the town, still home to fishermen, before we board the coach to continue the tour of Lipari Island. En route we will stop at Quattrocchi viewpoint: the panorama is one of the most impressive in the Aeolian Islands and perhaps in all of Sicily. We will continue, through the villages of Pianoconte, Quattropani, the winelands, Acquacalda in the district of pomice quarries and Canneto, the beach of Lipari with spectacular view on Lipari Western Coastline and on Alicudi, Filicudi, Salina, Panarea and Stromboli Islands. We will return to Lipari town centre and continue on foot to see the Greek/Roman necropolis and the Diana quarter with its narrow hallway, before reaching Marina Corta, the charming fishermen square, for our included lunch. Afternnoon at leisure for you to relax or explore independently - perhaps go up to the nearby Cittadella to see one of the most important Classical Museums of the Mediterranean. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 3: Lipari
Full day at leisure to enjoy the hotel facilities or join a local excursions - payable locally. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 4: Panarea and Stromboli
Morning at leisure and an early lunch included at the hotel. In the afternoon we will take a private boat to visit the Island of Panarea for a guided tour of the village of Saint Peter. We continue to Stromboli where we will visit the village of Saint Vincent before an incliuded pizza dinner in the oldest family restaurant/pizzeria of Stromboli. After dinner we will board the private boat to the Sciara del Fuoco to watch the almost daily event of the volcano’s spectacular light and fire display from the crateres. Return to Lipari for overnight.
Day 5: Lipari
Full day at leisure to enjoy the hotel facilities or join a local excursions - payable locally. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 6: Salina Island
According to the Guardian, Salina is one of the 10 "hidden gems" of Italy. The “greenest” and the most fertile island of the Aeolian Islands; here, are cultivated fine grapes from which “Malvasia delle Lipari” is obtained, a wine with a sweet taste, vines that produce local wines and capers that are exported all over the world. We depart Lipari by private boat to Santa Marina, one of the three towns on the island; here we board a private coach for our tour of the island, going through the other two towns, Malfa and Leni, to the other side of the island, to reach the little village of Rinella, where time seems has stopped. Coffee break and time to explore the village. We continue onto Pollara viewpoint to look down the village and the bay of Pollara, the setting of the film “Il Postino” by Troisi. We then go to visit a local historical family winery that produce local wines and the famous Malvasia wine, for an included visit and wine tasting, accompanied with local house products, before we reach Lingua, a village situated on the shores of a former salted lake, from which the Island of Salina takes its name, for a lunch at leisure (not included). After lunch, we will reboard the private boat, to return to Lipari along its Western Coastline, the oldest volcanic part of this island. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 7: Lipari
Full day at leisure to enjoy the hotel facilities or join a local excursions - payable locally. Dinner at the hotel.
Day 8: Transfer by ferry back to Milazzo and onward to Catania airport by coach for your return flight to London Gatwick.
Tours will be scheduled by your tour manager according to boat timetables and weather forecast to help you make the most of your time visiting this wonderful group of islands. Any local excursions on the days at leisure can be arrange by your tour manager and are payable locally.
Please note the maximum group size on this tour is 30 passengers.
INCLUDED
NOT INCLUDED
The Rocce Azzurre Hotel
The friendly, family-run three-star Rocce Azzurre Hotel enjoys a wonderful location overlooking the sea yet only a few minutes pleasant walk from the charming old town of Lipari. The walk is about 400 metres up a slight hill and there is no other way to get from the port to the hotel (though baggage is taken in a minivan). This walk has to be undertaken to join all the excursions to other islands.
Facilities at this typically Sicilian hotel include terrace and restaurant with spectacular sea views, attractive and charming public areas including bar and indoor dining area and sunbathing/swimming platform and new since 2018, a spa. Rooms are comfortable and spotlessly maintained with private shower, TV and telephone. Many have sea-view and/or balcony, bookable at a reasonable supplement.
The hotel is a pleasant 15 minute walk from the port - downhill one way and up the other and there is no other way to get from the port to the hotel as the lane is not suitable for traffic.
Rocce Azzurre Hotel Website
OUR VIEW ON THE HOTEL
We have been sending clients here for more than a decade and Adriano and his staff consistently offer a very warm, friendly welcome. The bar terrace and restaurant directly overlook the sea and offer a lovely Mediterranean atmosphere. Rooms are well maintained and comfortable and many offer a sea view and/or balcony which is worth the upgrade.
Firstly, tour manager was excellent. Cant rate her highly enough. Her organisational skills were fantastic and without her we would have been lost due to the flight delays (outside anyone's control). Hotel was lovely, friendly and the rooms were clean every day. Enjoyed the food. Swimming platform was a bit dodgy! Would definitely return to the Aeolians. Sad to see you haven't included it in the new brochure
Review by Kurylowicz who travelled 01-September-2024
A lovely, enjoyable, interesting holiday with a good group size. Tessa Say was an excellent tour manager, friendly, calm, caring, efficient and knowledgeable. The included trips were very good and the optional trips were also good. The super clean hotel was in an excellent location for the small town square and beach. All hotel staff were friendly, attentive and efficient. All the boat trips were good and on time but a satisfactory score was given due to a flight delay going out and returning on Easy jet which I appreciate was out of Travel Editions control.
Review by Neal who travelled 01-September-2024
Review by Anonymous who travelled 01-September-2024
Both flights delayed - NOT your fault. Otherwise travel arrangements good Tessa (Tour manager) was excellent. Coped very well with the travel disruptions. Kept us informed at all times and was a mine of information.
Review by Eagleton who travelled 01-September-2024
This was an excellent holiday and our tour manager, Tessa, couldn't have been better. There were 13 of us in the group, making two tables of 7 with Tessa, a nice size. Everyone in the group was friendly and we all got on really well. It was exciting to swim in the warm sea, off the boat, to climb up the volcano on Vulcano and to see Stromboli throwing up fire and rocks. The wine tasting with a tray full of nibbles for each of us was also memorable. We were able to visit all 7 of the islands and the boat trips were refreshing in the 30 degree heat. Dinner at the hotel was very good, breakfast more limited but fine. (More bread would have been good to counterbalance the cakes and pastries.) Unfortunately both flights were delayed. On the way there a very capable young coach driver ensured that we just caught the last ferry to Lipari. On the way home when the ferry back to Milazzo was late, she again got us to the airport on time. Unfortunately, due to problems at Gatwick, our flight was delayed by over 3h so we were rather late home but that in no way spoiled an excellent holiday.
Review by Knight who travelled 01-September-2024
Exemplary. Tiullio was magnificent
Review by Gillies who travelled 30-April-2025
Review by McDougall who travelled 30-April-2025
Review by Blatchford who travelled 30-April-2025
Review by Fletcher who travelled 30-April-2025
Evening meal menu could do with a lift - potential for main course pasta dishes not exploited - this is S.Italy after all. Otherwise, for a 3* star, the hotel was super. One of the best trips I've had in ages!
Review by Wragg who travelled 30-April-2025
Comments on the Rocce Azzure Hotel: Excellent location, friendly staff, comfortable room with stunning views. Food just adequate with uninspiring menu. Sunbathing platform requires maintenance: broken parasols, shower not working, rumpled matting, stepladder down to sea loose and dangerously slippery. With these matters attended to this could make a perfect holiday.
Review by Hall who travelled 04-September-2022
Review by Cox who travelled 04-September-2022
It was a really good tour. Hotel was fantastic. You could swim in the sea. The menu at the hotel was a bit samish. And the journey to and from the town and the port was too much for some people. You need to say somewhere that the hotel is 30 mins and up and down from the port and the centre of the town. The tour was only half board, which meant you could eat in other restaurants. We had a wonderful meal organised by the guide in a restaurant in the countryside in Lipari. You could either take the boat trips or refuse them. We did most of them, including the trip to Stromboli when we heard the guide over the loudspeaker say that the Queen had died.
Review by Bretherton who travelled 04-September-2022
I rang your office to check if 'paying in cash for tours' excluded payments on line and was assured that would be permissible. As you can imagine I was put out when I found that was not the case and I had to trudge half an hour each way to the nearest ATM.
Review by Martin who travelled 04-September-2022
Very interesting tour with lots of island hopping if desired. Hotel location fantastic. Highly recommended to visit this fascinating area. Meal quality in hotel varied a bit-not so good when large nos. present. My only real complaint concerns the pillows in the bedrooms-absolutely awful!! Maybe time to buy some new ones?? Overall a great holiday.
Review by Munro who travelled 04-September-2022
Thoroughly enjoyable good value holiday in wonderful ly interesting location
Review by Page who travelled 04-September-2022
An excellent holiday - thank you! The location and hotel were exactly what we could have wished for and Tullio was a wonderful tour manager. What we particularly liked about this holiday is that one could choose on a day by day basis whether or not to do a particular excursion and one only had to pay for the chosen excursions (rather than having the cost of all excursions included in the holiday price). Please offer more holidays with this type of flexibility. I only have one criticism, relatively straightforward but potentially serious. I think the ladder from the hotel platform down to the sea is potentially dangerous. It had very narrow, slippery metal steps and was not firmly secured to the rocks. I dread to think what would have happened if an older person (like myself!) had slipped while entering the water and fallen between the ladder and the rocks. The ladder should surely be replaced.
Review by Loane who travelled 02-September-2018
Review by Goodfellow who travelled 02-September-2018
Tullich was a friendly helpful guide who could not do enough for us all. he has a great historical knowledge about all aspects of the Aeolian Islands. Dinner was simple but delicious. it would have been food to have received luggage labels but that is a minor point. lovely week.
Review by Wood who travelled 02-September-2018
What a brilliant holiday! The hotel was superb: fantastic location and food was delicious. Tullio was an excellent tour guide who was very knowledgable. All in all a most enjoyable and memorable trip.
Review by Blau who travelled 02-September-2018
Review by Giangrande who travelled 02-September-2018
Tour guide Tullio was great; hotel was fabulous - gorgeous room, delicious food, and attention to detail by all the staff
Review by Cooke who travelled 02-September-2018
Planes, coaches and ferries all worked and delivered us on time. Hotel comfortable, good food and excellent swimming deck. Staff could not have been more friendly and efficient. Trips excellent, Islands beautiful. Guide Tullio exemplary.
Review by who travelled 25-June-2018
Apologies for sending you this feedback so late. For some reason you sent the email to my husband instead of me. (I'd booked the holiday). Fortunately he forwarded it to me. We enjoyed the holiday very much. Tullio, our guide was very good, though he did overwhelm us with data! It was unfortunate thet Easy Jet changed the times of our flights and not helped by Jet Foil going on strike for the day of our return. We liked the small group. We all got on well together. Our only criticism was the poor food at the hotel, which wasn't helped by their failure to provide vegetarian main courses. As a result our meals were a bit odd. Fortunately Tullio took us to a number of good restaurants where we enjoyed excellent food. In all other ways the hotel was good. It was clean and comfortable and the staff attentive. I enjoyed practicing my embryonic Italian. We loved Lipari and the other Aeolian Islands. My email is ruth.sanders@hotmail.co.uk
Review by Sanders who travelled 30-August-2017
Review by Williams who travelled 30-August-2017
Tours were good but rather expensive. Tour manager was hard to understand at times, especially on th boat
Review by who travelled 30-August-2017
Tulip couldn't have done more for us. He was an excellent guide from beginning to end.
Review by Mrs Carol Carpenter who travelled 23-June-2017
Tullio was a star, something we have come to expect from you. (Angela in Sicily and John in Spain). His organisation and local knowledge, in particular of history, were business like and yet personal.
Review by Mr P Hilton who travelled 23-June-2017
We are agreed this was the best holiday we have every had. The sense of peace and calm engendered by the remoteness of the islands and the age old way of life of the islanders was pure Paradise. The hotel was excellent and the boat trip to Stromboli, unmissable. There were many trips available, but we were perfectly happy just experiencing the atmosphere and exploring Lipari. Thank you, it was a superb holiday
Review by Mrs Madeline Hazelden who travelled 23-June-2017
Hotel cuisine not great but setting magnificent with a sea view and staff were friendly. Tour manager efficient and friendly with good local contacts for knowing where to eat out and love of the fabulous islands. Usual problems with Easy jet departure from Catania taking ages to get from the gate to the plane .
Review by Mr Philip Jones who travelled 16-September-2016
Review by Mr I Farmer who travelled 16-September-2016
Admin was a bit erratic. We got two confirmations for the canceled trip and had to ask for confirmation of the rearranged trip so were unaware when the final payment was due. We did not get all the pre tour information that others got . We were unclear until it emerged after arrival what the full role was of the tour manager. We thought we would have to arrange all our own tours (albeit with the tour manager's advice and guidance. Tour manager was excellent and really knew the location. Angela looked after us very well without being a mother hen
Review by Mr J Robertson who travelled 16-September-2016
Review by Mr John Blakey who travelled 16-September-2016
Review by Mrs Kathryn Cockle who travelled 16-September-2016
Angela was an enthusiastic and knowledgable tour manager I would very much enjoy travelling with her again.
Review by Mrs Jennifer Bower who travelled 16-September-2016
Very enjoyable holiday, every thing was well organised and we did not feel pressured into going on every tour. Tollio the guide was very helpful and informative. He was an ideal character for the group. We would not hesitate to recommend this type of holiday.
Review by Mr R Garrett who travelled 27-April-2016
Very good holiday. Limited breakfast in hotel. Some hard-boiled eggs maybe in addition to just cheese and meats. Also it was not stated that the walk to and from the main post is nearly a mile up and down and there is NO transport on arrival and leaving.
Review by Mr Arthur Forman who travelled 27-April-2016
1) Due to a delay in the flight from Stansted of about 45 minutes there was an accumulated delay in arriving at the hotel on the first day of about 4 hours. It would be worth looking at the travel schedule to allow additional contingency for delays. 2) Felt the tour manager, Tullio, was very considerate in trying to deal the initial delays and in moving us back to Cantania a day early to avoid potential delays on the return journey due to anticipated bad weather. 3) Short breaks to cities in Sicily should be considered as potential additional offerings.
Review by Mr David Woolven who travelled 16-September-2015
Boat trips and swimming were excellent Tullio was lovely Unfortunately my husband got food poisoning - don't know how that happened Return journey was severely impacted by a storm
Review by Mrs Clare Oakley who travelled 02-September-2015
A great holiday; in turns, relaxing and exhilarating. Excellently located hotel and well run, just a bit of a long walk from the ferry after a long journey. Thank goodness the cases go on ahead! Full marks to Tullio for getting us on the homeward bound ferry when a storm was rising and sea travel could have been cancelled. As it was, the airport was shut down delaying our plane flight a couple of hours but we can't control the weather. The Aeolian Islands are varied, fascinating and beautiful, with a character all of their own. Well worth a visit.
Review by Mrs Susan Collins who travelled 02-September-2015
Review by Mr Chris Cussens who travelled 02-September-2015
I did this tour 7 years ago and it has improved tremendously thanks to the input of Tullio, the Tour guide who is very knowledgeable and helpful. I have recommended this tour to friends who have also enjoyed these little known islands. The spoiler was the very tight timing of the transfer to Catania airport, where we were all very worried that we would miss the flight. Air One staff favoured the Italian passengers, and didn't care that there was no food available even though we had had a very early start. I understand that you are changing to Easy Jet next year. We met a lovely group of people , and the hotel and staff were fabulous.
Review by Miss Julia Lawrence who travelled 18-September-2014
Review by who travelled 18-September-2014
Air One was dreadful. Chaos at Catania. Old aircraft, poor seat pitch, lack of food onboard. `Cabin crew said `we never have enough food when the aircraft is full !!`` No white wine by eigth row.Worst airline I have ever flown with. Air One - NEVER AGAIN !!. See Trip Advisor for comformation of my views.
Review by Mr Richard Lawrence who travelled 18-September-2014
Travel Editions feedback:
Thank you for your comments and although very please you enjoyed the tour we were very doisappointed by Air One. We will not be using this airline again for any of our tours.
Review by Ms Wendy Roberts who travelled 04-September-2014
This was a 'good' rather than 'excellent' holiday all-round for many reasons. There were pros and cons under all headings. Admin was good, but we didn't like late date change. Brochure/ literature informative, but downplayed the length of the hot, hilly walk from the Lipari quayside to the Rocce Azurre hotel. Flights & transfers etc all fine, but timings could have been better! We arrived at 11.00 pm on day 1 and left at 5.30 am on our last day. Accommodation was very good - we had a nice room, and the public spaces were attractive - but the hotel dinners were unexciting, un-Italian even, and rather monotonous. The comfortable hotel needs a new more innovative chef to lift the whole experience. Or maybe we were fed tourist-group fodder, and other guests fared better. A couple of excellent lunches and one dinner at local restaurants were in another league altogether, and memorable experiences. Tour group manager Tullio Scurria was excellent - informative, helpful, experienced and careful of our well-being. The only downside was .. too many dates in the history of volcanic activity! The tours we chose were enjoyable, especially the visit to Salina (including an excellent lunch). Stromboli was an experience to remember, but wasn't in top gear the night we sailed by! Another time, we would go at a cooler, quieter time of year - early spring would be best - and stay a little longer. Travel Editions is a good company to travel with and gives good value for money.
Review by Dr Brian Hoyle who travelled 04-September-2014
Thoroughly enjoyable holiday would recommend to friends. Would it not have been possible to fly into Palermo to shorten the travelling time?
Review by Mr Stephen Tansey who travelled 04-September-2014
hotel bathing terrace only one working parasol a great pity for a lovely location parasol bases need to be secured to poles. Some of the loungers broken, needs a good upgrade before next season. Not clear if the rooms had just extra ventilation or air conditioning needs to be clear in the hotel and brochure brochure. lovely holiday
Review by Mrs Ruth Skupski who travelled 04-September-2014
Review by Mrs Lilian Hunter who travelled 04-September-2014
Really enjoyable holiday. Charming hotel, staff very helpful and efficient. The only negative was the flight---I would never use them again! I now know what a sardine feels like!! Tours and tour guide were excellent. Please me a new brochure as I would book with you again. Thank you.
Review by Mrs A Gilmour who travelled 04-September-2014
Poor flight - tatty plane, poor service and no legroom. I was wedged into position with a bar from the seat in front pressing into my knees, despite splaying my legs. Nice atmosphere at hotel with friendly staff and enjoyable dinners; the breakfasts never changed, there was no fresh fruit and coffee was from a machine - ugh. Tullio is an excellent tour manager and the trips were good. The use of one boat is an excellent move. Everything went pretty slickly and Tullio always made sure that his clients had the best attention at restaurants etc. Bravo.
Review by Mr Ian Hunter who travelled 04-September-2014
The ferry was wonderful, but Air One a disaster. The seats are damaged and most people have their knees touching a metal bar on the seat in front, definitely not enough leg room. We flew with Easy Jet to Catania last year, a much better experience. Luckily only a 2.5 hour flight. Tullio Scurria was one of the best tour mangers we have ever had, always full of information, from history to science, and always there to help without being intrusive. We hope to return to Lipari next year if possible, there is so much more to see. A simply brilliant holiday apart from the flights!
Review by Mr Paul Foxcroft who travelled 04-September-2014
Travel Editions feedback:
We were so pleased to learn you enjoyed the tour overall but frustrated by Air one who seem to have tried to profit from squeezing too many people onto the flight. We will be reviwing our airline choice for 2015 but we are a little restricted by choice to Sicily.
The holiday exceeded my expectations. The unspoilt beauty of the islands was a constant delight.
Review by Mrs Jacqueline Stones who travelled 04-September-2014
Review by Ms Heather Florence who travelled 05-June-2014
Review by Mr J Hughes who travelled 05-June-2014
Review by Mr Philip Mason who travelled 05-June-2014
Outward flight delayed 1hr leading to arrival at Hotel at 11:45pm! However, hotel manager met us at quayside and full dinner awaited us at the hotel. Tour manager Tullio was excellent (again!) ( did this trip in 2009). A very happy holiday indeed!
Review by Mr Roy Waters who travelled 05-June-2014
Reasons why not excellent: Coffee at breakfast was poor. A Nescafe machine... and queuing while Brits filled up teapots with water added to the dismay. Sightseeing tours were good and sometimes excellent but a guided visit to the excellent museum in Lipari would have significantly enhanced the experience.
Review by Dr Richard Lewis who travelled 05-June-2014
Tour manager, Tullio, was always smiling and had a great sense of humour. He was full of facts and greatly enhanced the trip. The Rocce Azzure Hotel was right on the shore and a sea view room was well worth the extra. The food was fine but a little more imagination and effort with deserts would have been appreciated.
Review by Mrs M Jenkins who travelled 05-June-2014
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