Ferry from Vulcano to Messina

Vulcano Guide

The small Italian volcanic island of Vulcano lies in the Tyrrhenian Sea and is around 25 km to the north of Sicily, and is the most southerly of the eight islands that make up the Aeolian Islands. The island is only around 21 sq. km and its highest point is just under 500 m above sea level. There are a number of volcanos on the island, and includes one of four active, non-submarine, volcanoes in Italy. The most recent volcanic activity is the Gran Cratere at the top of the Fossa cone, the cone having grown in the Lentia Caldera in the middle of the island, and has had at least 9 major eruptions in the last 6,000 years. However, the island's volcanoes have been quiet since around 1890 when Fossa erupted and deposited around 5 meters of pyroclastic material on the summit. The island is also famous for its hot springs which are located a short walk from the harbour. For the brave, visitors are able to walk to the crater of a volcano where you can observe smoke coming out of the ground!

Hydrofoil and ferry services connect Vulcano to the other Aeolian Islands and to Sicily and the mainland. Access from Milazzo in Sicily is convenient, as Vulcano is the boat's first stop from there as they continue to the other islands.

Messina Guide

Messina is an Italian city and is sometimes referred to as 'the door of Sicily' and lies on the Strait of Messina in the north east of Sicily. The city's port has played an important role in the city's growth and fortunes and supports tourism for the city and surrounding area and is also home to commercial and military shipyards. Since 1548, Messina has been a Roman Catholic Archdiocese and Archimandrite and is also home to the University of Messina which was founded in 1548 by Ignatius of Loyola. A popular tourist attraction in the city is the 12th century cathedral which guards the remains of King Conrad who was ruler of Germany and Sicily during the 13th century. Following a huge earthquake in 1908 the cathedral had to be almost completely rebuilt between 1919-1920 and then again in 1943 following a fire that was caused by Allied bombing during the Second World War.

Ferry services from Messina operate to one of two ports in Calabria (Villa San Giovanni and Reggio Calabria) or on a longer ferry ride to Salerno, just south of Naples.