My wife had a desire to see a 'real volcano'. When you arrive in Lipari there are many companies all selling the same trip 'Stromboli by night' with marvellous close up photos of the volcano erupting at night. We decided to go on the trip which left at circa 2:00pm and went to the island of Panarea which took around an hour. We landed at the small jetty and had a pleasant stroll around the small village and had a drink. We then left for Stromboli which took another hour and arrived around 5:00pm. Although you couldn't see the volcano erupting from the port you could hear it periodically make a large bang (like thunder) . There wasn't much to see or do in the Port but it was possible to go on a treck upto a viewing area to get a distant view - in daylight it is very difficult to see anything except some smoke. Here lies the rub - you are never going to see 'Stromboli by night' on a boat trip from Lipari because it doesn't get dark until you are on the way back to Lipari. The boat left Stromboli at 7:00pm and went round the west side of the island where you 'can see the eruptions'. At this time there was a lovely sunset but it doesn't get dark until an hour after sunset. We were back in Lipari at 9:30pm. In retrospect I wish we had stayed a night on Stromboli - you can then go on an organised walk at night to see the eruptions in much better detail and/or on a boat trip at night. As we went at the beginning of May sunset was at 8:00pm (if you go in the summer it will be daylight for the whole trip so a bit false to describe it as Sromboli by night?)

We cannot fault the customer service of this company. Unfortunately our trip couldn't operate on the planned day due to the weather but we were contacted the day before and given alternative days, which thankfully we could do. Very pleasant young lady in the office which is in the old harbour, so make sure you go to the right one on the day. We booked the day trip which is a very long day indeed. You are on Volcano Island for about 3 hours. There is plenty of walking if you are fit enough, or swimming off the beach. We did neither, but watched people getting in and out of the sea and water shoes were definitely an advantage. We are not young and fit, so we sat and people watched with our coffee and yummy cake. The mud pool was not open, but some people had managed to get in somehow. We returned to Lipari and picked up the 2pm trip people. We then had a shorter stop on the next island (yummy ice cream stop) before going to Stromboli. Three hours later we departed to watch and hear the explosions from this impressive Volcano. The boat is a lot smaller than I expected. Bench seating down the length of each side and the middle, so no-one faces forward. The crew are very efficient but don't interact with you. There is a toilet on board. The weather was very iffy for most of the day but was perfect for viewing Stromboli, thank goodness. If you have a bad back I would think carefully before going on this type of boat as it bounces a lot. The swell getting on and off the boat at Stromboli was something to behold and I think we were lucky to stay on our feet! I was very glad to get off the boat at 21.45 that evening. Not everyone made it back without being seasick! It was a lovely trip and I am very glad we did it, but I won't be going back to Stromboli!!