from
01/04/2009
to
30/09/2009
Sailing around Sicily
Sicily, the largest island in the Mediterranean, occupies a central position in the Mediterranean basin and it’s surrounded by a number of archipelagos: the Lipari or Aeolian Islands, Ustica, the Egadi, Pantelleria and the Pelagie.
Sicily is also the region of volcanoes. The highest is Etna (about 3.370 m.), with Catania at its foot, whereas other volcanoes have formed some of the minor islands: all the Aeolian islands, Ustica, Pantelleria and the “mysterious” Ferdinandea island. Some of these are still active (Etna, Stromboli and Vulcano with its fumaroles) or dormant while others have been extinct from time immemorial, offering us unique natural settings.
We have created this Sicily Sailing Tour of 15 days with a list of harbours with easy mooring and from which it is possible to make interesting excursions to the most important historical-cultural sites in the island. It’ll be possible to rent one of our cars and visit the main cultural sights of the inland or book a driver-guide in order to be better introduced to the proposed places. Besides the tour of the main island, our program includes the circumnavigation of the minor with our English speaking crew and skipper.
Below, some notes about the minor islands.
Vulcano: consecrated to the God of Fire, it is known for its mud-baths with high curative powers.
Lipari: home of archaeological remains and the famous Aeolian Museum, it’s known for its white pumice stone in contrast with the volcanic black obsidian, once the richness of the island.
Panarea: a little island with many beaches of enchanting beauty, it has become a charming but reserved vacation resort.
Stromboli: whose attraction is the regular activity of its crater, always fascinating. Its powerful explosions throw out enormous incandescent masses and pour lava flows into the sea along the slope of the “Sciara del Fuoco”.
Salina: it’s formed by two ancient similar craters called “The Twins”. Of the seven islands it’s the most fertile and its slopes are scattered with caper bushes, age-old vineyards and olive groves.
On the west side of Sicily we discover Ustica, north of Palermo, which is the paradise of the divers and the first natural sea reserve of Italy and then, in front of Trapani and the famous salt works, we find the Egadi islands: Favignana, Marettimo, Levanzo.
Further away, totally immersed into the blue of the Mediterranean, we can reach Pantelleria, the Arabian jewel of Sicily where you can spend the night in a perfectly restored Dammuso.
On request dive courses or guided immersion can be organized.
HARBOURS EXCURSIONS DURATION
Catania Catania/Etna 6/8 hours
Riviera dei Ciclopi 3 hours
Siracusa Siracusa/Noto 4/7 hours
Pozzallo/m. di Ragusa The Baroque (Ragusa/Modica/Scicli) 8 hours
Porto Empedocle Agrigento 3/4 hours
Mazara del Vallo Selinunte 2/3 hours
Marsala Marsala/Mozia/ Salines 5 hours
Trapani Trapani/Erice 5/6 hours
Palermo Palermo/Monreale 7/8 hours
Cefalù Cefalù/Gibilmanna 3 hours
Milazzo Tindari/Milazzo 5 hours
Giardini Naxos Taormina 5 hours
Gallery
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Levanzo - The Cave of Genovese
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Marettimo - a village with a marina
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Marettimo - Cave of the Camel
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Lipari with a view of Stromboli
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Pantelleria - the coast and a dammuso
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Levanzo - Graffiti inside the Cave of Genovese
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Pantelleria - Venere Lake
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memorial tablet on Ferdinandea island
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The sea around Pantelleria
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Vulcano - The Cave of the Horse
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Stromboli - Sciara del Fuoco
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