Sub Aeolian Travel: Dream Immersions

Recommended arrival in the morning at Catania airport, shared transfer to Milazzo for the ferry to Vulcano (for reasons of possible flight delays, the ferry ticket not included can be purchased on site at the ticket office). Arrival on the island and transfer to your hotel.
Accommodation in a standard room with breakfast.
Hotel Orsa Maggiore ***
Located in Porto Ponente, on the island of Vulcano, it belongs to the Aeolian archipelago. The structure was recently renovated with a preference for the modern Aeolian style (born from the fusion of the Greco-Roman, Islamic and Campania styles) with Mediterranean colors such as ocher, green and cobalt blue. It enjoys large spaces dedicated to the outside. The familiarity of the structure will make you masters of your holidays with ample freedom of movement. Located in the center of a lush garden 350 meters from the characteristic Baia delle Sabbie Nere and 1km from the center, with its geothermal pools and sulphurous spas, it will be the ideal location for a stay of relaxation and comfort.
Accommodations: the hotel has 25 bright rooms that have been completely renovated and with attention to detail, with furnishings in Mediterranean tones. All have a private balcony equipped with table and chairs. The living room is offered in a standard room (18 sqm) on a mezzanine floor overlooking the garden and swimming pool;
Catering: the hotel offers a buffet service for breakfast with both savory and sweet home-made local products. The restaurant has a large terrace overlooking the garden and swimming pool where you can taste the typical dishes of Aeolian cuisine. At dinner there is an à la carte menu with traditional Sicilian fish specialties and an excellent selection of wines with table service.
Relax and Wellness: possibility of massages and beauty center by arrangement.

Breakfast and days at leisure for relaxation and diving.
The hotel is 350 meters from the diving center. The latter is equipped with 35 complete equipment including 60 double-coupled cylinders, 2 BAUER and COLTRI compressors with a flow rate of 35 m / cubic. All transfers to the diving spots are organized thanks to the use of three functional inflatable boats:
• Bwa of 7.50 meters motorized with a 200 HP;
• Novamarine of 6.60 meters with 150 HP engine;
• Novamarine 9.00 meters equipped with two 115 HP engines, equipped with all the comforts even for navigations that require more time.
For weather and prevention reasons, the detailed program for excursions will be held in the classroom and includes the entire archipelago. At each briefing a presentation aperitif will be offered at the hotel or at the diving center.
Among the diving sites that deserve the following are:
The landslide of the archipelago: the proposed itinerary involves the area of the channel between Vulcano and Lipari. Starting from Lipari or from one of the landing places of Vulcano, we head towards the slopes of the Vulcanello overlooking the canal. The starting point of the dive is easily identifiable: two hotels built on the coast, a few tens of meters away from each other. The descent begins in the stretch of coast that divides the two buildings; the seabed drops very gradually for several tens of meters, forming a wide plateau between three and ten meters, covered by an alternation of small rocks and large posidonia meadows. Then moving towards Lipari, follow a direction perpendicular to the coast, until you find the beginning of a rather steep descent. The first ten / twenty meters are characterized by the presence of a landslide of small stones. After this stretch, until reaching a depth of between thirty-five and forty-five meters, the size of the boulders that make up the landslide significantly increase making the seabed much more spectacular.
Capo Testa Grossa: Looking at the area from the sea, we will notice that it is a massive offshoot that ends with a rather elongated wall that descends into the sea with a north-south trend. From here you go down into the water in the cove north of the cape, near the rocks. Inside the cove, in fact, the rock falls steeply forming a very concreted vertical wall where there are beautiful colonies of sponges. Continuing to fin, you reach the actual tip. You will find yourself in a truly suggestive environment: the wall drops vertically into the water but is very articulated. The rocks are jagged into peaks, channels and indentations. This imposing morphology continues for several meters, up to rather high depths, over fifty meters.
Scoglio del Quaglietto: this is one of the most beautiful dives that the island of Vulcano offers, with a varied path along the rock wall and inside a cave, in which there is a statue of the Madonna as well as a large amount of shrimp. This diving spot is much loved by photographers who can appreciate wonderful views for unique shots both inside and outside the cave. There is no shortage of large groupers' dens and sedentary fish.

Capo Grillo: this dive takes place along the side of an imposing volcanic ridge that reaches challenging depths. The place is particularly interesting for lovers of underwater photography, offering infinite and wonderful ideas for the creation of colorful macros. The dive begins below the coast with the ridge on the right. It is possible immediately to meet small groupers and octopuses in the den. At a depth of 18m there is a small cave that allows divers to enter, the vault of this small cavity is full of small red shrimps that swarm attached to the wall. Continuing along the ridge there is another crack at a depth of 41m, the entrance seems to be wrapped in a cloud of anthias, the interior is inhabited by some mustela and numerous shrimps.
Some examples on Lipari:
Secca di Capistello: the peculiarity of this dive site is the presence of a Roman ship wreck dating back to 300 BC. Morphologically, it is a large rock formation that begins under the sea surface at a depth of 25 meters and reaches up to 50 meters. It is an archaeological area that can only be visited with authorized diving. In addition to the archaeological material consisting of amphorae, it is possible to meet schools of barracudas, large groupers in burrows and posidonia meadows surrounded by schools of colored damselfish.
Le Formiche: extremely varied place, where you can enjoy an exciting excursion with just a mask and snorkel or plan a normal dive. Under water you will immediately realize that the ants are only the outcropping part of a large shoal with colored walls, large rocks, an infinity of caves, passages and tunnels. The neighboring seabed is covered by a prairie of posidonia that holds many riches: sponges, nudibrachi, common fin, damselfish, grouper and octopus burrows, it is also possible to admire splendid lobsters.
Punta Castagna: immersion in a surreal scenario that arouses unique emotions: a plateau at an altitude of about 10m completely covered with white powder from the pumice quarries, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. The backdrop is whitened and evokes an old dusty attic or a snowy mountain place. From there, deep, very inclined gullies start out into the open, which split perpendicularly and deeply into a ridge. Walking along one of them, you pass from a candid scenery to a very colorful vertical wall towards the deepest blue, without ever being able to see the end of the wall. The edges of these wonderful gullies are surmounted by splendid branches of red gorgonians; there is no shortage of encounters with sedentary fish such as groupers and with passing fish.
PANAREA ISLAND:
Wreck of Lisca Bianca: that of Llanishen is among the countless wrecks that are scattered among the depths of the Aeolian archipelago, but in reality it is also the only one that can be visited at altitudes that sport diving accepts, since the ancient remains of Roman ships present in the Aeolian seabed are forbidden. There are more demanding ones, but they require great professionalism and sometimes prohibitive conditions arise. The current state of conservation is very bad: for example, the part of the hull is practically reduced to a pile of scrap. The wooden bridges are practically non-existent, only the iron infrastructures, despite being twisted and tangled, remained in place. The stern is the most complete and fascinating part of the wreck. Under the stern wheel, the massive rudder sheet and the large propeller remained in place, some of which are hidden by the sand.

Breakfast and check-out, in good time transfer to the pier for the ferry to Milazzo and subsequent land transfer to Catania airport.