I Just Spent 10 Days on Italy's "Secret" Islands—What I Did, Where I Stayed, and What I Packed

I spent the majority of this summer staying close to home, but when the stars aligned for an end-of-summer Sicily trip with a few close friends, I jumped at the chance to make it happen. After waffling between a few island destinations around Sicily and mainland Italy, we finally landed on the Aeolians. They're a cluster of seven volcanic islands just off the northern coast of Sicily. It's a place that had long occupied a space in my brain (the archipelago was the subject of my very first travel feature that launched WWW Travels on the site, after all!), so it felt very full circle to be heading there to see it for myself after all the research I'd done years ago.

While Sicily has become a go-to vacation spot among Americans, this specific corner of the region has remained quite hidden and under the radar among the international set. As I came to learn from the locals, that's for a good reason. The location alone is a deterrent—it took us over 30 hours of travel time to get from NYC—which means that the demographic is largely tourists from other parts of Italy, giving the islands a very local "if you know, you know" type of feel. Even when you arrive, they're still not the easiest to get around in. Several islands don't even have cars (on Panarea, golf carts replace taxis), and even if you do manage to rent a car as we did on Lipari, prepare for some of the most narrow, winding stone roads you've ever encountered.

The islands aren't necessarily for the traveler who likes all of their creature comforts, but for those who do manage to make the trek, the sweeping sea views, unique volcanic sand beaches, and incredible local wine production more than make up for it.

The itinerary: With a full 10 days carved out to explore—12 if you count travel days—we flew into Catania and took all manner of planes, buses, and boats to get there. Once we arrived, though, we didn't stay still for very long and instead ping-ponged between the islands of Salina, Panarea, and Lipari to be able to maximize all that the region had to offer. I'm so glad we moved around as much as we did despite all the packing and unpacking because each island has such a different personality and landscape than the last. Here, read my travel diary from the Aeolian Islands in Sicily, complete with the hotels I checked into, the restaurants I dined at, and, of course, all the outfits I managed to squeeze into my Away Bigger Carry-On.

My travel outfit:

The hotels: Color me biased because I'd already quite literally written the guide on where to stay in this small corner of the country, but I already knew which hotels were the best ones to book. Just don't make my mistake and wait until the last minute to book accommodations. Many choices book out months in advance, and there are only so many places to stay when the islands are as small as these. I did manage to snag a few nights off a cancellation at the immaculate Principe di Salina. After a decade spent climbing the corporate ladder in Milan, the owner, Anita Motta, quit her job and moved to Salina to open up the oasis that is the hotel, and it's clear from all the smaller details that it's a passion project. The space is all white-washed stucco walls and arched porticos with a type of barefoot luxury and warm hospitality that I haven't stopped thinking about since. (Anita, if you're reading this, I'm already planning my imminent return!)

We weren't quite ready to leave Salina but sadly couldn't extend the stay at Principe any longer, so we transferred to I Cinque Balconi, a charming little bed-and-breakfast in the larger port town of Santa Marina Salina. Its tiled floors and lush garden had me feeling like I was the guest at a nonna's house, and the location was ideal for exploring the town on foot.

On the island of Panarea, all roads lead to the glamorous and buzzy Hotel Raya. Apart from being a hotel and restaurant, the terrace accounts for basically the entirety of the island's nightlife reputation. No need to ask someone where they're going out later that night—the only response is "See you at Raya!"

The memorable meals: We dined both at Michelin-rated restaurants and mom-and-pop tavernas alike, and each meal seemed to outdo the last. The highlights included the pasta and incredibly thin-cut crudo dishes at Panarea's Ristorante Da Pina, where we fueled up before a late night of dancing at Raya. The next evening, on the recommendation of our hotel reception, we tried Da Pina's sister restaurant Da Giovanna, where the Biebers just so happened to be spotted earlier in the summer. The vibe there can't be overstated. It's set in a lush garden lit by candlelight. The playlist was so good that I flagged down the busboy in my broken Italian to ask for the Spotify link.

As it's the bigger island, the options on Salina are naturally more varied, and there, we dined at Hotel Signum, the only Michelin-starred restaurant in the archipelago. We split a bottle of Etna bianco, which became our wine of choice for the rest of the trip, and ordered an assortment of creative pasta dishes.

In Italy, you can easily turn an aperitivo into a dinner—girl dinner, if you will—and we did just that, timing our seating at the sprawling Capofaro Resort right at sunset. The plates of bruschetta and caponata seemed to never stop arriving, and even my prickly pear spritz came with an entire half of the cactus fruit. It was decadent to say the least.

After a long beach day, it's only right to head to the storied Da Alfredo for a granita and brioche.

The bucket-list agenda: There's really something for everyone on the islands, which is rare for a summer destination. When we felt like being active, we hiked to the summit of Salina along the Monte Fossa trail. When we felt like being adventurous, we chartered a boat to see the active volcano erupting off of Stromboli by night. When we felt like being cultured, we booked a wine tasting at Tenuta di Castellaro. And we enjoyed plenty of beach, boat, and pool days mixed in between. From Panarea, we booked a boat day with Blue Adventure and explored all the islets and cove beaches, which was easily the highlight of the trip. On Salina, we loved spending a day at the Lido Gharb beach club and White Beach on Lipari.

The packing list: My packing strategy leaned heavily on airy, sheer pieces because it was so hot and humid, even at night. I wore and rewore this Rumored lace-trimmed tank and shorts set more times than I can count, wearing both pieces together or, more often, the shorts alone as a quick swimsuit cover-up. A pair of sheer balloon pants was another piece that ended up becoming the base for many outfits, whether that was over a swimsuit or paired with a halter top and heels for dinner.

For shoes, I kept it super minimal and packed my most comfortable A.Emery Kinto Flip-Flops. I navigated the islands' rocky beaches in a pair of Ancient Greek Sandals Iro Flats—the fashion person's water shoes—that also doubled as flats for exploring the towns by day. The Charys Wedges served as my only heeled shoes of the whole trip, and I couldn't have imagined packing anything else since the cobblestone streets are unforgiving to skinny heels.