Isola di Pantelleria Travel Guide

Pantelleria is a quiet island. Perhaps your hotel might organise evening activities. Or you might be there as a guest of some VIP at one of the exclusive dammusi, so therefore entertainment is taken care of.

I would suggest though, keeping your eyes and ears open for some of the more interesting village fairs. For example while we were there, a nearby village held a wine "sagra"... so there was wild merry-making in the village, or so we heard. They actually sold tickets to get in and the queues were so long we decided to go back to the hotel to have dinner before re-attempting, but sloth got the better of us and we never left the hotel again :-)

Alternatively, in Pantelleria town itself (where the port is) are a couple of discos where young people go. Never found out where these were exactly but they do exist.

Visiting Pantelleria, you cannot avoid to taste and to bring back home the capers that are cultivated on the island.
You can easily find them all around.

Clothing/Shoes/Weather Gear: In the summer, very light clothes obviously. However, do remember that Pantelleria is also a very, very windy place. In the evenings temperatures can dive... and more often than not you'll need at least a cardigan to stay warm outside.

Also very important to have those beach slippers to protect your feet from sharp rocks (no sand around remember?).

Toiletries and Medical Supplies: Lots of plasters (band aids) if you're going swimming. The whole island is surrounded by volcanic rock... you'd be hard pressed to find flat places on which to perch yourselves. You are guaranteed at least a few scratches and bruises making your way in and out of the water.

Loads of sun block is important... that meditteranean sun will roast you.

Miscellaneous: Mosquito repellant - oh yes!

OK, this is not really a tip... more like a what to do if you're wasting time waiting for your ferry which is an hour late.

I wandered around the wharf for a bit, and made friends with some Greek fishermen who were waiting for their buyers. They had just hauled some sea sponges... make that LOTS of sea sponges! They gave me one which was smelly and eeky... but now that it's dried up is really quite nice. Not that I'm using it for baths mind you.... it's just sitting pretty in my lounge.