Asino Beach

Getting to Asino Beach is part of what it is. The bay sits at Gelso, on the far southern tip of Vulcano, roughly fifteen kilometres from the island's port and reached either by a steep path down from the village or, more sensibly, by taxi boat around the coast. What waits at the bottom is a small Blue Flag bay of black volcanic sand with clear water off it and effectively no development beyond the beach club itself, which is set among greenery rather than concrete. Loungers sit under palm shade, pedalos and kayaks can be hired for the run along the coast toward the old lighthouse and Punta Bandiera, and granita gets you through the middle of the day. The kitchen is the reason a lot of people make the trip: pizzas from a wood-fired oven using local ingredients, Aeolian fish dishes, salads and panini, and a schiacciata that has a reputation across the archipelago. In the evening the bay changes character, with cocktails from the bar at aperitivo hour and live music in the small amphitheatre of the cove. It is remote by design, and the last boat back is a real constraint worth checking before you settle in.