Great day on the water - The crew were very helpful and friendly, and the tour around Stromboli after dark was excellent. And we met a couple that made the trip even better.

Awesome experience - We had a great trip to Panarea and Stromboli. A very active volcano, dolphins and falling stars! Just skip the wait for the tour guide, as he’ll be late and you won’t see him back. It prevents you to board last and have to sit on the floor.

Volcano special - The views of Stromboli at night were amazing and made the entire trip worthwhile. The guide did not share much information but she was nice. The guys running the boat were helpful. The only truly neg were many of the other tourists who pushed and shoved with really poor decorum .

Worth it to see the lava explosions - We were nervous based on some of the bad reviews. Yes, same thing happened to us, you get an email asking you to meet at the Tarnav offices at 10.30am. You get there and are told the SAT Group rep will come and collect you soon. However everyone else on the boat has Tarnav tickets and they come and check in and get told to go to the boat. After a while Tarnav staff walked the group of 11 of us over to the boat but we dont join the very long queue, we have to wait. The queue all board and at 10.45 the SAT coach arrives from Taormina, with our Guide who take Port fees from us, then we can board (last). We chose to sit downstairs in the middle of the boat which was a wise choice as it was a bumpy ride with people being sick. We were in the best zone. Panaera for 2hrs was nice, we had lunch and a walk around, then half an hour ride to Stromboli where we had a drink and cake, each time there is a huge early queue of everyone fighting to get back on board to get "the best seats", again we found our choice the best for a bumpy ride as opposed to the upper or window seats. Once we boarded again at Stromboli, we sailed at sunset out to see the island with lighthouse on and then round the back of Stromboli to see its light show. The captain does turn the boat around so both sides get a turn. They eventually opened the top deck which meant we all had space to see and it was worth it and amazing. We spent an hour watching the lava explosions and it was brilliant. Then we sailed the 2hrs back to Milazzo (we were very glad to have our downstairs seats for this, lots realised their error of wanting to be outside but when it was dark and bumpy, they wanted to move downstairs but there were no seats). There are indeed hundreds on the boat, even in October, but we all had a seat unlike some of the other reviews. We had a good day out and were prepared for the bad sides of it such as the crowds/queueing and weird waiting for the late bus before boarding.

Beautiful trip - Beautiful trip, islands and vulcano were amazing, however, smoking on board was bothersome and rap music was irritating.

One on the boat, smooth sailing - Very nice trip. However the instructions for meeting the group and getting on the boat we’re lacking. The lack of clarity created much unneeded anxiety. There were no signs for Viator or tour operators. The ship operator also wasn’t in the communications. Sence there are many ship operators and many tour operators asking other passengers also resulted in bad info. The port also requires paper tickets , they would not accept the phone ticket from visitor.

Great experience but with frustrations. - The vistas were amazing, Stromboli performed for us and overall we were happy with the experience. However…..We were told to wait at the office for our tour guide, then to be last on the overcrowded boat with a very limited choice of seats. We had no further contact with that tour guide for the rest of the day, so why did we have to wait? The stops at Panorea and Stromboli… each 2 hrs plus were too long, and resulted in passengers queuing early and a virtual stampede to get back on the boat. The boat seemed overcrowded and we feel the scheduling of the trip should be adjusted.

Worst trip ever - Late , overcrowded, rude passengers, too little time in ports vs time spent on the water. People queue up so far in advance of departure to ensure they get the best seats. If you follow the directions of the tour guides you’ll get there too late and you’ll be running around asking and pleading for someone to give you somewhere to sit.