The visit to Lipari was the highlight of our trip to Sicily. We really loved the town and apartment, which was relaxing and yet had many lovely restaurants and excursions.

The apartment itself was perfect for what we needed, with a kitchen/dining room, a bedroom, bathroom and large private courtyard. We spent our time having coffee and dinner in the private courtyard. The courtyard was well equipped, with a couch, lounge chair, dining table and chairs. It caught the sun throughout the day and was a relaxing spot read, eat and just unwind.

The highlight was the upstairs communal roof, which overlooked the sea with views. We enjoyed drinking wine, reading and watching the sunset from this lovely roof terrace. The terrace was so big that there were many seats, tables and chairs that allowed difference guests to visit at the same time, while still feeling spacious.

Nicole was a fabulous host, who picked us up from the ferry port, and welcomed us to the apartment. She also offered us loads of great advice on places to go and things to do during our stay.

On our first day, we spent our time hiking to an amazing viewpoint (Quattropani), and then spending the afternoon on a virtually empty beach (Spaggia Valle Muria). The second day we went to Vulcano island, walked up top to see the amazing crater, and had the best lunch we ate in Sicily at Maurizio's restaurant. Our last day was spent hiking to the top of Lipari island and around for 10 km. The island is great for hikers and beach enthusiasts, although we were lucky with the weather (it might be too hot to hike in Summer).

All in all, Nicole's apartment was the perfect base to explore Lipari Town and enjoy all that the island had to offer.