Panarea is perhaps the most dramatically beautiful of all the islands (*no joke). Its crystal clear water, abundant sea-life, fantastic flora, gourmet restaurants, buzzy euro nightlife, haute shopping have made it a popular destination for Italy’s elegant, fashionably dressed, but understated elite (*high class and high heels!).
The best way to explore the island is in fact on a boat, where you’ll be able to reach all of the secret rocky caves and snorkeling sites on remote parts of the island and also on its neighboring island, Basiluzzo.
The whitewashed houses and rugged island cliffs reminded us of Santorini, however, Panarea is less developed and smaller in scale (*much smaller – it takes about an hour to walk around the entire town). With no cars allowed on Panarea, the only modes of transportation are golf carts, Vespas and of course, walking (*rethink those heels in this case).
Everything on Panarea is centered round the charming little port, where you will find a couple markets selling fresh local fruit and vegetables, along with swimwear shops, espresso bars, granita stands and haute couture boutiques. The exclusivity was almost intimidating (*and expensive)!
Unfortunately our time in Panarea was short and we couldn’t see everything we would have liked but the experience was definitely magical and worth a trip back someday!
karibu 