Perfect if you are looking for a hideaway, Salina is a place where little happens, except in 1994, when Michael Radford went there to shoot Il Postino. But even its subsequent fame has failed to change it. In spite of being one of the greenest of the islands, good for growing capers and sweet grapes, Salina’s population dipped in the mid-20th century as islanders emigrated to the USA or Australia. Some of them return on the summer to rent houses or work the bars and restaurants, giving the island a distinctly tight-knit feel. There is a museum in Lingua, a good church in the main port of Santa Marina and some spectacular rocks at Pollara, but the real attraction of Salina is its lack of obvious distractions. The stone beaches are simple, clean and rarely crowded. Several restaurants serve good, fresh, simple food, and you won’t have to book. The sea views over to Lipari or Stromboli are invariably beautiful. Cool down with one of the world’s greatest granitas at Da Alfredo’s in Lingua, watch swordfish being carved up in Santa Marina’s fishmonger, swim under the overhanging rocks at Pollara and then head to Malfa to chill out with a sunset glass of Prosecco on the terrace of the Hotel Santa Isabel
Salina Relaxing vacation
