To get acclimatized in Lampedusa there is nothing better than a trip with the scooter throughout its 20 sq. km of arid limestone rocks, from one side to the other of the island. To rent the scooter you can go to any of the agencies that offer this service in the village, right after dropping the suitcases in the hotel. With the wind gently caressing the clothes, just proceed at moderate speed through the groups of cactuses that alternate with the typical island steppe, interrupted by some rare cluster of Mediterranean scrub. Thus you'll reach the other side of Lampedusa, that is also the highest point: the Albero Sole, an hill of about a hundred meters perpendicularly on the sea, from which you can observe the outline of the island from North-West. In the particularly clear days you can try to observe the horizon using binoculars and see the Tunisian coast. Lampedusa indeed is more close to Africa (138 Km) than to Sicily (215 Km) and geologically is considered part of the African continent. On the return way from Albero Sole to go back to the harbor, is highly recommended a stop at the Conigli Inlet.

The turtle Caretta Caretta is the great protagonist of one of the most spectacular and uncontaminated corners of Lampedusa: the Conigli Inlet, a beach with white and fine sand from which it is possible to swim to a little island where the turtles deposit their eggs. Every year some groups of volunteers make shifts to guard their “nests“ in this area of the Southern slope. This is the reason why it is recommended to the tourists to take the maximum care not to interfere negatively on the delicate equilibrium that was created in the area. The moment of birth is in the months of August and September, when the little turtles run toward the sea just after coming out of their shell. From April to October it is possible to make an interesting visit to the surrounding Natural Reserve, managed by Legambiente: it is possible to turn to the Central Office to chose a route or to look for a guide through the flora and fauna of this part of the coast.

Despite the fact that the inhabited center of Lampedusa is very narrow and has a local population of few thousands of people, you just need to go out after sunset to realize that you did not abandon every trace of urban civilization on the continent: it is then that the village starts to liven up, when the tourists, that until that moment were on the beach to get until the last ray of sun, concentrate in the village. Around 9:00 PM, the most renowned restaurant of the island, Da Tommasino, is crowded with gourmets that had reserved a table to taste the delicious dishes of the Sicilian cuisine, based on fish and imagination, excellent sweets and Moscato wine from the nearby island of Pantelleria. At midnight the center of life becomes Viale Roma, where you have to walk tirelessly back and forward looking at other people and getting others to look at you: it is the ritual of the “struscio“, so much deeply rooted that it entered also the vocabulary of the foreign people that visit Italy.

Despite its very small dimension, Lampedusa can offer a various and jagged panorama. To discover its coasts is possible to circumnavigate the island with a small rented boat or to take part to one of the organized trips that leave in the morning from the little harbor. In the middle of the green-blue waters of Lampedusa, going West, it is possible to admire the beaches of Conigli Island, Pulcino Inlet and Galera Inlet, where you went the previous day while visiting the Reserve. It's the Southern coast, characterized by deep crevices that draw its outline. The panorama is even more various and fascinating when you go further West, where the imposing rocks slope down toward the sea with steep cliffs, called“falesie“. The rocks shaped by the erosion action of wind and waves become grottoes just below the surface of the water, that takes a white, golden, reddish color, depending on the light effects created by the sun. The coast zone in the North is full of these formations and during the more calm days it is possible to dive from the boat and go into the twists and turns of these rocks, perpendicular on the sea; It's better, instead, not to adventure in this coastal area when the North wind is blowing. When you reach the East, the coast slopes down gradually toward the sea and forms little inlets and coves. This is the best place to stop and enjoy some relax in the sun.

Cala Francese is one of the most characteristic beaches of Lampedusa; it is in the South-East part of the island and offers the possibility of spending a really relaxing afternoon. After leaving the boat in the little harbor, you just need to follow the paths heading East to get on the scorching sand and ”roast“ in the sun, or to explore the seabed full of mollusks and little fish , or even venture to discover the Grottacce, where the sea creates infinite gradations of light effects. The crystal water and the variety of fish and shellfish makes this beach a true paradise for scuba divers. Even if you are not an expert, with underwater mask and mouthpiece it is possible to see groupers, lobsters and 'ricciole' between the submerged grottoes and the corals.

The sunset behind the hills of the island offers to the sight a rare romantic scene, which you shouldn't miss after filling up with light and blue in the Pisana Inlet. Some bar owners offer beer and fruit drinks to sip slowly on the beach, while chatting, after the last nap on the warm sand, until the first evening breeze starts: a sign that it is time to prepare for the long night, marked by the Mediterranean rhythm. The dinner at the Port guarantees a eating binge of fresh fish, before tackling a real ”obstacle race“ amongst the little bars and disco-pubs such as “La luna del porto“ or “Guitgia Beach“, where the tourists crowd together with the young people of the island. Whoever has still energy to spare, after 2:00 AM the discotheque “Akuna Matata“ is the mandatory destination to end the night and then go back on the beach to admire dawn.

Riding the waves of the Mediterranean Sea with the ferry-boat, you arrive from Lampedusa to Linosa in one hour. It is the other inhabited island of the archipelago, because the little Lampione island is desert. Compared to the other Pelagic Islands, Linosa is geologically independent because it does not belong to the African continent but to the European one. Proving its volcanic origin are the lava rocks and the three craters: Monte Rosso, Monte Nero and Monte Vulcano. The three mountains are easy to climb through trekking paths particularly picturesque, surrounded by prickly pears and full of panoramic spots. From the port to Monte Vulcano and then to Monte Rosso, you pass through the fertile and cultivated lands of the island to arrive to the flaky rocks of the area called Fili. Under that, there it is, the black beach that almost became the symbol of the island: the Pozzolana di Levante.

A little beach with dark rocks, within an inlet sheltered from the winds, the Pozzolana is the place chosen by the turtles, that populate the Conigli Inlet of Lampedusa, to deposit their eggs. Also here we recommend maximum care not to damage the habitat of the turtles, that are protected by some volunteers. The volcanic rocks of the Pozzolana are completely inaccessible by land due to the danger of falling rocks, so it is required to go back to the little harbor and rent a little boat to access the beach; but it deserves undoubtedly a visit, because of the combination of colors and the transparency of the water, which form here a corner with surrealistic aspects.

Before sunset it is worth to stop in the little village of Linosa, inhabited by about 450 people. The houses built with the characteristic cubic form of the dammuso, offer to the sight a colored collage; the blazing shutters with their red shade, that became a real tradition in the island. The color could be an old reminder of the passage of the Carthaginian, famous for their trade of purple dye, in the pre-Roman era, but officially the color is traced back to a custom acquired during the Bourbon domination, in the nineteenth century. In the night, in Linosa is mandatory a stop to L'Acava, a pub gotten from an old tuff cave and furnished like a meeting place of the pirates that, like the tourists and local inhabitants, need to have a fresh drink after an entire day in the sun. The important thing is not to forget to take the ferry-boat to Lampedusa and, from there, go back to the continent full of new energy.