Getting around Lampedusa

The island in numbers

Lampedusa covers about 20 square kilometres and the town sits in one corner only, to the south east, around the harbour. From there the distances are short: around 7 km to Capo Ponente, the western tip, around 5.5 km to Rabbit Beach, around 4 km to Cala Creta, around 5 km to the Capo Grecale lighthouse. The airport is 2 km from the harbour, practically in town. In other words, almost the whole island is within 10 to 15 minutes by scooter.

The point is that you are not choosing a vehicle to cover distance, you are choosing it to keep the freedom to change your mind. Here you pick the beach in the morning by looking at the wind, and you often move to another cove in the afternoon: if you depend on someone else's timetable, you lose that flexibility.

On foot, what you can do with no vehicle

If you sleep in town, part of your holiday happens on foot, with nothing to rent. The centre, the harbour and the first beaches all sit within a short radius.

• The centre, the harbour and via Roma in the evening, where the shops and bars are.
• Guitgia, the town beach: fine sand and shallow water, ten minutes from the centre.
• Cala Madonna, small and sheltered, with the Santuario della Madonna di Porto Salvo nearby.
• Cala Croce, reached with a 20 to 25 minute walk along the road.
• The airport, 2 km away: doable on foot with light luggage and outside the hottest hours.

If you stay two or three days and are happy with the nearby beaches, you can manage like this, adding the bus or a taxi for Rabbit Beach. For the rest of the island, including the eastern coves and the sunset in the west, you need a vehicle.

The scooter, the island vehicle

The scooter is the most used vehicle on Lampedusa, and not as a fashion: it parks anywhere, uses little fuel, takes you from one cove to another in ten minutes and slips through the narrow streets of town without effort. If you drive and have no small children, it is almost always the right call.

Why it works

• You cross the island end to end in 10 to 15 minutes.
• You find a space near the coves even when cars are already queuing.
• You can switch beach during the day if the wind turns, without much thought.
• The fuel you burn in a week is a minor line in your budget.

What to plan for

• In August you must book weeks ahead: looking for one on arrival often means going without.
• Helmet is compulsory and your licence must match the engine size.
• Some stretches towards the coves are unpaved or rough: go slow and read the surface and the slope.
• Sun and wind on you all day: sunscreen, sunglasses, a light shirt and water.

The car, when it really pays off

A car makes sense in specific cases: small children with a car seat and a buggy, cool boxes and beach umbrellas, or heavy heat and the wish for air conditioning between one beach and the next. With a boot full of beach kit the day is a different day.

The flip side is space. Parking in town is limited and fills up early in August; the areas in front of the coves have few spaces too, so you either arrive early or you turn back. The inland roads are narrow, often with no verge, and passing another vehicle on an unpaved stretch is not comfortable. If you take a car, move early in the morning and leave it parked on the days you stay in town.

Bikes and e-bikes

The island is almost flat and the distances are tiny for anyone who cycles: a bike is a serious choice, not a fallback. The only real climb is the one heading west, where the ground rises to the 133 metres of Albero Sole, and an e-bike cancels the problem.

The real obstacle is not the gradient but the sun. Shade here is very scarce and the heat in the middle of the day is serious: ride early in the morning or in the late afternoon, carry more water than you think you will drink, plus a hat and sunscreen. Towards the coves check the surface, because some final stretches are unpaved and on a road bike you end up pushing.

The summer town bus

From June to September town bus lines connect the centre, the airport and Rabbit Beach, with departures roughly every 30 to 60 minutes from morning to evening. It is the cheapest and most sustainable way to reach Rabbit Beach, and it removes the parking problem exactly where a space is hardest to find.

The one thing to get right is matching the bus with your booked slot at the reserve. Access to Rabbit Beach is free but must be booked, on two slots, morning and afternoon, and anyone with a booking has to enter by 9:30 or by 15:30: miss the right departure and you lose the slot. Times and routes change from season to season, so check them on site as soon as you arrive.

1. Book your slot at the reserve before you even think about transport.
2. As soon as you arrive, check the times and stops of the line serving Rabbit Beach.
3. Take a departure with at least half an hour of margin on the entry deadline.
4. Allow 15 to 20 minutes of downhill path after the car park.
5. Check the last useful return departure before you walk down to the beach.

Taxis and transfers

Taxis exist but there are few of them, and in high season there is no guarantee that one will be free the moment you need it. Book them, especially for very early morning flights or late evening arrivals.

They remain the most comfortable option for the airport to accommodation and harbour to accommodation legs with luggage, when you do not have your own vehicle yet, and for the evenings when you would rather not drive back. If you do not drive at all, taxis and buses together cover almost everything you need.

Parking and paths

The weak point of the island is not the road, it is the last stretch: where you leave the vehicle and how far you walk afterwards. Worth knowing before you choose your shoes.

• Rabbit Beach: you leave the vehicle at the car park and walk down a rocky path of about 800 metres, 15 to 20 minutes downhill, to be walked back up at the end of your slot. A buggy is not advisable.
• Cala Pulcino: about 40 minutes of walking among the rocks, on a path that is not signposted very well, in full sun and with no facilities. You can also get there by sea.
• Cala Croce: free parking at the entrance, one of the few easy accesses close to town.
• Town: in summer there are restrictions on traffic and parking in some streets. Check the signs instead of trusting how it was last year.

Which vehicle for which traveller

Read more: Getting there · Rabbit Island · Itinerary 3-7 days · Mistakes to avoid · With kids · Beaches