Visit Vulcano – Mud Baths and Sulphur Baths
- Nature Source Chaude
- Published on
- Updated on 24 April 2025
The Aeolian Archipelago, located in the Tyrrhenian Sea to the north of Sicily, is made up of 7 islands and is a true paradise for nature lovers, hikers and adventure seekers. However, these lands are also home to more or less active volcanoes that can produce hot springs, geysers and fumaroles.
The island of Vulcano, the gateway to the archipelago, has developed an original character in the field of spa tourism, in particular with its sulphur mud baths, which have immense benefits. The mud baths, the hot waters and the spectacular fumaroles will make your stay even more pleasant.
Vulcano is undoubtedly the place that can reconcile the modern man with the demands of everyday life, offering tranquillity, comfort and an eminently regenerating experience.
IN SUMMARY :
How do I get to Vulcano?
How do I get there ?
To reach Vulcano from Sicily, the first stop is Milazzo (or Messine). If you arrive by train, Milazzo railway station is a 45 minute walk from the port and the ferry building. There is a regular hourly bus service between the station and the port. You can also book your tickets in advance on the Liberty Lines website. The crossing takes approximately 45 minutes (by hydrofoil).
How do you get around the island?
The island is small enough to do everything on foot. The distances are not too great to get from one end of the island to the other. There is only a small climb to the Great Crater (volcano). It’s one of the few hikes on the island.
A charming island
When I disembarked in Vulcano, it was like being at the end of the world. And with good reason: the hydrofoil (Liberty Lines’ fast ferry) dropped off passengers off in the south of the island, at the Porti di Levante (Port of levante), in front of the imposing Gran Cratere della Fossa (Great Crater of the Volcano). Spectacular fumaroles belched smoke near the summit, filling the travellers with wonder.
I also smelled sulphur, a little bitter but bearable. The port exuded an air of cleanliness, comfort and serene beauty that went straight to my heart.
If you go left, you’ll reach Vulcano di Porto, a small symmetrical town with straight, calm lines and a certain elegance. Here you’ll find a handful of shops and restaurants and, a little further on, the path that leads to the ‘Great Crater‘.
If you go right (my destination), a pretty cobbled road runs between two hills, with a yellow (sulphur) hue to please the eye. This leads to the main attraction of the island: the mud bath, known in Italian as ‘Laghetto di Fangi‘ (mud lake). This is where the magnificent Baia Levante (Levante Bay) opens up.
Vulcano, mud baths
Once you have crossed this cobbled street, you will arrive at the Mud Baths of Vulcano. The site is surrounded by a barrier of rocks and a wooden fence that prevents access. A small pavilion welcomes visitors.
ℹ️ Information and rates :
The Vulcano Thermal Baths are managed and maintained by the company Geoterme Vulcano S.R.L. (site officiel).
Discovering the muddy pond
This muddy pool is close to the Hot Waters beach. The two form a whole and represent the thermal baths of Vulcano, where bathers and curists can be found at any time of the day. The Italians call this place ‘Terme di Vulcano‘.
For some years now, the thermal baths have been in the hands of the Geoterme Vulcano company, which manages them. But since March 2020 the mud baths have been closed. They are probably being managed with the intention of developing them as much as possible.
A facility should be built to provide greater comfort for bathers.
Five years later, earthworks were carried out, but no facility was built. For reasons unknown to me, the island of Vulcano, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been deprived of its main attraction, the mud baths, for all this time. But according to the shopkeepers, it is due to reopen for the summer season in 2025.
So the place is deserted. Normally you have to pay 3 euros (including a 1 euro shower for an adult) to enter the mud baths. But everything is closed at the moment.
When I came face to face with the mud pool, it gave off a really intense and persistent smell of rotten eggs. I’ve never smelt such a strong smell of rotten eggs.
Opposite, the sea gnaws at the foot of a very original rocky cliff crowned with coloured rocks.
Fortunately, the sea keeps a safe distance from the muddy pool. So there’s no need to be afraid of its eddies and fast currents when it’s agitated.
The thermal water (steam and gas) comes from natural springs located in a sedimentary zone.
For this reason, the thermal area is fortified with rock barriers. A wooden path is also provides a useful precaution. The area around the pool is remarkably soft, smooth and free of pebbles or large stones, which is much appreciated. Two almost insensitive slopes allow clumsy bathers to enter the muddy pool unhindered.
The temperature of the water mixed with the mud is lukewarm. But the temperature is hot, sometimes scorching, where vapours and gases escape from the ground.
These gases rise to the surface in the form of large bubbles, before bursting. Watching this is both fascinating and soothing. It has the same effect as watching the waves in the sea. On the other hand, the water is very murky and the mud bath seems inhospitable. Who wants to dive into a murky pool ?
A precious thermal mud
The water is full of whitish mud. I cannot see through it, which is not reassuring.
In fact, this milky water is opalescent and does not absorb any wavelength of the light. It neither absorbs light nor lets it through, just like milk. These waters are therefore loaded with tiny solid particles, called colloids, which deflect the light. What’s more, these negatively charged colloids keep themselves in the water by repelling each other.
Due to their tiny size (less than 0.002 millimetres), these colloids are actually clays, often accompanied by soil bacteria and living organisms, all of which are negatively charged. This bacterial population is adapted to the conditions of the environment and is specific to the source.
This muddy, milky water is rich in metabolites, the products of a long maturing process. It’s a real rejuvenating bath: in the same liquid you can find living colloidal clay, mineral salts, gas, micro-organisms and much more.
Thermal mud, on the other hand, which the bathers apply to their bodies, is held at the bottom of the water by its own weight. It is neither negatively charged nor a colloid.
In fact, it’s better not to use it, so as not to disturb this living medium. I will explain why in a moment.
Just taking a bath brings you into close contact with this beneficial mud.
This allows you to take full advantage of the properties of these colloids suspended in water.
These muddy waters contain organic molecules that can penetrate the skin barrier, but only when they are moist.
On the other hand, if I cover myself in mud and leave it to dry, there is no exchange with the skin. The more water that evaporates, the harder the mud becomes and the more its cracked deposits dry out and irritate the skin. The clay paste that is often left to dry on the face is actually harmful to the skin.
What’s more, this living mud, rich in micro-organisms , is perfectly adapted to the conditions of this medium (water temperature, pH, lack of light, minerals, gas…). If it is removed from the water, the conditions are suddenly very different (light, oxygen, evaporation, etc.).
So it’s best to do nothing and let the bath do the rest: the colloidal clay (negatively charged) is attracted like a magnet to the skin (positively charged).
Finally, this clay, whether colloidal or not, does much more than passively deposit substances that the body needs. Knowing its composition is not enough to explain its action.
Note that this mud pool is slightly radioactive (like many hot springs) and highly sulphured. It is therefore very stimulating for the skin but can irritate certain sensitive skins.
It may be a good idea to start gradually or to limit the amount of time you spend in muddy water (at least the first time). A sign around the pool will give some health advice.
Bathing advice :
Sulphur can be stubbornly impregnated into clothing. Some textiles (towel, swimsuit, underwear) may end up in the rubbish. It may also be advisable to wear water shoes to avoid burning your feet.
Vulcano, a sulphur mud bath with many health benefits
The presence of volcanic mud pools is always a sign of gas reserves hidden underground. What’s more, the strong rotten egg smell emanating from the area explains the presence of large quantities of sulphur in the form of hydrogen sulphide (H₂S).
To understand the sulphurous nature of the mud bath, it is enough to observe the effect of the water on certain reagents. In particular, its ability to blacken silver jewellery or bracelets should prompt their removal. The same applies to lead objects, which will also precipitate and turn brown. Even gases in the air will tarnish these reagents.
As the pool is uncovered, the gases can escape freely, without fear of denaturing the milky water. The effect of contact with air on the dynamics of sulphurous water is enormous.
So, according to a meta-analysis[1], concentrations of 30 to 50 ppm of hydrogen sulphide have been found in the air near the mud pool. There is no other hot spring in Italy or France with such a high concentration of H₂S. Moreover, this gas has been shown to have curative properties for respiratory diseases (widely used in spas), rheumatism and skin diseases. But how about this unusual concentration?
Mud baths (like many hot springs) also release a large amount of carbon dioxide into the air.
This CO₂, although beneficial when dissolved in water, can be toxic in the air when it reaches high concentrations.
Small peaks below 1000 ppm have been recorded around the mud bath, which is far from alarming.
The normal concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere is 430 ppm. Our daily intoxication with our own CO₂ (due to our lifestyles) is much higher and can even rise to 5000 ppm at night (i.e. for about ten hours). If you’d like to know more about this subject, I invite you to read the beginning of this article : How to Cleanse your Lungs with Simple, Natural Ways ?
According to the meta-analysis, other gases are associated with hydrogen sulphide. Hundreds of parts per million of methane (CH4) and hydrogen (H2) have been found.
All of these gases (hydrogen sulphide, methane and hydrogen) have powerful healing properties. To find out more, I talk about them at the end of this article: How to Cleanse your Lungs with Simple, Natural Ways ?
Finally, this mud, which is typical of volcanic mud, is probably made up of a large amount of silica. Silica is essential for cartilage, joints, bones, skin, etc. By the way, this mud bath often produces impressive results from the very first bath.
This bath is also extremely rich in micro-organisms, a source of organic molecules,enzymes, vitamins, anti-inflammatory molecules, etc. Without this diversity of micro-organisms, the properties of the mud bath would not be the same. To find out more, read this article : The Soil, Base Layer and Living Medium of a Hot Spring.
The "Spaggia delle Acque calde" (Hot Waters Beach)
A stone’s throw from the mud baths, there is an interesting beach (also known as the Fumaroles beach) where you can swim in a sea heated by gas jets.
But don’t be fooled by the sea’s apparent monotony. There are several places where gases erupt vigorously from the seabed. In some places the bubbles can reach frightening proportions.
It’s February and the water is still cold, and the big fluctuations in the sea temperature don’t encourage me to take a bath. A wooden ladder leads to the first area of hot water, about 20 metres from the mud bath.
The gases emanating from here are similar to those from the mud bath, but seem to react differently with the seawater, producing incredible white precipitates. This time, the strong mineralisation of the sea causes the sulphur to flocculate.
A few dozen metres away, a long strip of very fine black sand marks the entrance to the sea. A second zone of warm water is open to bathers.
Reference
Diliberto, I. S., Cangemi, M., Gagliano, A. L., Inguaggiato, S., Jacome Paz, M. P., Madonia, P., Mazot, A., Pedone, M. and Pisciotta, A. (2021) Volcanic Gas Hazard Assessment in the Baia di Levante Area (Vulcano Island, Italy) Inferred by Geochemical Investigation of Passive Fluid Degassing
