Stromboli, Sicily (Italy)

Advantages: Unusual and memorable experience; cheap!
Disadvantages: Reliant on good weather; noisy; you must be reasonably fit (although not necessarily a climber!)

If you're travelling around Southern Italy and fancy doing something you'll remember for the rest of your life, how about spending the night up an active volcano? You can sail to Stromboli (one of the Aeolian islands) from Messina in Sicily in the morning, then climb up to the summit during the afternoon.It's generally an easy climb, but gets a bit steeper towards the top, and takes about three and a half hours at a quick pace but longer if you ...
...can hear rumblings from the volcano every few minutes, which become louder as you climb higher. At the summit, you pitch a "camp": make yourself a little rock enclosure, settle down with a picnic and wait for it to get dark. Against the night sky, you can see the red-hot lava and rocks thrown up from the centre of the volcano every few minutes, like a continuous firework display. Don't worry, you're far enough away not to be in the firing line!! ... Read review