Ask a Sicilian concierge or tourist office for information on getting to the Eolian islands, the main response I received was, "don’t worry the ferrys run - all the time, just turn up at the port", as we are all so used to buying tickets for just about everything on line, it felt a little uncertain leaving it till we got there, but as it turned out it’s true, no need to book in advance.
When you arrive into Milazzo (near to Messina) drive along the port, where amongst the shops on the sea front are the ticket offices, go directly to the third ticket office to buy a ticket for the "veloce" (fast) "traghetto" (ferry) that takes passengers, motorbikes and cars, the cost for each person was euro 8,80 and the small car was euro 31,40, you then turn your car around and drive back the way you came, you’ll see the signs to the "Traghetto" and port. The fast boat was rather disappointingly closed up...we could have saved that last dash to buy suntan lotion from the pharmacy. The boat is a lot nicer than I expected though, with it’s comfortable lounge chairs in the bar, which sells coffee and a small range of basic prepackaged snacks, or you can sit in the rows of airplane style seating for a better view.
There are faster hydrofoils that take passengers only and these also go between the other islands all throughout the day as well. There are services between Cefalu and Palermo as well, the Palermo trip takes around 4 hours. If you don’t take a car with you and you’re traveling light, you can rent a small motor bike 50cc as soon as you disembark from the ferry.
Ask a Sicilian concierge or tourist office for information on getting to the Eolian islands, the main response I received was, "don’t worry the ferrys run - all the time, just turn up at the port", as we are all so used to buying tickets for just about everything on line, it felt a little uncertain leaving it till we got there, but as it turned out it’s true, no need to book in advance. 
When you arrive into Milazzo (near to Messina) drive along the port, where amongst the shops on the sea front are the ticket offices, go directly to the third ticket office to buy a ticket for the "veloce" (fast) "traghetto" (ferry) that takes passengers, motorbikes and cars, the cost for each person was euro 8,80 and the small car was euro 31,40, you then turn your car around and drive back the way you came, you’ll see the signs to the "Traghetto" and port. The fast boat was rather disappointingly closed up...we could have saved that last dash to buy suntan lotion from the pharmacy. The boat is a lot nicer than I expected though, with it’s comfortable lounge chairs in the bar, which sells coffee and a small range of basic prepackaged snacks, or you can sit in the rows of airplane style seating for a better view. 
There are faster hydrofoils that take passengers only and these also go between the other islands all throughout the day as well. There are services between Cefalu and Palermo as well, the Palermo trip takes around 4 hours. If you don’t take a car with you and you’re traveling light, you can rent a small motor bike 50cc as soon as you disembark from the ferry.
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