Ischia

[nibird2]

We are thinking about going to Ischia on our Naples port day. Has anyone been there? Does one need a full day there considering the transport time to and from? Is there enough time to split the day between Naples and Ischia?

[CoralReef]

I visited Ischia during a Naples cruise stop last year. The relevant portion of my trip report is below. If you have any other questions, I'd be glad to answer.

 

I would not recommend trying to do anything else that day, because of the transport time. We spent our time looking for places DH's grandfather had been, but we could easily have spent much more time on Ischia sightseeing. I wish we'd had a chance to visit the Castello Aragonese (very picturesque!) and its torture museum, or William Walton's gardens "La Mortella". The Chiesa Soccorso is also very worthy of a visit, and/or you could simply take the bus around the island. It's a beautiful place! We also enjoyed just having morning coffee and afternoon pizza; there are many charming restaurants and cafes.

 

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My husband’s grandfather was born on the island of Ischia in the Bay of Naples, so of course we wanted to see his birthplace. For anyone who wants a change of pace from Pompeii, Capri, Sorrento, and the other major sights of the Naples area, I’ll say just a few words about Ischia, because it really is a lovely place. People who want to take the hydrofoil to other locations such as Capri or Sorrento may also be interested in the next paragraph.

 

The cruise ship docked right beside the ferry pier at Molo Beverello. From the port building, it was a walk of 200 yards at most, to the building where ferry tickets are sold. If you go around the building to the street side, they have an electronic billboard showing the time and company of the next departure to each destination, so you can choose from among Alilauro, Caremar, SNAV, and Medmar lines. Alilauro had the most hydrofoils (faster than ferries) to Ischia and were leaving next at 7:35, so we bought tickets at their window. Their schedule that day was exactly what we expected from their website at http://www.alilauro.it//orari.php?lingua=english (choose your route from the dropdown). Fare was 13 € per person each way. The hydrofoil had comfortable upholstered seats, bathrooms, and a snack bar. It made the trip to Ischia in about 35 minutes.

Ischia provided a relaxing day trip. It has a couple of pretty beaches, and is a charming island with softball-size lemons on the trees, picturesque white and pastel buildings, bougainvillea draped everywhere, and a green volcanic slope looming over the center of the island. There is a medieval castle you can visit, which hosts a torture museum. There are lots of shops and restaurants; the island is highly geared towards tourism, albeit mostly Italian tourists. However, we didn’t get a sense of crowding (except on the bus!), and we enjoyed the cobblestoned streets and the picturesque town squares and churches. We had excellent Neapolitan-style pizzas in the pedestrianized shopping area of Ischia Porto.

 

The ferry dropped us at Ischia Porto. To get to Grandpa’s birthplace in the town of Forio, we took the bus. Buses are frequent, and can be found at the bus stop located about two blocks to the right of the ferry dock (standing with your back to the sea), and one street inland from the harbor. Since we thought we might continue all the way around the island, we bought giornaliero (24 hour) bus passes at 4 € each. The numbered buses all show their destination on the front, so it was easy to get anywhere. Also, the CD bus goes clockwise around the island all day, and the CS bus goes counter-clockwise. (Remember D = destra, S = sinistra.) For the castle (Castello Aragonese), you want Ischia Ponte, about 10 minutes clockwise from Ischia Porto. Forio was about 20 minutes counter-clockwise (although we took the 7 bus) from Porto. The bus did get awfully crowded, but was a cheap and convenient way to travel around the charming island of Ischia.

[VeryFun]

Thank you. This was incredibly helpful!

[glittergal1]

Hi I stayed on Ischia for a week last July we got the Hydrofoil from Naples but it still took almost an hour to get to Ischia porto the ferry took an hour twenty to get back I stayed in Forio a very nice town I also visited the castle which was good and worth a visit . A lovely Island but further to go than Capri and 1 day does not do it justice , if you do go I suggest you plan every detail before you book anything , if you go on the web site tripadviser Ischia forum they will answer any questions