We too were fined on a train for not validating our tickets, [we'd just got off the plane and just forgot about it] but it must have been our lucky day as we were only fined €20 between the 4 of us. I'd have been mad if it had been €200, especially if the only thing preventing my doing it had been the crush.

as for passports, I can't believe this made any difference. What are you supposed to do - stay in the hotel til they graciously agree to return them?

if you can, 6abc, try to put it behind you. difficult i know, but all holidays involve some problems, and the only people who will suffer from this will be you, if you let it get you down. [i know about this, we had one or two incidents on our trip to Sri Lanka from which we have just returned which could have been real problems, if we'd let them].

anyway, it sounds as if you are making the best of it.

BTW, my italian teacher is from Ischia, and what i had not appreciated is that it was a very popular holiday destination with italians; it sounds as if their holiday season is still in full throw. Hope you enjoy the rest of your trip!

As for passports... those from other countries would be best checking their own equivalent, but this is what the UK's FCO has recently changed their site to say:

"Local laws and customs

It is a legal requirement in Italy to be able to show some form of identification at all times, if requested by the police or judicial authorities. In most cases, it should be sufficient to carry a photocopy of the data page of your passport. However, you should be prepared to be accompanied by the police to collect the original document, if necessary, or to produce it within twelve hours of notification. The police will normally require you to produce your full passport if you are stopped while driving. A driving licence or credit card is not considered sufficient proof of identity. If you are unable to produce satisfactory identification you may be detained until such a time as your identity has been established."

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-...y/europe/italy

......................

Perhaps the "receipt" details the make-up of that €200 total, not all of which is explained by the penalty for not having two valid tickets?

Peter

Thanks again to every one. We made it through our final day here. I will try to post a trip report when we get home. Off to Rome tomorrow and then back to Philadelphia.....hummm Ischia might not be so bad after all :)

6abc - I am currently in Philadelphia for work! You have a fantastic city, I am loving Restaurant Week!!

Enjoy your trip back!

Yeh, not too bad of a city. They have done a lot to improve it. Guess I will just miss you, we land Saturday. Did you get to do any restaurants in out South Philly are. That is the Italian part of town.

6abc - what an experience! We tried to validate our tickets on the bus in Naples but weren't able to. The machine didn't work as there was paper stuffed inside.

Since it was a crowded bus, and I was jammed up against the machine, I saw an Italian also try unsuccessfully in front of me. It wasn't just us. Fortunately no-one came on to check but I could see the value of simply getting a bus pass for the time you're there, rather than using the tickets. (Note to self...)

Sorry that your experience soured you on Ischia. It is a beautiful and very special place. I hope that time will soften your feelings and that one day you will return and toast a full moon whilst overlooking Castello Aragonese and the sea, with a small cup of limoncello in your hand. Did you make it to La Mortella? If not, I do hope you will someday - it is exquisite.

There is indeed a lot to be said for getting a pass, with the Campania Artecard's various versions - some of which cover transport AND museum/site entrances - working well for many people:

http://www.campaniartecard.it/

Last year they even experimented with one for Ischia, which also included La Mortella and other places/things of interest...

http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowTop..._Campania.html

... however I saw no signs of it being offered again this summer - presumably, there weren't enough takers to make it worth repeating?

.................

But a mention of Naples got me thinking - and, on checking the Region's public transport site, they've this advice / warning....

"The ticket must be stamped on each means of transport.
After validating, the ticket is personal, non transferrable and non refundable.
If the validating machines are missing or out of order, please, on train ask to the guard, while on bus, validate the ticket writing the date and time when boarded.
The ticket must be kept whole until getting off the bus or station.
Violators will be punished to the extent of the law."

Not sure what the answer is? The tickets would have to be much very much larger to fit 5 or 6 languages' worth of that on the back, however it's stuff that first-time visitors can hardly be expected to know?

Peter

Not yet, have been kept very busy in the Rittenhouse Sq area of town - my colleagues all seem to have their favourites they are taking me too!

Safe travels home!

Home at last and so very glad. This is the first time ever I have been excited to get home. My husband usually has to drag me kicking and screaming from the airport to the house because I usually want get back on board the plane and start all over again.

Our trip had more bads than goods. It was great to be on a train when we went from the Philadelphia airport to a stop near our home and not have to worry about being scammed, pick pocketed or fined for not stamping. We didn't have to even worry about being mugged in Philly it was a safe train :). Home at last. Will try to write some sort of trip report but I am afraid it will be too negative. So I will wait a few days, look over my photos and maybe I will see that we did have a good time after all. Thanks again to everyone for their input.

6abc - so sorry that your trip was not as good as you would have wished. sometimes it happens, and afterwards one is hard-pressed to know what went wrong - in your case you do at least know what the reason was. I do think that there's a problem with a board like this where [nearly] everyone wants to tell you what a wonderful time they had!

hopefully time will lend perspective - it has in respect of the trips that we've taken which were less than stellar.

Exact same thing happened to me and my friend, although looks like we got 'fined' less, perhaps as we looked so skint. I wonder if we were picked out, as no one else was, because we were english speaking (from Wales). We clearly had bought tickets, had ferry tickets to show we were only there for the day, and could not understand the notice written in Italian. The whole experience tainted our trip and the insecurity it caused means I will never return and would advice others not to go. There are just as beautiful places in the world where you can go without fear of being taken advantage of.

redkitten - were you given an official receipt for your fine?

if you were, I'm struggling to see how you were taken advantage of. virtually every guide book on Italy that you will come across emphasises that you need to validate your ticket, whether on the train or on the bus. it you don't you can be fined. on one trip i took, the machines on the train platform weren't working, so i joined a long queue of people, mostly italians, while the train guard signed our tickets.

ignorance of the law is no defence in the UK or the US, nor is it in Italy.

ruling out the entirety of Italy because of one bad experience seems a bit strong.

It's not just ignorance of the law. The OP said they couldn't get to the validating machine because it was so packed. So what do you do? When we were in Cinque Terre the validating machine at the station wasn't working. Thank God no inspector boarded. I completely understand 6abc and RedKitten's frustration.

>>>>> It's not just ignorance of the law. The OP said they couldn't get to the validating machine because it was so packed. So what do you do?

What you're meant to do here in Campania, for the second time in this thread, is: "If the validating machines are missing or out of order, please, on train ask to the guard, while on bus, validate the ticket writing the date and time when boarded."

Peter

Micheline - i wasn't referring to the OP [with whom I have more sympathy] but to Red kitten, who just didn't know what s/he was supposed to do due to lack of knowledge, and seems to think that the rules should be bent to take account of this.

I am all for taking responsibility for your actions. You are in a different country and since Ischia does not have a lot of English speaking tourists, you will find that not as much English is spoken by the residents. German, Yes. Many Germans visit. My family in Italy doesn't speak much English. I am an American. Ischia doesn't cater to Americans like Capri. My family is in the tourism business in Ischia and they say Capri is for Americans and Ischia is for Europeans. Not that they don't want Americans, but they don't cater to them like Capri does.......personally, that is what makes it so wonderful. Don't expect to go there, not follow the rules and get away with it. If you had entered from the rear of the bus, you could have pushed through and stamped the ticket. We have asked people to stamp it.

As for not having your passport, We each carry a copy of our own passport and a copy of the other person's passport that stay with us all of the time. We leave our passports in the safe or in a locked suitcase.

Seriously, you cannot be angry about an area for something like that. The people are wonderful and we love visiting. The funny thing is, I am blonde with fair skin. People who don't know me start talking German to me. I look at them with the doe in the headlights at them.