Paradise Found
 

Just returned from 6 days on the beautiful island of Ischia. WOW. What a great place. Everything was fantastic. Stayed at the Hotel Miramare e Castello right next to the Castle. I booked directly with the hotel and was little nervous in doing so, but they came through. They were extremely friendly and helpful. They arranged for all the transfers from Naples airport which went smoothly. They promised me a room with a balcony overlooking the beach and lived up to it. My wife and I laid in the sun, ate incredibly fresh, great food (not too expensive considering), drank the local wines, walked the streets and just had a great Stress free vacation.


The beaches were full with families, most Italian, but many from everywhere else. Not many Americans which I kind of liked. Our hotel had a private area on the beach and a deck if we chose to stay away from the crowds. I did leave my 3 kids home. So we had the best of both. I could go on and on and still not say enough.

I agree, Ischia is indeed a paradise. It's one of my favorite places to spend a few days. I'm sure you must have loads of photographs of your own, but here are a few more to bring back lovely memories: http://www.gardentouring.fotopic.net/c814381.html

Another favorite of mine is neighboring Procida. You would have passed it on your way to Ischia, and you may even have visited it. Here are some photos of Procida to whet your appetite for a return to the islands of the Bay of Naples: http://www.gardentouring.fotopic.net/c1544804.html

Great pics, Thanks. Just seeing them brings back that calm feeling. I have seen things about Procida but did not know where it was. It looks Just as beautiful. maybe next time.

I totally agree, Ischia is a little bit of paradise. I stayed on Procida a few years ago and just did a day trip to Ischia. I also spent a day there as a day trip from Sorrento with the Divas. We spent a lazy afternoon at the Poisiden Spa. I would like to return some day and spend more time there.

Julia1, your photos are just amazing. You must be a pro? The colors of Procida are so beautiful! You have totally captured the essence of it. It really brings back lovely memories.

I am probably go to be in Naples for a week in autumn and I wanted to make a day trip to Ischia to sit enjoy the hot springs.

I was most attracted to going to the place where the sea itself warmed by hot springs, rather than go to formal gardens with thermal swimming pools.

Should I rent a car for the day at the port?

Can I take a bus or taxi to that warm spring at the seaside?

I think I won't like the formal gardens with the spas. Am I wrong? Are you the kind of person who prefers all natural places but loved the gardens with spas anyway?

Are there publicly accessible hot springs on Procida?

Thanks!

Perhaps I should go there :).

The public bus transport is quite good and cheap in Ischia, car rental not necessary. you could take bus to some thermal bath areas.

I spent one week in Ischia this past February, hardly any tourist around.

The seafood is very good and inexpensive also.

zeppole, in answer to your question about Ischia spas. I am not a formal gardens spa person either, but I have to say, Poisiden (sp) was very nice, relaxing and not at all "formal". Lots of different types of people. The setting is gorgeous, but not pretentious. If you go after 12:00 you only pay for half a day. I'd go back in a hearbeat. Buses are a great way to get around, they are frequent and easy. There are natural thermal springs in the sea, but we did not have time to do that.

Hi Zeppole
Hi all,

I am planning to be in Procida & Ischia in November.
There is very little hotel information on Procida.
Barb, where did you stay?
This will be month 3 of my Italy journey so I will be budgeting.
Tips anyone?

JudyC how was the weather in Feb?

bellalinda,

I stayed at the Hotel Celeste. It was perfect for me. The rooms are spotlessly clean, the location is good and the price was very reasonable.
http://www.hotelceleste.it/ The English translation does not seem to be working, but you can get an idea of how it looks. There is also a restaurant there, which served fresh, fresh fish caught that morning. A really nice breakfast was included. I will never forget hanging my laundry on the line on the rooftop - feeling quite like Sophia Loren, lol, looking out at the sea. It is a memory I will have forever.

ragz
thanks for your brief report! sounds very good!
i had a look at their website and it looks wonderful!
rates are incl. breakfast....
i have been to italy several times (tuskany, rome, florence and milano) but nowhere was the breakfast really good.
what about hotel miramare e castello? how was the breakfast there?

thx.

div

It was great. I am not a big breakfast person. It was served on the rooftop restaurant which gave you an incredible view. American coffee as well as exp. and cap. Eggs, different meats, cheeses, breads, rolls, fresh fruit, Muslix, Juices. They had it all.

To Bellalinda,

It was quite warm in February (around 15-20C), bright blue sky everyday, wildflowers were blooming. Except very windy one day, the sea was calm during the rest of my stay.

Thanks Barb and Judy C.

Isn't it wonderful to be in Italy and feel like Sophia Loren hanging out your laundry? I never want to own a dryer again.

Has anyone visited the beach on Ischia that has natural warm water springs?

ragz
i have already bookmarked the place! thank you very much for further explanations.
good to have a first hand opinion!

dic

tooooo fast
signature supposed to be

DIV

No problem. You will love it

ttt

Zeppole asked if anyone had visited the beach on Ischia with natural warm water springs ... I have. Take a bus to Sant' Angelo on the south side of the island. The bus will leave you at the top of the hill and you walk down into Sant- Angelo - there's a beautiful view of the village and islet from the top: http://gardentouring.fotopic.net/p51141857.html Sant' Angelo is a small place, tumbling down the hillside to a curving bay and small port, with a few shops and restaurants: http://gardentouring.fotopic.net/p38262664.html As you can see from this next photo, there are beaches along the ithsmus: http://gardentouring.fotopic.net/p56218680.html But if you walk out of Sant' Angelo to the right, following the curve of the bay along a small footpath, and you must wade through shallow water at one point, you will reach Maronti beach. The walk will take about one-half hour. Or you can hire one of the boat-taxis to take you there in under five minutes. At Maronti there are fumaroles that warm the sand and the water. You can dig yourself a little hole at the water's edge and wallow in the warmth.

Bookmarking

So which area of the island do those who know it recommend for a first time visitor? Forio?

re: the 2008 question about the hot springs. Perhaps the one is question is the one near Forio and Panza (I think it is the Bay of Sorgeto?).

You walk down 200 stairs to a rocky cove. There is a restaurant there with its own little 'beach' area, or you can hang out on the rocky narrow shoreline and under an overhang in a kind of cave.

There was an aging hippie guy who had set up shop in the cave, named Leonardo. He was giving mud facials (the mud from the hot springs is fabulous) and selling it (the mud) in bottles. Quite a character.

When I was there (2005) the restaurant let us use their changing room and bathroom. We did buy glasses of prosecco, which we took back to our rocky perch.

The hot springs bubble up from the floor of the cool Mediterranean. We spent a fabulous afternoon wallowing (no other word for it!) in the water, moving from hot spot to cool to hot. Ahhh. Heaven!

The bus system was on strike (well, more or less) that day, so we took a taxi there from Casamacciola. When we were ready for dinner, we walked to Sant' Angelo (it took some time) and had a great seafood dinner.

Annabelle: Where on the island did you stay?

I am hoping to visit later this year but for a newcomer, the various locations are difficult to decipher..I hope to get some responses here about the pros and cons of various towns and areas..

We stayed in Casamacciola; none of us had been to Ischia before, and one friend took on the planning of the Ischia portion of the trip.

I think she just found our hotel on line. Honestly, it was a kind of funky crazy place (the hotel, not the town) so I'm not sure if I would recommend it.

What I liked about Casamacciola (I am not sure if I'm spelling it correctly, sorry), which is divided into a lower and upper town, is that it was centrally located and populated with locals as well as tourists. The ischiaonline.com site is useful for reading about other areas of the island.

When are you going? I was there in late May, and it was gorgeous. I guess summer is a little nutty with many Italian and German tourists, but May was not bad. Things were open but not busy. Everything was blooming, the skies were blue, the water temp fine - very relaxing.

What we liked:
taking the bus (when it was not on strike) around the island; exploring most of the little towns; visiting the wonderful Botanical Gardens and attending a chamber music concert there; enjoying fresh delicious food and the tasty Ischian wine; meeting local people; the hot springs I described in the previous post; and a festival (maybe for Ascencion?) celebrated with flower-petal art on the sidewalks, a parade with little girls in angel wings and a really bad brass band and the local priest and officials, and fireworks to cap it off.

Nice interlude on a three week visit to Italy.