We are going to Italy in May and will be driving from Umbria to Naples to get the ferry to Ischia.
Question 1 Is it worth having a car in Ischia.
2 What is the best way to get to the Port for the ferry? Have no idea how to do this... .Better with our car or drop car off at airport and take taxi or driver to the ferry.?
3 Luggage? Do we handle luggage on and off ourselves.?? Any porters? ( there are 3 couples and not as strong as we used to be.

About Hotels Anyone stay at the Hotel Solemar Terme, it looks like it is right in the town..
Also looking at the Durrueli , Hotel Le Querce, Hotel San Giorgio Terme a little far from town ctr.,

Would appreciate any info's on these hotels. And advice on traveling to Ischia

Thanks Val

Where is

i am kane and tries2paklite who went to Ischia 2 x and
annabelle2

need your expertise please

Thanks Val

We spend a lot of time on Ischia because our family is there. Many rental cars are not allowed on ferries. Also, driving in Naples can be horrendous at certain times. I would just leave it at the airport, take a taxi to Molo Beverello (the port)(Make sure they take you to Molo Beverello because other ports are out of the way and cost more to get to so the drivers like to take you to those) and if you want to drive around the island, rent a care there. Look on www.ischiaonline.it They will pick you up at the port or some are right there at the ports. They will also bring it to your hotel if you want. You can go to whatever port you want. They aren't that far from each other and convenient to get to and from.

Yes, it is great to have a car on the island. You can take the bus wherever you want, but a car gives you the freedom.

www.ischiaonline.it gives you a lot of information on ferries and things to see on Ischia.

Yes, you handle your luggage on and off the ferries. If you're having a problem, someone usually helps. You can take an aliscafo (jet boat) or a traghetti (a large ferry that takes longer). I the weather is bad or windy...definitely take the large ferry. The aliscafi get bounced around like an empty plastic bottle on the water.

I don't know the hotels because we stay with family, but being a little out of town is a good thing. There are many towns on Ischia and are easy to access by bus or car.

Frankval -- The first time we went to Ischia we took our car over on the ferry, but we drove it to our hotel, parked it, and took the bus when we wanted to see other parts of the island. From our experience, I would say that a car is not absolutely necessary.

Our first stay was at the wonderful La Villarosa close to downtown Ischia Porto. The hotel is charming, simply decorated and has the most incredible pool. They also offer spa treatments, but we didn't try any of those.

They have really jazzed up their website ~ music and all, and it looks great:
http://www.lavillarosa.it

For our second trip we ventured further from the Port and stayed at a place called Giardino delle Ninfe e la Fenice. We would not return there. The rooms were small, airless and featured some of the tiniest showers I have ever seen. We were in the La Fenice section of the hotel, so I'm not sure about the rooms in the main section, but I wouldn't take the chance.

We did not take our cars that time, and used the bus line to get around. The buses run regularly and we got to see a good deal of the island that way.

I hope this helps, if I can help with anything else, let me know. We really loved Ischia, it is a beautiful, relaxing spot.

Good luck with your plans.

I would be very careful about taking a rental car on a ferry. You have to read your contract because some companies do not allow it.

You can take the bus, but it doesn't go into out of the way places. If you want to go from town to town, that's good with the bus. If you want to explore, you need a car.

Hi, Our Ischia trip is coming up shortly (May 3rd), so I cannot offer much in the way of hands-on information.

Today researched specifically the hydrofoil schedules from two Naples ports to Ischia ports. Many hydrofoils and ferries leave from Naples to three ports in Ischia; some make a stop at the island of Procida. In Naples there are two ports for departures: From Molo Beverello depart the ferries and hydrofoils to Ischia Porto, Forio and Casamicciola and from Naples Mergellina hydrofoils leave for Ischia Porto and Forio. Companies in charge of providing these services are: Caremar, Alilauro and Snav.

Only hydrofoils from Napoli Beverello to Ischia Porto:

07:35 (A ALILAURO)
07:50 (A CAREMAR)
09:35 (A ALILAURO) (Il sabato si effettua via Ischia)
09:55 (A CAREMAR) S From Procida ore 10:35
10:30 (A ALILAURO)
12:10 (A ALILAURO) (Via Mergellina)
12:50 (A ALILAURO)
13:10 (A CAREMAR) S From Procida ore 13:45
15:30 (A ALILAURO) (Il sabato si effettua via Ischia)
16:55 (A ALILAURO)
17:00 (A ALILAURO)
17:50 (A ALILAURO) (Via Mergellina)
18:15 (A CAREMAR)
20:00 (A ALILAURO) (Via Mergellina)
20:10 (A CAREMAR) (Dal 01/06 al 30/09)

Only hydrofoils from Napoli Mergellina to Ischia Porto:

07:10 (A ALILAURO) (Feriale)
09:10 (A ALILAURO)
10:00 (A ALILAURO) (Solo Sabato)
11:00 (A ALILAURO) (Solo Sabato)
12:20 (A ALILAURO)
13:00 (A ALILAURO) (Solo Sabato)
14:10 (A ALILAURO)
15:50 (A ALILAURO) (Festivo)
16:15 (A ALILAURO) (Feriale)
18:05 (A ALILAURO)
19:15 (A ALILAURO) (Solo Sabato)
20:15 (A ALILAURO)

July 3, 2006, we boarded a hydrofoil at Molo Beverello to Capri. It was high season with tons of tourists and taxi cabs at the port. Despite what seemed like confusion, we were able to purchase our tickets very quickly and boarded the hydrofoil all within five minutes of arrival at the port.

On the other hand, a few years ago, we departed from the Mergellina port, (which seemed deserted that particular day) and we had to wait almost an hour to board the next hydrofoil.

I have reserved a hotel room at the Villa Durrueli. After reading their web site, it looks like we will be taking a cab to the hotel.

We spent five nights on Ischia without a car. We took busses around the island and did a day trip to Procida one day. Franly there were several times I wished we had a car. Going to the famous gardens near Forio required a bus and a long wait to get the next bus into town. The busses also passed a couple breathtaking viewpoints on the island that we really wished we could have stopped and gotten out and taken pictures.
But overall the island transportation worked very well for us.

You can take the bus from the airport directly to the "Municipio" stop, which is just a short walk to the port in Naples. Although if you're talking about trouble with luggage, I'm not sure that sounds like the best idea.