Ischia is one of the largest islands in the Campanian archipelago, located close to Naples in Italy. Often overlooked due to the notoriety of its neighboring island Capri, Ischia is one of my favorite place in Italy. Let me tell you more about the days me and my husband spent on this beautiful island last summer!

OUR ITINERARY

• DAY 1: Ischia Porto
• DAY 2: Blue lizard hiking trail + Camicciola Terme
• DAY 3: Lacco Ameno + Negombo Thermal Park
• DAY 4: Forio + Giardini Ravino (cactus garden)
• DAY 5: Giardini La Mortella (botanical garden) + Sant’Angelo + Spiaggia Maronti
• DAY 6: Hike up Mount Epomeo + Campagnano

DAY 1: EXPLORING ISCHIA PORTO

In this photo: Various snapshots inside Castello Aragonese

Upon arriving on the island, our first move was to go visit Ischia Porto. In this town, you will find a beautifully-reformed medieval fort, nice shops, lots of restaurants and beaches.

Visit of Castello Aragonese

Castello Aragonese is a fortress located on an islet connected to the town of Ischia Porto by a long bridge. Through the years, it has served as a fortress but also as a refuge for the inhabitants of Ischia Porto during the various invasions that the town has known over the course of its history. Now, it is a must-visit historical monument reformed with lots of taste. You will find nice there a few bars and cafés, artist studios and nice alleyways connecting the different building of the fortress.

I absolutely loved the visit of Castello Aragonese. I could not stop taking photos of the place and I could have stayed for hours there. Make sure to stop and have a drink in one of the bar of the fortress (we recommend La Caffeteria del Monastero) to enjoy a relaxing moment with a nice view on the sea.

The entrance to the fortress will cost you 12 euros per person.

Discovering the town and beaches of Ischia Porto

After visiting Castello Aragonese, have a walk in the commercial streets of Ischia Porto. You will find a lot of nice shops and restaurants. The town of Ischia Porto is a charming town to discover and we ended up coming back to it a lot to have lunch or dinner during our trip. It is also from there that most bus lines depart to go see other parts of the island.

Once having visited the town center, have an agreeable promenade on the beach. Spiaggia dei Pescatori (Fishermen beach translated into English) is one of the prettiest beach on the island.

Where to eat in Ischia Porto?

• Gran Caffé Vittoria – https://maps.app.goo.gl/MK7Q3b4FxuT45WQy9 – Perfect place if you want a simple lunch (for example, focaccia and a pastry,…) on a pleasant terrace. You must try their delicious baba au rhum with small strawberries (“fragolinas”) on top. It is simply divine.
• Cap e Fierr Ristorante – https://maps.app.goo.gl/mnhCEARhZqCkd6Sg6 – Located right on the San Pietro beach, this restaurant serves very well-presented and tasty dishes. I ordered a lovely fish and mussels dish accompanied with zucchini slices in a creamy sauce.

DAY 2: BLUE LIZARD HIKING TRAIL & CAMICCIOLA TERME

In this photo: Aperol Spritz at Bar Calise in Camicciola Terme. The 2 others photos are from Castello Aragonese as we did not take many pictures on this day.

On our 2nd day, we tried a hiking route and visited another town of the island: Camicciola Terme.

Our experience of the Blue Lizard hiking trail

When looking online for hiking routes on the island of Ischia, you will surely come across articles on the Sentieri della Lucertola (Paths of the lizard). These hiking trails are called this way as they are marked by signs portraying a lizard of color. Each color represents one of the trails. We decided to try the easiest of these hiking routes: the Blue Lizard trail, also named Path of the Bays.

To start the route, we took the bus and headed to Piazzeta Testaccio. We do not really recommend this route. If the beginning of the route is well-marked, we ended up pretty quickly at a dead end. Up to this day, we still have no idea if the trail has not been well maintained through the years or if we had just reached the end of the trail (if that is the case, it took us a lot less than the hour and a half that they estimate to do the route though).

For a better hiking route on the island, go up the Epomeo Mount (more on this further down this article).

Exploring Camicciola Terme

After the hike, we headed to Camicciola Terme, another town on the island. Camicciola Terme is much smaller than Ischia Porto so it won’t take you long to visit the whole town. The highlight is really the walk along the sea. To best enjoy this quiet seaside town, take your time and go order an Aperol Spritz in one of the town center’s cafés.

Where to eat in Camicciola Terme?

I recommend Cantinando – https://maps.app.goo.gl/gQ36Zrj1uZQvbK8L8. This restaurant is a gem. Ideal for a romantic dinner date, the dishes are refined and the service is great.

DAY 3: LACCO AMENO & NEGOMBO THERMAL PARK

In this photo: Il Fungo (left), Garden of the Archaeological Museum of Pithecusae in Lacco Ameno (middle), View from the garden on the city and the coast (right)

For our 3rd day in Ischia, we headed west to the town of Lacco Ameno. Our morning was spent discovering the town before going to relax at its famous Negombo Thermal Park.

What to see & do in Lacco Ameno?

• Il Fungo: Situated in the town’s port, the “Mushroom” is actually a rock that fell from Mount Epomeo a very long time ago and which took its current shape through sea erosion. It is now emblematic of Lacco Ameno.
• Walk up to the cementary of Lacco Ameno: I can already see your eyebrows getting raised but, no worries, I will explain. The cementary of Lacco Ameno is located on a hill from which you will have beautiful views on the sea and the town.
• Archeological Museum of Pithecusae & its garden: Unfortunately, when we went, the museum was being reformed and could not be visited. However, its garden was still open to the public. Do not miss the visit of the garden! From it, you will enjoy the best views on the sea and the city in a very peaceful setting. We actually stayed reading in this park for a good hour after visiting it to enjoy the view for a little bit longer.
• Negombo Thermal Park: Ischia is famous for its thermal waters. It would thus be a shame to spend a week in Ischia without dedicating half a day to visiting one of its numerous thermal parks. Negombo is meant to be the most impressive and biggest of them all. I can only tell you one thing: you will not be disappointed! Apart from having 14 pools of great variety (some with cascades, some with hot water, others with cold water, some in caves, a Japanese labyrinth,…) and amazing resting spots with deckchairs in the gardens, you can also access the San Mantona beach from the park. You will be given a wristband to be able to re-enter the park after your time at the beach. The entrance to Negombo Thermal Park costs 95 euros for 2 adults during the peak summer months.

Where to eat in Lacco Ameno?

Try Ristorante Il Delfino – https://maps.app.goo.gl/RUxzfnad3cjnTCP19. It is a great seafood restaurant along the sea near Il Fongo. You have a large choice of fish on the menu and some pasta dishes featuring seafood as well.

DAY 4: FORIO & GIARDINI RAVINI

In this photo: Various snapshots of Giardini Ravino

Following a great breakfast featuring tiramisu at our hotel, we headed to the town of Forio before visiting a wonderful cactus garden (despite the rain).

What to do in Forio?

• Chiesa del Soccorso: Go see this white church sitting right by the sea.
• Explore the town center: Visit the town center of Forio. You will find many souvenir shops and some cafés.
• Giardini Ravino: This botanical garden is actually outside of the town so you will have to take a bus to get there. Our advice: do it! For a 10€ entrance fee for adults, you will see a beautiful cactus and learn a few fun facts about these spiky species. Make sure to also stop by the garden’s bar to try their specialty: the cactus cocktail (actually made with cactuses).

DAY 5: GIARDINI LA MORTELLA & SANT’ANGELO

In this photo: Flowers from Giardini La Mortella (left & right), Sant’Angelo (middle)

As you will surely find out through this blog, I am quite a fan of botanical gardens. They are always relaxing and peaceful places where you can really see all the love and passion that has been poured into them by their creators. For this reason, we could not miss visiting Giardini La Mortella during our stay in Ischia.

Wandering in a botanist’s idea of heaven

Located between Forio and Lacco Ameno, Giardini La Mortella is a botanical garden created by an Argentinan woman passionate about landscape design and plants. She was also married to a British music composer who also inspired her greatly.

The entrance to the garden will cost you 12€ and it is very much worth it. During your visit of the garden, you will see plants from all over the planet and sections of the garden inspired by faraway places such as the Thai Room and the Temple of the Sun. Some parts of the garden will also let you enjoy beautiful views of the sea and of Mount Epomeo.

Off to Sant’Angelo at the South on island

After our visit of Giardini La Mortella, we hopped on a bus direction Sant’Angelo. Former fishing village, Sant’Angelo now is a touristic hamlet thanks to the picturesque islet next to which it stands. It has also become the home to more luxury shops and to many restaurants. Admittedly, the prices in Sant’Angelo are much higher than anywhere else of the island. However, it is still a pretty place to discover. After visiting this town, make sure to take a walk to Maronti Beach. This beach is famous for its fumeroles coming from the ground. Although we did not witness it, it is still a very nice beach to relax and have a swim.

Where to eat in Sant’Angelo?

We ate at Dolce è La Vita – https://maps.app.goo.gl/RAUBJuAM5ERD6kWe8. The restaurant has a splendid view on the sea from its terrace. I had some flavourful gnocchi there. It is definitely an ideal place if you want to enjoy lunch with a view.

DAY 6: HIKE UP MOUNT EPOMEO & CAMPAGNANO

In this photo: View on Castello Aragonese on the route from Campagnano to Ischia Porto (left), View from the top of Mount Epomeo (right)

Despite our not-so-great first experience of the hiking trails of Ischia, we decided to give it a go again. To do so, we decided to try the most famous hiking trail in Ischia: the walk up Mount Epomeo.

Climbing up Mount Epomeo

Mount Epomeo is the highest mount on the island of Ischia with its 787m of height.To reach the start of the trail, we took the bus up to Fontana. The trail is well indicated and it is not too hard. It is definitely a hike worth doing in Ischia. At the top, you will find panoramic views on the island as well as a bar to satiate your thirst before the walk back.

On our way to Campagnano

After our hike, we took the bus to go discover Campagnano, a village located on the Eastern side of the island. The top attraction in Campagnano is to observe the great view from this village onto Castello Aragonese. Campagnano is also the start of some hiking routes, although I cannot advise you there as we did not try any due to the heat. This last stop marked the end of our dreamy trip to Ischia.

WHERE TO STAY IN ISCHIA?

During our stay in Ischia, we stayed at Hotel Gemma – https://maps.app.goo.gl/XdF49emqovbYQGye6 – in Casamicciola Terme for about 80 euros per night. I highly recommend this hotel. The bus stop right in front of it allowed us to go around the island easily without the need for a car. Furthermore, the hotel had a large pool which we absolutely loved. Finally, the breakfast was delicious every morning and was served in a room with a direct view on the sea.

WHAT’S NEXT?

Stay tuned for my next post to be published on May 8th where we will explore another island from the Campanian archipelago: Procida. Meanwhile, I recommend you watch The Talented Mr. Ripley with Leonardo di Caprio which is, for the most part, filmed on the islands of Ischia and Procida!