I’ve been waiting for this moment since the Covid emergency ended: finally a vacation alone! Here’s why I chose a holiday in Ischia alone, why I chose this island and what I did for a week in Ischia.
I really love travelling alone, because it gives me the maximum freedom to move, to do what I want and to choose at any time where to go, what to eat, what time to wake up etc.
This year (2023) I really really needed to disconnect from everything and I wanted to take my holiday in early September, also to celebrate my birthday which is the 10th.
Why I chose Ischia for my holiday alone
My need was to find a beautiful place, by the sea, in the South, reachable by public transport and where I could move around without a car. These were the characteristics with which I started looking for a place to spend the first week of September.
I wanted to go to the South because I have visited this part of Italy too little, and I still wanted to stay in Italy, because there are so many beautiful destinations that I have not yet visited, that it seemed absurd to go abroad.
Furthermore, in the South in September the temperatures are still perfect for swimming and sunbathing, in fact in Ischia in September I found a perfect climate, pleasant, warm but not too much during the day and cool but not too much in the evening.
I use the car very little even at home, in general I do not like cars and I did not have the slightest intention of arriving in a place and polluting it with the exhaust fumes of my car. So I had to find a place reachable by public transport and where I could always move by public transport, because even renting a car or a scooter goes against my principles.
How to get to Ischia
I chose Ischia because it is very easy to reach: in fact I took the train from Vicenza to Padua, then a direct train with Italo to Naples central station, I walked to the port, took a ferry, and I was already at my destination.
Leaving home at 9:30 in the morning and arriving at the apartment in Ischia at 19:30 in the evening. (with a long break at the port of Naples, then I’ll explain why).
Here are some examples of the many timetables proposed by Italo for the Padova Napoli route. Travel time, only 5 hours!
Getting from the station to the port of Naples on foot is also very convenient. The impact with Naples is not to be underestimated: the traffic is chaotic in front of the station, and since I’m alone I always prefer not to be around a station in the evening, but during the day.
We can have “eyes open and a head on our shoulders” (cit. Meloni) as much as we women want, but the truth is that nothing we do can protect us from those who want to harm us. As a solo traveler, I always take all the precautions, but until the male mentality that sees us as walking prey changes, we will always be in danger. So legs on shoulders and pepper spray in hand.
Anyway, in 20 minutes on foot, with my giant backpack, I was at the port of Naples, I had to check in for the tickets purchased online for the ferry, it was very simple at the machines, and in any case at the port there is a waiting room where there are all the counters of the ferry and hydrofoil companies, which are Caremar, Medmar and Lilauro.
You can book either a ferry or a hydrofoil if you are on foot, the hydrofoil is faster (40 minutes), but the ferry costs less. I’m not in a hurry and I’m cheap, so obviously I booked the ferry 😀
I went with Caremar and returned with Medmar, it makes absolutely no difference which company you choose, the important thing is the time that is most convenient and to be careful if the ticket that arrives by email is valid directly for boarding or if you have to change it at the machines (just read the email that arrives.)
Take a look here to see the times and prices of ferries and hydrofoils, I booked just like this:
I paid about €15 for each trip. On the way there I wasted a lot of time, because I didn’t know how the Port of Naples was laid out and it wasn’t clear to me how long before boarding I had to show up, so I got there almost 2 hours before boarding (to no avail). In fact, if you’re on foot, you can go there just for the time needed to change your ticket (if you have to), or if you already have a ticket with direct boarding, even 5 minutes before the ferry leaves.
The destination and time are written on each ferry, you can’t go wrong: ferries and hydrofoils for Capri, Ischia, Procida leave from the port of Naples. Depending on whether you take the ferry or the hydrofoil, you will have to go to a different pier in the Port of Naples, read carefully on the ticket you receive by email.
What you will have to choose when you buy the ferryto Ischia is the arrival pier, because Ischia has 3 main ports: Ischia Porto, Casamicciola and Forio. Depending on where you have your accommodation, choose the port of arrival, although I must say that in half an hour you can reach any location on the island by bus.
Getting around Ischia by bus
The bus service in Ischia is truly widespread and efficient, active from dawn until after 1 am.
In particular, there are 2 active lines, the CD and the CS (Circular Right and Circular Left) that go around the island one in one direction and one in the other, continuously, allowing you to arrive everywhere.
I hopped from one bus to another from morning to night, arriving wherever I wanted to arrive, without waiting more than a quarter of an hour at the stops and always finding very patient and helpful drivers who responded to the numerous tourists with kindness and a smile.
For timetables and routes I always referred to Google Maps and also to this page: https://www.isoladischia.com/guida-di-ischia/come-arrivare/orari-e-linee-bus/ because on Maps the bus numbers I saw did not correspond to the real numbers of the lines. The stops are those though, and once I understood the hitch, I never made a mistake. But even if you get the wrong bus, don’t worry, because the buses are really frequent and you can quickly reverse the route and resume your journey.
Where to stay in Ischia
In Ischia there are really numerous solutions and for all tastes. I’m talking to you about MY tastes, and I prefer to stay where I can see the real life of the people of the places I go to, not just see tourists from morning to night.
I like to stay in an apartment to have my privacy, to have space and to feel at home. I almost always book on AirBnb because I like to meet the hosts who offer accommodation, so that they can tell me about the real life of the places.i.
In Ischia I was not disappointed at all, I stayed in Anna’s Casina Chiara Rosa, a gem of an apartment, furnished by her with taste and love, full of comfort and special details. You can find it here: https://www.airbnb.it/rooms/23693092
I recommend you browse the photos of the apartment, because it really is as, if not better, cared for in detail. I mainly wanted a kitchen that could be used to prepare my meals as I do at home, and there I really had all the comforts. All very clean and fragrant.
The apartment has an independent entrance, is located in the Pilastri area, near the Pilastri di Ischia, an ancient aqueduct, evidence of the rich history of the island and in a quarter of an hour by bus you can get off at Ischia Ponte or Ischia Porto.
The downside, and if you stay in Anna’s apartment you will realize it, is the traffic and the amount of cars, which is a problem for the whole island. Cars, cars everywhere and this made my heart cry.
Ischia is a wonderful island, but it is really necessary that the municipal administrations of the island take serious measures to limit the amount of cars, which are not only those of tourists, but of the numerous Ischitani (more than 65,000 people in 46 kmq) who populate the island.
We really need to care more about the places where we live.
The convenience of Anna’s apartment is also the fact that it has everything nearby: bakery, minimarket, supermarket, pizzerias and shops. Everything is within 4 steps (making your way through the parked cars). Also the bus stop is 4 steps from home, and from there my adventures to visit the entire island started.
The best thing about staying with Anna was meeting her, who is a wonderful person, who gives you her heart, you’ll see 🙂
What I did in Ischia for a week
Of course I went around like a top because I wanted to see everything 😀
I saw Ischia Porto, Ischia Ponte, the Aragonese Castle (I recommend a guided tour in the morning at 10.30 with Mariangela!), Cartaromana beach, Forio and the little church of Soccorso, Sant’Angelo, Sorgeto beach, the top of Epomeo, the white laces, Citara beach, Maronti beach and I took countless baths and relaxed a lot.
I took a boat tour of the island, I ate well and I drank the water from the Fonte delle Ninfe di NItrodi.
I won’t tell you in detail how to get there and what to see in each place, it’s really simple! Keep an eye on Google maps and where the stops are and get on the first bus.
Ischia is truly beautiful all over, from a naturalistic point of view it offers wonderful landscapes and thermal wellness, from mud baths, to showers, to drinking water.
I want to make a special mention for the director of Sources of the Nymphs of Nitrodi and for the lady I chatted with at the ticket office.
That day I had gone in the morning to see the pizzi bianchi (be careful because the climb to go back up from Noia is really challenging! I got a lift with a Vespa from a gentleman) and then I went up to Monte Epomeo, from which I enjoyed a 360-degree view of the entire island.
Returning by bus to the apartment I stopped at the Fonte delle Ninfe di Nitrodi: I had read that drinking water from the fountain was possible without necessarily entering the thermal park. The water from this spring has been known since ancient times and its properties are antioxidant, beneficial both by drinking it and by taking long showers.
So I arrived at the fountain, which is right next to the ticket office of the thermal park, I drank the water and then I asked for some information. To my great surprise the lady at the ticket office called the director to offer me a beneficial shower with the spring water, taking me to the thermal park and telling me everything about this beneficial water.
It was truly a welcome kindness, it was just what I needed after the walk on Epomeo, so a big thank you for this gift that I will never forget 🙂
Being alone in Ischia
The Fonte di Nitrodi is one of the examples of the kindness and friendliness of the people of Ischia, everywhere I found help, smiles, cordiality. I chatted with people waiting for the bus, with shopkeepers, with the taxi drivers of the boats, everyone had a kind word for me and advice on where to go, what to visit and stories about life on the island.
The holiday in Ischia alone seemed safe to me, I didn’t feel any sense of danger, anywhere. The only place where I didn’t meet anyone was the descent from the hamlet of Noia until I saw the white laces, only there I asked myselfwhere I was going. It’s a small street with a few houses, with a really steep slope even for me who often walks in the mountains, then I crossed some Ape and cars of people who simply live there, in fact a gentleman was kind enough to offer me a lift on the back of his Ape and take me back up, saving me a tiring climb.
Being on holiday in Ischia alone means almost never being alone 🙂
The beaches in September, the period in which I went, were not full anyway. Not even the restaurants, not even the streets in the center, it was all very livable.
I didn’t receive any harassment, except for the man in the bee who winked at me and asked me if I wanted him to take me to Epomeo (…80 years old per leg and no teeth, but they try eh!…), but on the bus one evening a group of girls warned the driver that a man had harassed them and was harassing other women.
Nothing was done, the driver replied “Stay here in front”, no action was taken against the harasser, no one made him get off. We are really just meat to the slaughterhouse. We women huddled together, wondering how we could ALL be in the front. I was looking at the man insistently, silence fell on the bus. Those girls already know that they are constantly in danger just because the men consider them grazing meat.
A last memory goes to the fish of Ischia 🙂 I saw so many, I even saw an octopus 🙂
A perfect purchase for snorkelling was the cell phone case to take into the water, very useful if you are alone, because it takes away the worry of thefts on the beach. I purchased this:
I even spent an hour snorkeling and the thought is always, being alone, you can’t keep an eye on stuff. If they steal your cell phone you’re 100% screwed. So I left the apartment with only my debit card and €10, which I put in the case together with my cell phone, I attached them to my neck with the strap and I had so much fun making videos while swimming, and even making a video call 🙂
I highly recommend it, it was the best purchase I could have made!
So greetings to all the little fish I met and I assure you that I will never forget Ischia, it was really beautiful!
If you have any questions or want to ask me for advice for your trip to Ischia alone (or in company) do not hesitate to ask me everything in the comments 🙂
