This story of our visit to Ischia is a good example of the frustration, joy, exhaustion, exhilaration, disappointment and beauty that is the life of a budget traveler. Don’t get me wrong, I’m too old to be a “backpacker” traveling through Europe staying in Hostels.
But we also aren’t jetsetters taking the most comfortable means of travel and staying in four star hotels. I guess we are your average expats, living in Italy and trying to get out there and see the beauty without sapping all of our funds in the process. We like a comfortable hotel but usually we scour airbnb or Hotels.com for the best deals. I usually want to stay for between $50 and $100 a night and I want to use the means of transportation that the locals use. Usually that means cars, trains, buses and ferries.
I am also a natural born cheap scape, tight wad and penny pincher. I’m a dreamer, a writer and I like to see the beauty in all things. But sometimes reality smacks me in the face. Our anniversary was in April but as you can see, I did not post this until now, December. I guess it took me that long to want to share my crazy experience. When I re-read the article recently, I was struck by how hard I can make things for myself and my own crazy determination to do things a certain way. I was also surprised at how much my emotions affect my view of everything. But that is life. For every picture posted on Instagram with a smiling, carefree face in the foreground and a beautiful, dreamy landscape in the background is probably a tale of frustration, exasperation, exhaustion and fatigue, teetering on the edge of an emotional breakdown. But that’s the story of the Homestead Traveler. I hope you enjoy my story…
On our 15 Anniversary we were enjoying the visit of Jeff’s parents who were staying with us in Nettuno. We had decided not to go anywhere for our anniversary since, hey, we were already living in Italy, what more could a couple ask for? But Jeff’s parents encouraged us to go have a weekend away and as the day drew closer we decided to take a trip to Ischia. I had first heard about the island off the coast of Naples before we left home for Italy. A friend of mine said she had the most amazing time in Ischia at a spa called Poseidon, she said it was the highlight of their Italy trip. So I filed away the information and now, for our 15th Anniversary it sounded like the perfect thing to do.
So just one day before our anniversary date we reserved a hotel and researched train and ferry schedules. The next morning we woke up at 6:00 am, grabbed the backpack that we had filled the night before and started walking to the train station. We decided not to take the car because putting our car on the ferry would have been €200 and we were only going for two nights. Most of the reviews I had read on TripAdvisor suggested taking the train to Naples and once we were on the island of Ischia we could take the bus to our hotel on the other side of the island. Yes, you heard me right, we traveled with just a backpack. We are getting good at this “light travel” thing.
Our three hour train ride from Nettuno to Naples was €12 each and was uneventful until about three quarters into the trip we realized a man sitting across the row from us kept looking at us and talking on his phone and was even taking “selfies” of himself but with us in the background. Suddenly we both felt like a target! Here we both were, on a train ride to Naples which is notorious for theft and robbery and we were happily, obliviously, typing away on our iPads and sending messages on our iPhones. Jeff with his bright red sweater and bright blue backpack and me with my blonde head and orange shirt.
Suddenly we felt like we had a bullseye on our back. “Hey, mafia and any criminal element, look at us, we have iPads and iPhones and are an easy target!” So, as we neared the train station of Central Naples we put away our iPads and phones, Jeff removed his bright red sweater and we moved up several train cars so as to put any “would be” criminals off their scent. I have to admit to being a little afraid, I really hate that, I prefer my normal feeling of joyful obliviousness.
I am happy to report that we got off the train without anyone snatching our bright blue backpack laden with Apple products. Next we walked “the gauntlet” that is the walkway from the train station in Naples to the main city streets. On both sides there are illegal sellers of every “knock off” product you can imagine, Tag Hueller watches, Prada purses and Gucci wallets. “Keep you eyes straight forward and don’t engage anyone”, that is what I told myself while grasping my crossbody orange purse tightly. “Ooh! Look at that cute Gucci purse!…No,No! Eyes straight forward!” Soon we finished the gauntlet and emerged onto the city streets filled with tables and cafe chairs, tourists sipping cappuccino’s and workers stuffing their mouth with folded pizza. We felt safe once again.
Our destination was the Ferry Building at the other end of the long street near the harbor. Along the way were many Napealatonan delights to be had. The first stop was for a cappuccino and sfogliatella, a sfogliarella is a shell shaped pastry stuffed with ricotta cheese sweetened and flavored with orange zest. Delicious! A little further down the street we realized it was 11:30 and we were hungry! So we texted a friend and asked were we should get a pizza, after all, Napoli is the birthplace of pizza! Our friend responded that we should try Da Michele, it brags the ‘rights’ to the oldest pizza in Naples, dating back to 1890. Perfect! According to Google maps it was only a block away, so we cross the street and head up a block to see an old building with a faded awning and non descript sign that says “da Michele”, yep, we must be in the right place, there is already a line out the door.
The people in line are tourists from every corner of the world, all snapping pictures of themselves eating in this iconic little pizzaria that was featured in “Eat, Love, Pray” with Julia Roberts. So we join the masses, take a number and also snap our picture. The good things about simple wood fired pizzas is they don’t take long to make or eat for that matter! So soon we are sitting at our little table. The waiter comes over and says “do you want margarite or marinara. Basically you have two choices: pizza with cheese or pizza without cheese, OK, we will have pizza with cheese. Next question: do you want a beer, a Coke or a water, they all cost the same, OK, we will have a beer. Now that the big choices have been made we sit back and wait for our “oldest pizza in Naples”.
It arrives quickly and we appreciate its soft chewy crust and simple toppings of tomato sauce, fresh mozzerella and basil. For those not used to ‘true’ Italian pizza it can be a little underwhelming to eat. It’s so simple compared to American pizza and a Napoli style crust is soft and chewy and often droopy on the bottom. In fact, usually you can’t pick up a slice a pizza, instead you have to eat it with a knife and fork or fold it like a true Napolitano. Well, during our stay in Italy, we have truly been converted to lovers of Napoli style pizza and feel quite protective over its simplicity, so we savor each droopy bite.
Now, well fed, we make our way to the ferry building, when we arrive at 12:30 we realize that the next ferry to Ischia isn’t until 2:00. Yikes! I thought they were every 15 minutes but once again I forget to account for the Italian lunch hour, of course there is no ferry between 12:30 and 2:00, even ferry operators need to go home for lunch! So we wait in a little coffee shop until 2:00. Next we buy our ticket for the ferry, it will take an hour and a half. So we excitedly board the ferry looking forward to a journey across the sea to our little island. An hour and a half later, feeling quite wind blown and sun zapped (from being on the top deck), we arrive. During the Ferry ride, we enjoyed watching the various islands come and go, as we approached the coastline of Amalfi, we could spot the island of Capri and even the island of Ponza.
We had planned this trip so last minute that I had not really had the time to plan properly. Suddenly we were disembarking the Ferry in Ischia only to realize we had no idea what to do next. We knew we had to take a bus, I had heard that a bus runs around the island, but I guess that sounded like some kind of fun bus that was easy to hop on and hop off but this was a real town with real buses on real functioning bus routes. So where is the bus station? We headed left and asked a friendly local, he pointed us in the right direction, we walked up to the ticket booth and said we needed a bus to Panza, the town our hotel was located in. We paid €1,50 each for a bus ticket and then looked around us at the constant flow of buses coming and going in a sea of petrol laced chaos.
So we each darted around here and there asking bus drivers and anyone who would listen to us which bus we should get on. We were told three or four times to get on bus #1 or bus CS. So we keep watching for these buses but saw every bus BUT those buses. So among the German tourists, the bus smog and the chaos, Jeff grew weary of this game and said he just wanted to get a taxi. This is the story of our 15 years together, it doesn’t matter where we go in the world: Ometepe in Nicaragua, Punta Gorda in Belize, or Ischia in Italy, I always want to take the local transportation and Jeff always wants to pay for a taxi. To me it’s like admitting that you can’t run with the big boys.
So I know that we must find our correct bus quickly or Jeff will be flagging a taxi. Fortunately I found the correct bus and we pile on. Unfortunately the bus was packed with people and we were sitting in two seats in the full strength of the hot afternoon sun. The bus lurked and screeched to a halt every time some pushed the button for their stop, which was constantly. The chaotic Italian traffic, the smell of gas fumes combined with the long, hot journey began to wear on our frazzled minds and bodies. Wow! This was not what we signed up for on our 15th Anniversary!
Not soon enough, in fact about 45 minutes later, we screeched to halt NOT in front of our hotel but a good 200 meters away. We scrambled off the bus and walked alongside the busy street to our hotel. We checked in and couldn’t get to our room fast enough, Jeff was ready for a beer to calm his frazzled nerves and I looked around at our small heavily draped hotel room in a state of disappointment. Ah, the joys of travel. For every Instagram picture of us smiling into the lens of the camera with an amazing scene behind us is the story of frustration, disappointment, hidden costs and relationship challenges. This is why most people are “armchair travelers”, it’s munch easier to stay home in your comfortable chair and dream of a perfect vacation than it is to actually execute one!
Soon however, we were in our bathing suits heading down to the hotels pools. We chose this specific hotel (Hotel Parco Maria Terme) because they had their own natural hotspring bubbling up and flowing into three pools of various temperatures. One was cold like a swimming pool, one was luke warm and the other hot. There were lounge chairs and a bar, so Jeff ordered a beer and I got a Spritz ( the Italian aperativo cocktail made of Prosecco which is sparkling white wine and a red bitter liquor, either Aperol or Compari)
As we sat in the warm waters I looked around at the other patrons of this hotel. They were all quite a bit older than us and had clearly come for the curative effects of the hot springs, one even had a breathing machine. I had read that the patrons to this island were older and came for the healing properties of the water but this was a little ridiculous, I felt like I was vacationing at the convalescent hospital!
After soaking away our travel grit with our geriatric friends, we were ready for dinner. Now came our next point of contention. Jeff had no tolerance for another bus ride and we couldn’t locate any other places to eat nearby. The area we were staying in was for high-end hotels and the only options to eat were at fancy hotels. Our hotel had a fancy restaurant filled with tourists, the menu was a fixed rate of €30 euros each NOT including wine. Well this was just more than I could bear! That would be €80 for the two of us which is over $100 US. Yes, it was our anniversary, but after the day we just had I was in no mood for a fancy restaurant with mediocre food put together for tourists that wouldn’t know a gnocchi if it hit them in the face!
So there was a stand off, me not wanting to drop $100 at a restaurant I didn’t want to eat at, and Jeff not wanting to go on a wild goose chase for a place to eat dinner. We headed down the street to find a place to eat, I found one but it turns out they only had snacks. I felt a travel emotional breakdown coming on and knew if I didn’t want to completely ruin our anniversary I better swallow my “tightwadness” and agree to eat at the restaurant in our hotel. About that time, Jeff comes up with the brilliant idea that we just stop at a little grocery store and buy some meat and cheeses, wine and a salad. At first I didn’t like the idea but I knew my choices were slim.
So we went in and were helped by the nicest grocer who let us taste cheeses and even recommended a wine, $20 later we were heading back up the street with two grocery bags in hand. I was feeling a little bruised and deflated as one usually does after being insistent on your way but being completely wrong. But Jeff was resilient and confident that we did the right thing. During all of this dinner chaos and emotions there was the most exquisite sunset that lit up the Ischia sky in purple and orange over a majestic sea.
Once we were back at the hotel Jeff led us up to some tables that sat under a string of little lights under a black velvet sky. We sat in the shadow of a mountain twinkling with lights of the homes of Ischia residents. We poured wine into our paper cups and laid out our spread of salami, cheese and salad. Two local cats came calling, knowing we had treats for them. The next thing I knew I was completely smitten with the beauty of this scene. It was exquisite!
Across from me was a husband who knew how to roll with the punches of this crazy life with me, he knows both how to push my buttons and sooth my fears. When an imminent breakdown was pending he knew how to buy wine and cheese and settle me into a garden with resident cats under a velvet sky speckled with stars. In the background I could hear Frank Sinatra crooning a song from days gone by. When I turned and looked I saw our fellow aged hotel guests dancing in the ballroom of our high end restaurant and smiled. That was their world in there, this was my world out here, having a picnic with my husband under the shadow of a mountain strung with a million twinkle lights.
The next morning we awoke, our destination of Poseidon awaits us! So we head to breakfast in the fancy restaurant (breakfast was free and included!) and eat our fill of scrambled eggs, ricotta cheese, toast, pastries and fruit. We have arranged to ride the hotels free shuttle down to the beach area which is also where Poseidon is located. We buy our tickets and enter the park. It’s several acres of manicured gardens and hotspring pools. Each pool has lounge chairs lined up under thatch roof umbrellas. The chairs are yellow and orange canvas and it strikes a beautiful arrangement next to the blue pools and thatch roof umbrellas. I had read that they use local Ischia craftsmen to make the grass umbrellas which added to the charm. The scene was beautiful and beckoned us to settle in.
The pool areas range in temperature from icy cold to very hot and are spread out over the beach area and climb up the mountain side. We had brought robes and towels from our hotel since the park does not supply any but are happy to rent them to you. Swimming caps are required so Jeff brought a nice black cap that was very becoming on him and I had a clear shower cap that was less than attractive but the fact that everyone else had to wear one somehow made it better. You only had to wear it when you were in the pool, while you walked around or lounged in your chair it was not necessary.
So we selected two nice lounge beds on an upper tier overlooking several pools and close to a very hot and very cold pool combo nestled on the side of the mountain. We took our first plunge into the therapeutic waters and looked around at the beauty that surrounded us. It truly was an adults Disneyland! Every pathway was laid out in natural hewed stone lined with Mock Orange that were in bloom, scenting the air with their sweet fragrance. The flowerbeds and walk ways spilled over with fluorescent iceplant that was in full bloom. You couldn’t see the green of the plant for the profusion of every shade of pink. Brightly colored red petunias waved in the soft breeze while yellow daisies smiled as I passed by.
We climbed to the top to reach the natural cave sauna, the steam is originating from its natural hot spring source, a crevice in the rocks. Lining the interior of the cave was a stone hedge, laid out for us to sit on while steam seeped in from the cracks in the rocks and flooring. We marveled at the cave like ambiance of the grotto. I didn’t last for long in the steamy heat of sauna, but just outside the door was a hot and cold plunge pool which was just what the doctor ordered. We spent the day this way, relaxing under waterfalls of warm therapeutic waters and floating with abandon in the waters.
At noon we made our way to the restaurant and ate outside on the flower filled patio. Jeff ate a salad and I had tortellini with white wine. After lunch we repeated the cycle of lounging, soaking and steaming in the pools and worked on our tans. The hours flew by and soon it was closing time at 7:00 pm. While Jeff was changing I sat outside the cafe and a man started playing the piano and the most beautiful music spilled out on the piano. What a pleasure to watch the sun lowering in the sky with the sound of live music, the beach stretched out in front of me and palabras that dotted the horizon.
We decided to have dinner down at the beach so as not to repeat the dinner fiasco of last night. We selected a beautiful beach restaurant that had some tables with their feet in the sand, ours however was indoors but right at the edge of the beach so we had a perfect view of the sunset. The tables were beautifully set with white tablecloths and fresh flowers. Jeff ordered a pasta with fresh tomatoes and a green salad and I ordered mussels and pasta with a liter of white wine. We dipped our bread in olive oil and sipped our wine to the setting of the sun.
After dinner we walked back to the hotel. We knew it was uphill and we had seen locals taking a shortcut straight up on a path rather than taking the road that winds up. So we started our ascent, eager to work off the calories of our dinner. It was a hefty climb straight up and it really tested our leg strength and lung capacity but it was so enjoyable to breath in the night air still warm and scented with orange blossom. It had been a long, cold, rainy winter and now it feels so good to feel like summer, even if it’s only April.
We emerged back to our room huffing and puffing but once we looked out our balcony window and saw the hotspring pool basking still under the black velvet sky we knew we had to go take a night dip before we started our journey back home tomorrow. So we put on our “still wet” bathing suits and ran down to the hotspring, we climbed into the warm waters and propped our limbs up with pool “noodles”. One under our knees and one under our neck. Once situated only a tiny part of us was outside the cocoon of the warm water. My knees, my hands and my head from my nose up. I felt completely weightless, like being suspended in space. The water was warmer than any blanket and the pool softer than any mattress.
I opened my eyes to look up at a sky dressed in a navy blue dress with a shroud of sheer white netting in the form of thin low clouds, sparkling with the stars. She was meeting her companion the full moon who was shinning brightly tonight as the two embraced in their celestial courtship.
The next day I really wanted to go to Sorgeto, this is a natural hot spring that has not been developed. It’s popular with the locals and tourists alike. It was very near our hotel in Panza and near the town of Forio. We even bought a bus ticket, it’s the same line as we took from the town of Ischia, line #1 or #SC. But Jeff didn’t think we could make the half hour journey that required a bus ride and walking down a rocky hillside and back up before starting our journey home. This time it was my turn to acquiesce to his concerns and give up on the dream. So we returned back to the hotel to enjoy our last few hours soaking and relaxing in the hots pring in our hotel.
So for anyone that may be reading this article and thinking about making the trip, here is my recommendation. If you want to see both Poseidon and Sorgeto you need at least three nights stay. I would recommend staying near Panza so you are close to both hotsprings. If the price is right, I would recommend our hotel of Hotel Parco Maria Terme or Hotel Nettuno. Our hotel room seemed a little tired and small but we really enjoyed the hot spring pools and location as well as the beautiful grounds. We paid $107 a night, I don’t think I would pay much more for it. Hotel Nettuno was the same price and had a nice rooftop terrace and a pool but I don’t know if the pool was open this time of year and it probably wasn’t heated but the rooms looked nicer and you would have more choices of restaurants nearby because it is in the center of town.
What would REALLY make your life a lot easier is if you arrive by ferry to Forio instead of Ischia port. Our hotel offered a shuttle and it was a quick five minute drive. I think the ticket price is more from Naples to Forio, €20 instead of €12 each way but saving yourself a lurching, hot, screeching, fuel scented, crowded bus ride that last 45 minutes is priceless. It’s also so much better to have your hotel pick you up by private shuttle than to climb off a ferry and try to find a crowded bus station and locate your bus. That’s my tip for your trip, take it from my travel weary experience!
Lastly, give yourself an extra day to explore Sorgeto natural hot spring. I hear that the ocean water mixes with the natural hot spring water amongst the rocks creating a whirlpool “hot tub”. I also heard there is a rock cave that serves as a grotto that you can sit in. If you bring your own food, such as mussels, you could even cook your food right on the hotspring! How cool is that? There is also a beautiful beach and who knows what other wanders you will find if you had enough time to explore Ischia.
A word to the wise, Ischia is a large island and does not have the “Rodeo drive” allure of its cousin Capri. It looks just like any other Italian coastal town “south of Rome”. It can be little more trashy than we are used to, a little run down and a little “third world-ish” mixed with exquisite natural beauty. It boasts sandy beaches which Capri cannot and has “real” Italians that frustrate you and endear themselves to you in the same moment.
Our time in Ischia came to a close and it was time to make our journey back home. Our departure was much easier than our arrival. Our hotel shuttle took us to Forio port where we bought our tickets back to Naples. The cool comfortable high speed ferry zipped us back in just one hour. Once arriving in Naples we walked back to the train station stopping along the way to eat a burger and fries.
We entered the train station and bought our train ticket home, checking the posted schedules to make sure we went to the right platform. We boarded our train and started the 3 hour train ride home. So ended the 15 year anniversary extravaganza, a perfectly incapsulated version of our marriage: travel, adventure, frustration, exhaustion, love, forgiveness, understanding, relaxation, teamwork, imagination, romance and togetherness in this crazy adventure called life.
For other great travel articles about living in Italy try one from our Archives:
A Morning Run in Nettuno (Published September 10, 2017)
A Visit to Castelli Romani (Published September 13, 2017)
Dinner for Six (Published October 1, 2017)
Italian Cooking School (Published October 8, 2017)
Culinary Tour of Napoli (Published November 17, 2017)
Changing Seasons in Italy (Published November 25, 2017)
Our Trip to Englands Cotswolds (Published January 12, 2018)
Cooking with Pasquale (Published January 28, 2018)
A Tour of the Garden of Ninfa (Published May 7, 2018)
A Trip to Montefiascone (Published May 17, 2018)
San Gimignano, a visit to a Tuscan Hill Town (Published June 9, 2018)
Tuscan Hot Springs of San Filippo & Saturnia (Published June 13, 2018)
August in Sperlonga (Published August 30, 2018)
Villas, Palaces and Fortresses (Published November 25, 2018)
The Amalfi Coast and the Path of the Gods (published December 4, 2018)
Budapest in December (Published December 10, 2018)
