Initial Questions- Rome/Ischia/Salerno

Just a couple of tips, although none for Ischia, where we haven't visited.

Just on general avoiding heat factors, later is better so I'd opt for Oct 9-23. It can get plenty warm in October.

5 days in Rome is fine. For our 4th trip to Roma in March 2027, we'll do at least 10, possibly 14. Endless amount of things to do, but I really like basing in a neighborhood where everything is walkable. We have found that around Campo de' Fiori, with the daily market that's up by 7AM and taken down by 4PM, then the lively piazza at night. But everything from bakeries to restaurants to grocery to laundry to farmacia, it's all steps away. Plus you're 2 blocks away from the bus along Vittorio Emanuele.

Yes, take a day trip to Orvieto. Be at Termini station by 10AM, you'll arrive Orvieto around noon. Take the funicular up to the hilltown, walk around awhile, have a great lunch, wander the rabbit-warren streets, maybe see the catacombs, but leave time for the cathedral--the mosaic and stained glass is exquisite. Then take the 90-minute train back to Termini, and...it's time for dinner! Great day.

Salerno is my favorite underrated town in Italy. Actually a city, but it's situated perfectly for the Amalfi Coast, and their Old Town is beautiful with a great local vibe. We were there last April, and actually hired a guide to take us to Vietri sul Mare, Ravello for lunch, then to Minori (Sal De Riso!) for pastries for dessert. It will be busy even in October and the ferry might or might not be operational and the SITA bus is catch as catch can, with endless lines. PM me if you want the guide's contact info. Not cheap but definitely worth it.

Look at Hotel Plaza to stay--right across from the train station, it's vintage but clean and plenty inexpensive. Only problem with getting to Pompeii is that the Trenitalia will leave you off at the Pompei town stop, which will require about a 3/4 mile walk to the Anfiteatro entrance to the ruins. Really not a problem if you're willing to walk a bit.

Enjoy your planning!

Do you have a reason for staying in Forio while on Ischia? (I prefer other towns)

Thanks for the info so far! I'll take a look at Hotel Plaza.

As for Ischia, we were thinking Forio because of it's proximity to the Poseidon Thermal Park, which is a priority for us, and also availability to shops/restaurants. We're open to elsewhere on Ischia though, let me know your thoughts!

PQ

Salerno gives good access to Pompeii and great access to Paestum - do not miss Paestum which near the cheese farms but you will probably need a car or a tour to get the actual farms in the countryside. Naples is about 37 minutes from Salerno via an unexciting train ride. Naples is worth visiting and the Naples National Archaeological Museum is a must see if you are doing the ruins tour of the south.

Note: The best sfogliatelle in the world is 5 minutes from the Naples train station. Antico Forno delle Sfogliatelle Calde Fratelli Attanasio Vico at Ferrovia 1/2/3/4. Walk over, show up, grab a number right away and wait your turn.
So worth it.

Salerno has a long, major pedestrian shopping street Corso Vittorio Emanuele which ends running into old town with a bunch of restaurants, bars and cafes. Staying anywhere along this street gives easy access to the old town, the train station (you will use often) and the ferry if you want to do the Amalfi Coast thing as well while you are there. The ferry dock is a 10 minute walk straight down to the dock from the train station. October is the end of season in Amalfi so you can see it at only partially overcrowded status.

Vietri Sul Mare is very close - you can see it from Salerno - and is best by train, bus or even cab than by the ferry. Check the tips about catching the bus to Amalfi before it gets to the train station if you can where everyone gets on to sneak a seat.

If you're in Salerno for an extended period of time do not miss the eté Prime at 174 Corso Vittorio Emanuele tucked away between the clothes shops and bank. The front opening onto Corso Vittorio Emanuele (the wide pedestrian only shopping street) is small hallway but set back from the street is an amazing grocery store worth knowing about. The store is kind of like Conad meets Whole Foods and one in Salerno has high end goods at really good prices. I saw 6 kinds of local specialty Buffalo Mozzarella for 2-6e, selection of bakery breads, and shelves of Barolo starting at 12e and topping out at 23e.

The many fruit and daily needs places that dot the street are fine for everyday things but if you have a kitchen or want to put on a real spread and a nice bottle of wine this store is a great place.

Have a great trip,
=Tod

Tod, that is all wonderful information and that area and grocery shop sound right up our alley!

Would you have a preference on dates? We're trying to mitigate the heat but also don't want to risk things not being fully open. Are the ferries likely not to be running that time of year? I was hoping to avoid the SITA bus after reading the stories, if we could.

Any other information about Ischia would be helpful too if anyone has experience there. We fell in love with thermal baths in Budapest which is what has drawn us to Ischia.

Thanks again everyone!

Buses and ferry run fully through October and the stop (or greatly reduce) immediately in November and the AC follows the same schedule and goes into hibernation. Weather in October is more unstable but was fantastic when we were there as it was the year before. October used to be off/shoulder season but it has be staying warm longer and lately has just been discount regular season. (If this keeps up I wonder if they won't start to shift into November.) As my barber from Verona said, "People who booked discount in October for Amalfi look smart now cause it's beautiful and cheaper. In August you need to sell your pants to eat."

If you want to do the AC past VSM watch the weather and keep your schedule open for the best weather days. If the sea is rough they won't land in Positano that has a tiny dock and they will only land in Amalfi. I think the AC is best from the ocean so we took the ferry from Salerno to Positano which shows you the whole coastline. After an hour or two there we took the ferry back to Amalfi, had lunch and toured the town and then took the ferry back to Salerno. We didn't prebook anything just walked to the booth and asked for the next ferry out and bought tickets and never had to wait really. I found Positano crowded in October and I'm sure it was at 10% of high season volumes so I know I don't ever really need to go back.

The cathedral in Salerno is as interesting visit but the basement/crypt is mind boggling so don't miss it. Explore the old, cramped (poorest) downtown area for a series of wandering public art murals, messages and decorated areas.

Salerno is the one seaside town I've been to in Italy where you can get either seafood or inland based foods because of the connection to Campagna and produce there. Everything made with a tomato base will make you want to scrape the plate to enjoy all of it. Although google translate based menu translations may have you trying to puzzle out what they were trying to say. I think there was one restaurant that an appetizer plate of either seafood or meat they said "Plate of Sea" and "Plate of Land" on the English translation.

Salerno reminds me a bit of touring Italy in 90s - a bit more chaos and always a sense of pending surprise about things, like when you think you know what you ordered and something completely different shows up. This is rarer in the north now but the south remains less tamed and I really enjoyed it. Just pack a sense of humor and adventure.

Enjoy,
=Tod

I understand about Poseidon, but Negombo is also a great thermal park (I did not go to Poseidon, so cannot compare the two but we had a fantabulous day at Negombo.

I've stayed in Forio but I much prefer staying in Ischia Ponte.

My advice is to choose a hotel first; there is a great bus system on the island and you will be able to get to the thermal parks from anywhere on Ischia. Many hotels also have thermal swimming pools; one of those is IL MORESCO, which we loved.

For the buffalo mozzarella farm, I'd highly recommend Vannulo, which offers tours in English. We've done the tour there, and also visited nearby mozzarella makers without a tour, to watch the process...but if you do that, I would not expect anyone to speak English..

The main cheese making in the region takes place near Paestum, for mozzarella di bufala (you can get close to the buffalo if you take the tour act Vannulo) but also in the village of Agerola, on the Amalfi Coast, where they make for di latte, mozzarella made from cow's milk. But from Salerno, Paestum is closer.

Tod, that is our exact plan for the ferries from Salerno, hop on/off. Glad to hear it works well that way!

Ekscrunchy, can you elaborate more on what you loved about the area you mentioned vs Forio? Did you go to Vannulo yourself via car or another method? We won't have a car but would love to hear about your experience there.

I would choose your earlier dates.

We stayed at Il Monastero in Ischia Ponte and loved it. Lots of choices nearby, though, so it depends on your budget and what you're looking for.

It is quite easy to get around Ischia by bus or even taxi if you don't want to rent a car. Taxis a bit expensive on the island.

OP PQ,
If it might help, our recentish TR 'Beyond Capri: an Ischia TR' is a photo-dense extraveganza with added music, humour and tips. It would likely assist those who are Ischia-bound. I'd link it but don't know how to do so using this, my wife's travel tablet. One could simply google 'zebec fodors Beyond Capri'. Zebec is my Fodors handle.
Tante belle cose!

I am done. The coppia di Toronto

If you're in Salerno for an extended period of time do not miss the
eté Prime at 174 Corso Vittorio Emanuele tucked away between the
clothes shops and bank. The front opening onto Corso Vittorio Emanuele
(the wide pedestrian only shopping street) is small hallway but set
back from the street is an amazing grocery store worth knowing about.
The store is kind of like Conad meets Whole Foods and one in Salerno
has high end goods at really good prices. I saw 6 kinds of local
specialty Buffalo Mozzarella for 2-6e, selection of bakery breads, and
shelves of Barolo starting at 12e and topping out at 23e.

Tod--

In my 3 trips to Salerno I can't fathom how I missed that store! I'll definitely have to catch it next time around.

As you said, Salerno is such a delicious place to base when visiting anything in its vicinity. Less expensive, certainly less chaotic. We walked the Vittorio Emanuele all the way up to the beach, which was on the other side of an art fair, and we simply hung out with locals for a couple hours, soaking in the sun, aided by some potent aperol spritzs for the bargain-basement price of 4 Euro apiece!

What do you think of Pizzeria Trianon, in Salerno's Old Town? Its flagship store is in Naples--haven't been there--but this was quite possibly my favorite pizza in all of Italy with slices from the Forno Bakery at Campo de' Fiori in Rome a close second.

I had a car when I went to Vannulo. I remember booking a tour in English the day before, on the phone. (Maybe now they offer online booking). I don't know how you'd get there without a car, other than hiring a driver. Same with a couple of other cheese-makers I've visited in the area. (Once we hired a driver for a trip from Amalfi to Paestum and we stopped at a cheese-maker nearby....I can give you the name if you like but no one spoke English there..)

I'd hard to put my finger on why I did not like Forio so much. It seemed to be very popular with German tourists, and not so much local life. But I only stayed there for three nights so maybe did not get the real feel of the town.

We loved IL MORESCO in Ischia Ponte....it's located a block from the sea (cement platforms, no beach) and has a very large thermal pool and at least one thermal "grotto." Walkable and easy bus ride to Porto, and in then other direction, the actual town of Ischia Ponte, which I think has the most local atmosphere..... I'm sorry to be so vague. It's a large island and there are many towns and many areas with hotels. We intended to book a car for a day but at the last minute, decided against doing this and relied on the bus, which was fine....

There are beaches along the south coast of ischia; we went for day but you can also stay in a hotel there..look at Barano, etc..

IL MONASTERO, mentioned above, also gets great reviews--in Ischia Ponte...

One place you should not miss: The garden of LA MORTELLA....read the story here:

https://www.lamortella.org/en/

Thank you for all the input! Gregg, your trip report was fantastic, thank you for the link.

Those hotels all look stunning, but unfortunately they are all far outside our budget.

Right now I'm looking at Hotel Nettuno, right within budget and gets great reviews. My one hesitation there is that there doesn't seem to be a ton of restaurants nearby other than those on the main strand. Any other more budget friendly options welcome!

Re: Ischia hotels. You don't explicitly state your budget or what class of hotel you are looking for, but have you checked what's available on booking.com for your dates? I would look to be within walking distance of restaurants, shops, and perhaps bus stops, but it depends on what you want to do/see aside from thermal baths.

Oh I always check around various sites, I just love hearing about places people have actually stayed at. For reference, Hotel Nettuno is $165CAD/night with breakfast and a sea view balcony.