PART ONE: GETTING TO ISCHIA
We took our kids to Italy – their first trip to Europe – in July 2019. Kids are ages 12 and 21 (with high-functioning autism).
We booked air, hotel and trains through EuropeanDestinations.com out of convenience. It all worked out well. They were easy to deal with and responsive. Next time, I’d probably book everything myself, but for this trip, I don’t regret using them.
Things were much cheaper everywhere than in Chicago! Leather! Purses. Shoes. Wow. Women’s clothes (in small boutiques; department stores were expensive). Wish I had had more time for shopping. Even food and taxis weren’t expensive.
We flew into Rome with air transfer to Naples. Took a taxi from the airport to the dock (Molo Beverello). There are set taxi rates for major stops, but there was a special sporting event in Naples which had a lot of streets closed, so the “predeterminata” rates didn’t apply. The taxi drivers didn’t speak English and ranted and raved and waived their hands around when we asked about the set rates. You can find the rates online and they are posted at major taxi stands.
ISCHIA
We chose Ischia because it was off the beaten path, and we didn’t want to be in big cities for the whole trip. It’s also close to Mt. Vesuvius and Pompei so we could do a day trip (although, with the ferries, it’s a long day). The best information about Ischia is the “Ischia Review” website (https://www.ischiareview.com/). Ischia is best known for its spas and thermal baths, as well as the Aragonese Castle. It’s also got hiking trails, wineries, museums, and pretty little towns and is generally low key and child-friendly. Excellent place for a vacation.
Getting to Ischia: Note that when taking a ferry to Ischia from Naples, there are multiple ferry companies and there are multiple docks. Porta di Massa has the car ferries (which we didn’t take) and, for pedestrian-only passengers, they are cheaper and slower. We used Alilauro out of Molo Beverello out of convenience (faster, more expensive, pedestrian only; no cars). Medmar also runs the faster boats out of Beverello, but they seems to run less often. Once you get to Molo Beverello, you’ll see the ticket windows directly opposite Castello Nuovo. On either end of the ticket building are large screens which show the schedule. Find which company you want, go to that company’s window, and ask for the next (“prossimo”) to Ischia. Each ticket window will also probably have a sign that says something like “Prossimo a Ischia 15:30”. Note that there are multiple ports on Ischia, so be sure you are going to the right one. “Ischia” is “Ischia Porto”. Once you have your tickets, it’s still hard to find the right dock/boat and there’s literally no one to ask. Go to the right/north behind the ticket building, by the water, where’s it’s roped off. There will be workers there who know where your boat will be. Waive your tickets at them and ask “Dove?” or “E qui?” and they will point you to the right waiting area. It’s about an hour on the boat to Ischia Porto. There are drinks and snacks for sale. Some boats have a small open deck (very windy; the boats go fast); others don’t. One crossing was a little bumpy, but not bad. Buying the return ticket in Ischia can be challenging. There’s a large Alilauro/Captain Morgan ticket office right at Ischia’s port (near but not right at the docks, southeast corner of the port), but note that there’s also a small Alilauro storefront ticket office on the street that runs along the south side of the port, and each might not sell the same tickets from day to day! Look at which boats they have posted; if your boat isn’t posted, you may need to go to the other office. The Medmar ferry ticket office is on the west side of the port.