[July 2024] Ischia Island, located a little west of the Bay of Naples in southern Italy, is a resort island where you can enjoy the sea, so there aren’t many places for sightseeing.
The only place that is worth visiting is a castle called Castello Aragonese d’Ischia.
The owner of the Airbnb where we were staying in Forio recommended that we should definitely go there, so we went there the day after we arrived.
There is a bus stop right in front of the Airbnb, and it seems that buses come quite frequently.
After missing one, the next one came without much wait.
We tried to buy a ticket from the driver, but he said that tickets are bought at tabacchi.
However, this time he let us on.
Southern Italy is relaxed about this sort of things, and we had a similar experience in Sicily before.
The last stop for the bus is the port of Ischia, the capital of Ischia Island, and it takes about 30 minutes to get there.
This town is very crowded with tourists, and it was lively, but untidy, so my husband and I said, “We’re glad we didn’t stay here.”
We had thought we could walk to the castle from here, but it turned out that it would take 40 minutes to walk there.
We thought about taking a tricycle Ape that was made into a taxi, but by chance, a small bus heading in that direction came, so we got on the bus.
The fare for this bus is €2.20 per person if you buy it from the driver, and €1.70 if you buy it at the ticket booth.
It looked like the bus was about to depart, so we bought a ticket from the driver this time.
The Castello Aragonese d’Ischia is connected to the old town of Ischia Ponte, which used to be a fishing village, by a causeway.
It reminded me a little of Monemvasia in Greece, where we went the previous year, but this one was smaller and the causeway was for pedestrians.
There were countless boats moored in the sea around here.
There were also people swimming.
We walked slowly along the causeway to the land-tied island where the castle is.
The entrance fee to the castle is €12 per person.
The castle itself is at the top of this rising island, and it seems like it would be quite a climb up the hill.
I had injured my leg this summer and couldn’t walk long distances even on flat ground, so I hesitated, but fortunately there was a lift.
It seemed that not everyone could ride it, only the elderly and people with disabilities like me could.
However, there are some sights on the way up, which we ended up missing.
Needless to say, the view from the top was amazing.
