I'm reminiscing like crazy!…read more If I could choose an island in Italy to return to, it'd be this one! It's just right. There weren't tons of tourists. Even during my visit in the autumn as the season changed, there were just enough people to make it lively. The vicinity is a walking area, although there are tuktuks, taxis, and buses. It's a beautiful scenic ride to Forio. Beware of the price gauge from taxi drivers though. Where I stayed in Cartaromana, near Ischia Ponte, was just perfectly close to the beaches and the Aragonese Castle. For you love birds, this is a destination wedding spot for sure. Tons of seaside restaurants are available, and you can take a romantic stroll along the ports afterwards. This is just as healing for the single freebirds who want to get away from it all. Enjoy your daydreaming...

I spent a day in Ischia and I wish I could stay longer. When I went, I took a speed boat for about…read morehour and regular furry took me at least 2 hours to come back to Naples. The Island is so unique and gorgeous, tons of wonderful places to go but I only had one day. I paid a cap to take me around the island. It was good to have a local as a guide and know what place to go. Beaches is extremely beautiful. The view from the top of the mountain is even better. Houses, buildings, street and all nature are stunning, looks like I'm in heaven. Suggesting: enjoy the island more then a day if you have time.

Great site to visit (been to many other ruins that were underwhelming)…read more Our tour guide was pretty good. He was funny but a bit hard to understand sometimes. This admission was part of a combo tour including a trip up the volcano plus lunch. The condition was rather impressive. Some buildings were in great shape. As your outside it is hard to imagine you would have been 20 some feet under ground (ash) a hundred years or more ago before they excavated. Plus they have unearthed only about 30% of the city. Many amazing relics & sad displays of humanity to see here. Worth the time to visit this ancient site.

Walking through Pompeii is kind of surreal…read more I loved just wandering with no real plan. You can walk right into homes and see the mosaics and little courtyards. Even random things like graffiti on the walls or old kitchen setups are still there. The amphitheater is a definite highlight. The plaster casts are... a lot. Definitely a moment where everything hits a bit harder. It's pretty heavy, but also important to see. Overall, Pompeii actually pulls you in. You end up thinking about the people more than the ruins. It is worth taking your time with and coming out of your way for.

Very imposing and impressive structure, not well known in the expat community. At the base on the…read moreeast side, there is some parking next to what I think is a monument commemorating the struggles associated with unification (but not sure). From this location you will be able to assess the scale of the design as you can climb into some of the arches closest to the ground. On the west side there is a local switch-back road that will lead you to the entrance to the top of the aqueduct. If you have a small car (A or B class) you can drive off the main road right up to the gate. There is a small olive grove where people have parked their cars and turned around. May be private property so be careful. The gate is normally opened and you can freely walk across the span. We did not as we had some items in the car that we did not want to leave. Great views of the valley in both direction from the to of the span. This is now on our list of sites to take visitors.

Pompeii is one of those "must see!" places,. Every year, the team excavating digs up new treasures…read moreone after another. Our tour took us to several, old and new, but I could have stayed twice as long and still not seen half. We arrived early, but by the time we left, people were pouring in. Walking down the commercial streets that in 79 AD were bustling with life. And then, in just a few hours, sterilized with the pyroclastic heat, and buried under ash and volcanic residue for 1600 years, a Roman city frozen in time.

Amazingly well preserved and gives a glimpse into a Roman city at the height of the Roman empire…read more Get a guide and but tickets in advance. It'll save you a lot of time. Willie was our guide in Pompeii. He was very funny and kept on making jokes. He was entertaining. We did skip the lines to the She Wolf exhibit because the crowd was too big. We didn't lose anyone in our group of 25. Yay! We only had 90 minutes to explore Pompei with a guide. I think we really needed at least twice that length of time but you know how it goes. Got places to go and things to do! There's a small gift shop at the entrance/exit as well as a cafe for drinks. Clean restrooms are available at entrance and another one near an amphitheatre inside.

Piazza Tasso is a lovely square in Sorrento…read more Lucky to stumble across a local festival on our cruise ship tour to Sorrento and Pompeii. Our tour guide was not sure what they were celebrating. Take time to check out the beautiful baroque yellow church and everything Limoncello while you are in the neighborhood. The lemons in Sorrento are enormous and the geography reflects their impact. Limoncello granitas. Lemon pasta. Lemon biscotti. Lemons on everything from dish towels, baskets and bags to headbands. My sister-in-law even bought a pair of swim shorts that were covered with a large lemons in the pattern. Nice for a short stop while exploring Sorrento. Tip: There is a bathroom next to the church. It takes one euro each.

This is a great square in the center of Sorrento which have a bunch of great shops around it, great…read moreplaces to eat, and their Main Street which, for the most part, is closed to all car traffic except for security and business support. The smaller walking streets around it are pretty cool too for all kinds of things and souvenirs if they are desired. There are some great places for coffee too. The square can get pretty busy with cruise ships coming in and out of Naples and Sorrento so if you like it a little less crowded, get there early or in the off season.

Mount Vesuvius is pretty bare and dusty; nothing polished about it. You feel where you are the…read moreentire time. It's not long, but it's enough to slow you down. At the top, you're right at the crater. Just you, the edge, and a very real reminder of what it is. A beautiful view of the Bay of Naples behind you but at the same time knowing it's that same volcano.... The one that buried Pompeii changes the tone a bit. It's not dramatic; just heavy. Worth doing the hike but just don't expect it to feel super touristy.

100% worth the headache it was to get there from Naples via transit! It was #1 on my bucket list…read morefor a reason.

Sort of a miniature Pompeii. Two large villas that had been covered with 10 feet of ash. Remarkably…read morewell preserved. FREE admission. A good 1/2 hour walk from town, and not well signed, but you knew that -- it's Italy! You can bring a picnic.

This place is really cool and we stumbled onto it thinking it was something completely different…read more You can also check it out for free which was a nice change of pace. They even had a tour guide if you liked and they charged nothing to tell you about this beautiful place.