“Ischia is the green one: a volcano covered in vineyards and thermal springs, with a castle on a rock, and the softest night in the Bay of Naples after a loud day at Capri.”
In short. Ischia is the largest island in the Bay of Naples, 15 nautical miles from Naples and 5 from Procida. It has real harbours, including Porto d’Ischia with over 200 berths, plus half a dozen anchorages round the coast. A week on this coast starts near €80,000.
It is a volcano, which explains everything else: more than 300 thermal springs, terraced vineyards on the slopes of Mount Epomeo, dark sand on the beaches and water that comes out of the seabed warm in places. The Aragonese Castle on its own islet off Ischia Ponte is the landmark, reached by a causeway and worth the climb.
For a charter it is the counterweight to Capri, half an hour further out and an entirely different temperature. Our own guide to marina and anchor nights puts it plainly: Ischia often gives a softer, more relaxed rhythm than Capri, and it works for swimming, scenic anchorages and a quieter evening on board.
Must-dos on Ischia
- The Castello Aragonese, a castle on its own rock reached by a causeway
- Lunch at Sant’Angelo, the pedestrian-only fishing village on the south coast
- An afternoon in a thermal garden, Poseidon above Citara bay being the big one
- The climb or the drive up Mount Epomeo, 789 metres and the whole bay below
- A tasting on the terraces, where the vines grow in volcanic soil above the sea
On this page: a day on Ischia · what our brokers say · Ischia Ponte and the castle · the north coast harbours · Sant’Angelo and the south · springs, wine and Epomeo · where yachts tie up · what it costs · distances · when to go
What a day on Ischia actually looks like
Ischia is the day the week slows down.
Morning. Come round from Procida, five miles, or down from Naples. Many crews head for the south coast first, where the water is clearer and the anchorages quieter.
Late morning. Anchor off Sant’Angelo. The village is pedestrian-only, built around a rock joined to the island by a sand isthmus, and the tender ride in is two minutes.
Lunch. Ashore at Sant’Angelo on the water, or back aboard at anchor. This is the island where lunch on deck beats lunch ashore, because the bays are calm and the shore is not the point.
Afternoon. One of three things, depending on the group: the thermal gardens at Poseidon above Citara, a run up Epomeo for the view, or a vineyard on the terraces. None of them needs to be booked weeks ahead.
Evening. Round to Ischia Ponte for the castle lit up, or stay south and eat on board. Then Capri in the morning, 18 miles.
What our brokers say about Ischia
Ischia is the stop we use to take the pressure off a Bay of Naples week. It has the size and the infrastructure that Procida does not, and the calm that Capri does not.
Our guide to marina and anchor nights says it directly: Ischia often gives a softer, more relaxed rhythm than Capri, and it works well for swimming, scenic anchorages and a quieter evening on board with tender access ashore.
The practical advantage is choice. Porto d’Ischia is a real harbour with over 200 berths and good shelter, so a group that wants a town night can have one, and the south coast has the anchorages for a group that does not. Few islands on this coast give you both.
Ischia Ponte and the Castello Aragonese
The Castello Aragonese is the image of the island: a fortified rock off the eastern tip, joined to Ischia Ponte by a causeway built in the fifteenth century, with a church, a convent and terraces stacked up it. You walk or take the lift, and the view from the top runs from Procida and Vesuvius round to the green bulk of Epomeo.
Ischia Ponte, the village at the landward end of the causeway, is the older and quieter half of the island’s main town. The anchorage off the castle is one of the ones our crews use, with the castle as the backdrop and a short tender to the village.
Porto d’Ischia, Casamicciola and Lacco Ameno: the north coast
The north coast is where the harbours are. Porto d’Ischia is the main one: a near-circular basin that was a volcanic crater until it was opened to the sea in the nineteenth century, with over 200 berths, good shelter and the Castello a short way east. It fills in summer, so crews book it or arrive early.
Casamicciola Terme, the next harbour west, is the second choice and usually has more room; it is the island’s oldest spa town and sits directly below the slopes. Lacco Ameno is smaller again and famous for Il Fungo, the mushroom-shaped rock standing in the shallows off the waterfront.
These three sit within a couple of miles of each other, which makes the north coast the practical side of the island: ferries, provisioning, taxis up the hill, and a town to walk in after dinner.
Sant’Angelo and Forio: the south and west
Sant’Angelo, on the south coast, is the village most guests remember. It is a fishing village with no cars, built where a rocky headland is tied to the island by a narrow isthmus of sand, and the approach from the water is the view of it worth having. Boats anchor off and tender in; there is no room for anything larger.
Forio, on the west coast, is the laid-back alternative and the place our old notes flag for avoiding the crowds. It has the Soccorso church white against the sea, the sunsets the island is known for, and Citara bay just south of it with the Poseidon gardens above.
Between them the south-western coast is a run of small bays, dark-sand beaches and thermally warmed water. This is the half of the island to swim off.
The springs, the vineyards and Mount Epomeo
The springs are not a sideshow here; they are the island’s industry and have been since the Romans. More than 300 of them feed the spa hotels and the thermal gardens, the largest of which is Poseidon on Citara bay, a terraced hillside of pools at different temperatures looking west over the sea. An afternoon there is the easiest wellness day on any Italian charter.
Mount Epomeo stands 789 metres over the middle of the island. The road goes most of the way and the last stretch is a walk; the view takes in the whole Bay of Naples, Capri to the south and Vesuvius across the water.
The vineyards are the third thing. Vines have been grown on these terraces since the Greeks, the soil is volcanic and the wines are crisp and local; a tasting at one of the estates on the slopes, Crateca among them, is the afternoon our itinerary recommends.
Where yachts actually tie up at Ischia
- Porto d’Ischia is the main harbour, over 200 berths, well sheltered and close to the Castello. It is busy in season, so it goes early or not at all.
- Casamicciola is the second harbour and usually the one with space, well equipped and a short run west of Porto d’Ischia.
- At anchor off the south coast, Sant’Angelo or the bays either side of it, is the quiet option and what our crews choose when the group wants swimming over a town night.
Forio and Lacco Ameno take smaller craft and are better as tender destinations than berths. Our guide to marina and anchor nights in Italy covers how crews mix the two across a week.
What a week around Ischia costs
A crewed week in the Bay of Naples starts around €80,000 for a motor yacht, with most of the weeks we book landing between €150,000 and €300,000 and the top of the market at €300,000 to €500,000 and above.
On top of that comes an advance provisioning allowance of roughly 25 to 35 per cent, Italian VAT at 22 per cent and a gratuity of usually 5 to 15 per cent. See our Italy charter cost guide, and the separate guides to APA and VAT.
Ischia is one of the cheaper nights on this coast. A berth here costs far less than Capri in August, and most of what the island offers, the bays, the views, the springs, is not priced like a beach club.
Fitting Ischia into the week
Ischia is day two of a Naples week, or the softer night after Capri.
| From | Distance | At 12 knots |
| Procida | 5 nm | 25 min |
| Naples | 15 nm | 1 h 15 |
| Capri | 18 nm | 1 h 30 |
| Sorrento | 21 nm | 1 h 45 |
| Positano | 28 nm | 2 h 20 |
Our Naples round trip reaches Ischia on day two, after Procida, and leaves for Capri the next morning. See also where to start an Italy charter and how long the week should be.
When to go
- June and September are the best of it, as everywhere on this coast: warm water, the gardens open and the harbours not yet full.
- July and August are busy with Italian families rather than international yacht traffic, and Porto d’Ischia berths go early.
- April, May and October suit the island better than most, because the thermal gardens and the walks do not need high summer to work.
Our month-by-month view is in the best time for an Italy charter, and Italy without the crowds is the one to read if privacy is the brief.
People also ask about Ischia
Is Ischia worth visiting on a yacht charter?
Yes, and it is the stop that balances a Bay of Naples week. It has real harbours, calm anchorages on the south coast, thermal springs, vineyards and a castle, and it is noticeably quieter and cheaper than Capri 18 miles away.
Where do yachts dock or anchor at Ischia?
Porto d’Ischia is the main harbour with over 200 berths and good shelter, and Casamicciola is the second, usually with more room. For a quieter night, crews anchor off the south coast at Sant’Angelo or the bays either side. Forio and Lacco Ameno suit smaller craft and tenders.
Ischia or Capri?
Both, on a week. Capri is the glamour and the day-boat traffic; Ischia is bigger, greener and calmer, with the springs and the anchorages. Our own guide notes that Ischia gives a softer, more relaxed rhythm, which is why most of our Naples routes put it the day before or after Capri.
What is Ischia known for?
Being a volcano: more than 300 thermal springs, the spa gardens, the vineyards on the terraces of Mount Epomeo at 789 metres, and dark volcanic sand. Plus the Castello Aragonese, the fortified islet joined to Ischia Ponte by a fifteenth-century causeway.
How far is Ischia from Naples by yacht?
About 15 nautical miles, an hour and a quarter at 12 knots. Procida is five miles away and Capri 18, so Ischia sits comfortably in the middle of a Bay of Naples week.
Can you swim in the thermal water at Ischia?
Yes, in the thermal gardens, of which Poseidon on Citara bay is the largest, with terraced pools at different temperatures. In places on the south coast the seabed is warm enough to feel while swimming off the yacht.
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