Ischia Thermal Gardens and Beaches

Ischia is the largest island in the Bay of Naples and the one built for lingering rather than ticking off sights. It is volcanic, and the volcano shows itself through water: hot springs rise all over the island, and for more than two thousand years people have come here to soak. Today that tradition takes the form of thermal gardens, landscaped parks of pools at different temperatures set among palms and flowers. Poseidon Gardens on Citara Bay near Forio, open since 1958, has more than twenty pools of untreated thermal water running from cool to very hot, with a sauna carved from tufa and the sea at the bottom of the garden. Negombo, in a tropical garden at Lacco Ameno, mixes thermal pools with a beach and a stone pool fed by a spring from a cave. Smaller parks such as Nitrodi, believed by the ancients to be sacred to nymphs, offer a simpler, older experience. Nature does it for free, too: at Sorgeto Bay, reached by a long stair, hot springs bubble up among the rocks and mix with the cold sea into natural pools, and near the car-free fishing village of Sant'Angelo, fumaroles heat the sand and the sea at the edge of the long Maronti beach. Beyond the water, Ischia has the Aragonese Castle, a fortress and former convent town on a rocky islet joined to Ischia Ponte by a causeway; La Mortella, the garden created by the composer William Walton and his wife Susana near Forio; and Monte Epomeo, the island's high point, with walking trails and views. Fit: couples, families who want pools and beaches, foodies (rabbit stew and local wine), and travellers who want to slow down.

Why Ischia: it is big enough to have its own life, with several towns, vineyards and woods, and a loyal Italian and German following that comes for weeks rather than hours. It suits a stay of two or more nights better than a rushed day trip, but a long day from Naples centred on one thermal park is perfectly doable.

How to do it well: choose your base and your park. Forio and Citara suit sunset and Poseidon Gardens; Lacco Ameno suits Negombo; Ischia Porto and Ischia Ponte suit the castle and the liveliest evenings; Sant'Angelo suits a quiet, car-free stay. Island buses circle the coast, and taxis and small three-wheelers are useful for the hills. Bring sandals for hot sand and rocks, and keep thermal soaks short if you are not used to them.

Practicals: ferries and hydrofoils run all year from Naples and Pozzuoli, roughly an hour or more depending on the boat, with links to Procida and seasonal connections to Capri and the Sorrento coast. The thermal parks are seasonal, typically opening from spring into autumn, so check dates if travelling in winter, when Ischia becomes a quiet, spa-hotel island. Fees apply at the thermal gardens and castle; the beaches, Sorgeto and the Sant'Angelo fumaroles are free.