I love Italy. My husband is an Italian citizen. I have been to Italy many, many times. However, Ischia was never on my radar until we planned a last minute trip this Summer and were looking for a sunny spot without too many American tourists. I landed on Ischia, not knowing much about it and thinking that it even may be “too Italian” (i.e. no fast internet or English) for a short stay. We decided to give it a go and spent a lovely five days in Ischia.
Beautiful Ischia Porto.
Ischia, one of the most popular islands in the world this summer (2022), is well known for its thermal spa parks. And what is a thermal park you may ask? It’s basically a waterpark for adults – an outdoor park filled with pools of varying heat, some with special mineral properties, others with special massage water features, and others just for fun. Thermal parks abound on Ischia. Even our little hotel had a small thermal bath for guests. Indeed, no official visit to Ischia is complete without a visit to a thermal spa. On Dan and my recent trip to Ischia, we spent a day at Negombo Spa, which is rumored to be the nicest thermal park on the island. This is my review of our day there, including everything you need to know to visit a thermal park in Ischia!
Negombo. It’s a big park!
If you’ve ever planned a day at the Vatican, I’m sure you are very familiar with the mediocre food options in the area. Why the mediocre food? The Vatican is full of tourists, not locals returning for meals in the area, so, similar to Venice, there is not much incentive to produce excellent food. In other words, quantity over quality, and high prices to boot. I paid 5 euro for a Coke Light in 2008 … In any case, when for my family’s lunch break between visiting Vatican City and the Colosseum (yes, HUGE day, read about it here), I was determined to find a good, sit down restaurant for a break.
Yep, big day. Two hard hitters in 12 hours.
I’ve visited the Prima Vista Lounge (formerly the “Passenger Lounge”) in Rome FCO’s Terminal 3 at least four times, and three times in the last nine months, but I’ve never written a review on it. So, here we are! In short, Prima Vista is a good lounge that has adapted well to Covid, but it’s FAAAAR from checkin. Don’t plan to spend too much time here for that reason alone (you’ll board by the time you arrive!). Entrance is free with Priority Pass, so there’s a plus!
Aeroporti di Roma! Always so exciting to land in Rome!
Rome has A LOT of sights to see. So many that you could stay for more than a week in Rome and not see everything. Seriously. This poses a problem for many tourists, who often only spend 1 or 2 days in Rome (which I think leads to the common and, frankly wrong, opinion that Rome is not a favorite Italian city). Of all the sites, two of the most popular are Vatican City and the Colosseum. Most information will advise that you should not visit these two sites on the same day due to time constraints, etc., and I agree. But sometimes you just don’t have the time to split them up, and that’s exactly the position I found myself in in November when I was in Rome for 3 days with 8 family members! Due to a strong desire to see both sights, I bit the bullet and planned a perfectly timed day visiting both Vatican City and the Colosseum in the same day! While I would not necessarily recommend this if you have plenty of time, it is doable, and here’s how!
IN BRIEF: 8 – 11:30, the Vatican Museums, 11:30 – 11:50, walk to St. Peter’s Basilica, 12:00 – 1:45 St. Peter’s Basilica interior OR a proper sit down lunch, 1:45 – 2:15 transfer to the Colosseum, 2:30 – 4:30, Colosseum!
