Sorrento to Ischia & Procida: Small Group Boat Tour, Swim Stops

4.69

(116 reviews)

What’s the experience like?

I didn’t expect the water around Ischia to look so green — not just blue, but this weird jade color that almost glows under the sun. Our skipper, Marco, grinned when he saw my face and said it’s normal here, “la Grotta Verde,” like he’s seen a thousand first-timers react the same way. We’d left Sorrento early (I was still half-asleep), but the sea air woke me up quick. There was espresso on board but honestly, I just wanted to lean over the side and watch the coastline slip past. The other travelers were quiet at first — maybe everyone needs a minute in the morning.

We stopped near Maronti beach for our first swim. I’m not much of a snorkeler but felt brave enough to jump in — salt on my lips, water colder than I thought it would be. Someone handed me a Caprese sandwich after (still dripping wet), and I swear mozzarella tastes different when you eat it with sea still in your hair. After circling past the Aragonese Castle (the kind of fortress you draw as a kid), we had hours free on Ischia. I hopped into one of those tiny Apecar taxis — the driver’s name was Lucia and she sang along to old Neapolitan songs while weaving through traffic like it was nothing.

Procida is smaller but somehow more colorful; houses stacked up like pastel blocks. We had another swim stop there — this time I just floated and watched fishing boats drift by. On land, I wandered Terra Murata and got lost for a bit (in a good way). The guide joked that if you can say “Corricella” with a proper accent, you get free gelato — nobody managed it. When we finally headed back toward Sorrento, Marco poured us little cups of limoncello that tasted like sunshine and sugar and something sharp underneath. The wind had picked up by then; hair everywhere, laughter echoing off the water.