Arrange your own travel to Naples, which is easily reached by train or plane. By taxi or public transportation, you make your own way to the hotel located in the center of the lively colorful old town of Naples. We will be happy to help you with such travel arrangements. If you arrive early in the day, there is plenty in Naples to explore. We can make suggestions, as well as assist you in choosing “what to do”.
You meet our volcanologist guide and fellow travelers in the early evening on the hotel terrace for a welcome cocktail and to go over what is in store for the 10 days ahead. Afterwards, we will get to know Naples starting from its gastronomic culture. We discover its unique type of cuisine halfway between refined and popular folk style in a typical local trattoria.

After breakfast, we drive to Vesuvius volcano where we first visit the historical seat of the Vesuvius Observatory. Built by the Bourbons in 1841, it is the oldest volcanic observatory of the world, housing a didactic exposition, a mineral collection and ancient measuring instruments. Then we walk to the summit crater of Vesuvius volcano, last active in 1944. From its rim, we can look down into its still smoking deep crater on one side and the surrounding area with the problematic modern urban spread around the volcano on the other. The views over the ruins of Pompeii, the Bay of Naples with the city itself and the islands of Capri and Ischia can be breathtaking.
After some time spent there, we walk down to meet a guide of the National Park of Vesuvius who will lead us on a hike through a totally protected area (The Giants' Valley and the Mt. Somma volcano) where we will look closer to interesting volcanic features and endemic plants, with impressive views on the northern flank of the mountain.
At evening we have dinner in a popular trattoria where excellent seafood and a particularly amusing ambience are served.

Today we visit the world-famous archeological sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum. In 79 A.D. a massive eruption of Vesuvius buried the cities under several meters of volcanic deposits. Due to their fine state of preservation the excavations give us an extraordinarily real image of daily life in a Roman city.
In the morning we will take our time to visit Pompeii, preserved by the volcanic pumice that had covered it for almost two thousands of years. After lunch we go on to visit the excavations of Herculaneum, that has been exceptionally well preserved by hot pyroclastic surges and mud flows. We will see villas, temples, theatres, markets, harbors, spas that once bustled with life.
Our 3th dinner in Naples, the birth place of pizza, will honor this worldwide famous dish accompanied by a variety of seasonal vegetables.

This morning we walk through parts of the Spanish Quarters and then through Santa Lucia Quarters, in sharp contrast to the elegance of the fashionable palaces of the nearby Chiaia Quarter. We reach the small fishing harbour (Borgo Marinaro) dominated by the majestic 11th century castle (Castel dell’Ovo) built on a islet at the waterfront. From here a private boat will take us to discover the impressive volcanic cliffs of the Phlegrean Fields, passing by world-famous sites such as Mergellina, Marechiaro and Posillipo whose dramatic beauty has inspired songs and poetry of the ancient Neapolitan tradition. The cliffs are dominated by the “Neapolitan Yellow Tuff”, a yellowish rock produced by a main eruption which forms the basement of Naples.
We stop at in a beautiful bay for a swim, and we then continue to Baia and Cape Miseno,- the site from which Plinius observed in 79 A.D. the deadly eruption of Vesuvius. Our boat trip ends on a sandy volcanic beach. After some time spent there we continue our day by train. Depending on time further stops could include the Averno volcanic lake (“the gate to hell” in Virgilius’s Eneid) and the naturalistic oasis of the historically born volcano of Monte Nuovo: an easy hike leads to the crater rim generated by the last eruption of the Phlegrean Fields in 1538.

We start the day walking through the most dynamic and exuberant district of Naples. Its heart pulsates in Spaccanapoli (= Splitting Naples), the old market street that literally cuts the quarter in two. Here, traditions have passed down the generations, along a number of craftman’s workshops and Via San Gregorio Armeno, home to the famous Neapolitan Christmas presepe (= crib). Many of the city’s old churches are also to be found in this fascinating district.
Then we will visit Naples Underground, a kind of “parallel city" existing beneath the streets of Naples. Dating from the Greco-Roman periods, a literal labyrinth of interconnected staircases, tunnels, caverns, aqueducts, cisterns, secret passageways and catacombs left when the “Neapolitan Yellow Tuff” was excavated to build the city's palaces. A tour guided by a urban speleologist will lead us through this mysterious underworld: the silence, the blackness and the mystery of thousands of years hidden beneath the noisy city above…
The afternoon is at free disposal. We recommend a visit in the world-class archeological museum housing the most spectacular finds from Pompeii and Herculaneum and/or a short walk and climb by a cable car to the Castel St. Elmo, a wonderful viewpoint from a large medieval castle towering over the city.
For our last dinner in Naples, we could walk to a restaurant at the small fishing harbor, in a superb setting at few meters from the shore.

Using the calm of the morning we will reach the island of Ischia by hydrofoil. We arrive in the harbor of Ischia which occupies the center of an ancient crater. After an easy hike through a shady pine forest we come to the Rotaro volcano still showing steaming fumaroles. We walk down towards the southern side of the island with magnificent views on the coast and passing by the most recent lava flow erupted in 1302.
In the afternoon we come to Maroniti beach, the largest of the island. It is full of thermal springs, natural spas and fumaroles. Here we have time to swim and to explore some ancient spas which date back to the Roman times.
At the end of the day we walk to S. Angelo, an old fishing village turned into an international tourist resort. It’s still a peaceful oasis with no cars, many trees and plants of all sorts, multicolored houses which overlook at the sea, fishing boats in the harbor and a volcanic “islet” attached to the mainland by a thin isthmus of sand.

Our day begins with a walk to the isolated Sorgeto Bay where submarine springs discharge hot water (90°C !), which mixes with seawater. We can have a pleasant swim or steam bath on the cliffs (bathing is possible even in winter!)
Later we reach the village of Serrara Fontana from which we start the climb to the Epomeo volcano, consisting completely of the “Green Tuff”. Once we reach the top there is time to enjoy a fabulous circular view on the whole Bay of Naples. We walk down along the shady northern slope of the Epomeo volcano to reach the village of Forio.
We will spend the rest of the day in the natural spas of the beautiful bay of San Montano. They consist of a series of outdoor and indoor swimming pools, containing mineralized thermal water, and are well known for their therapeutic properties.

Our last day begins with a relaxing walk from the main harbor of the island to the village of Ischia Ponte. There is time to explore the picturesque small streets, the ancient churches and the multicolored fisher’s houses, as well as to do shopping.
Later in the morning we visit the impressive Castello Aragonese, a Medieval castle built in the XV century, standing on a small volcanic island reached via a stone bridge. This castle offers much to see: walled houses and churches, courtyards, antique archways, terraces, gardens and arcades with superb views onto the sea. After the visit we go back to the main harbor. A ferry will take us to Naples where our journey comes to an end.