Locanda sul Mare

I give Albergo Locanda Sul Mare Ischia Island 20 marks out of 20. We stayed at Albergo Locanda Sul Mare for 2 Nights B&B sleeping 3 and 4th Feb 2020. The hotel is 3 mins walk from the main Ischia ferry port. We were 3 Irish fellows on our annual January trekking holiday. I can highly recommend Albergo Locanda Sul Mare on beautiful Ischia Island off the Naples coast. It’s a small 3* inexpensive good value friendly family run hotel. The owner speaks a little english. We communicated in a mix of english , Italian and German to learn all about the area. I think we were the only guests at this quiet time. We had a 3-bed shared room with window facing out to the port, which was very spacious with high ceilings and lots of air. It had a TV which we did not use. It had an air conditioner which also acts as a heater (which we did use a little). There were extra winter blankets in the closet. Shower water was hot and worked well. It was easy to get a perfect quiet night sleep, lovely and in every possible way helpful owner, not expensive and ideal for walkers like ourselves. In the Breakfast room we were served Coffey or tea with local breakfast cake and some fresh local fruit etc. The owner filled my picknick flask with hot water at no extra cost. There are ferries to/from Naples circa hourly, all day even in winter. Our 1 ½ hr. ( there is a more expensive super-fast option ) ferry was perfect and cost circa e12 each way Feb 2020. Naples port is easily reached by public bus or train+bus and a short walk. From Naples port one can catch the Alibus to from the airport ( circa ½ hourly and costs e5 Feb 2020, pay driver on board) . The island is excellent for walkers. There are many ancient structures to see e.g. Castello Aragonese. The streets are narrow and quickly become even more narrow and finally often turn to walking tracks, paved and unpaved.Everywhere there are small interesting vineards, vegetable, lemon and orange plots of land. The tiny villages have lots of interesting small shops. People are friendly , particularly if you try speak a few words in Italian. There are many anchient right of way paths. Getting around the island by bus is simple and inexpensive e.g. circa 1.5 e per trip. Stamp your ticket on the bus machine to validate it. Buy tickets at the bus station or Tobacco shops. I recommend to but a few at a time so you always have one to get home. The busses leave the island bus station which is 3 mins walk from the hotel. The main bus routes, leaving ½ hourly, travel around the circumference of the island in a clockwise ( CD = circulare destra) and anti clockwise ( CS – circolare Sinistra) direction. Ie 2 direction options. There are also numerous busses to various villages. The island is geothermal with many spas which treat various ailments, some of which are public and at least 1 is free ( flows into the sea heating the seawater) . Perhaps also consider a stay and/or travel to/back from the second port Casamiccola ! It is also served by Naples/ Ischia island ferries ( fewer than Ischia main port). Drink a coffey at nearby beautiful plaza village of Lacco Ameno, Piazza Santa Restituta. You might even ask at Bar Isabella if there is possibility to stay at a local B&B ! Our experience winter hiking in Ischia was superb. I believe the island has a walking week in April. I recommend to use the excellent map in the OsmAnd mobile app. It shows most of the small paths and walking routes. In summary: I highly recommend staying at Albergo Locanda Sul Mare Ischia and you will have a super time.