Procida Day Trip

Procida is the smallest island in the Bay of Napoli (the three islands are Procida, Ischia, and Capri) and I have been lucky enough to look at it every day for the last three years while living in Monte di Procida, just across the water on the mainland. This tiny fishing island was named the Italian Capital of Culture in 2022 and was the first time an island received this title. It is a perfect summer day trip because you take the mid-morning ferry over and an evening ferry back, spending the day by the water and eating fantastic food. 

I spent the day on Procida with my good friend and Procida expert, Rossella Scotto of Scotto Realty. I first met her when we moved to Italy and she helped us not only find our perfect home but also made me fall in love with our area (check out this list of my favorite things in Campi Flegrei because most of them are probably her recommendations). She is a huge reason why Italy felt not just like a place we lived, but like a place we called home. 

Here is how we spent one day in Procida:

10:20am

Procida is an easy ferry ride from either Napoli or Pozzuoli, but for those of us who live in Campi Flegrei, summer is the easiest time to get to Procida because we have a ferry that leaves from our backyard (the Monte di Procida port, called Acquamorta) every day for Procida. We took the Ippocampo ferry, or traghetto, and bought our tickets at the Tabaccheria Minicuccio by the port. Because we are residents, we paid a lower fee for the round trip ticket so make sure if you live in town to take advantage of this. There isn’t a clear sign that shows where the ferry pulls in but it’s pretty obvious by the large group of people congregating and by the open space on the pier — there’s really only one place where a boat the size of even this small ferry can back in. It will be roughly in this spot. They will take your ticket as you board and then you grab a seat, sit back, and relax for the quick 20 minute ride to Procida. 

10:40am

Once we got to Procida, we walked through the port and headed straight to Dal Cavaliere, one of the most famous bars on Procida. They are known for two pastries: the lingua di Procida and the frollicella. The lingua has been my favorite pastry ever since we tried it our first time on Procida on October 2022. It is lemony, flaky, has a sugary crunchy topping, yet isn’t too sweet. It is not a trip to Procida without one of these pastries. I’m pretty sure everyone gets off the ferry and comes for a lingua. I also highly recommend, when you go to the counter to pay, they you pre-order a tray to pick up before getting on the ferry. We did this and when we went back to the bar we saw almost everyone from our ferry doing the exact same thing — picking up a tray of lingua to take home for their family. 

The frollicella pastry is also delicious, although I can’t eat an entire one. It is made with a dough called pasta frolla and filled with a thick cream. They did a fun play on words and named it the frollicella, combining the name of the dough with the name of the most famous (and most photographed spot on the island), the Marina di Corricella. 

I was excited that with our pastries, I was able to introduce Rossella to my favorite Italian coffee, which is caffè Leccese. This type of coffee comes from Lecce, a city in the southern region of Puglia. You combine a little bit of almond milk syrup over ice with an espresso. It is light, a little sweet, and extremely refreshing, especially when it is easily 35° out. I took it as high praise for Rossella to say she doesn’t usually enjoy iced coffee but she really liked this. 

12pm

After paying (and ordering our lingua for later), we headed to the end of the port to another tabacchi by the bus station to buy bus tickets for the day. We took the C2 bus up to the view point looking over the Corricella. You can also use this bus to get up to the castle.

The Corricella is probably one of my favorite spots in all of Southern Italy. Every time I see it, it feels just as special as the first time. The houses are so vibrant and colorful and almost remind me of when you see gelato flavors lined up next to each other in the case. Whether I’m seeing it from above, on the island, or from the sea on a boat, I feel overwhelmed at how lucky we have been to call this part of the world ours for even just this short amount of time. 

1pm

We enjoyed this view point (and I tried not to cry thinking about how I can’t live here forever) and then walked down to grab sandwiches and waters from a small shop near Piazza dei Martiri. There is also a great place that sold fish burgers called Assafà but we were in the mood for cold sandwiches because we thought they would transport better to the beach. 

After we grabbed food, we walked to the bus stop but after checking the Procida app against walking directions, decided to just walk to our swimming spot because it was the same timing and not a super up hill walk. This app is the official app of the island and can help with bus schedules, maps, things to do, renting things like boats or bikes, etc. 

2pm

By the time we got down to the water, we were both more than ready to throw ourselves into the sea. Like the other islands in this area, you will find a mix of some sandy beaches, including volcanic dark sand and pebble coves, and many, many spots where you can access the water via rocky cliffs. You will find the most beautiful beaches in the area of the Chiaolella. Some of the best are Vivara, Lido La Rotonda, and Spiaggia della Chiaia (which is on the other side of the island).

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing on the cliffs, dipping in and out of the water, and eating our sandwiches. If you plan to swim by the cliffs instead of heading to one of the sandier beaches, I definitely recommend packing water shoes in your beach bag as the rocks are hot, rough, and get slippery with the algae. You also need to make sure to watch out for sea urchins. It was a perfect, slow Sunday afternoon.

4:15pm

We packed up and made our way back up the cliffs to walk towards the port. We wanted to leave enough time not only to pick up our pastries at Dal Cavaliere but also to shop at the boutiques by the port. One of my favorites is Maccarìa, a souvenir shop that carries beautiful handmade pieces and collaborates not only with local artists but artists from all over Italy (they currently have a ceramicist I love from Sicily). This is a great spot to stop to pick up gifts or small souvenirs that do,n’t feel like things you see in every other tourist spot across Southern Italy. We admired the gorgeous paintings in the Nappa Luigi art gallery, picked up this year’s Procida Racconta (a book published each year from Procida’s literary festival) from a local bookstore, checked out the beautifully illustrated postcards at the same bookstore, and found some cute dresses at One Day boutique.

6:15pm

The ferry to head back to Monte di Procida departs at 6:15pm so we picked up our pastries, grabbed some water and a lemon granita, and headed back for the port. One thing to pay attention to is the ferry might not leave from the exact same spot it dropped you off. Procida is a tiny island, and the port is even tinier, so it would be really hard to miss the ferry, but it’s definitely something to be aware of.

If you are going to be on the island a bit longer, or want to opt for an aperitivo instead of shopping, a great spot to check out would also be blu, located in the Corricella, where you can enjoy a drink in a grotto before heading home for the night.

Procida really is the easiest day trip, especially if you are able to come from Monte di Procida or even Pozzuoli. If you are staying on Procida, you can combine it with a trip to Ischia, another one of our favorite spots. If you are interested in learning more about Procida or Campi Flegrei as a whole, I cannot recommend anymore more highly that Rossella. She is one of the people I will miss most when we leave Italy and I am grateful beyond words to know her. Ti voglio tanto bene, amica mia.