PEYTON LEE: Procida, Italy!

This week, I took a quick day trip to the beautiful Italian island of Procida, right off the coast of Naples!!

View of the water on the way into the Port

Main Port of Procida

Procida, Italy is like a slice of Naples cut off and hidden away from tourists that became a beautiful getaway with winding streets and color around every turn.

My favorite part of my trip to Procida was the lack of Wifi on the island. I'm free to take pictures of all of the sights without worrying about what people will think about my trip. Traveling to this isolated island made my traveling more about "experiencing" things instead of just "seeing" things.

Procida was a small, colorful island with curvy bays and sandy shorelines. You can see all of the most important sights within just a few hours. From Naples, you take an hour-long ferry to the Island. Be sure to coordinate your ferry back so you have plenty of time if you have to get to your train or flight!

Marina of Corricella

To get across the island of Procida, you'll take the L1 bus around. The price for a one-way trip was only €1.70! The pickup point was at the Main Port, and we rode the bus all the way to Chiaollela Beach. This was my favorite beach on the island, full of giant cliffs, deep blue water, and the views of amazing mountains. You can walk pretty much anywhere on the island, but the roads are very narrow and you have to almost press yourself to the walls of the buildings when a car is coming by.

Marina of Corricella

The language barrier was very hard to conquer because almost no one speaks English on this isolated region. Luckily since my friends and I have been in Italy for about two months now, we knew enough Italian to ask a few locals about how to get around. However, everyone is extremely friendly on the island, many people let me pet their dogs and were willing to point us in the right direction to the beach!

One thing that I've been continually learning in Italy is patience. Everyone in Italy takes their time! It's their lifestyle. This applies to almost every situation. In restaurants, sometimes you will be sitting down for ten minutes before someone will come take your order. Buses throughout Procida were on a 20-minute loop, but the bus didn't come to pick us up from Chiaollella Beach until 3:40. Our ferry was departing the island at 4pm, and we were very stressed to make the 15 minute trip across the island in time. Thankfully, the incovenience of the slow-paced lifestyle on an Italian island came in handy when we finally made it to the main port at 3:59 and the ferry had not even shown up yet. It didn't even come for another 20 minutes!The inconvenience had worked to our advantage. I've learned it's good to take your time and not worry about time because you'll always find your way back. Part of the experience is enjoying every second of the trip and seeing every beautiful sight to take mental pictures to remember forever.

Marina of Corricella

I loved Procida because it was a charming little town with little to no tourists (besides myself). There can be pros and cons to this. When there aren't many tourists, no locals feel the need to know any English! But at the same time it was so refreshing to not have vendors walking up to me asking if I wanted to buy a selfie stick. I enjoyed the small town feel with amazing beach views.

If you're looking to visit Procida, here's a list of some must see destinations.

1. Marina of Corricella- This is the colorful Marina with the buildings that are the most picturesque pastel buildings. Once you land at the main port from the ferry, follow the signs to the Marina! It's no longer than a 10 minute walk. You can sit out and enjoy some fresh seafood outside on the Marina at one of the multiple restaurants!

2. Terra Murata- This is the giant mountain that you will see as you arrive to the port. There are several old buildings and churches to explore, and if you climb to the top you'll have a breath-taking view of the Marina that everyone sees on google images.

3. Chiaiolella Beach- A beach on the opposite side of the island from the port that has giant cliffs and cute restaurants on the water that I'm sure will be poppin' in the summertime. The bus stop takes you right to the sand and it's very simple to get to!! Definitely the best view of the island.

Chiaiolella Beach

There are two other beaches that I wasn't able to see but I would recommend if you have more time:

4. Chiaia Beach- reached by traveling down a lot of stairs, and apparently worth the trek!

5. Pozzo Vecchio- a scenic bay view right below the cliffs on the island!

It you're looking for a colorful beach town that isn't tourist infested like Cinque Terre or Amalfi Coast, I highly recommend Procida. If you finish exploring Procida and want to see more, right next to the island is a larger version of it, Ischia (a 20-minute ferry away). Unfortunately we were unable to see Ischia because of our time constraints (like having to get back to take midterms in Florence). If I had more time I would definitely venture over to the other island.