Thermal baths of Ischia: parks, free springs and getting around

Ischia has 46 square kilometres, six municipalities, about 58,000 inhabitants and a highest point of 789 metres. On an island this small, hot springs emerge almost everywhere, and for over a century an industry has grown up around them: parks with dozens of pools at different temperatures, hotels with a thermal pool, establishments contracted with the national health service, and a few spots where hot water gushes into the sea and costs nothing. Today, 12 November 2026, the season of the big parks is over and the 2027 dates are partly announced. Here you will find what the operators publish, park by park, and what stays open in winter.

The parks at a glance

Giardini Poseidon, the biggest

The Giardini Poseidon are in Forio, in Citara bay, in Via Giovanni Mazzella. The park has 20 thermal pools, some in greenhouses, at temperatures between 16 and 40°C, and the wellness centre. In 2026 the season ran from 18 April to 31 October, with the park open from 9:00 to 19:00 (from 25 October until 17:30; the wellness centre closes at 18:30, from 1 October at 17:30).

The park's 2026 prices: full day 50 euros, afternoon entry from 13:00 at 45 euros (from 25 October from 12:00), evening visit from 18:00 to 19:00 at 8 euros (a walk in the park only, with no pools or services). You leave a deposit of 5 euros for the wristband, returned on exit. The ticket is personal. In all the pools a swimming cap is compulsory and you shower first; the pools are emptied half an hour before closing. Children: up to 3 years free, from 4 to 11 years half price, but under-12s are not admitted to the thermal area: they have the shallow pools, the beach and the Olympia seawater pool. Passes of 3 to 12 days: 45 euros a day (40 in the afternoon). Telephone 081 908 7111.

Negombo, in San Montano bay

Negombo covers more than 9 hectares designed by the landscape architect Ermanno Casasco, on the San Montano beach at Lacco Ameno. Duke Luigi Silvestro Camerini chose the spot in 1946 because it reminded him of a bay in Ceylon. In 2026 the season ended on 13 October, the hours were 8:30-19:00 (8:30-18:30 from 5 October) and the next opening is on 23 April 2027. The Ipomea fair in 2027 is set for 28 to 30 May.

The 2026 price list valid from 23 April to 3 July and from 14 September to 11 October gives these prices for an adult: 55 euros for the full day (8:30-19:00, with umbrella, sun lounger and chair), 40 euros from 13:30, 30 euros from 16:00. For a child between 1 and 1.40 metres: 28, 26 and 23 euros. Under 1 metre is free; over 1.40 metres the full price is paid. Anyone shorter than 1.40 metres cannot use the thermal pools, but has the seawater pools and the beach. For several days: 3 days 150 euros, 6 days 295 euros, 9 days 420 euros, 12 days 550 euros for an adult. Full days are booked on prenotazioni.negombo.it until 18:00 the day before; at the ticket desk only if space remains. Beach towel 8 euros, bathrobe 13. The ticket includes the 13 pools, the Turkish bath and the beach; the July and August price list is not online. Telephone 081 986152.

Castiglione, Nitrodi and the others

The Castiglione park, at Via Castiglione 62 in Casamicciola Terme, has indoor and outdoor pools at different temperatures; the website says that the 2027 season dates will be published "soon" and tickets are bought with an online booking form (081 982551). Aphrodite-Apollon at Sant'Angelo, Tropical and the Giardino Eden do not publish 2026 prices and dates online: they generally open from April to October, so the 2027 season is not yet announced.

The Fonte delle Ninfe Nitrodi is a case apart: it has no pools but showers, with water at 28°C with no additives, used for centuries for the skin. It is in Via Pendio Nitrodi, at Buonopane (Barano d'Ischia), and reopens on 21 March 2027. A footpath starts from the bridge on the SS270; the bus lines CD and CS stop nearby. Telephone 081 990528.

The free springs

Baia di Sorgeto, in the Panza district of Forio, is an inlet where hot water and sea water mix in natural pools among the rocks: up to 37°C, free entry, open all year round. You can get there only after about 200 steps. Address: Via Sorgeto 35. Other free springs and the rules of the place are on the page about free thermal springs.

Cavascura is a narrow valley near Sant'Angelo, about 300 metres from the Maronti beach: grottoes carved in the tuff, small waterfalls, water that reaches about 90°C at the spring and 70-80°C at the showers. You follow the hot stream up to a pool between the walls. Official hours 9:30-13:00 and 14:00-17:30, open from Easter; the price is not published (telephones 081 999242 and 081 905564). The fumaroles of the Maronti are a different phenomenon: hot gas rising from the sand, with the risk of burning your feet.

Treatments with the national health service

Many establishments on the island are contracted with the health service. You need a prescription from your family doctor, only one cycle a year (12 sessions), and the ticket is paid at the establishment unless exempt. Terme di Cavascura is among the contracted centres. A list of treatments and amounts is on the page about health.

Getting there from Naples

Snav hydrofoils leave from the Molo Beverello and reach Casamicciola in about 45 minutes, with daily sailings all year round. Caremar base fares from Naples: 14.80 euros by ferry, 21.60 by hydrofoil; from Pozzuoli 11.20 euros by ferry; children up to 4 years not yet completed travel free on the ferries. There are also connections from Pozzuoli and Sorrento. Before booking, work out which port you need: Casamicciola is the closest to Castiglione and Lacco Ameno, Forio to the Poseidon. The portal ischia.it publishes the ban on landing vehicles with Campania number plates (in 2025 from 18 April to 31 October).

Getting around the island

The Ente Autonomo Volturno (EAV) runs the buses. The circular lines CS and CD go round the island in opposite directions; the 1 and the 2 serve other routes. The 2026 timetables are divided by season (spring, summer, autumn, winter) and published as PDFs on ischia.it. From 1 June 2026 the single ticket costs 1.70 euros, the day ticket 5.10, the 3-day ticket 11.00 and the weekly ticket 14.50; on board the ticket costs more. Information on the freephone number 800 211388.

Where to stay

The choice depends on proximity to the park you want to visit. At Forio you are close to Poseidon and Citara bay; at Lacco Ameno to Negombo and San Montano bay; at Casamicciola to the port and Castiglione; at Barano and at Sant'Angelo to the Maronti and Cavascura; at Ischia Porto you are in the middle of everything, with the buses. For winter, when the parks are closed, the choice is a hotel with a thermal pool: ask whether it is open and at what temperature.

1. Naples, Molo Beverello: hydrofoil departures
2. Giardini Poseidon, Forio: Citara bay, 18 Apr-31 Oct 2026
3. Negombo, Lacco Ameno: reopens 23 April 2027
4. Castiglione, Casamicciola: 2027 dates not announced
5. Nitrodi, Buonopane: reopens 21 March 2027
6. Baia di Sorgeto, Panza: free, 200 steps
7. Cavascura, Sant'Angelo: 9:30-13:00 and 14:00-17:30