Why Procida?
I have traveled extensively throughout Italy for the past 10 years, and I can honestly say that Procida is towards the top of my list of truly magical places in this wonderful country. This island is so peaceful, you’d never know it was neighbors with the Amalfi Coast and Capri. Yet, you can see both from some amazing viewpoints on the island. Do yourself a favor and read this post to find out why this place should 100% be on your radar.
*One note I will make, if you have mobility issues Procida would be an extremely difficult place to stay without some serious proper planning. Almost anywhere you need to go involves very cobbled streets and many, many stairs. There would absolutely still be ways to do it, but feel free to reach out to me so I can give you some guidance if you’re planning to visit this island.
How to get to & around Procida
Procida is an island and therefore you must arrive by boat. We took a ferry from Naples, Italy and it took about 40 minutes. When you are booking ferries it is important to note that both ferries and hydrofoils travel this route. The ferries are larger and take cars as well, you can expect a slower but smoother ride. The hydrofoil is a bit quicker, but if the sea is rough it can be a more difficult ride.
You can also take ferries to Procida from a number of towns on the Amalfi Coast, as well as from its next door neighbor island of Ischia.
I do not recommend bringing a car to Procida and in fact I believe in peak summer season you are not allowed to bring one as a tourist anyway. Regardless, it is very easy to get around the island on foot and by public mini bus. A car is truly not needed here.
The best time to visit Procida
The best time to visit here would be May-September. It will be a bit quieter during the “off season” times. However, I am sure you’d still find it as lovely any time of year. Don’t be scared off by anyone telling you not to come in peak summer. We visited at the very end of July and it was not crowded at all. Make sure you can book accommodation and everything else will be absolutely fine. Highlights of this island include beaches, boat tours, and sitting outside enjoying the views, so you want to go when you can enjoy those types of activities.
Where to Stay in Procida
Casa Claudia
I feel so lucky that I found the delightful little apartment that we stayed in. Casa Claudia was in the most charming area of the island “Corricella”. The pastel homes and shops here are a scene I had dreamed of seeing in person and truly now will never forget. Being able to stay right in this area was a dream come true.
Our apartment was small, but well appointed for 2 people. We had a nice little kitchen area, a good bathroom, and a nice little bedroom that was very peaceful and quiet. The highlight of our stay was our balcony terrace. We sat outside day and night to watch the world go by on the delightful marina. Each morning we sat and sipped coffee as we watched the town wake up, and each evening we watched things close down under the stars. It was the absolute most perfect location and we could walk to anything we needed on the island.
You can check out and book the apartment here —-> Casa Claudia, Procida
San Michele
If you prefer a hotel, there were two other spots that I looked at extensively and was able to peek at while we were there that also looked like lovely stays. The fist was San Michele Boutique Hotel. This place was actually next door to us, and built kind of around our apartment. The views from here are lovely and the rooms have balconies and terraces that face the sea. They also have a lovely restaurant (which we had dinner at), they had a very kind and helpful staff, and breakfast looked lovely as well. This is a bohemian style vibe and it looked really clean and chic.
If you’re interested in that vibe, you can check out the hotel here —-> Hotel San Michele
Hotel La Corricella
Finally, a third hotel also located in this same area, that I found to be so lovely, was called “La Corricella”. This hotel is toward the end of the marina so it has a lovely view looking back at the whole scene. They have a nice restaurant that we had a very delicious dinner at, and also had a very kind and pleasant staff. The rooms look clean and well decorated and they have fantastic reviews on booking.com! Honestly, if I return to this island, and I hope I do, this is where I will stay, the views can not be beat.
If this sounds like a fit for you, check it out here —–> La Corricella
Where to Eat on Procida Island
La Lampara
I just mentioned the hotel “La Corricella” above, and “La Lampara” is their in-house restaurant. The food and views here were fantastic. I highly recommend booking a table here for a sunset dinner. I had a fantastic tuna here for my main and my cousin had a pasta that thrilled her. The tiramisu here we both agreed was one of the BEST we’ve ever had! All of the food coming out here looked amazing and I found it to be very well priced for the views and how delicious everything was. I highly recommend a meal here!
Il Pescatore
This is the restaurant located right on the marina and belonging to the “San Michele” hotel. This place had such a light and fun vibe, we tried their lemon salad which was a really unique and fun dish. I had a fish pasta and my cousin had gnocchi. It’s nice to sit right on the marina and enjoy the scene while you eat. All of the staff here were so friendly and helpful.
Fuego
We didn’t get a chance to eat here, but we walked by a number of times, and if you’re looking for a good pizza, this looked like THE SPOT! The pizzas here looked fantastic and the view and spot right on the marina is also so nice. I will absolutely visit this spot if we return to the island.
Da Maria Alla Corricella
We didn’t have dinner here, but we had coffee and pastries here twice and it did not disappoint. You MUST get the traditional lemon pastry of the island called “Lingua di Procida”. We also enjoyed their braided chocolate pastry.
Things to Do in Procida
Explore Corricella Marina
As I already mentioned, this is the most beautiful area of the island. The views here are postcard perfect and the whole area is so gorgeous. There are small boutique shops, restaurants, and boats everywhere.
Explore the Main Port Area
This is a lively area as the ferries come in here. You can shop along the main drag, hop on or off the ferries, hop on a boat for the day, eat, drink, and enjoy the scene. We loved popping into the small shops here and chatting to some of the locals. We also had a nice aperitivo down here and if we’d had a 3rd night I would have tried somewhere on this side for dinner.
Explore the Beaches
Procida has some of the most lovely and dramatic beaches. Within walking distance from where we stayed was “Spaggia Chiaia” and we really enjoyed this beach. It had a little area with umbrellas and a snack bar, but also a great amount of public space where you could just throw down a towel and enjoy. You do have to go down a considerable amount of switch back stairs to reach this beach, so accessibility wise, you’d need to be capable of that. The water here was so calm and shallow, you will find lots of local families and Italians on vacation here which we really loved.
There is also an area on the far side of the island with a lovely strip of beaches and little beach clubs. I say “far” side, but it’s important to know that this island is quite small. You could walk the whole thing in about an hour or you could take the busses very quickly and easily. This are was called “Spiaggia libera di Ciraccio” and if you do have mobility issues, this would be a much better choice for you. You can bus to these beaches and they are right off of the road. There is also another small port at this end of the island and a few shops and restaurants you can check out.
Take a boat tour around the island
In my humble opinion, this is absolutely one of the best things you can do on the island. It is such a glorious way to see it all, and the water and views are just incredible the entire time. You can get all the way around the island fairly quickly, but there are also tons of little stops you can make for places to swim and sights to see. As you’re going around part of the island you also get some amazing views of Ischia and it’s show stopping castle!
I highly recommend the tour we took and the most wonderful captain Luigi. I am not affiliated with this tour in any way, but I enjoyed it immensely. We paid 500 euro for 6 hours for a private boat. He took us around the whole island and showed us some special spots that were gorgeous for swimming that could only be reached by boat! He cooked us an amazing lunch on board that consisted of bruschetta with tomato from his garden and local mozzarella. He made a cacio e pepe type pasta with some lemon added that was truly delightful and he finished the meal with some fried eggplant from his garden. He also made a lovely apricot sangria that we drank all day and shared some of his homemade liquor with us as a finale. We loved being able to see the whole island this way. You could also pay 90 pp and go on a tour with others, we just personally preferred the private option.
Walk up the hill to the Panoramica sulla Corricella:
If you’ve ever seen a postcard or instagram view of Procida island, this is likely the view you’ve seen. Walk up the hill to enjoy this dreamy view. I HIGHLY recommend you do this for sunset as you can see over the whole island as well as the Marina Corricella. There was a little truck here serving drinks and snacks and it was such a lovely place to hang out and watch the sun dip. We were lucky enough to have a little musical act hanging out up there as well on the night we were there. I assume this is a common thing in this area.
Visit the “Abbazia di San Michele Arcangelo” & the Belevedere Viewpoints
Continue up further up from the Panoramica sulla Corricella to explore the “Abbazia di San Michele Arcangelo” and the Belevedere viewpoints. You can see over the whole Amalfi Coast and all the way to the Island of Capri from here. It is really stunning and worth the walk up!
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