Procida, Italy - full guide to exploring the island of thousand colours and mysteries (+VIDEO)

Italy is famous for its hidden gems. More often than not, however, people settle for world famous places like Rome, Florence, Cinque Terre, Naples and list goes on and on because one thing that Italy is not lacking is World’s TOP destinations.

They are must see, no doubt in that, but in an era of individuality and of everyone wanting to see something only few have seen it is wiser to do research and head for places that are ignored by mainstream travel guides.

Lost in happiness team, while wishing vigorously to see every famous spot on earth, is up for the challenge to explore lesser known places by taking an advantage of one of us living in Italy and other one visiting quite often.

So here it goes. Ever heard of Procida?

You might have seen this and that from this beautiful island if you are following this account from the very beginning but the biggest probability is that you joined only recently, and even missed the video that we made about this place (no worries, we post it here too, see below!).

(Video was originally posted in November, 2017)

For this reason the time has come to devote a proper post (description, pictures and video, all in one post for you to enjoy) for this minuscule island that really deserves to be treated as one of the Top attractions in Italy for dolce far niente lifestyle lovers.

General intro

Procida is 4.1 square km island located in the gulf of Naples (Yes, it is South, baby!). It is often overlooked by tourists as a better known island Ischia famous for it’s high life is basically right by it’s side.

While Ischia is swarming with tourists, shops, restaurants and fancy dressed people, Procida has managed to remain primarily an island of fishermen.

And while you do see shops and restaurants quite a lot they still got that peaceful good-old-days feel. Countless colourful boats all around the island every morning filled with fresh fish and sea monsters (yeah, you read it right), old fisherman sitting by their houses and sewing the nets while older ladies do laundry right on the street remind you that you are in an authentic place that has not been tailored to fit your tourist needs. It is the right kind of place to be happy!

So just blend in and be the happy kid getting to eat fresh fruit right from the trees. A pomegranate? Here you go! What about a kiwi? No problem you little nugget, enjoy!

Be a guy joining in for the football match right in the main square of the island and ending up making friends that last.

Be the lady to drink a glass of prosecco next to a table of a bunch of older Italian men playing cards and staring at you with no hesitation WHATSOEVER.

Best time to go

We went to Procida mid October which might seem quite late for summer vacation, but South of Italy is gentle and even though Procida is not the extreme South as Sicily or Calabria it takes you right back to summer in October too. Needles to say, a lot of time was spent by the sea and in the sea working on that tan to last till Christmas (mission accomplished by the way).

I would expect that in summer it does get a fair share of tourism, majority of tourists being Italians themselves, however. In October it felt that we were the only non-Italians there.

Quick-tip July and August is extremely hot in the South of Italy. So if you prefer a milder temperatures that are still warm and good for swimming opt for September - October or alternatively May - June.

This is us on our cute balcony surrounded with trees!

Another perk of going to Procida and Italy in general outside of the high season (If I am not mistaken June through July) is a dramatic reduction in accommodation prices. We paid around 65 euros/night for a house with 3 rooms, 2 min walking from the beach and literally one step from the port. In high season I this price would increase x4.

Food

One thing that we expected to do is to eat a lot of fish and that’s what we did. Basically every restaurant on this island is a fish restaurant. And while it was not as cheap as we hoped for the food was definitely worth the money. Be ready to spend around 30-40 euros on a dinner (Starters, main dish, shared bottle of wine, & dolce).
Alternatively, go for the main dish only and a glass of wine and you should be good for 15-20 euros, depending on what the main dish is.

Quick-tip If you are on a budget, always go for pizza. If your favourite one is Margherita, you are in luck. In South it should never cost more than 5 euros, otherwise you are being played! Needless to say, it will be the most delicious pizza in your life.

You should definitely not miss a chance to try le lingue, authentic Procida pastry still made by the recipes of good old days.

Spots to see

What regards sightseeing get-lost strategy works best. I find it hard to think of place where this strategy doesn’t work, actually. However, prepare for some serious uphill-downhill walking. The island is really tiny so you manage to see a lot in little time.

When we arrived at the port of Procida we realised that our accommodation was located on the other side of the island. We were terrified to enter the address in google maps in fear to discover having to take multiple buses and long walks.

No sweat, 40 minutes on foot and we were on the other side. So now you see how tiny Procida is, right?

While walking to our place we crossed the port and the main square, the historical center, new center (still historical in our perception), a bit of coastline and arrived at the port on the other side of the island. All that in less than 40 minutes!

The best spots for some serious picture snapping according to lost in happiness team are as follows:

• The view of the historical center from the Terra Murata hill.

• Faraglione on the Chiaiolella beach

• Marina Corricella and the view to the Monastery

• The bridge to the Vivara, an even tinier island connected to Procida.

• The lighhouse at Marina di Procida

• Thousand colourful facades of the buildings in the historical centre ( you won't be able to stop photographing them, believe us!)

To summarise our experience in Procida it would be best described by the magnitude of colours this island has. It was unbelievably colourful experience that gave us a taste of an island living, of a place stuck in time where you can truly grasp the beauty of Italian dolce far niente (sweet-nothing-doing).

Procida is a true fraction of happiness floating in the Mediterranean.
And we've been lucky enough to get lost in happiness there together.

Video and all pictures made by us, the lost in happiness team.

Her Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/anitagigante/
His Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/toms.rings/