Ischia 2026 · Field plan · Forio → the summit → the rabbit
The island's highest point at 789 m, climbed in the cool of the morning, followed by a long lunch of coniglio all'ischitana at the trattoria locals send you to. One car, one loop, no rush.
With dinners now staying in Forio — walkable, no driving, drinks with no taxi to chase — Thursday opens right up. It's a free day, you can start the climb in the cool of the morning, and Bracconiere is open (it closes only Tuesdays). It also leaves Friday as an easy last day before Saturday's ferry.
Want to skip the midday gap? Push everything ~45 min later (leave at 08:45). You'll still climb before the 11:00 heat and roll into Bracconiere closer to opening.
Hotel Umberto a Mare → the village square at Fontana, on the SS270 / Via Provinciale.
Winding but easy in the Fiat 500 — small is an advantage on these lanes. Watch for scooters and oncoming traffic on the blind hairpins. The road climbs steadily from the coast up through Panza and into the hills.
Parking: aim for the square in Fontana, by the small church with the statue of Jesus — that's where the trail begins, at the bend where the bus stops. Spaces are limited and fill up, so an early arrival matters. If the square is full, there's free roadside/lot parking just below in the Serrara–Fontana stretch, and some hikers leave the car near a bar (e.g. Miscillo) along the way up.
▸ Navigate hotel → FontanaFrom Fontana square, turn at the church, follow the signposts uphill. Signposted the whole way.
It starts as a paved lane, eases into a chestnut wood, then narrows to a track and a final steep-ish path carved into the soft tuff rock. Short but genuinely steep near the top.
Back to the car, then down toward Serrara and onto Via Falanga.
Coming from the Forio side, just before Serrara Fontana town there's a left turn signed for Falanga (and the cemetery). Follow it up; signs for Il Bracconiere point off to the right. You genuinely need the car for this one — there's no walking it from the coast.
▸ Navigate Fontana → BracconiereVia Falanga 42, Serrara Fontana · 480 m up, with a veranda over the island's southern flank.
Tuff-and-wood interiors hung with copper pots and old farm tools; one of the last family kitchens cooking locally-raised rabbit. Generous, all-land cooking — this is the rabbit place locals name first.
What to order: the abundant house antipasto; coniglio all'ischitana (one generous rabbit can be shared by up to four); pappardelle or bucatini in rabbit ragù as the primo; rigatoni alla Bracconiere; finish with the lemon dessert and the house "Bracconiere" amaro.
Back down the SS270 to the hotel. Afternoon to recover, then out to Sant'Angelo for Deus Neptunus at 20:00.
▸ Navigate Bracconiere → hotelDropping the out-of-town dinners did the work here: with Pietratorcia gone, Thursday no longer doubles up on rabbit, and there's no late drive or taxi to arrange — you climb in the morning, lunch on the mountain, and roll back into Forio with the whole evening free and on foot.
If you'd rather keep Monday the 29th: the only catch is the fixed 10:00 car pickup at Nausicaa — you can't be on the trail until ~10:40, so you'd climb the exposed sections at the hottest, busiest time. Doable: start the moment you have the keys, carry extra water, take the descent slow.