Procida faces west on the side of the Chiaiolella and Vivara, and from there the sun drops behind Ischia. From the water, with the engine off, it is something worth the price of the ticket. This tour lasts two hours, costs from 50 EUR a head and includes music on board, an alcoholic or soft drink and homemade snacks. The swim stop is optional.
An honest note on the rating. On GetYourGuide the product comes out at 4.9 out of 5, but on just 12 reviews. That is not enough to treat the number as a settled judgement: twelve happy people are not the same thing as three hundred. The listing carries no promotional badges. Read the reviews one by one, instead of trusting the average.
What the trip is like
It is the loop of the island, the same one the morning tours do, made at the hour when the light changes. You pass below Terra Murata, in front of Corricella, along the west coast towards Vivara and the lighthouse. The difference is not the route, it is the hour.
The music on board is stated, and it should be taken as useful information in two directions. If you are after the mood of an aperitivo, it is there. If you are after the silence of the sea at sunset, this is not your tour, and it pays to know that before you get on.
The swim stop is optional. At the end of the day the water is still warm and a swim at sunset is one of the best things about a Procida summer. But bear in mind that you then come back wet, in the evening, with the air starting to cool: your own towel and a sweatshirt change the last half hour.
Leaving from Corricella
You leave from Marina Corricella, next to the Madonnina, between two restaurants: the boat is called "Lady G". Having a name and a precise spot is useful, because there are a great many boats moored along the Corricella quay.
Watch the logistics, though, because here they are different from the tours that leave from the harbour. Corricella is an entirely pedestrian village: you go down on foot by one of the four stairways, or you arrive by sea. There is no vehicle access. If you are sleeping up on the hill or at the Chiaiolella, work out the time to reach the quay, and work it out for the way back too, which happens in the dark.
If you are sleeping in the village — at the Hotel La Corricella, for example — this tour is literally on your doorstep, and the evening return becomes its strong point. For everybody else, the climb at the end of the evening is something to reckon on.
An aperitivo, not dinner
The product includes a drink and homemade snacks. It is an aperitivo, not a meal: anyone who gets on thinking dinner is sorted gets off hungry. Better to know it and book a table for afterwards.
The advantage, coming back to Corricella, is that the restaurants are on the quay where you land. Caracalé and Il Pescatore are on the quay, Fuego is the pizzeria with that view, and La Lampara sits higher up, with the terrace on the railing that has to be booked well in advance. The round-up is in the guide to the restaurants of Procida.
On the tour’s languages I have no verified figure and I am not writing one. If you need commentary in a specific language, check the listing when you book.
The right hour, and how it shifts month by month
A sunset tour has a problem nobody writes on the listing: sunset moves. In June the sun goes down late and two hours of sailing take you into full evening; in September it goes down earlier, and the same departure hands you back a different hour. When you book, look at the time of the slot next to the time of sunset on that day, not in the abstract.
There is a question of route as well. Procida faces west on the side of the Ciraccio, the Chiaiolella and Vivara: the sun goes down there, behind Ischia. On the east side, below Corricella and Terra Murata, you do not see the sunset — you see the light coming on over the houses, which is another fine thing but is not the same. The loop touches both sides: ask in which order, if it matters to you.
The afternoon, on this side of the island, is also the hour of the mistral. With a strong wind the swim stop becomes uninviting and the way back takes longer. In windy weeks, you are better off keeping the morning tour and watching the sunset from land.
Is it worth it?
The idea, yes: sunset from the water, on this coast, is one of the few things worth spending fifty euros on without thinking twice. The specific product, on the other hand, has to be judged with caution, and not because there is anything wrong with it: simply because twelve reviews are not enough to say how it went for everybody. It is a young activity, with few judgements and no badge.
What I would do. I would read the twelve reviews in full — it takes five minutes — looking at the dates and at what is described, not at the average. Then I would decide. If you do not fancy the risk, there are two alternatives with much wider bases: the trip with underwater photos, 396 reviews, and the tour with swim stops, 87. They run in daylight, but they are tried and tested products.
The third way, for anyone who wants the sunset without a middleman: hiring a boat without a licence, 170 EUR a group for up to four people for eight hours. If there are four of you, the bill is similar and you decide the hours. I will add, as a resident, that the sunset is perfectly good from land as well: from the Vivara bridge at the Chiaiolella, free, with the sun dropping behind the islet.
