A day trip to the island of Capri, Italy

Just off the coast of Sorrento in Southern Italy is the island of Capri. Although it’s known as a hotspot for the rich and famous there is so much more to this beautiful island, and it is home to some of the most spectacular natural phenomena I’ve ever seen.

It’s almost impossible to see everything Capri has to offer in just one day, so for my itinerary I opted for a boat trip around the island (and saw the Blue Grotto), took the chairlift up Monte Solaro, and then visited Villa san Michele. If those are some of the things on your itinerary for your Capri trip too, read on!

(If you’re staying in the area and would like some inspiration and guides you can find my full itinerary for the Amalfi Coast here. I was easily able to visit Pompeii, Capri, and some of the towns along the Amalfi drive, too).

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Taking the lift from Sorrento to the port

Although you can get to Capri from Naples, most visitors will travel to the island from Sorrento, which is where I was staying. All my research had told me to get to Capri as early as possible so I was in quite the rush as you can imagine! I took the Sorrento Lift from the Villa Comunale di Sorrento down to the waterfront. It felt a bit weird just entering a lift and going down with no-one else around, but you pay at the kiosk at the bottom. You can buy a single or return too, which costs either €1.10 or €2. I recommend buying a return!

From the bottom of the lift it’s still an 8-9 minute walk to the port, but the route is fairly obvious.

 

Getting ferry tickets to Capri out of season

I visited Capri in late March, well before high season. As a result it was not easy to find out where to buy tickets! All the static ticket booths were closed, and although I had read that the tabaccheria opposite the port sold tickets, they weren’t selling any either (whether this was because it was the off-season I don’t know). They did however direct me to a semi-portable ticket counter on the corner where I could buy a single or return ticket for the ferry. As tickets are timed it’s good to look at the Sorrento to Capri ferry times in advance to figure out your itinerary, otherwise you will need to make a decision there and then. 

Upon receiving tickets I was given a port bay number, and from there I sprinted to the ferry. 

Getting the best views on the ferry across

On the ferry I stood outside at the back to get some ocean views – stay to the left hand side if you’d like to get a photo of Capri as you approach. I got there around 8:50/9am so that if the Blue Grotto was open, I could get tickets for that ASAP (the ticket booth is on the pier as you walk from the ferry to the mainland). More to come on the Blue Grotto later though.

Explore Marina Grande

At the port area (which is called Marina Grande), if you’re facing Capri and turn left there are some bars/restaurants and shops. If you turn right and go past the first building this is where the bus and funicular railway ticket kiosks are. The bus stop is just further along the road and the queues for each destination are clearly marked (i.e. either Capri and Anacapri). The funicular railway (Funicolare) entrance is also easy to spot and goes from the port area up to Piazzetta di Capri in Capri town where there are lots of shops and restaurants. Yes, confusingly there are the towns of Anacapri and Capri…on the island of Capri!

 

If you’re planning on taking a boat trip around the island and have a bit of time to kill before boarding, it’s worth purchasing any bus tickets at this point before the island gets too busy and you end up losing precious time later on. (Even in late March, by 4pm the port area was rammed). Tickets aren’t timed so you can just get on the bus when you’re ready.

Buy some Capri souvenirs

Capri has some rather interesting souvenirs you can buy in addition to your standard tourist fare. One such item is the Capri watch – these jewel studded watches are visually arresting and rather chic, but come with a hefty price tag (€90).

You can also find hand-painted Capri Bells for sale which are said to bring good luck to the owner. These bells feature in a local legend where a young shepherd boy trying to find his lost flock followed the sound of a bell to the edge of a cliff. He was stopped by an apparition of Saint Michael who gave him a bell to protect him from harm and bring good fortune. (It isn’t mentioned but I am assuming he managed to find the sheep). They’re very pretty but not the cheapest souvenir – most of the ones I saw started at €15 although you may be able to find them cheaper elsewhere on the island.

Taking a boat tour around the island of Capri

As you’re walking along the pier from the ferry to the shore, before you reach the shoreline there’s a ticket office. This is where I bought my ticket for a boat tour, operated by Motoscafisti (they’re also the ones who check out if the Blue Grotto is safe to enter each morning). 

There are two boat options available:

• The blue line takes an hour and costs €21, and is purely a transfer to the Blue Grotto if it’s open.
• The yellow line takes two hours and takes you to all the grottos including the Blue Grotto if the grotto is open. If it is open (in which I mean, if the sea is calm enough to be able to enter) the boat will stop and wait for you as you get on a rowboat and visit the Blue Grotto. 

I recommend you take the yellow line, because even if the Blue Grotto isn’t open the boat ride really was the highlight of my visit to Capri. As well as the rugged landscape to be amazed by, there are also other colouful grottos to see and archways to sail through.

As the boat trip goes eastwards around the island I recommend sitting on the right hand side of the boat so that you can get clear views of the island without worrying about people’s heads getting in the way of your photos. The boat trip is given in both Italian and English, although it’s not always easy to hear what’s being said.

Visiting the Blue Grotto

If the Blue Grotto is open, your boat will stop outside the entrance. (You can check to see if the Blue Grotto is open here; the skippers check each day at 9am). From your boat, you then have to board a rowing boat compete with skipper, who will row you over to another boat where you pay your entry fee before taking you to the grotto’s entrance. As it’s not always guaranteed that you’re able to visit the Blue Grotto, and because it is also considered a separate cultural site, that’s why you pay for the boat tour; and then pay extra to visit the Blue Grotto. It’s completely optional though – you can stay on the boat if you don’t fancy seeing the grotto.

Entering the grotto

It can be a bit hairy as you enter the grotto to be honest! The boat can get perilously close to the rock entrance with the swell of the waves and so you have to lay down at the bottom of the boat whilst your skipper uses a chain to pull the boat through the entrance. 

Once you’re in the grotto though, all I can say is – WOW. Our skipper did a number of laps around so we could take it all in, from the silver light dancing on the roof of the cavern to the luminous azure depths below, before having us lie down again and hauling us out into the blazing sun. 

The neon blue colour is due to the the entrance in the rock face that exists below the sea. The sunlight passes through this hole and refracts into the cave, illuminating the water.

Although you don’t have to, we did tip our skipper a couple of Euros each, which was gratefully received. 

Getting to Anacapri

Once I was back on dry land after the boat tour, I hopped on the bus from Marina Grande to Anacapri. Anacapri has some of the more interesting things you can see and do on the island. My first destination was the Monte Solaro chairlift.

 

Taking the chairlift up Monte Solaro

The Monte Solaro chairlift costs €14 return and you can buy your tickets from the kiosk at the bottom. If you’d prefer to just go one way and walk up or back down, you can do that too. 

This chairlift is single-rider only (it wasn’t a bench like I thought it would be) and there’s only a single bar going across, so you need to hold on tight to your stuff!

Going up was such a lovely, peaceful experience though. Birds were tweeting, the grass was bright and lush beneath me, and to the right were beautiful views of Capri. 

At the top of Monte Solaro there wasn’t a whole lot to do other than to admire the view, but honestly what a view. You can see the sea change colour from vibrant aqua near the shore to a calming dark blue, and further away you can also see the rock stacks rising out of the ocean.

 

Visiting Villa San Michele

Once you’re back down, as you leave the chairlift entrance if you keep walking straight you’ll pass by some shops before reaching Villa San Michele, owned by Axel Munthe, a doctor/psychiatrist from Sweden.

His residence was beautiful. Despite living simply, Munthe collected antiquities to decorate his home. Outside, beautiful flowers and archways lead to panoramic views of the island and ocean. 

By the time I had finished looking around, it was time to head back to the harbour.

 

Getting the bus back from Anacapri to the port

Getting the bus back to Marina Grande was actually pretty stressful as I didn’t have a bus ticket. I had read that you could buy tickets from one of the shops opposite the bus stop but it was NOT clear which one. In the end I just went in a shop and asked, and afterwards then saw the tiny ‘we sell bus tickets’ sign on top of a rack of postcards. Fantastic signage right there…

With my ticket in hand, I managed to board the next bus despite the queue, and it was a swift return to the port. (These buses are tiny and often packed so when you’re heading back to the port area for your ferry home it’s worth getting in the queue early to make sure you can get back in time). 

A word of warning when you’re getting the ferry back – it’s not always clear which ferry is for what time, and there are often two or three in the port at once. I ended up watching a tour group get split up as one ferry just upped and left – leaving the guide and half of the tour group on the dock! Luckily they were allowed on another ferry and I got the sense that this happens frequently. Basically, I would advise getting to the pier in plenty of time and checking your ticket with the crew before you get on board. 

On the way back you’re greeted with lovely view of Sorrento from the sea. Whilst in Sorrento you don’t really think about how elevated the town is from the shoreline so it’s an interesting reminder as you approach the port.

Once back in Sorrento, I had a pleasant wander back along the promenade to the lift and back up to the town. (You can find my post on what to see and do in Sorrento here).