Boat ride from Naples to Capri

Old May 10th, 2016, 05:14 AM
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Boat ride from Naples to Capri

I'm wondering the boat ride from Naples to Capri ever get canceled for the entire day due to bad weather condition.
Originally, we were thinking about based in Sorrento and spend a day in Capri island, Recently, I found a reasonably priced hotel room in Capri. So, I was thinking if we should spend a night there and our schedule would be less hectic trying to get to the island and avoid the super long line at blue grotto (since i'm traveling with kids). However, at the same time, I'm wondering if i book a room in Capri but the boat ride got cancelled that day, what am I going to do? What is the chance of that happening in the mid-late August?
Thanks so much in advance.
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Old May 10th, 2016, 06:16 PM
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Oh gosh - you're micro-managing. Who can predict the weather?

It is up to you to take the risk to stay on Capri or not, however from my experience ferries from Capri to Naples are only cancelled in howling gales and extremely bad weather - which is unlikely in August.

People live on Capri and work in Naples so need this service for commuting. It is not a joyride for tourists.
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Old May 29th, 2016, 11:51 AM
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Got it. I just want to make sure boat rides are only cancelled on extreme weather. Thanks for the confirmation.
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Old May 29th, 2016, 02:00 PM
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The ferries from Naples won't be cancelled unless something horrific happens with tne weather. The boat rides around Capri are often cancelled. We had to wait several days to go on a boat around the island, Blue Grotto, etc. due to rough seas.
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Old Jun 10th, 2016, 08:35 PM
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I was very glad to stay on Capri for a night -- it is so much more magical after daytrippers leave, and being able to start exploring early was such an advantage!

Of course, I would never plan a trip without knowing that I could move on when necessary -- that doesn't seem to me like micro-managing at all, just taking being prudent! If I understand your question and the responses, you might want to make sure that your time in Capri is early in your stay -- that way, even under the worst of circumstances, you would have a way to return to the mainland before (say) a flight or other hard-to-change plan.

Hope that helps!
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Old Jun 11th, 2016, 06:00 PM
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The ferries from Naples to Capri are fairly large and it very rare for them to be canceled - and usually in mid winter.

BUT, the entrance to the Blue Grotto is minute and if the sea is anything but perfectly flat you can't get inside (the water covers up the entrance completely).

The process is take a launch with perhaps 25 people from the Marina Grande around the island to the area near the grotto. Then transfer from the launch to a small row boat - 4 people per boat sitting in the bottom of the boat and lying back on each other. You must keep hands/arms and head inside the boat and when you shoot through the entrance the boatman will lie back to avoid hitting his head. You then row around the Grotto with other boats, some of whom will have singing boatmen - then repeat the squash down process to get out again. You then return to your launch and your boatmen and guys from the launch will help you climb bak up into the larger boat.

It was easy for me but I am 5'9". There was a petite lady in our row boat and the men had to drag her up by the arms since she was too short to get her leg onto the larger boat.

The one thing I regret is not knowing I would be sitting in the bottom of the boat since I was wearing white linen pants (took 2 washings to get them clean).
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Old Jun 12th, 2016, 04:31 PM
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If you have the time I would definitely spend the night in Capri. That way you can wander around and actually see things. It really is a special place at night.
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Old Jun 12th, 2016, 05:50 PM
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Oh and you need to understand that the ferries to Capri do ot run at night. I think we got the last ferry from Capri back to Sorrento and it was about 5:30 pm. You can't dine on Capri and then head to the mainland.

If you have time I would definitely reco staying there since it is very different at night and it gives you another chance to get into the blue gortto.
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Old Jun 12th, 2016, 06:56 PM
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I THINK there are ferries and hydrofoils - the ferries are much less weather dependent than the hydrofoils, so if the seas are rough, the ferries will probably run, the hydrofoils may be cancelled.

We have enjoyed Capri both as a day trip and also spending a few nights there. Honestly, not sure I would do it for ONE night - to pack and unpack - plus when you get to Capri, usually your luggage has to be transported to the hotel. I'd be interested in seeing a percentage figure on number of days the blue grotto is accessible - it's a bit of a crap shoot. But if you can, give Capri maybe three nights - it really is lovely and so pleasant if you can get our of tourist ground zero to other parts of the island.
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Old Jun 21st, 2016, 06:17 AM
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Thank you all for your reply. You all have answered my questions and concerns. We decided to spend a night there (even though i wish we could stay longer).

BTW, would you recommend buying the boat tickets from Naples to Capri and Capri to Sorrento months or weeks in advances?

For those of you have stayed in Capri overnight, what would be the best way to get from the town of Capri to Blue Grotto? Our hotel will be close Piazza Umberto? To get to the Blue Grotto, should we take the 1) Bus, 2) Taxi, 3)Boat from Marina Grande than transfer to small boat?
We were hoping that we could take a boat ride around the island as well just to get a view of the island.

What would be your ideal itinerary if you only have 1 day at Capri (assuming we arrive the night before)? We are planing to leave the island around 6p (or whenever the last boat would be).

Please note that we are a group of 4 adults and 4 kids (4-8yr old) traveling in late August.

Thanks so much again for your advise. Like kja said, I'm just trying to be prudent since our young kids are traveling with us and probably don't have much time to think =Z
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Old Jun 21st, 2016, 04:00 PM
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As for the best way to see the Blue Grotto, I would ask your hotel. The staff there will probably be best able to work with you to arrange a seat (and tell you the best way to get you to the right boat) if the boats are running. FWIW, my stop at the Blue Grotto was part of a ride that want all the way around the island.

The things I loved most about Capri were the Villa San Michele in Anacapri, Monte Solaro, and the Chiesa San Michele (also in Anacapri and not the same as the villa).

That said, your interests, and those of your traveling companions, could be quite different. Get some good guidebooks or consult some at your local library.

Enjoy!
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Old Jun 24th, 2016, 09:00 PM
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Sorry again. I'm wondering if the site below is where i can purchase ferry ticket?
http://www.capri.net/en/ferry-booking

Are there other sites that offer discount?

How far in advance should I purchase the ticket for mid-August? Is the ferry time schedule for August pretty much set by now? or there is still possibility that they might add or remove certain ride later in the month? The reason why I'm asking is because I'm worry that if I buy the ticket now but that specific boat got cancelled and i didn't know until the very last minute.

Is there problem if I purchase ticket but decided to take earlier boat? Does it mean I can only take boat run by the same company? (i.e. if I buy Caremar ticket but then decide to take earlier boat run by Caremar? or can I also take earlier boat run by Aliscafo?)

Thank you all for your help and sorry for having so many questions. I searched on the website but don't seem to find the answer I'm looking for.
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Old Dec 26th, 2016, 12:45 PM
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Came back from my trip and just want o share my experience in case other people have the similar concern as what I had.
So, if you purchase the ticket in advance, it is still possible to take another boat with earlier departure as long as they have space available. We were there during the summer. There were a lot of people but i didn't feel the boat was full.
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