Hello! My husband and I are doing a Eastern Mediterranean cruise in Sept. 2009. We will be docking in Naples from 7-6:30pm. I want to see both Capri and Positano and I am not sure how to efficiently do this, or if it is possible. We are both in our mid 30s and prefer not to do a ship excursion. Has anyone done both of these on their own in one day without too much running around? Thanks!

My own opinion.

Positano is nice to look at from a distance but really has no substrance.

Basically it's a pathway from the highway down to the marina that's lined with little tourist shops.

Capri is beautiful. You can go up to the main square, have a drink and then walk to the other side of the Island and look down from observation areas. You can bus over to anacapri for spectacular views of Fragliani (sp).

Just don't waste your time (and money) taking a boat into the Blue Grotto to hear the fellow rowing your boat sing Volare.

Like I said, my own opinion.

Personally, if you have a choice you can spend a couple of hours in Sorrento and go over to capri. It's much closer from there.

Sorrento is a real town with streets, restaurants and real stores.

I don't know where you're from, but go into most any store that sells music boxes and look underneath to see where it's made. Most likely in Sorrento. They are famous for music boxes and inlaid wood.

I dont care for Sorrento at all.
Vespas ruined it for me on my 2 trips there. 1999 and 2007.
They have no regard for anyone.

Positano and Capri are beautiful.
I have stayed in Positano and daytripped to Capri.

IMO ...
Capri would be perfect for a day of sightseeing
and drinking Limoncello.

You probably have time to do one, not both. Capri is a beautiful day trip, just understand that there will be a lot of daytrippers there with you, but with the time you have you can see a lot of the island.

And in my opinion, having spent several nights in Positano last summer, there is substance there - we had a wonderful vacation. We also enjoyed Sorrento, spent two nights there, but I think you should choose Capri or Positano.

It's strange how different people react to different places isn't it? I felt that Capri had no substance and was merely an island shopping mall, where the sole aim of the outlets there, is to inflate all prices in their establishments for the tourists.

This is from the taxi drivers at the port, to the over-priced shops and restaurants. Capri is one of those places(IMHO)that sounds good, but sounds better than it is.

Positano has a great "feel" to it and having stayed in both places, is the one I much prefer. It has much more a sense of a village community and whilst people do use the pedestrian walkway to get down to beach area, there are some lovely restaurants, shops etc. on the way down.

Still, you pays your money......

Both are fun to visit, but trying to visit both during a port stop in Naples I'm afraid can't be done. That is to say you might be able to squeeze both in, but not really SEE either one, because you'd be flying about madly in the time you have to get to both.

We love Sorrento and never in our numerous visits there had any more problems with Vespas there than in any other Italian city, but I'm sure there are ferries to Capri from Naples so the extra time to go to Sorrento wouldn't be necessary.

Our visits on the Amalfi Coast to Positano, Amalfi, etc. were done by SITA bus so that no one had to drive and miss all the gorgeous scenery. Although Positano is very interesting and beautiful, it seems to me (based on our own experience) it would be much simpler to go to Capri for the port stop than Positano.

Thanks so much! I just think in a time crunch, it might just be better to spend the time in Capri as I've heard it's a 2.5 hour drive from Naples to Positano. Is that true?

We are from Manhattan if that helps. I'm not really interested in the blue grotto. I've done something similar in Greece before and wasn't that impressed. We are more interested in beautiful scenery, wandering, cafes, a little bit of shopping etc.

Positano to Naples is about that sort of road time, but I think that you can catch a fast boat there as well. From your description of your expectations, I guess that they will be met in both places, but at a difference in outlay. However, I think that you'd enjoy Positano more.

...and no, the blue grotto does not exceed expectations.

Actually, I loved both Capri and Positano. We did them on two separate trips, however. And I thought the Blue Grotto was gorgeous, and a lot of fun. You might check with Fabrizio at Drive-Amalfi. He did a tour last year for six of us- we drove the Amalfi Coast. He can give you a good idea of what all you can fit in. Have fun!