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-   -   Anacapri chair lift - how long is the ride? (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/anacapri-chair-lift-how-long-is-the-ride-606547/)

perth2europe Apr 9th, 2006 10:39 PM

Anacapri chair lift - how long is the ride?
 
We will be leaving in 3 days time for Italy! On Capri, we would like to take the Monte Solaro chair lift in Anacapri. Could anyone tell me how long the entire ride is, and if there would be a waiting queue mid-day 18 April?

Any other advise would be very welcome: getting around the island, where to get the best views of the Faraglioni rocks, good boat company to the Blue Grotto, your own favourite little spot on Capri, etc...

Steve_James Apr 10th, 2006 12:51 AM

Perth2 - The ride's about 10-15 mins. I've never had to queue - and I don't think you'll have to in April.

Monte Solaro is one of my favourite spots. You get a good view of the Faraglioni from Marina Piccola - another lovely spot.

The bus service is fine for getting around. There is a day-pass if you plan to use several buses ...

Hope this helps ...

Steve


Dayle Apr 10th, 2006 08:12 AM

Hi Perth,

I thought the lift ride was about 15 minutes too. Wonderful views!

I would highly recommend doing a boat tour all around the island, not just to the Blue Grotto. It's beautiful and relaxing. There are several companies that do the tours. I was glad I chose one that uses small wooden boats. I think we had about 15 people total. This was my favorite thing on Capri.

Buon viaggio!

perth2europe Apr 11th, 2006 01:24 AM

Thanks! It's great to know that it's a short ride (don't have much time on the island) yet spectacular.

Dayle, do you remember which company you went with? The ones I contacted are around the EUR50-70 per person mark, is this the right price?

Myer Apr 11th, 2006 02:27 AM

Perth,

The ride was quite short and I didn't have to wait in line. We were there, I believe, in May.

If you go to my web site located at:

www.travelwalks.com

and select the Italy 2002 trip, the 13th photo is of the Fraglioni Rocks was Monte Solaro. There may be other photos there that interest you.

There has been much written on this board about the Blue Grotto. In my opinion it's a total waste of time. Essentially you get ripped off by everybody who is in a position to rip you off so that you can lie down in a boat and have someone sing Volare to you. Then he tries to tell you he doesn't get paid and only works for tips. That's after paying the boat company to take you to the entrance of the Grotto, pay some sort of tax just outside the Grotto and then pay for the little boat that goes inside the Grotto 3 people at a time.

Capri is a beautiful island. We took the funicular up to the town square and walke around with a map of Capri showing the different routes.

There is one spot that has views (not quite the same as Mont Solaro) on Fraglioni Rocks and beautiful views on the opposite side of the Island. I wish I could remember what the area was called.

Definitely worth the trip to Capri.

Steve_James Apr 11th, 2006 02:48 AM

Perth - This company does a tour for € 10

http://www.capri.net/salsa/lang/it/c...page/card.html

Here are some other options:

http://www.capri.net/salsa/lang/en/page/cruising.html

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Dayle Apr 11th, 2006 06:01 AM

Hi Perth,

The boat tour I went with was much smaller boat than the one shown in Steve's link. The cost was only about 11E. Usually I save my tickets for these things, but I somehow lost this one. Just check out the boats before commiting! Takes about 2 hours.

perth2europe May 15th, 2006 09:12 PM

Just got back from our trip. Capri was amazing! I'm posting my feedback to my own questions, hopefully it'll benefit someone else later on.

The chair lift is not to be missed! I am mildly afraid of heights so I was nervous for the first 30 seconds but after that it was so much fun. There was no queue as the chairs move very quickly. The ride is around 12-15 minutes as posted. But be prepared to spend a long time up there soaking up the fantastic view. You'll love it.

Go there first to get your best views of the Faraglioni from above. There's also another spot to view the rocks and the directions to this is signposted along the main walkways. Don't tire yourself out with this extremely long walk unless you're trying to kill time, or really enjoy walking up slopes. The view from Mt Solaro is more than enough IMO.

We were advised to leave the Blue Grotto till noon time as the queue for it is shorter then. By the time we got there after lunch time, they had closed the entrance as the water is too rough. I heard from many other friends that they too didn't get to go because the sea conditions weren't right. So if you only have one day on Capri, and you really want to see it and it is open, I'd say go for it even if the queue is long. If you wait, chances are you'll miss the opportunity.

Also if you are curious about limoncello but don't want to pay for it, you can always get free tasting samples from the shops.

wego May 16th, 2006 05:24 PM

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