I just booked 4 nights in Capri - help ! Any restaurant advice ? What to wear there ? - I heard it's very "upscale" ! What's a "must see" ? Any help will be appreciated. Oh - we go in September.

Are you really sure you want 4 nights in Capri?
We went there for a day trip from Naples and were glad we hadnt booked a few nights there as we initially thought of doing.
I was speaking to my brother last night and he and his wife just returned from a brilliant holiday on the Amalfi Coast. He said they were so glad they only went to Capri for the day as they had thought of staying there a couple of days.
Sorry to be negative -everyone has a different opinion and view of a destination. You might love it.
I was there in winter5 years ago and my bro was there last week.

JerseySue...We stayed in Capri at the Hotel Ambassador Weber last year for five nights. If you are looking for a laid back, relaxing time I think it is a great place.

There is a great little restaurant in the Marina Grande called Lo Zodiaco that we had a lovely dinner at. Also, down the street from The Ambassador (walking distance right down the hill) overlooking the harbor we found a lovely restaurant that we ate at twice. The owner's name is Rafael and he treated us as if we were VERY special. A lovely place. I do not have the name with me at the moment but if you are interested, post back and I will find it.

Lastly, the best thing we did was hire a private boat to take us out around the entire island for the day. Very reasonable. I have his name and number if you are interested as well.

Have a great trip.

We stayed on Capri for several days awhile back. We loved it! We stayed in Anacapri, which is quieter and less hectic than the main town of Capri. We used the buses to get around the island and it worked out fine.

Quite often I hear about people being glad they didn't stay on Capri. Usually this is from people who took a day trip and didn't see much beyond the main town. It's very crowded when the boats are in with day trippers and can be kind of nutty. We walked through town once during this time and were very glad to be staying in Anacapri

We did a walk from the main town up to the Roman ruins on the north side of the island. There were some beautiful private villas along the way. The view from Villa Jovis, Tiberius' home is incredible! We also went to the Gardens of Augustus. Also beautiful.

There is a beautiful church in Anacapri with an incredible floor depecting Adam and Eve and the Carden of Eden. Definitely worth seeing. It's the Church of San Michele.

The thing that sticks with me the most about Capri are the incredible flowers that were everywhere. People had window boxes with the hugest and most gorgeous Hydrangeas I'd ever seen.

We had a great meal at the restaurant at the Grotto Azurra. Beautiful view too with the sunset.

We took the chair lift up to Mt. Solara and walked back down. Very nice views.

There are definitely other things to do. The Arco Naturale, etc. I think you'll be fine filling up your time. Enjoy!

Thanks Dejais and wug - carylspall had me worried ! We just returned from a cruise over there with our 2 girls and fell in love with Capri - so we decided to go back alone - it's so romantic ! Dejais - if you have the name of the boat company I'd really appreciate it - I'm printing out the info you gave me to take along for the restaurant and when you have time I'd love the name of the other one. We are staying at the JW Marriott - did you guys see it ?

Wug - the walk down from Mt Solara - is that the steep steps cut into the mountain ?

How do people dress for dinner there ? jacket for my husband ?

Thanks again - I really appreciate your help !

Sorry JerseySue!
I knew that there would be positive comments too.
Hope you have a brill holiday!

We stayed at the Weber for 3 nights and loved it. It was a great spot after Italy on a 9 day fast track- we ended here and it was the highlight of our trip on the romantic, relaxing side. Do rent a boat and go around the island and see the grottos.

Thanks pejota - that's what we are looking for - after a 10 day cruise with the girls running around Europe trying to see everything in 100 degree weather - we need to relax !! When we saw Capri - my husband and I looked at each other and said as soon as we get home we're booking this !!

What is the dress code for night time ? Are there little bars/pubs to go to ?

While it is true that Capri does have some quite wealthy people it is a resort and dress day or night is casuale - but sophisticated casuale - not cut-off jeans and giant white athletic shoes.

As for what to do there is plenty to do on the island (did you read your guide book?) as well as the usual resort relaxing.

Also - there are ferries to Naples (for museum and/or trip to Pompeii) and variuos towns along the Amalfi coast. Just be aware most stop by 6 pm so you need to be back on the island by then.

I think you will enjoy your stay on Capri! My duaghter and I have been there twice for 5 nite stays - we usually do an activity in the morning and then hang out by the hotel pool in the afternoon. Wug has suggested some of the things we enjoyed doing, esp going to Anacapri and the chairlift. But just meandering around is great - the flowers, the sea views, the villas - it is a great island to explore by foot! There are also some more strenuous walks you can take if you like - such as from Anacapri down to the Blue Grotto. My daughter and I just wore nice casual clothes to the restaurants but we weren't hanging at the super snazzy places. We found lots of good casual places to eat - we especially liked LaGemma which overlooks the Bay of Napoli in Capri town. They have an excellent antipasta bar and good menu choices too. There certainly is an upscale component to the island (as you can tell by the shops represented there!)but you don't have to be super-rich to feel comfortable on the island.

nytraveler - where did you find a guide book - I've looked everywhere. Need a good map for walking too ! We just got back from a cruise and did Pompeii and the coast - we're just looking to relax in Capri and love to walk ! So husband doesn't need a sport coat ?

Thanks suec1 - we love to walk too ! Can't wait to go !

Thanks everyone !

Okay, Jersey Sue. I have my trusty book out with all of my info. One thing I do for all of my trips is buy one of those 5" x 7" nice hardback leather journals and put all of our travel info into it. Then as we travel I fill it with business cards or descriptions of great things we do and see. So here goes...

The restaurant we ate at a few times is in Marina Piccola. This is on the opposite side of the island from Marina Grande. The name is Onda D'Oro (Tel. 0818370698) and the owner's name is Raffael. He is an older gentleman and VERY hospitable and accomodating. It was right below the Hotel Weber Ambassador. One of the best things we had here was the bruschetta which had lots of garlic and grape tomatoes grown in Capri. We own an Italian restaurant so when I say good, I mean GREAT. Also, Raffael recommend a nice white wine which we really enjoyed called Greco di Tufo. I noticed on the back of his card it says they have a Menu Turistico at 18E and Pizza Magherita at 5E. We went in May 2005 so not sure about the prices but I would bet they are about the same.

Down the street from this (like 50 feet) was La Canzone del Mare. This used to be the home of Gracie Fields, the actress, and has been turned into a ristorante and swimming resort. Although we did not eat there, we did watch a lot of people go there and most were very well dressed.

If you were out in the water looking at Marina Piccola, the Hotel would be at the far left easily visible as it is bright yellow and blue, Onda D'Oro one street below it to the right, and La Canzone del Mare to the far right.

You asked about the dress code. We never dressed up but we were always properly attired in casual dress. As another poster said, it is not exactly a "cut-off jeans" kind of place.

Lo Zodiaco (Tel. 0818376332)
This is located at the Marina Grande and easy to find. They have homemade pastas served in copper pans and great pizza. We actually broke down and ordered steak here one night as we were "Italianed" out by this point.

Before I forget, there is a great little grocery in the middle of the marina...buy soda and water here for a fraction of the cost elsewhere. There are actually two, one is better than the other but I am sure you will figure that out.

Le Grottelle (Tel. 0818375719)
Via Arco Naturale 13
Anacapri
This is in Anacapri and though we did not get here it sounded nice. It is half inside a cave and half terrace.

The boat rental was through a man named Gioacchino Catuogno. We found him in the marina and were very happy with his services. His number is 0818378437. Cell number 3392180309 and 3281076334. He charged us 180E for 4 hours around the island which I am sure lasted much longer. He was very informative and told us a lot of interesting things as we went around. we also stopped and swam a bit. We had gotten prices before we went of around 200E-240E from other companies but decided to wait until we got there. I think one of the waiters at a cafe there helped us hook up with Gioacchino. He seemed to be pretty well known there.

Sorry if I was long winded. Hope this helps and feel free to post back if need be.

Thanks DEJAIS - that was very helpful - I'm printing this and taking it with us. I keep saying I'm going to write a journal on my trips and never do it ! Maybe this time so I can share too !!

The positive comments above are wonderful and great PR for Capri. We were just there on a day trip, but I could see if would be fun to stay a few days.......especially after the day tours leave and the evening is peaceful.
I've read negative things on how there isn't anything to do or see there,,,and am glad for these glowing reports of personal visits. We hope to return sometime for a longer visit.
JerseySue...have a great trip!

Thanks Mari5 - that's what we did - we were just there on a shore excursion and fell in love with it - we walked away from the crowded area and knew we had to come back ! So 8 weeks later we will !

Capri si tremendously exciting for the first time visit. Just the sheer beauty of the island and vistas, and so many things to discover, to see and be seen at La Piazzetta and on the glorious promenade full of splendid boutiques from there till Punta Tragara - it is vivacious during the day and romantic at night, seeing Gli Faraglioni. Then Villa Jovis, Cartusian Monstery on Capri side, then in Anacapri Mt. Solara, Villa San Michele...a good travel guide, like Michelin Green Guide is a great sourde for info on Italy and Campagnia, so you can pick and choose what you like. My favoite restaurant, above compare there is at hotel Quisisana, last summer on Friday there was a buffet and it wa the best I've seen EVER in the world. Quisisana is indeed elegant, but of course a jacket is not necessary, but it never hurts to ask them if you are heading for the most formal dinner in their restaurant. The Quisisana Bar is THE BEST place to have a drink, to sit, relax and do the people watching of the most extraordinary crowd...All other restaurants are absolutely non formal and the food is pretty much the same Italian staple - spaghetti, etc. Only at Quisisana you can eat gourmet, if you care for that type of food.

It is also great fun to rent a small motor boat at Marina Grande, "driving" it yourself, without any crew, if the sea is calm they will rent it and you can circumnavigate the island, seeing the lighthouse of Anacapri and many grottos and cliffs and go through a hole in Faraglioni, although it is strictly prohibited! You can also swim from the boat and near Faraglioni, before reaching Marina Piccola, you can watch and participate in nude bathing, and in the prvacy of your boat, maybe MORE!

It will be so much fun that you will weep when it's over - CAPRI c'est fini ahhh...

jerseysue

The walk we did to Villa Jovis did have some steps and I remember we worked our way up most of the time but, I don't remember it being too bad. It took awhile but the villas along the way and some of the views were so pretty, it was a great day! Hope that helps.