In mid-April, my wife and I enjoyed a wonderful 24-day trip to the magical Isle of Capri, historic Rome, and incomparable Venice...As promised some time back (and I apologize for the delay), here is a brief trip report on Capri. I will post our stays in Rome and Venice on other appropriate sites here on the Fodors talk line.

OVERALL EFFECT OF CAPRI: Certainly one of the loveliest islands on the planet!--True inspiration for the spirit and unsurpassed natural beauty...We found no problem utilizing our limited Italian (which Italians seem to appreciate,-- especially when you say: "buona sera&quot. All of the merchants we came in contact with were exceptionally hospitable. Granted, we were there in April during the "shoulder" season for tourism, but we enjoyed very much not fighting the large crowds we had heard about from other posters on this site...If you are in reasonably good shape, you must take the 450 step "arco naturale" walking tour via Pizzolungo with stunning vistas of several grottas, circling through flower-laden brick-paved trails which were extremely easy to negotiate. Also, take the reasonably- priced boat tours around the island available at the harbor. Capri exceeded our expectations with lush walking trails, crystal blue grottos, cozy restaurants and shoreline eateries, the ringing of the13th century clock tower in the charming town square, and tantalizing shops...We found the island to be extremely clean and upscale with lemon gardens and an explosion of colorful flowers everywhere you gazed.--Yes, a return trip will be in order!

ANACAPRI is perhaps not quite as upscale, yet pleasingly charming in every respect. And you can find better shopping bargains on Anacapri. Seeing the blue grotto is worth the trip alone. We especially enjoyed an imprompt piano concert by a talented professional (we are sure), while we were visiting their historic church. Sadly, I did not write down the name of the church, but it had a representation of gardens and animals artfully etched on the circular floor. (St. Michel or St. Michaels comes to mind, but I'm not sure)... On the outside of the church, young boys gleefully played a game of soccer...The cable car ride over the vineyards and farmlands in route to Mt. Solare was a highlight for both me and my camera! Here, you have a 365 degree view of both Capri and Anacapri. On a clear day like ours, you could even see Sorrento and Mt. Vesuvius (Pompeii) from this stunning perch. We had a delightful seaside lunch of pizza and seafood near the faro (lighthouse), which I might add was a welcomed relief after taking a 10 mile hike along the Fortini beach/mountain walk.--We recommend you take the easy, yet "hair-raising" bus ride from Capri to Anacapri and back. (It's amazing how they can carve roads into the sides of cliffs!)

ACCOMMODATIONS: After intensive searching on this site, we opted for the La Minerva Hotel. Their website: www.laminervacapri.com will give you an accurate snapshot of "the best little three star hotel" on the planet--at least as far as we are concerned! I cannot praise enough the personal service we received from Luigi, the inkeeper/owner, who went out of his way to give us his recommendations. We had what I think he called a superior room which had a magnificent view of the azure sea from our jacuzzi in the well-appointed bath room. My wife, Patty loved the blue and white tile, complemented with comfortable furnishings and fixtures. We enjoyed having a light breakfast and that wondeful Italian coffee on our large terrace, decked out in our white robes. While there, we looked at several other rooms and all seemed to provide wonderful amenities as well. If you like peace, tranquility, and romance, the La Minerva is the place for you! And it was within easy walking distance (10 minutes) of the town square. If you go, please give Luigi and his staff our best regards. Please thank him for the "five star" service we encountered!

RESTAURANT RECOMMENDATIONS: Our favorities (in no certain order) were:

>>>Grottino was located right off the town square and featured a charming Italian atmosphere, delicious fresh seafood salads, mussel soup in a tomato-based broth, a local fish for two (which was de-boned at our table), fresh mixed fruits, lemoncella and expresso. We enjoyed Orvieto wine and I think our bill was about 130 Euros.--Not bad for a wonderful dining experience! The wait staff and proprietor were outstanding and we had our pictures made with them. We were impressed with their classy, white dinner jackets and their naturally friendly personalities.

>>> Ristorante Il Tinello was recommended by Luigi when I asked my favorite tourism question: "Where do the locals like to dine?" Again, it was right off the town square (via L' Abate 1), and there were only about eight tables in this wonderful mom and pop establishment run by da Franca & Peppino... We let them order for us and they gave us quite a treat, consisting of classic Italian pasta with mouth-watering sauces, homemade breads, fresh Capresse-style salads, a couple of meat selections, and of course, decadent desserts. We enjoyed meeting two delightful young sisters from Seattle, Washington. Once again, our bill wasn't bad-- less than 90 Euros.

>>>Villa Brunello: This was "splurge" night, and as you might expect, rather pricey (around 190 Euros for a five-course meal with wine).--The views at sunset were amazing and the cuisine did not disappoint, although I have to admit I liked the other two better for overall effect and budget. But then again, Patty loved the romance of this beautiful setting. And, as all you men know: when mama's happy, everybody's happy!

I'll check this posting from time to time to see if anyone has further questions. I hope you enjoy enchanting Capri as much as we did.

Happy Travels,

Cal & Patty Duke
St. Simons Island, Georgia USA

I am so glad you loved Capri, I love it too. The secret is to get on the trails and go on the shoulder season like you did.

If/when you return would you stay at the same place?

Hi cal,

Thanks for sharing.

Loved your report, and I appreciate it that you enjoyed Capri as much as we did.

I have to say we were a little apprehensive from daytripper reports I read about on this board. As we got close to the island this summer, it looked to me a lot like we had taken a wrong turn and ended up on Catalina Island off the coast of L.A. -- dry, rugged looking terrain. But once you are there on the island, wow! And the color of the water -- amazing! We'd go back in a heartbeat!

Reply to SeaUrchin,

Yes indeed! It would be hard to beat the La Minerva unless you just have to have a pool which was not a big factor for us...We had the opportunity to take a look at many of the four and five star properties while on Capri, but frankly I'm not sure the cost difference would be worth the price...Thanks for asking...CAL

Cal, thanks for such a detailed report. We are planning to visit Capri for a few days early next June and have been looking at La Minerva.

Cal, glad that you and your wife enjoyed Capri so much. It is indeed a magical isle and one of my favorites! As "touristy" as the Blue Grotto is, I wouldn't miss it for anything, it is a great experience and the water color is to die for. I, too, was surprised at how inexpensive the boat tours around the entire island were - 11 euros per person!

So of your 24-day trip to Capri, Rome and Venice, how long was your total time on Capri? I would hope that you had enough time in the other 2 wonderful spots of Rome and Venice!

Hi Cal, Our family of four is planning a trip to Capri for the third week of April. Weather is, of course, unpredictable, however, I am curious as to the weather you experienced. Did you have rain, and can you remember what the temperature was?

Also, I have been in touch with Luigi about quad rooms at La Minerva, and he assures me that he can accommodate two adults, and two children in a room. We will need two quad rooms and one double room.

Would love to hear what you have to say.

To Huitres & Kane,

Thanks for asking...We only spent four days on Capri. Then, we took the train to Rome for a week (timeshare). This was our second trip to Rome...Next, we flew to Venice where we were picked up at the airport by our great Italian friends.-- They live in the province of Vicenza in the town of Monticello (about an hour inland from Venice). Since we are Americans, this was quite an honor and humbling experience, staying with a real Italian family! We had met them on a previous trip to Italy (one month after 9/11/01).--I'm about to post a trip report on Venice & Environs which will give you more details if you're interested. We saw about six beautiful villages and sites, all within a two-hour drive of their home.-- Of course, Venice was fantastic!

In answer to Kane's question: the weather in Capri in mid-April was basically crisp and clear, with only one rain day as I recall. (We simply put on rain gear and still explored). Wear a sweater at night. We loved April on Capri as everything was blooming. Have a great trip! Let us know how your trip turned out... CAL

Cal, thank you for the weather report on Capri. What was I thinkining? We are going to be a tribe of 10, not 4 on our Italy vacation!

I am very interested in your Venetian experience (please include the weather when you post it).

Thanks. With four kids in tow, weather is important for packing. I know you can't predict the weather, but I'm trying to monitor the month of April.

Thanks again.

Dear Kane,--The weather in Venice was absolutely superb around the 3rd week in April (low 80's)...Still, take a sweater at night.

Yes, I posted a very detailed report last night on Venice, but for reasons unknown to me, I haven't been able to find it...Can anyone out there help? I e-mailed Fodors but have yet to hear back...It was sent as: "Trip Report: VENICE & ENVIRIONS...a unique trip report!" It was sent, according to my print out records on 9/29/2004 at 02:58. (I have even
entered all of that data to no avail). Could it simply disappear in Cyberspace? CAL

It talks about our experience in staying with a real Italin family, so we included highlights of Venice and about seven other villages within a three or four hour drive of Venice.

Thank you Cal for answering my questions. I also tried a few searches for your Venice report, and came up with nothing.

Did you write it on a Word document, so that you could cut and paste it on this forum? I'm sure you put a lot of work into writing it.

Maybe someone else will try to search for you, and have better results.

Kane--Unfortunately, no...I simply posted it and made a hard copy of it when it popped up...but I think I know how I may have screwed up! I thought I read where you could use up to 3,000 words, when in acutaility, it is 3,000 charachters...In my detailed report, it was more like 3,000 words since I was covering Venice and six othere sites...

I'm still trying to get someone from Fodors to respond (FODORS, if you're reading this, help!)...Next time, I'll break it down into segment threads if Fodors can somehow send it back to me so I won't have to re-key all that work.--I know,-- I'm an idiot! CAL

Cal: I'm not sure the Fodor's editors keep an eye out for cries for help in regular messages.

Have you tried doing as they suggst in FAQ:

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