How to best spend one day on Capri
 

We will be staying in Sorrento in early September, and would like to day trip to Capri.

What is the best way to spend a day there? Is Blue Grotto worth the hassles of getting there? Is it good idea to take a boat tour around the island?

Should we spend time at Anacapri?

Thank you in advance!

No suggestions? I am sure a lot of people spent some memorable time on Capri...

There are many, many threads here on that subject. Try doing an advanced search and then come back with questions..

One day is not a lot. Capri is really lovely. I enjoyed Anacapri though we did not go up the lift to the top (which I regret). I liked the Blue Grotto and thought it was worth it - we took a boat from the main area. My husband says he could have skipped it. Do a little search on the internet and see what you find and what you would like to do. I do not think a day trip will give you time to do everything. Our friends went on a day trip with a "tour" and missed the Blue Grotto even though they promised it was part of the tour. Weather was NOT a factor. Happy travels!!!

I've been to Capri twice, daytrips only. The first time was in July with many hundreds of tourists headed for the Blue Grotto or Capri town for shopping. From the ferry, we took a bus to Anacapri and took the chair lift to the summit of Monte Solaro. It was a wonderful escape from the crowds, provided spectacular views and a cool breeze. The second trip we headed straight for Anacapri, visited the Villa San Michele (I had read Axel Munthe's fascinating book, The Story of San Michele), took the chair lift again, then visited the beautiful little church of San Michele Arcangelo with the majolica floor depicting the Garden of Eden. Wonderful days both, with no regrets about missing the Blue Grotto or Capri town.

Capri day trip:


http://www.fodors.com/search/results...apri+day+trip+

If I had only one day there, I would head for Anacapri and take the chairlift. Then I would go to Capri town and walk up Via Le Botteghe buying picnic goodies along the way, then continue on slowly up to Villa Jovis (Tiberius' villa.) It's not an easy walk (about 1.5 miles uphill) but you will get to see Capri almost all alone. Then you can settle down for a nice picnic and relax. If there was time left, I would go over to Augustus' Gardens and Via Krupp just for a peek. That's a great day on Capri.

After you depart from the ferry, you can get a local to give you a boat ride around Capri for the full view of the island. Just pick one out at the water front and get their rates. When you get to the Blue Grotto, you'll get in very fast before other tourists. You'll still have time to visit Capri town. We loved our boat ride around the island.

I was there for an overnight. Going to Anacapri and taking the chair lift to the top is one of my most memorable experiences from Italy. The scenary was just incredible. I have no regrets on not going to the Blue Grotto.

Thank you so much for your opinions and links! I apologize for not doing more research before asking... Somehow, I can not get used to this new site format, and can never find what I am really looking for... Need to practice more!

Thank you again! It is greatly appreciated!

bookmarking

I have just started my trip report - so far only the photos posted but I'm posting more in a few minutes - it's at: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...rful-weeks.cfm

I almost never post while I'm on a trip (no time) but in this case I did - the blue grotto was such a wonderful surprise ( that it wasn't just a touristy waste of time and money) that I posted this account of it: http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...is-amazing.cfm

Anyway, if you click on my report in a day or two I should have the Capri part done. But we really enjoyed our day which, in short, included - boat ride from Sorrento, bus up to Anacaprpi, walk around that town, visit the church of San Michele with the tile floor, the villa of San Michele, walked down the Scala Fenicia (spelling wrong on that) - the 1000 steps down to Marina Grande, funicular up to Capri Town, and back down, then the boat ride around the island including the blue grotto. We were able to accomplish all that, without feeling rushed, between leaving our hotel at 8:30 and returning to it around 6:30. We are not big on shopping in expensive stores or long lunches so if you are then you'd need to cut out something else.

I know Capri is overrun with tourists (especially during the day)... but I still loved it!

I wouldn't say the Blue Grotto is a must-do, but my husband and I rented a high-speed raft and whizzed all around the island... now that was really fun!

Other highlights for me included finding a very talented local sandal-maker and having a beautiful pair of Capri sandals tailor-made for my feet. I still wear and admire them to this day; the style is totally unique and keeps me connected to Capri!

I also enjoyed visiting CARTHUSIA, a perfumerie in Capri where they make their own scents. Yes, the scents are lemon-y, but I love them. They scents bring me back memories of all the amazing-smelling lemon trees all over southern Italy.

Aside from that, just doing all the walks on the island (as others have mentioned). The beautiful mystery of the island comes out after most of the daytrippers leave on their ferries and cruises, so explore away!

Oh, and atleast do one bus trip if you can (from Capri to Anacapri) so you can witness the dramatic, hair-raising antics of Capri's busdrivers. How they maneuver those hairpin turns with such skill and bravado should definitely be experienced! And they love having an audience...

Enjoy, and let us know how your visit goes!

Personally, I hiked from where I got off the ferry to the top of Solaro.

Thank you everyone for your help with planning, and I will share how we ended up spending our perfect day on Capri.
We took a very early boat from Sorrento to Capri. From Capri port we bought a ticket to the Blue Grotto. They only sell round trips, even though we needed one way ticket.
We went to the Blue Grotto right after it opened, and we waited maybe 15-20 min on the small boat to get it. It was fun! The weather was glorious!
After visiting the Blue Grotto, we took a bus to Anacapri. We took a chair lift there to the top of the mount Solaro. This ride was so beautiful and so peaceful! We walked around and photographed for some time on the top, then took the same ride down.
Then we visited villa St Michelle, and then took a bus to Capri.
On Capri, we did a little sightseeing, had a very good and a very expensive lunch , and went for a hike to Faraglione Rocks. Beautiful! We wanted to continue our hike to the Arch Naturale, but worried about making back to the ferry on time.
And then we had our daily portion of Gelato… Of course….
And then we took a boat around 6:00 pm back to Sorrento… It was a really good day. One of those days we want to be repeated over, and over, and over 

Helen63,

I'm gathering information for a future trip. How long did it take you to get up to Monte Solaro and back down? How long does it take to get from Monte Solaro to Villa San Michele and from the Villa back to Capri?

Where did you have lunch? Would you recommend it?

Delain, it takes about 10-15 mins for the ride up to Mount Solaro, and the same for the return ride. San Michele is right across from the chair lift. And it takes about 20 mins (or so) to get back to Capri

I agree with isabel that the blue grotto was actually amazing, and a surprise that it wasn't a tacky tourist trap.

One of the reasons we enjoyed it so much is probably that our expectations were so low -- the whole way there we were joking about how we thought it was going to be super lame and we went through all this hassle to get there, going from one boat to another, laying down in the rowboat and all that jazz.

But once we were finally in there, it was just WOW. Super cool! Ok, now we get what the fuss is about. :) But that might not work out for everyone, we were just lucky with the weather and conditions.

After the blue grotto, we also enjoyed visiting Anacapri and escaping, somewhat, from the crowds clogging the main square in Capri. It's a beautiful island.