Italy Trip Staying on Capri 7 nights
 

We are traveling to Italy in May of 2012. We have a 7 night stay on the Isle of Capri. We would like to also take day trips from there perhaps two to 3 days out of the week. Where should we go? We also would like to add a few days for Venice either at the beginning or end of our trip. We are flying from the US/Pittsburgh/NY most likely. Train travel and ferry information would be helpful. Our total days including travel is 14 days. Any suggestions would be helpful.

If you are not familiar with where to go in the region, how did you choose Capri as a destination in the first place?

If you want to add Venice, it is better to fly multi-city such as:

* PIT-VCE then NAP-PIT
* PIT-VCE then FCO-PIT
* PIT-NAP then VCE-PIT
* PIT-FCO then VCE-PIT

whether you want Venice before or after has to do with which airline you care to use. If everything is the same, flying back from Venice is usually more troublesome than back from Rome or Napoli. Start looking at flight options but don't book until you have a good idea about where you are going first.

If you land in FCO, the logistics to get to Capri requires using many modes of transportation.

We absolutely loved Capri and were sorry we had only 3 days there. You will have to take a ferry to Capri from Naples or Sorrento. I suggest flying into Venice and then consider flying to Naples and taking the ferry to Capri. From Capri, should you want day trips, you can visit Sorrento, the Amalfi Coast, Naples and Pompeii. All will require leaving on an early ferry to maximize your time on your daytrips.

OK, so you have 14 days total, which means 12 days/11 nights on the ground and 7 nights will be in Capri. Flights to the US from Venice are usually brutally early, so I would suggest you start in Venice. It is also a great place to get over jetlag, since there are no cars and you are out walking all the time. So here is my suggestion:

Day 1: leave US
Day 2: arrive Venice
Day 3: Venice
Day 4: Venice
Day 5: travel Venice to Capri (either via train or plane)
Day 6: Capri
Day 7: Capri
Day 8: day trip to Pompeii/Naples
Day 9: Capri
Day 10: day trip to Amalfi Coast
Day 11: Capri
Day 12: ferry/train Capri to Rome
Day 13: Rome
Day 14: Travel back to US

Day

Greg...we bought a trip through a charity fundraiser and it included airfare and 7days in Capri...thanks for your help

EKC....thanks for the itinerary....sounds good...

No problem 7. You will have a great time! Depending on the time of year, I think there is a direct ferry between Positano and Capri, which will help with the Amalfi Coast day trip.

7,
You'll love Capri, be sure to see the Augustus gardens. Buses to Anna Capri can be crowded with lines so beware. Amalfi is beautiful and May should have everything in bloom and Sorrento is a great stop also, the best pizza in the wold with mozzarella di buffa!

Enjoy!

7 nights is a long time to stay on Capri. You should know that the ferry service has limited hours (doesn't run after early evening) - so if you go on a day trip (Pompeii, Naples, Amalfi) you need to be sure to head back early enough. The island is charming in the evening - when most of the tourists are gone - but I would think 4 days or so there would be plenty - given everything else there is to see in Italy.

Like nytraveler, 7 days would be WAY to much for me on Capri, particularly given the need to rely on ferry service to get to and from the mainland. But there is a LOT to see in the area. Have you considered splitting your time, with 3 or 4 nights on Capri and the other 3 or 4 in Naples or along the Amalfi Coast?

I think a couple of nights in Naples would give you some flexibility and not be much more expensive than 2 return ferry tickets every day you do a daytrip on the mainland.

It is not particularly easy to day trip from Capri, esp. in May when the ferry / hydrofoil service is not running a full schedule. Most boats will be going from Capri to Naples - so Naples will not be difficult as a daytrip, probably you could add on Pompeii but it may well be there is only one boat a day to Positano, etc. I think when we were there several years ago there was only one ferry late afternoon to Positano making a daytrip there impossible. But you could do an overnight there.

So it may be that even tho you have paid for 7 nights on Capri, you could consider not staying there quite the whole time. Your airfare is already paid? Using Rome or Naples? but the dates are not set? If it were me, I'd land and head to Venice (you can get a fast train from Rome), stay there several days, then head back south, relax on Capri, then finish in Rome for several nights. This assumes your flights are in and out of Rome.

Even tho Capri is not the best for daytripping the surrounding area, it is a lovely place for experiencing La Dolce Vita? that is the best part of an Italian vacation anyways. It is a great place for walking, often encountering little restaurants in out of the way places - like in a lemon grove. Beautiful flowers, vegetable gardens, amazing views - slow down and explore all the hidden gems that the daytrippers to Capri never see.

Flying into Venice is great. While I like don't love the city of Venice I love that feeling of walking out of the airport terminal and five minutes later you're in the back of a water taxi racing to your hotel. Quite the nice start to a holiday after the jet lag and time on a plane.

Flying into Venice is great. While I like don't love the city of Venice I love that feeling of walking out of the airport terminal and five minutes later you're in the back of a water taxi racing to your hotel. Quite the nice start to a holiday after the jet lag and time on a plane.