We will be in staying in Positano from June 17th - 23rd. We would like to take a few day trips during that time. We do plan on going over to Capri one of those days and so I am wondering if there is a better day to go. Originally I had it on our intinerary for the 19th, but now I am thinking a Sunday may not be the best bet, maybe the weekends are busier? It sounds like it is full of tourists during the summer months, especially day trippers like us but are there any days that are generally less busy?
What else would you recommend for day trips? Can we Sorrento and Ravello in one day or should we allocate a day for each?

Thanks! You all are making my honeymoon planning a lot easier.

When you go to Capri, you'll wish that you were staying there from 6/17 to 6/23, but anyway, don't go on the weekend. Any weekday is glorious on Capri! Take the hydrofoil, it's great. Positano bus to surrounding cities is TERRIBLE, very slow and not on time. But do go to Sorrento, nice shopping! Positano is very expensive but I had the best pasta there I ever had in my life, and I'm Italian!

Thanks for the advice. Since we will only be there for a day do you have any recommendations for how we should spend it? I'm not really sure what is there.

Let the weather and the seas dictate.

Jessica, I agree with Bob. Our hydrofoil out of Sorrento was delayed 1 1/2 hour due to ruff seas. It was almost canceled. The 35 minute trip was brutal. I was green and my hubby, who hates boats; was petrified. Not to freak you out, but they were passing out plastic baggie for unwell travelers. So go when the sea is calm.

As for things to do, most go to the Blue Grotto. We never made it because the boats weren't running due to the ruff sea. Here are two day trips that we did while we were there. Capri is magical. Make sure you pronounce it correctly as CAPre.

ONE SUGGESTION
At the information booth at La Piazzetta you can get a map that has suggested walks. The first was a 45 minute walk up, up, up a mountain to Villa Jovis. The walk was charming heading out of town by beautiful (expensive) villas. We thought we were in shape but this walk had us puffing. Villa Jovis was Tiberius’s famous mountain top eagle’s nest villa. The view was worth the effort. Not much to see of the ruins. From here we walked back down 45 minutes and went to the Arco Naturale, a one hour and a half loop around one side of Capri. Make sure you do this walk clockwise. It is mostly down hill that way as compared to straight up the other way. The Natural Arch was down the side of a cliff. We met a gentleman traveling on his own and he told us it was definitely worth it and it was. This is a natural limestone cave that was hollowed out and then broke apart from the land many years ago. Now you can look through and see the Mediterranean with small tour boats bobbing below. After coming back up at the restaurant above you take a sharp turn left down, down, down through the woods on stone steps. This is where we saw the unfortunate souls who went the wrong way. The path weaved its way by the Grotto di Matermania a legend haunted cave and then eventually to a little belvedere that juts out overlooking I Faraglioni, “three enigmatic, pale-ochre limestone colossi that loom out of the sea” says Fodor. These rocks are Capri’s signature site. Very impressive. The path passed by our hotel and we continued on to Gelateria Buonocore, the antipasti place for lunch.

SECOND SUGGESTION
Go to La Piazzetta to catch the bus to Anacapri. At the bus stop we didn’t realize that you could have bought an all day bus pass that included the fee for the ski lift in Anacapri. This would have saved us money. We caught the bus in town and rode up a sheer cliff with a small guard rail. This was probably the most terrifying thing we’ve ever done. We were both standing. I was looking straight down the cliff until I finally had to close my eyes. I think the bus driver auditioned for the movie “Speed”, because he drove so fast. I almost cried! I was told at our hotel that morning that the Blue Grotto was closed. I was very disappointed. My brave husband agreed to ride the ski lift up Mt. Solano. This was not scary at all, he proclaimed. This is a 12 minute slow and relaxing ride on a single seat chair. The 360° view was spectacular! You could see the entire island, the bay of Napoli, the bay of Salerno and the Sorrentine peninsula. This was well worth the trip. They have a little bar restaurant, so we had a couple of cold Peronis while we enjoyed the view. The trip down was even better because you look down on all of Anacapri. We walked around the town. It was fairly crowded with day trippers. We found the church of San Michele that has an exquisite majolica tile floor of the Garden of Eden. It was very pretty. At the depot in Capri we caught another bus down to the Marina Piccolo. If we had another day in Capri I would have liked to come here to go swimming. It was a pretty little marina with lots of young kids sunbathing, swimming and drinking in the bars. They were swimming off rocks that jutted out into the turquoise sea. This place was rather surreal. We spent 15 minutes walking around and got in the long bus line back up. We squashed ourselves into the first bus that came. There was a young women up front next to the bus driver, who looked just like Julia Roberts. She loves Capri and visits often. If it wasn’t her, the women could have been her twin.

Our trips from Positano included a long ride to the remarkably well-preserved Greek Temples of Paestum. The Almalfi coast ride was great fun. We stopped in Ravello on the way back. Another day we drove (had a car) to Herculaneum and Pompeii, fabulous. Make sure to spend an afternoon enjoying Positano. Walk the path to right of the harbor. Say hello to Mrss. Black at Chez Black restaurant. Enjoy.

Bob the Navigator is correct ... Reservations are made the day before, and the weather/seas will determine whether the boats run. Don't wait until the end of your stay to go.

As far as what to do in Capri, there are plenty of posts on this board that you can search on, but you won't be able to do everything in one day (Boat will arrive around 11 AM and depart around 5PM).

On my day trip to Capri, I enjoyed a casual lunch in Capri Town, lots of shopping and wandering in Capri Town and Anacapri.

Sorrento and Ravello are in opposing directions relative to Positano, I wouldn't recommend them in the same day.

You can combine Amalfi/Ravello in one day, but you might be cheating one of these locations. Ravello, like Positano and Capri, are all very special and magical places.

So now I have a question! My last visit to the Amalfi Coast was in March and we didn't visit Capri due to rough seas.

I wasn't expecting this to be a frequent problem during the summer months. I'm going in September and already have a res to stay overnight on Capri. What do the hotels and guests do if people can't get there??

Anyone have this experience? Thanks!

Have you given any thought to 4 nights in Positano and 2 nights Capri?

Hi Dayle,

> I'm going in September and already have a res to stay overnight on Capri. What do the hotels and guests do if people can't get there??<

Have you looked at the cancellation policy of your hotel on Capri?

> What do the hotels and guests do if people can't get there??<

The short answer is you'll figure something out.

There may be larger boats you can take from other locations that can get you there. Otherwise, you will make alternative arrangements. There are probably just as many people that can't leave Capri, that can't arrive.

Ira, most of my hotels have the usual 2 - 3 day cancellation policy. Guess I'll just see what happens when I get there. It certainly wouldn't be painful to spend an extra day in Positano or Naples.....