Visiting the Blue Grotto
 

During our honeymoon in September, we want to visit the Blue Grotto on Capri. Does anyone have any good tips on when to visit, which tour boat service to use, can you swim in the grotto, etc.? Thank you in advance for your help.

Three family members, females ages 28, 30, and 62 swam into the Blue Grotto last year after the last boat left (about 18:00). We were all good swimmers. It is a common thing to do. Go only when the sea is quiet, watch other swimmers. Ask first about the sharp coral and how to avoid scratches. When you get inside the cave, head for the back where you will find a shelf on which to stand but the edges are sharp. To get to the grotto, take a bus to the end of the line on the west end of the island, past Annacapri. Be safe and talk to someone who is knowlegable on the island before you attempt it. Our B&B in Annacapri gave us advice. It is fun, but intimidating.

Afig, all you need to do is type in "blue grotto" in the text search and you will find plenty of info. A poster named KIKKI wrote a great account of going to the Amalfi Coast (her post is the one with 116 replies to it). More info than you can shake a stick at! Also, this month's issue of conde nast Traveller has an article about Capri that will make you wish September were tomorrow! Gorgeous photos.

Thank you for the information and the tip on Conde Naste. I can't wait for September to arrive!

We visited the Blue Grotto many years ago without any trouble but I hear there is a scam you should be aware of. You must take a boat to the Grotto and then transfer to another boat that takes you into the Grotto itself. Some scam artists are giving you a price supposedly for the entire trip but once they get you out into the water they ask for a lot more money to transfer to the Grotto boats. You are a captive with no way of getting back to the shore so you must pay up. Be Careful! If you can swim it maybe that is the answer.

I can't tell from your message whether you will be staying in Capri or just going for the day. If you are staying in Capri, then go to the Grotto after 6 pm when all the day people have left to get the last ferry. Another good time to go is very early in the morning before the ferries arrive.

The Grotto is very small and virtually always crowded, so your "swim" will last about 5 minutes, unless you are there after 6 pm or in the early morning when there are no other boats there. The Grotto is VERY popular, so if you are taking a day trip, you will not have much choice but to be there when everyone else is. Your boatman may or may not mention swimming, you can always jump in if he doesn't offer. . If the weather is at all rough, you can't get into the Blue Grotto (the entrance is about 3 feet high), so if you can't get there on this trip, save it for your next trip to Italy!

I would actually hire your own boat and driver for the day and have the driver take you to the Grotto, as well as around the island in the other direction to drive through the Farringola arch, and also swim through the Spumanti arch. You can hire boats and drivers at the pier in Capri, or your hotel can help. A 16-20 foot boat is good. Run a search here, as others have mentioned costs and specific boats/drivers from Capri. When you get to the Grotto, you will have to transfer to small rowboats (separate charge for this) to get into the Grotto.

Last time I was on the Amalfi coast we stayed in Amalfi, and chartered a 20-foot cabin cruiser for the day to pick us up in Amalfi in the morning, take us to and around Capri, take us to the Blue Grotto, wait for us while we lunched and shopped in town, back out for some swimming and home at sunset. Expensive, but definitely worth it, and for your honeymoon I would definitely consider it. We were able to make our own schedule and were not tied to a ferry, plus we saw so much of the island by going around it and stopping wherever we wanted, which you won't get on the ferry.

I think the Blue Grotto is very beautiful, but there are other grottos along the coast, most notably the Emerald Grotto near Priano, which are very beautiful as well, so if the weather does not permit you to see the Blue Grotto, you can try other places along the coast.

Afig, I agree with Cicerone's comments.

I was in the Blue Grotto 2 weeks ago. My wife & I were staying in Anacapri and we decided to take a cruise around the island and it was one of our trip's highlights. The trip lasts about 3 hours and the cost was € 135 + tip for the both of us. This was on a 8 meter "gozzi" with a captain who had a stocked cooler. In addition to pointing out everything and let us snorkle whenever, he also helped us get into the Blue Grotto. When we arrived at the grotto, there were about 6 or 8 "head" boats with about 15-20 people on board each, all waiting for the little row boats to pickup 5/6 people and transport them into the grotto's small opening. This will cost you € 8 + tip each. The wait is usually 20 minutes, but our captain, Enzo, knew most of the rowboat captains and called one over to take the both of us in.

It was beautiful inside and really made the trip for wife. There were about 6 boats inside with their passengers and there was always a boat captain singing (kinda cheezy, but what the hey). The stay inside is only about 15 minutes, but the water was unlike anything you've ever seen.

The gozzi we rented was from Acquatica Boats in Capri. Go to Capri online to search for other excursions at:

http://www.capri.net/

Congrads on your wedding and have a great trip!!

Thank you again to all who haven't written with such good information. I appreciate your detailed descriptions and suggestions. I can tell that the Amalfi must be a special place because everyone who writes about it sounds like they had memorable experiences while visiting. I especially want to look into renting the gozzi per viaggiatore's message as we will be visiting Capri for only one day. We definitely want to make the most of it!

Afig, it is a pleasure to offer information to someone who is so gracious in accepting it =D>

We were in Capri a couple of months ago and were told by the locals to visit the grotto before 3pm because after then the sun doesn't reflect as well. So morning might be a better time.