From rugged landscapes and bright blue waters to ritzy yachts and luxury shopping, Capri is a beautiful island on the Bay of Naples. Today, Capri maybe a playground for the rich and famous but its history dates back to the times of the Greeks and Romans. You should definitely visit Capri if you find yourself on the Amalfi Coast or in Naples. You can easily visit Capri as a day trip, even if you are on limited time. This post outlines how to spend one day in Capri with lots of tips for an amazing day!
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Table of Contents
The Isle of Capri
Before I get to how to spend one day in Capri, it is important to understand the lay of the land in Capri and the main towns.
- Marina Grande – Main port. Here you can find ferries, buses and the funicular to get to Capri Town.
- Capri Town – Main town on the island. To get here, you need to either take the funicular from Marina Grande or a bus. You can also walk (I did). It’s completely uphill. I would save this as your very fast option.
- Anacapri – A little higher up, this is where you will get on the chairlift for the highest point in Capri. It’s a cute little town that should not be missed!
Tips for How to Spend One Day in Capri
- Start your day early. Get to Capri on the first ferry if possible. The earliest ferry departs from Sorrento at 7:15 AM during peak season.
- Also take the last ferry out if possible. The last ferry leaves Capri for Sorrento around 7 PM during peak season.
- Buy your ferry tickets online and several weeks prior to guarantee a crossing at these times.
- Buy your bus tickets as soon as you get to the island (see below).
- Buses get crowded. It may be worth your time to take a taxi. Taxi’s are huge and can accommodate about 6-7 people, so you may want to share with others to make it cost effective.
- Make lunch and bar reservations ahead of time if you really want to check out certain places.
- Be flexible. Sometimes the best plans have to be altered on the go.
I am going to outline this plan with the assumption that you will take the earliest ferry to Capri and take a private boat tour to see the island. If you do not use a private boat tour, then you may have to cut out the hike from the plan. Another assumption is that you are visiting during peak season. Ferry schedules may differ during non-peak times. Meaning that the earliest ferry to Capri may not dock prior to 8 AM. You may also have to tweak this itinerary if this is the case. Also, this outline for one day in Capri is tailored for those who want to see much of the island in little time. This is not for people who may want to relax on a beach. I will provide some alternative ideas for those who want to do this.
How to Spend One Day in Capri
7:40 AM – Dock in Marina Grande
When you get off the ferry, go to the ticketing office and buy your bus ticket for later. Do this first thing so you are not standing in line for a bus ticket later. Ask for two tickets. One from the Blue Grotto to Anacapri and the other from ticket from Anacapri to Capri. If you can’t get the bus ticket to from the Blue Grotto to Anacapri here, you maybe able to buy it on the bus.
8 AM – Boat Tour Around the Island
During this boat tour, you should ask the skipper to take you to the following places:
- Faraglioni Rocks
- Tiberius’ Leap
- Coral Grotto
- While Grotto
- Natural Arch
- Punta Carena lighthouse
- Blue Grotto
Private Boat Tour Around the Island vs. a Group Tour
One of the best things to do in Capri is to take a boat tour around the island with a stop at the Blue Grotto. You can either do a private tour or a group tour. I recommend a private tour as you can start early and get to the Blue Grotto when it opens. Go to the Blue Grotto early as it tends to get crowded and people end up wasting time waiting to get in. The bigger the crowds the the longer the wait. In contrast, the group tours don’t start until a bit later. There are two companies that provide group tours around the Island. They are Motoscafisti and Laser Capri. These start tours at 9:45 AM and 9:30 AM respectively. The Blue Grotto is the last stop, meaning there will already be a crowd at the Blue Grotto by the time you get there.
Here is my recommended plan instead
Arrive in Capri at 7:40 AM -> Buy bus tickets -> Start boat tour around the Island at 8 AM -> Get to Blue Grotto at 9:30 AM -> Wait for 1 hour* -> Exit Blue Grotto at 10:30 AM
*Wait times will vary based on the crowd. The Blue Grotto opens around 9 AM. If you get here just past 9 AM and since the organized group tours have not started yet, there is a good chance you may not have to wait for an hour but let’s just assume an hour just in case.
If this is not in your budget, you can still take a group tour, but that may cut down on some of the other things you want to do.
9:30 AM – Blue Grotto
As I mentioned above wait times can be tricky. However, if you want to visit the Blue Grotto, you should do it the first thing in the morning as this is when the lightning inside is the best. One thing to note is that entry into the Blue Grotto is very dependent on the weather. As luck would have it, it started raining just as I was waiting to get in and never made it in..oh, well! next time!
Once you are done at the Blue Grotto, don’t get back on the main boat to go back to Marina Grande. Instead, ask the skipper to drop you off at the side stairwell. At the top of the stairwell is the bus stop to Anacapri. This way you do not waste time going back to Marina Grande.
From a timing perspective, account about an hour for the Blue Grotto (10:30 AM) and 30 minutes for the bus ride, including wait time for the bus (11 AM). Hopefully neither the Blue Grotto nor the bus ride takes that much time but let’s play it safe here.
11 AM – Anacapri
You must visit Anacapri even if you only have one day in Capri. Anacapri is a little quieter than Capri in my experience and was probably my favorite place on the island.
When you get to Anacapri, make your way to the…
Monte Solaro Chain Lift
This is such a fun way to relax and enjoy the views. The chairlift is a 12 minutes journey that takes you to the top of Monte Solaro which has some amazing views of the island. Buy a return ticket as it’s cheaper than buying 2 separate tickets.
12 Noon – Lunch
There a lot of highly rated restaurants in Ana Capri. Check out Sciue’ Sciue’ or La Zagrada!
1 PM – Explore Anacapri
Walk around Anacapri and explore the town. I highly recommend checking out the Church of San Michele. Climb the upper deck for panoramic views of the tiled floor.
If you know in advance that you are not interested in hiking (last activity) OR the Blue Grotto didn’t take time and you are ahead of schedule, then you will have time to explore Villa San Michele. If you do not have time, then go to the spot shown on the map below for one of the most stunning vistas of the island.
2 PM – Bus to Capri
I am leaving a 30 minute allowance here but if the lines look too long, I think it’s fully worth it to splurge for a taxi. Taxi’s cost around 40 euros but these are big cars and can accommodate about 6-7 people. Ask if people around you are willing to share the cost.
2:30 PM – Explore Capri
Start at Piazza Umberto I and make your way to the center of town. Don’t forget to stop at Buonocore Gelateria for what is known as the best ice cream in all of Capri! Checkout Via Camerelle which is where all the luxury shops are!
After this, head to Giardini di Augusto. Go to the upper platform to view the Faraglioni rocks and then also to the side where you can see Via Krupp. Via Krupp is closed now but you can still see it from Giardini de Augusto.
3:30 PM – Options
You need about 1 hours to see the sites in Capri mentioned above. You have a few options here :
- Brag a Drink and Relax – Capri Rooftop is a great place for this
- Hike – Need about 2 hours
- See a few lookout points – Need about 1.5 hours for this
Hike
Start at Via Matermania and make your way to the Natural Arch. From the Natural Arch back track a bit until you get to the little cafe and turn left to via del puzzolungo. You can’t miss it as you will see a lot of stairs downhill. Follow the steps and the path from here on. You will see a lot of nice views on the way. The hike ends up Belvedere Tragara. Do not attempt to do this hike the other way around unless you are looking to work on leg day as there are many, many steps! It took me a little less than 1.5 hours but I hike very fast usually, so I would say keep about 2 hours to be safe.
Lookout Points
If you picked this option, the two lookout points I recommend are Belvedere Tragara and the Natural Arch. They are more or less on either end of the hike above but the only good thing is that you do not need to climb up or down the steps you otherwise would if you do the full hike. If you are at Giardini de Augusto, first go to Belvedere Tragara and then the Natural Arch.
5:30 PM – Cocktails
You can either grab a drink at Capri Town after your hike or make your way down to the port and grab a drink there. I advice you to get to the port at least 20-30 minutes ahead of the scheduled departure (7 PM in this case). To get down to the port, you can either take the stairs (15 minutes) or wait for the funicular. If the funicular lines are long, don’t risk it and just take the stairs.
Since I finished hiking earlier and had time, I made my way to a restaurant called Da Paolino, a 20 minute walk from Marina Grande for cocktail. This Restaurant has lemon groves and is very nice!
7 PM – Depart Capri
As I mentioned above, make sure you get to the ferry port/Marina Grande at least 20 minutes before. You will not want to miss this ferry since this is the last ferry for the day from Capri.
How to Get to Capri
As Capri is an island, you need to get to on a boat to get to Capri. Here are all the ways to get to Capri via Boat:
Ferry – A ferry is the cheapest way to get to Capri. Ferries leave from Amalfi Town, Positano, Minori, and Sorrento. The first and last ferry to and from Capri leave and go to Sorrento
If you are looking to explore the Capri in one day as I have outlined above, then you should probably take the first ferry in and last ferry out.
Private Boat – There are many private boat tours that you can take from the Amalfi Coast. Some will simply drop you off in Capri, while some others will also take you around the island.
I recommend Capri Relax Boats. They were cheaper than the other than I had inquired from and also VERY responsive. I usually measure service by how responsive people are their communication was excellent.
Organized Group Tours – Don’t want to figure out these delays? Check out these organized tours below!
Alternative Things to Do
If you don’t want to follow my one day in itinerary and you are looking for a more relaxed day on the island. Consider taking a full day boat ride around the island with stops to swim and snorkel. Or head to Marina Piccola and relax on the beach all day.
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