Capri

Capri: The Island That Charges More Than It’s Worth and Remains Worth Going

In summer, Capri processes tens of thousands of day-trippers from the mainland each day. The Piazzetta, the small square at the island’s centre, becomes essentially impassable by 11am. The Blue Grotto boat queue can run two hours. A simple lunch costs what a decent dinner costs in Naples. The island is aware of all this and does nothing to discourage it, because the demand is entirely inelastic.

None of this invalidates Capri. The island is 6 square kilometres of limestone cliffs, clear turquoise water, and a combination of sea light and terraced gardens that produces something that photographs well for a reason. The solution to the crowds is straightforward: arrive on the first boat, be at the Blue Grotto before 9am, and spend the afternoon at Marina Piccola or one of the eastern paths where the tour groups don’t reach. Or come in October, when the day-trippers thin out and the light turns yellow-gold over the Faraglioni.

The Blue Grotto

The Grotta Azzurra is a sea cave about 60 metres long. Rowboats enter through a metre-wide gap at water level; you lie flat to pass through. Inside, sunlight enters through an underwater opening and reflects off the white sandy floor, illuminating the water in electric blue. The effect is genuinely astonishing and unlike anything you can anticipate from photographs.

Access is weather-dependent, rough seas or high tide close it. The entrance price is around €18 for foreigners plus the rowboat fare and the motorboat fare to reach it (total around €27-30). The rowboat time inside is 5-7 minutes. Whether this is good value depends on your tolerance for commercial tourism, but the cave is real and extraordinary.

What Else

Villa Jovis, the 1st-century palace of Emperor Tiberius on the island’s eastern cliff, is a 90-minute walk from the Piazzetta and receives a tiny fraction of the visitor numbers at the Grotto. Tiberius ruled Rome from Capri for the last decade of his life (26-37 CE), governing the empire by letter from this cliff-top complex. The ruins are substantial; the view from the clifftop drop is vertigo-inducing.

The chairlift from Anacapri to Monte Solaro (589m, the island’s highest point, around €12 each way) takes 12 minutes and gives a 360-degree view that includes Vesuvius, the Amalfi coast, and the Faraglioni from above. Worth doing on a clear morning before the haze builds.

The three Faraglioni rock stacks off the southeast coast are the island’s most photographed feature. Boat tours from Marina Grande circle them (around €15-20 per person, 45 minutes); the arch in the middle stack is large enough to pass through by boat.

Getting There

Ferries and hydrofoils from Naples (40-50 minutes, €20-25), Sorrento (20-30 minutes, €15-20), and Positano in season. The last return boat to Naples is typically around 20:00; check schedules if staying late.

Where to Stay and Eat

Capri Town has the most hotels and the most expensive options. Anacapri is quieter and slightly cheaper, with guesthouses from €80-150 for a double. Hotels at the more luxurious end, Villa San Michele, Grand Hotel Quisisana, start around €300-400 and go considerably higher.

For food: Da Gemma on Via Madre Serafina serves proper Caprese cooking (pasta, seafood, local wine) at manageable prices for the island. The famous Caprese salad, buffalo mozzarella, local tomatoes, basil, is genuinely better here than almost anywhere else because the tomatoes are grown locally in volcanic soil.