Capri

When you get off the ferry, you will see the booth for "Blue Grotto" trip - go immediately and book. The water/weather has to be perfect or the trips do not happen.

Depending on the Blue Grotto trip, walk straight ahead to the funicular, buy a ticket, and ride it up. You can take a bus - the bus is on your right when you exit the funicular - up to Anacapri to ride the gondola up to Mt. Solaro to view the I Fariglioni rocks and walk around Anacapri.

You can take a taxi right from the ferry up to Anacapri also.

At the top, walk left and follow the signs for the Augustus Gardens - you get away from the crowds a bit and the views are beautiful.

Do you like to hike ? We did 4 hikes on our last trip to Capri - definitely do the Arco Naturale walk - easy and lovely views.

Wondering how feasible it is to visit Capri/Anacapri in early March? I know that a lot of the touristy restaurants and so forth will be closed, and the high-speed ferries won't be running very much, if at all.

Weather permitting, I'm thinking of taking the normal ferry from Sorrento, then possibly hiring a guide once on the island for a historical tour and lunch at a locals hangout. Can't imagine the Blue Grotto will be open, but what a cool thing if it were. And the fact that the tourists won't be there makes me want to visit even more!

Difficult to obtain hard & fast information about this. Anyone have any insight into this possibility?

To me, the beauty of Capri was just to let yourself wander around the narrow alleyways filled with bright flowers and to catch some of the lovely overlooks below. To each their own, but I would skip the Blue Grotto in favor of more time to just wander around, specially if you only have one day there.

Check out what appeals to you:
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187783-Activities-Capri_Island_of_Capri_Province_of_Naples_Campania.html

The grotto - which we skipped due to no interest in the crowds, and risk of high-sea cancellations - was covered above so for the rest of the question...

The island is small and streets are very, very narrow so a great deal of it is pedestrianized: on foot is practically the only way to get around other than to/from docks to piazza in Capri, piazza in Capri to piazza in Anacapri (bus), and to/from the grotto.

'Top' of the island can mean two places: top of Mt Tiberio, closer to the town of Capri, and the top of Mt Solaro, closer to the town of Anacapri. The high point nearest Capri would be the ruins of Villa Jovis on Mt. Tiberio, and you can only access them on foot: we enjoyed this one. The top of Mt. Solaro can be accessed via chairlift or by hiking a trail up/down the mountain.

Some info on both:
http://www.capri.net/en/s/mount-solaro-cetrella
http://www.capri.net/en/s/villa-jovis-mount-tiberio

We went to Capri in March and spent the night and were able to go to the Blue Grotto in the morning. The weather was mild as was the sea, but going anywhere in Europe in March is risking unpleasant weather. I would suggest that you spend the night not only to increase the likelihood of seeing the Blue Grotto, but also to enjoy the beautiful and quiet ambiance of Capri after all the day trippers leave.

Sorry, rachele, already have 5 nights booked at a B&B in Sorrento. But...I think we'll look at the forecast and the mildest day we'll set out for Capri. And I can't imagine cruise ships/day trippers will be there first week of March, can you? We'll keep track of the ferry schedule--I hear there are some locals-only restaurants that don't close in the winter that are fabulous. Blue Grotto or not, I think it'll be fun--have always wanted to go there!

Yes Jay there will be day trippers but probably not cruise ships. Hope you have pleasant weather. I have gone to Italy in March 5 or 6 times and have experienced warm sunny days as well as freezing sleet, and that has been nearly every trip.

Early March 2015 in Italy was windy as heck in Florence, and fairly cold down in Salerno but no rain. Temps mostly high 30's to low 50's, but when we visited Pompei and then Amalfi it reached 60, and it felt like summer. So I know what I'm gettin' into...!

Just a note that Villa Jovis is a very, very long, uphill walk, and the view isn's as good as the (small admission charge) Augustus Gardens. As to the Villa, if you've been to Pompeii or Herculaneum or Hadrian's Villa, you don't need to see Villa Jovis. Opinion.

Fair enough; I'll offer the opposite opinion:
The trek up to the villa may be long for some but we're hikers so it wasn't really difficult/all that long for us, and it was great to have some ruins to explore without the crowds found at Pompeii or other more accessible places. But aside from the crumbling bits up there, the journey itself was great fun as it takes you along some impossibly narrow 'streets' with decorated gates, flowering botanicals and little shrines, and to a part of the island largely overlooked by most tourists. We didn't find the view to be any less impressive than at the gardens, and probably more to our liking.

By all means do both if you have the time and energy!