Capri

Depends on the time of the year, what you enjoy doing, and what else you have planned for your vacation.

Well, we will be in southern Italy for 3 weeks and 3 days, beginning November 28. We want to see as much as possible but without feeling too rushed.

I can't comment on staying in Capri because we took a day trip to Capri from Sorrento in September and had a wonderful tour with Tours of Capri. If you are sure you want to spend the night there, I think 1 night/2 days is sufficient but it seems like a lot of "schlepping" to just stay 1 night because you obviously have to take a ferry to/from Capri with your luggage, etc. and then get from the dock to your hotel which can be difficult depending on what part of the island you're staying in. I personally was glad that we used Sorrento as our base and took a day trip to Capri. By using the tour company, we saw much more than we would have had we done it on our own and we didn't have to bother with a 1-night stay. The tour guide and company was fantastic & took care of everything. Since I didn't have to worry about the logistics of getting from place to place, I was able to enjoy it immensely & see so much more than we would have seen on our own. Just something to consider if you decide you want to visit Capri as a day trip.

Thanks, Sheron; yours is the sort of feedback I had in mind. You make a good point about getting from the ferry to the hotel. I will read up on Capri more to see how much of a hassle it will be.

One more thing! I highly recommend eating at Gelsomina alla Migliara in Anacapri. It's up high overlooking the ocean and it's off the beaten path so they send shuttles up and down to town to pick up/drop off guests who want to dine there. Our tour guide recommended having lunch here and it was incredible to say the least. They grow all their own veggies, make their own wine, olive oil and pasta so everything is fresh! They have a few rooms that they rent out and a huge pool that people can use for the day but the highlight is the large veranda overlooking the ocean and the food. The prices are very reasonable and I had the best ravioli of my life there. It was so light and airy & it melted in my mouth! It's the #1 rated restaurant in Anacapri (on Trip Advisor) & for good reason. Have a wonderful trip.

Thanks, Sheron. I just sent an e-mail to Gelsomina alla Migliara to find out if they're open the first week of December. I am finding many places in the smaller towns are not so fingers crossed!

Good for you for doing this research in advance. You're finding out that a lot of businesses in summer-oriented resort towns do indeed shut down in the off-season.

Any chance you could save Capri for a future visit, when the weather is more friendly?

Thanks, Michael. Yes, I am finding half the hotels and bed-and-breakfasts recommended in Rough Guide are closed in December. I have sent e-mails to others to ask about bookings and most of them have not responded. So while we will be there at uncrowded time (which is definitely my preference), I can see we may have to settle for not exactly the accommodations or eateries we would patronize if we were there, let's say, right now. I used Google translator to write some of my e-mails: Don't know if that's a good idea or not.

Thanks for the suggestion, Michael. When I refer to hotels and bed-and-breakfasts I have e-mailed, I mean hotels and bed-and-breakfasts not just in Capri but in all of southern Italy. My aim is to get out of Seattle for the dreary Thanksgiving/Christmas time of year that I loathe and to enjoy Italy at its most uncrowded. I don't have to go to Capri though. If I can't find a place to stay, we'll just skip it or go there on a day trip. Do you think that calling hotels and bed-and-breakfasts would be more effective than e-mailing? The language barrier is probably at its worst on the phone. :-(

We were on the Amalfi Coast last week for a long weekend. We used Sorrento as our base. We took a day trip out to Capri. We love to hike (Bellingham is home for me) and we did a bit of hiking there. We did find that while there are regular ferries, for the most part, every day to Capri, they are less frequent or NON EXISTENT to other parts of the coast like Positano and Amalfi. This leaves you with the option of taking a long bus ride on very WINDING roads (not for anyone who suffers from motion sickness issues). We will go back again because it rained pretty much for our entire time there and I still want to do those hikes!!!

So you can't take a ferry from Capri to Amalfi!?! I had seen (on a map I believe) that you could. That's really too bad because I had thought to go from Sorrento to Capri to Amalfi might be more scenic than going by bus from Sorrento to Amalfi. So you get car sick but don't get sea sick? Thanks for the heads up re: Capri --> Amalfi

You can take the boat from Capri to Sorrento and then there is a boat to Amalfi. I seem to remember that the boat ride between Capri and Sorrento is a short one -- anyone have more up to day info???

The boat services connecting Sorrento and Capri to the Amalfi Coast destinations are seasonal and usually finish mid to end of October. Services between Capri and Sorrento run, sea conditions permitting, year round.

Thanks Linda and Frances!