Capri in late March?

Are you trying to do this as a day trip from Rome, as in this previous thread?

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/best-day-trips-from-rome-in-late-march

Is it difficult to get to Capri from Rome? How would you go about it,

Fast (NOT regionales) train to Napoli Centrale. Explore times on the Trenialia website.
Bus or taxi to the port
High-speed ferry to Capri
Bus or funicular from port in Capri up to the town of Capri

http://www.capri.net/en/ferry-schedule?from=napoli&to=capri
https://www.capri.com/en/getting-around

Reverse the process going back to Rome.
http://www.capri.net/en/ferry-schedule?from=capri&to=napoli

Last fast trains back to Rome from Naples look to depart at 19:30 or 19:36 (check your actual date) so you'd need to closely coordinate your departing ferry.

Which day of the week would you recommend going

Any day that's not raining: this is not a trip you want to do in the rain. Ferries may also be delayed or not run at all if seas are very rough. Weather will be a crapshoot as late March is the tail end of the winter season, and not everything may be open prior to Easter. Google up weather averages.

do you have any travel tips for Capri?

I'll emphasize this again per your prior mention that your sister "can't walk far". With few exceptions, the island is very nearly entirely pedestrianized so getting around involves footwork. Depending on what you choose to see, some of that can involve steep hills and steps but the centers of the two towns themselves are reasonably flat. As with any trip, the best thing to do is to spend some time researching what's available to do/see and choose what appeals to both of you and accommodates her mobility issues.

http://www.capri.net
http://www.capri.net/en/what-to-see

You do not need any tours, and I would skip the Blue Grotto, which isn't accessible in March anyway. Personally? I wouldn't do this as a day trip from Rome. Save it for a future trip with adequate time allowed for exploring the region.

With reference to Italy being "pretty far south", be aware that Rome is at about the same latitude as NYC. Fortunately, its winters are milder. But still, I wonder whether your niece fell in love with Capri in late March. It's definitely a trip I would plan with an eye to the weather, which means I wouldn't be buying the train ticket to Naples very far in advance. Likely that would mean paying a fairly high price for it. Perhaps you are not as risk-averse as I am about weather.

Agree, acraven. I'd expressed the same concern about base-priced tickets (as well as trip times involved) on one of her other threads:

"Regarding your (and her) ongoing interest in saving money, spur-of-moment day trips to Venice and Capri may very well involve buying base-priced fast train tickets, and those won't be cheap for round-trip fares."

My niece told her mom that we should definitely try to see Capri

People fall in love with different places, but just because someone says we should go somewhere does nòt necessarily make it the right choice for you at a particular moment. Maybe this is one to save for your next trip when you can focus on points south of Rome. You have a packed trip already, Gracialynne, with many long transfers as I recall. This long day trip will be exhausting and expensive and not offer that many returns on the investment.

Wise words from Laurel.
Being it's an island, a bus would have to have floaters to get to Capri! :O)

...But still, I wonder whether your niece fell in love with Capri in
late March. It's definitely a trip I would plan with an eye to the
weather, which means I wouldn't be buying the train ticket to Naples
very far in advance. Likely that would mean paying a fairly high price
for it. Perhaps you are not as risk-averse as I am about weather.

True words, acraven. Last March, we had to not only cancel a trip to Capri but had to cancel a cooking class on a farm at the tip of the mainland overlooking Capri, because of some nasty storms that hit the peninsula and knocked power out. 100 miles south of Rome, after a week of picture-perfect climes in the Eternal City, this was cold, biting stuff that we had to endure for two straight days. I wouldn't have worried about seasickness on the ferry, I'd worry about being thrown overboard.

Staying in Sorrento, the weather finally straightened out a little, allowing some wonderfully hazy, foggy vistas near Positano--very enjoyable--but weather will play a huge part in your enjoyment (or not) of the A.C. and its environs.

Can you foresee any possible problems with travel to Venice on Easter
Monday?

Oh good; much better that you don't intend to return to Rome on the same day Your other post indicated staying in Rome through Easter Monday and doing Venice as a day trip.

I would buy your tickets to Venice NOW to be able to snag any low fares on the fast trains which are still available. It won't matter how busy the rails are if you have assigned seats on specific trains. As Trenitalia fares to Venice on Easter Monday are coming up as pretty high ALL day (indicating a busy travel day), I'd see what you can land on Italo. I'm seeing some early-morning economy fares on that one from Termini as low as 37.90 € still available but prices rise for trains later in the day.

https://www.italotreno.it/en

Hopefully you've ditched the Capri idea but while there are buses, I'm sure, to Naples, I would not consider that method for a day trip to the island. You'd eat up a considerable amount of time getting there and back versus high-speed train, and heavy traffic or other road complications could slow the process further. It would cut even deeper into the too-little time you'd have for Capri to begin with.

Oh, to add...

If your hotel reservations in Rome are currently through Easter Monday, make sure you can cancel that last night without penalty? Your trip is only a few weeks away and it's getting just a little late in the game to be shifting reservations around + finding accommodations in Venice. That's a pretty expensive city, too, so you'll want to get a giddiyup on getting that booking nailed down.

See my 2-cents on bus to Naples at the end of my 2nd to last post.

No to the bus from Rome to Naples and return for a day trip. Takes MUCH longer than train. You can save time, or money, but not both. Gracialynne, the day trip to Capri is a bad idea. Period. We went one day while staying in Sorrento and found it appallingly touristed except whe we took a hike of several miles, which your sister could not handle. The restaurants are hideously expensive and the center is primarily high-priced designer shops. Is that really how you want to spend a precious day.

Gracia, we stayed 2 nights on the island and did a fair amount of hiking that your sister cannot manage. If we had tried to do it as a day trip from Rome, we would not have enjoyed our time there nearly as much. I will add that it poured rain from Rome all way to Naples, and nearly to the port in Capri where the ferry landed. If the storm system hadn't have cleared, it would not have been a fun day AT ALL on the island. Fortunately, weather worked in our favor PLUS we had more than one day to work with. We also didn't bother with the high-end shops, and did our best to lose the day-tripper crowds.

We did OK without spending $$$ on food but took a pizza back to our hotel one night, and bought a few bottles of beer out of a market to go with it. Only ate "out" on the 2nd night, and not in a fancy, very expensive place. In short, our trip was a VERY different animal than what you're looking at doing, and at a different time of year (early October). The best hours on the island, IMHO, are the ones when the day-trippers have gone.

Really, as Laurel, Jay and others have voted, trying to do this as a day trip from Rome is not a good idea.

We took the hydrofoil from Sorrento to Capri on March 25th last year. The weather that day was perfect (blue sky sunny and warm - 70 F). Capri was not terribly crowded, although I would suggest trying to arrive by mid-morning at the latest so that you will have time to do lots of fun stuff, like taking the chair lift to the top of Monte Solaro in Anacapri, seeing the beautiful tiled floor of the Church of San Michele in Anacapri, taking a cruise around the island, etc. Also, in order to maximize your time and not waste it waiting on line for buses, I suggest taking a taxi from the area where the ferry arrives in Capri to Anacapri, and then back down to Capri. If you are originating in Rome, perhaps you could get an early train to Naples, and then take the ferry to Capri from Naples. It would be a very long day if you plan to return to Rome that evening.

So glad to hear it's doable, Robert! And that you had perfect weather in late March. Oh, my, that does sound fun. I guess we'll just have to wait on the weather. Would be sad to book in advance and waste the money on a rainy day. A splurge! Sounds so romantic. I will run this by my sis and see what she thinks.

Robert, We are considering splurging on a trip to Capri, if we should get exceptionally nice weather on one of our free days in Rome. It's the kind of thing we can't book in advance, because we won't go unless we get a very nice day, so it will be pricey at the last minute, but we hadn't considered the possibility of an easycruise around the island (no walking required) Question: Do you know what the cruise costs, and would it be difficult/time-consuming to get to the cruise ship from the ferry dock at Capri? We would be taking the ferry from Naples to Capri, as you suggest. How long does the cruise last? I don't generally like cruises, but this one sounds fun! I did LOVE my boat rides on the Seine and Thames last spring. Just fabulous!

Robert, was there much seasickness on the cruise? Are the waters around Capri exceptionally rough, even on a nice day?

Robert, do you recall how much the chairlift cost? That also sounds like a fun and easy-peezy way to see Capri!

And, Robert, if you had time to do just one, would you vote for the cruise around Capri or the chairlift?

Robert, do you recall how much the chairlift cost? That also sounds
like a fun and easy-peezy way to see Capri!

You won't "see" (as in sightsee) Capri: just get the view from the top of the Mt. Solaro (yes, we did it). Price info is on the website I provided you earlier. There is a lot of good info on the Capri site regarding how to get around, cruises, etc. so spend some time with it.

http://www.capri.net/en/e/monte-solaro-high-drama

Thanks, Kathy. Oh, wow, I've been looking at Capri photos and blogs. My girlfriend said she did both the chairlift and the boat ride, years ago. Neither looks expensive. We can skip the Blue Grotto part-- that looks like a pricey rip-off. We'll plan to take Dramamine along... My friend said there are gardens atop Mt. Solano she loved, and hot pizza that was delicious. I see nothing about pizza in current blogs. That must be gone, only beverages now? But, still, it looks marvelous. I'm going to push to take that taxi. I'm thinking chairlift first, boat ride last, and then catch the ferry back to Naples near where the boat docks at end of our ride. Not sure that all works out, but I will research. My niece will be pleased we took her travel advice. I just hope the chairlift doesn't break down? I wonder how common that is? I read they are rickety. I read that if it does break, it will take a long, long time for it to get up and running again. I guess we need to pray for a very nice day, Divine Intervention with late March Weather. If we don't get one, hubby and I will have a chance in December. Capri looks beautiful at Christmastime. Would be romantic for celebrating our anniversary.

@gracialynne: I believe that there are several companies that offer short cruises around the island. I can't recall which one we used, but it was in the RS Italy guide. The company's office was right in the dock area where you arrive in Capri on the hydrofoil; basically, you walk up to the ticket window and get your tickets there; no reservation needed. I can't recall the cost (maybe 25 Euros/person [?] for the one-hour cruise). What was fun is that the boat goes through one of the Faraglioni Rocks. It also goes by the Blue Grotto, but there really wasn't anything to see as people weren't entering it that day. It also was a little chilly on the boat, so bring a jacket. No seasickness issues as the waters on the day we ferried from Sorrento to Capri and then cruised around the island were quite calm. (I have been seasick while deep sea fishing quite a few years ago, so I would not want to repeat that experience by going out on a rough day.) The cost of the chair lift to the top of Monte Solaro was 11 Euro/person. The view is spectacular. We just walked around the perimeter of the mountain to take it all in and then took the chair lift back down to the center of Anacapri. We didn't stop inside the restaurant on top of the mountain, so don't know about the pizza. We actually ate lunch at a nice restaurant directly opposite across the square from where you exit from the chair lift. It would be tough to choose between the chair lift and the cruise; but if you force me, I would go for the view from Monte Solaro. But definitely try to do both since they offer different perspectives. Lastly, I would highly recommend that if you do the chair lift that you find time to walk over to the Church of San Michele in Anacapri to see the amazing tile floor depicting Adam and Eve's expulsion from the Garden of Eden.

No way would I recommend this as a day trip from Rome!
If you are staying the night in Sorrento, Naples or even Capri then fine but not as a day trip from Rome and especially in the shorter days of March this is a bad idea.

As to Capri itself, should you decide to visit it properly. Weather will be a crapshoot, hope for the best is all you can do.
It is a very small island, most visitors will be day tripping so seeing the island in only the handful of hours the ferry allows.
Some folks I sure spend a night or two, but the island is not so large that many would even consider spending more than 2 nights there unless wanting totally relaxation so as far as getting an initial taste of it that is going to happen by stepping off the ferry and a daytrip there you will experience the same as most of us likely have.

The chairlift to the top is quite enjoyable, walk around the top of that area which is AnaCapri and then head to the main town square of Capri and the gardens there.
At the top of Monte Solaro I remember there was a small café. I had a beer and my wife a café latte and the view from the café is devine ; I don't recall them having Pizza, maybe they did have food and I just don't recall. If so I am sure there are better pizza spots on the island.

It really did not feel like a Spring Break for students type of place.
The views are fantastic on the entire island, definitely agree with skipping the Blue Grotto ; will take far too long and at the time of year will only be running if there are not many waves.

Thanks for the great info, Robert and McReynolds!

My sis was recently wondering whether we could combine both Capri AND Herculaneum into a day trip, so I'm glad I had these recent messages from you both to show her. I suggested to her we concentrate on Capri for one day IF we get good weather, and then perhaps combine Pompeii and Capri into another day trip. I suspect there will NOT be good weather and we can use our tentative Capri Day for the Pompeii/Herculaneum trip. She said if we could do only one, Capri or Herculaneum, it would be terribly hard to decide which one, so I think my idea might help. How would you best plan a day trip in late March from Rome to Pompeii/Herculaneum? I'm leaning toward seeing Herculaneum first, as it is smaller and quite interesting, I hear (my niece and others have much preferred it to Pompeii), and then see a little of Pompeii afterwards. My sis was wondering how we would get to Herculaneum, and how much it would cost to see both Herculaneum and Pompeii, and whether there would be taxi costs once we get there, and such. Could we just hoof it ourselves, without needing to pay for tours, or are the tours worth it?

I just re-read replies from my earlier post inquiring about Day Trips from Rome, and several of you said Pompeii would be just too much for a Day Trip from Rome, with lots of walking.

So I'm hoping to talk my sister into Herculaneum by itself. Do you think that would be a reasonable day trip from Rome? My niece preferred Herculaneum to Pompeii, and I've read that it's smaller and much easier to get around in, with less walking. Is it a 2-hour train ride to Herculaneum?