Highlights to see in Capri

5 hours total ; or 5 hours open not included what you have planned?

View from the top of Monte Solarno is the best on the island I believe.
Augustus Gardens is excellent too for views and may be better for photo taking but on top of Monte Solarno the overall view is better than Augustus Gardens. (it is often the case for the top of a mountain can be more impressive in person than in pictures)
I did not go to Villa San Michelle (wish I had looks beautiful ; next time)

The chairlift itself is very fun ; it is not particularly scenic though since it goes up over a residential type area to reach the top.
I imagine that is what type of photos you are referring to as a simple google image search of Mount Solarno shows some pretty nice photos.
It would be best to take the chair lift up and then hike down ; but you may not have enough time

Would skip the Blue Grotto ; unless you are fascinated by it ; takes awhile of waiting around to get in and more of a touristy thing to do to say you did it. If you are already taking a boat tour around the island ; that would only be more reason to skip the Blue Grotto.

Did not go to Marina Piccola ; my $.02 on that would be if you prefer a beach day to a hiking/natural scenic day go with Marina Piccola ; if you prefer a hike/nature over a beach ; than Monte Sonarno is the way to go

Between the things you already have planned plus walking around the main town area if you have 5 hours total I am not sure Monte Solarno is even a possibility
Based on what you already planned I would say you have left enough time for lunch and a little strolling of the downtown only ; and none of the other options you are asking about do you really have enough time for.
If 5 hours extra of course it would be.

Thank you for you input M.R. Taking ferry from Sorrento for the day. I think with travel time that only allows about 5 hrs in total on the island. Does anyone else have input on Marina Picoli? It looks lovely from google photos. Is there even a good enough view from part way down the walk or would you have to take bus/walk all the way down? Thanks

Patti, with just 5 hours, I think you're going to need to be very selective as time will go quickly. I would definitely skip the Blue Grotto, and skip Marina Piccola as well. I'd only do that one if you intended to swim. The chairlift to the top of Mt. Solaro is fun and less of a 'tourist trap' than the Blue Grotto, IMHO. There's a little cafe up there for a beverage while enjoying the view, if so inclined. Skip it if the weather doesn't cooperate.

We didn't do San Michele as we preferred to explore more of the island's other areas - Villa Jovis, the Pizzolungo coastal path and some other bits of footwork were musts - and it didn't appeal to us personally but other visitors have enjoyed it.

I don't know what time of year you are visiting but Capri is amazingly crowded and you spend a lot of time waiting. We came from Positanoin July and waited a long time for a bus to go to the upper town (that line still was much shorter than the lower town). Once there we walked around and went to a few sites, had lunch, hiked to a view point, and came back. We caught a ferry then to Naples for our flight the next day.

In other words, a day trip really doesn't give you much time to see things, although we enjoyed our day (once we got out of line).

Beth

First off, get an early start! You can do a lot on Capri with five hours as long as you get one of the first ferries from Sorrento. I thought the hour boat trip around Capri was very enjoyable and a decent value really. The Blue Grotto was closed that early, but zero regrets. After that, get up to Anacapri. Even in the morning Capri Town felt crammed, while Anacapri was quiet and relaxing. Definitely take the chairlift up to Monte Solaro! This was the highlight for me. The views are simply breathtaking in any direction. After that, you can make your way back to port somewhat leisurely and be amazed at the mass of humanity that showed up while you were enjoying yourself! :)

We'll be going mid-May. Hoping not quite as busy as summer months. Thanks everyone for the input. I guess we'll just prioritize and see how much time we have when we get there.

I don't know what time of year you are visiting but Capri is amazingly
crowded and you spend a lot of time waiting.

That's a good point so what with working around the crowds, you will have less time than you think you will.