Is a day trip from Rome to Capri worth the time and money?

Capri is an easy day trip from Sorrento, Positano or Naples but even though it's feasible, it's not as desirable from Rome due to the travel times involved. Given the time it will take you to get there, you won't have much time actually on Capri. Keep in mind that the timing of your visit will be dictated by Ferry schedules. If the water is rough, schedules could be disrupted.

One question - what tour are you going on, and does it provide a free day in Sorrento or Naples?

You would be spending a disproportionate amount of time traveling in relationship to the amount of time actually visiting Capri (keep in mind you will spend approximately two additional hours getting to and from the Island - this includes time waiting to get on the boats).

I strongly encourage you to inquire about how to spend time in Rome discovering the city beyond the typical tourist sites. Perhaps you can define to the forum hobbies/items of your personal interest which you would like to discover/pursue in Rome? Investing your time in such manner may well create a wonderful memory to treasure from your journey.

If you have a free afternoon in Sorrento, you could easily visit Capri from there, if the ferries are running.

You did not mention when your trip is scheduled but we spent a week on the Amalfi Coast in September and our day trip to Capri from our home base in Positano was our least favorite day of our excursions. Capri is very congested due to the huge number of cruise ships, and other tourists, and you really need to get out of town to enjoy the beauty. It was also so congested we almost missed our bus to get back to Capri from Anicapri to catch the last ferry back to Positano. I agree you could spend this additional time exploring Rome which is an amazing city.

IMHO your time would be much better spent in Rome. There's more to see there than you can fit into 4.5 days...and I'm guessing one of those is an arrival day so will only be a partial.

We enjoyed Capri - stayed there 2 nights in an unexpectedly upgraded room overlooking the sea - but wouldn't have if only doing it as a day trip. The evenings and early mornings, before/after the day-trippers arrived/departed, were the best times of the days, and we spent the high-visitation hours hiking to more remote parts of the island to avoid the masses. In short, unless you can stay and/or are willing to do some moderately strenuous exploring, I wouldn't otherwise call it unmissable.

Additionally, it would be a very long day involving considerable time on multiple forms of transport, and just not worth the backtracking to a region you'll be returning to.

It's not a good idea to visit Capri from Rome - you'd be much better off seeing more of Rome instead.

Thanks to all those who responded and made great suggestions. We will take your advice and spend more time relaxing and enjoying Rome. Out tour just has a partial free day in the Sorrento/Naples area, but that sounds like it would also over fill that day. One person's recommendation to see Capri doesn't mean it is the best for this trip and we would also be one of those 'day-trippers' worrying about crowds and getting back to the ferry. Our time there would be over the last weekend in August next summer, which would still be a busy time there. Thanks again!

I agree that there is much to see in Rome, but if at some point you want a change of scenery, a day-trip to the lovely hill town of Orvieto is very easy. It's just a bit over an hour from Rome by train. It is not without tourists, but very worth the trip. It might be less busy on weekdays; it was my impression that a lot of the tourists I encountered in June 2015 were Italian.

Orvieto has a beautiful cathedral, at least one good small museum, and a number of other sights to visit.

Orvieto has a couple of good museums, the one across the street from the Duomo gives beautiful "closeup" views of the Duomo façade sculptures from the upper floors of the museum. At the far end of town, after a walk through some medieval streets, is the restored 10th-century church of San Giovenale, with beautiful views of the surrounding countryside from the Piazza in front of the church.

Rome.

Personally, I thought Capri was very touristy and oversold. That said, if you have time in Naples to get there it isn't very difficult. But if your choice is an extra day in Rome or Capri, I'd choose Rome without giving it a second thought.

No. stay near Rome,. unless you have access to a helicopter

No way.

Loved Capri and would highly recommend it as a day trip from Naples, Sorrento, Positano, Amalfi or anywhere in that area. Would absolutely not recommend it as a day trip from Rome. Too far to reach and not convenient at all, my experience with taking a bus from Rome to Sorrento was that the scheduled times were more suggestions than actual. If I needed to catch a ferry time and also be back to Rome same day, no way.
Of course as mentioned if you can take a Helicopter, sure.

Ditto. We took a daytrip from Positano. I liked it, it was very pretty...but it was close by. I recommend not going from Rome just for a day.

Fwiw, I've been to Capri many times and don't like It at all for same reasons others have said. Love Sorrento, Positano, Pompeii, Herculaneum... I don't think you're missing anything by not going. And think of the money you'll save.. 😊

It sounds like a definite 'don't do', unless we have extra time near by. The way our trip is panning out, I think we will spend our time adding other Rome activities and seeing things you can't see anywhere BUT Rome. Thanks again for all the great input and we will heed your suggestions! Great travels to you all! Mike