We are planning a one day visit from Sorrento in a week to Capri for seven of us. Grandma & Grandpa, Daughter and Son in Law, and three energetic teens ages 13, 15, 17. My plan is to take hydrofoil from Sorrento at 8:30 AM to Capri. (Taking Bonine as a preventative at breakfast.) Then go directly up to Anacapri via bus, then do Anacapri, take the chairlift, then the five younger ones will hike down and Grandma and Grandpa will take lift down. Then grab lunch in Anacapri. Then take bus to Capri town, do a walk about, then funicular down to Marina Grande, then Take the Scenic cruise around the island skipping the Blue Grotto bit. Just do the cruise around the island. Then take hydrofoil back to Sorrento around 4:30. (16:30). The reason I am not taking the scenic cruise first is I wanted to see Anacapri, and do the lift bit before the crowds descend. And I thought in the heat of the day, the scenic cruise around the island would be more pleasant. I know Rick Steve's says to do it first, but since we are skipping the Grotto, I thought it would be OK to do it in the PM. But I can't find any information as to how crowded the scenic cruise boats will be in the PM. Should we prepurchase tickets in Marina Grande before we go up to Anacapri for a cruise around 1:30 -2;00? I plan on buying 21 bus/funicular tickets as soon as we arrive to try to avoid lines.
Does anyone have a favorite scenic cruise boat to recommend?
Posted by
11504 posts
Instead of a “walk about in Capri” go to the Giardini Agosto and walk from there to Punta Tragara, beautiful views of the sea and pillared rocks in a very nice area. This where we stayed and it removes you from the crowds.
The cruise around Capri was our least favorite thing we did in four nights there.
Posted by
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
4432 posts
I can't speak to recommend cruise companies because we spent our entire day on the Island. I do like your idea of Anacapri and then Capri Town first. You're going to see some spectacular views that may make the cruise unnecessary and so I'd hesitate buying tickets in advance unless they sell out quickly.
Suki mentioned the garden near Capri Town which I'll also confirm has spectacular views. In Anacapri, also consider Villa San Michele. It's a villa built in the late 1800's on top of a villa built by Emperor Tiberius 2000 years ago. Some of the decor are ruins dug up during construction of the "modern" villa. There are some spectacular views from here as well.
Posted by
WestCentral MN
339 posts
We did the same as you are planning to do. It worked fine. The boats that do the scenic cruise only hold so many people, and you can move about the boat to view what you want, so it works fine. Yes, it was nice being on the water in the afternoon.
Posted by
OP
29 posts
Did any of you have trouble getting tickets for a cruise in the early afternoon?
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10527 posts
The view from the water is totally different from the view from the island. Your plan sounds good. Our ride circling the island was a highlight.
Posted by
OP
29 posts
Thank you for the advice. After further research I prebooked round trip tickets to and from Capri. Then prebooked Laser Capri to do the scenic cruise in the PM. Arriving Capri at 8:45. Scenic cruise at 14:45. Back to Sorrento at 17:15.