Best of South Italy Tour—to Capri or not to Capri in October

We liked Capri far more than the Amalfi Coast. It will be crowded if you stick to the typical touristy spots but we took the first ferry over and headed straight to Anacapri and had the town to ourselves for the first couple of hours. We didn't experience crowds until we hung out just above the marina later in the day. We didn't bother with a boat tour. If that's a must then you likely should stick with Mondo, but without that, Capri is easy on your own. If you want info on what we did, check out day 5 of my Trip Report.

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/trip-report-2-weeks-of-day-trips-from-sorrento

I’d still do Capri in late October tbh, especially if your main goals are the views, a bit of walking and the boat ride. I think the people saying skip it are usually reacting to peak season chaos, but late October is more reasonable. I’d head to Anacapri first, do Monte Solaro if the weather is clear, then have a long lunch with a view and keep the rest of the day flexible. If it looks windy or rainy, then I’d stay in Sorrento. The 3 links I’d check are this one, this and this.

We did this hike (actually, more of a walk 'cause the way is mostly paved. Large parts are uphill, and the views from the ruins are great. After your visit, recover with a beverage at Bar Jovis ( (you'll pass it on the way up) if it's still open before heading back to town.

https://www.capri.com/en/e/villa-jovis-mount-tiberio?srsltid=AfmBOorLPhA9LSCzy3n5_e2RZPpGYwwmcv0BaOZGUyPpEMnp7tqxcYnP

Rested for the afternoon in Sorrento years ago instead of taking a day trip to Capri……will always regret not seeing Capri.

With the Tourist Information on your left, the Rodeo Drive like street Via Roma on your right and the ocean behind you, walk away from the crowds to follow signs for Arco Naturale. This is an enchanting walk with a scenic arch at the end. Hike to Villa Jovis and the Via Krupp Augustus Gardens for captivating vistas. Walking gets you away from the crowds and affords the scenic ocean views from this lovely island. And definitely ride the chairlift up to Mt. Salero and hike down. We stopped at the bar at the top and just drank in the views. AND skip the funicular down to the ferry and walk down. We never had any crowds last October because we left them in the shopping district!

Just go straight up to Anacapri and the chairlift and it’ll be worth it. The blue grotto boat tour was underwhelming, IMO. But we were there in June, all could be a different vibe in October.

Does your RS tour go to Pompeii? If not, that’s what I’d do with that free day. Very easy to get there and back on public transportation (local train) from Sorrento.

We did the Mondo tour this past October and we had a great experience, they even upgraded us to a sturdier boat due to weather concerns but our weather was just fine. The chair lift was fogged in so that didn’t happen. Anacapri was our first stop and it was very nice and we found a lunch spot with a view there. The main area of Capri was busy. We had hiked up to Villa Jovis on a previous trip and it is worth going to if you have the chance. We really enjoyed the boat ride around the island as we had not been able to do that before. The blue grotto was closed but we had already seen beautiful grottos on the boat ride in Vieste so we didn’t feel we missed much.

October wasn’t a bad time to go and it was not crowded, just a bit busy at the marina. We had visited there before in early November and it was lovely then as well. I would go back to Capri for the day any time :) One of my favorite places to see.

Are you saying that you are booked for a Mondo tour to Capri? I don’t know if a group tour can cover enough ground. We may have walked five miles on our independent day out to Capri from Sorrento. Our entire descent at the end was by the hundreds of Phoenician Steps.

The only transit we used on the island were the funicular and the chairlift. The city busses look like they might carry 14 people!! Even if you can afford a taxi, vast parts of the island are off limits to them (including the distant Villa Jovis.)

Capri is much more “interesting” than purpose-built Sorrento (where we slept 5 nights expressly for day trips.

Check the date the off-season ferry schedule starts.