twodanes

Taking a cruise in Sept. and have a day in Capri. Two excursion options:

Blue Grotto or tour of Anacapri/Capri Town

Any recommendations?

Thanks for any feedback

skatterfly

Are the excursions escorted? How many hours will you have on shore. It seems to me you should be able to do both.

We did, when we took the hydrofoil from Positano... arriving I think around 10:30 and had to leave around 4:30ish?

The blue grotto certainly won't take all day, and if they're doing something escorted that does take all day I'd say stay away from that. You'll be bored.

You might even have time for a dip in the water at one of the swimming holes there.

Tell people how long you'll have there and you might get more responses.

~kat

twodanes

Thanks for the quick response. I love the Fodor's Forum!

The excursion info has the following:

Blue Grotto - 2 hours - Basically a rowboat tour

Capri/Anacapri - 4 hours - Chairlift to top of Mt. Solaro (although I am scared of heights), Villa San Michele and/or Cesar August Gardens

Hope this helps

Cicerone

IMO if you have 4-6 hours or more from when you arrive at Marina Grande on Capri, you could do both the Blue Grotto and Ana Capri on your own more cheaply and very easily. Where is the cruise boat docking, and do they provide transport and pick up from Capri or do they just dock in Naples/Amalfi and you have to get to Capri on your own? If you have the option to use their tender boat to get to and from Capri, I would take that and then skip the excursion and do the rest on your own. If you have to get there yourself by public ferry, this is easy but you have to work it into your schedules so you can get the last ferry possible to make it back to your ship in time for departure. For the public ferry schedule to Capri from various points on the coast, take a look at http://www.capri.net/salsa/lang/en/page/transport.html

Run a search here or consult a guidebook for info on hiring your own boat or joining a group tour to the Blue Grotto from the port of Marina Grande on Capri, it is easy to do. You can also hire a boat to take you around the island and to the Blue Grotto.

To get to Ana Capri from Marina Grande, you can take a bus or a taxi from Marina Grande. You could also first go up to Capri town and take a look around and then go on up to Ana Capri. If you don't like heights, don't take the chairlift at Ana Capri. (The chairlift goes to Mt Salerno, but IMO you can get just as good a view from other parts of Ana Capri or even other parts of Capri generally.) Get a guidebook, search on this site, or post a new question here for advice on bus schedules, etc.

There is a very good walking guide to the Capri & the Amalfi coast published by Sunflower books. I first read about it on this site, and thought it was very useful. Their website is http://www.sunflowerbooks.co.uk/walking_titles.htm. They rate hikes by difficulty and time it takes to complete all or each section, and give good directions on how to reach each walk. The walking on Capri is a great way to see the island and the views. They also have info on buses to get around Capri (and other parts of the coast if you are stopping in Amalfi or other places.) A great walk is from Capri town to the Arco Naturale with lunch at Le Grottelle overlooking the sea.

Part would also depend on the weather the day of your trip, if it is a rainy and choppy day, I would not even go to the Blue Grotto, as chances are they won't be allowing boats in.

caroline_edinburgh

Each time I've visited Capri I've done both in one day, travelling independently. If you get transport to Marina Grande, you can do the following. Get the funicular up to Capri Town. (Although it sounds from what Cicerone says that this may not be necessary & you can get a bus direct from Marina Grande to Anacapri ? I've always been starting from Capri Town.) Get a bus to Anacapri. Spend as much time there as you can spare/feel inclined (the chairlift has always been closed when I've been there and IMO there's not much else there). Get another bus to the Blue Grotto. Walk down the steps from the bus stop and a rowing boat will take you straight to the grotto. It seemed to me to be much better than going there on a big boat from Marina Grande, then having to queue up with all the other big boats until the rowing boats get round to you. If you've still got time to spare, there's nice beach club just next to the top of the steps, where you can get a drink, a snack and relax by the pool, or in the sea if it's calm enough for you. The buses are very fequent and each one only takes about 10-15 minutes, from what I remember.

If you have time to explore Capri Town too, it is lovely, flower-filled and peaceful away from the main square; and the guided tours only seem to show you the really crowded bits. (That's why they are crowded I suppose !) I also recommend the walk to the Arco Naturale.

bruces

Was there in June and went to the Blue Grotto. While interesting, it is really not worth the two hour wait and it is very commercial. I would spend the time visiting Anacapri!