Capri is must-see if you are in the Naples or Amalfi area of Italy
Capri is a very easy side trip by ferry. Although you can go for just a day, I highly recommend staying at least one night. After the last ferry leaves in the evening, you can enjoy the island without the crowds!
Getting to Capri from Amalfi/Positano/Naples
You can get to Capri by ferry either from Positano or from Naples. Since we were already in Positano, we took the ferry from there.
The ferry that runs from Positano to Capri takes about 50 minutes and costs about 20 Euros per person. You can purchase tickets in advance, but we waited until the last minute. We didn’t want to be on a tight schedule!
All of our friends who had been to Capri told us to spend the night there if possible. So we spent a few nights in Positano and then headed to Capri for one night.
Our hotel in Capri- Relais Maresca
I chose a hotel right next to the marina in Capri so that we could easily get to and from the ferries.
Relais Maresca is a 4 star hotel that sits just above the Marina in Capri. It is very convenient if you’re wanting to do a quick trip to Capri like we did. From the ferry, you just have to walk a few steps to get to the hotel. It is also right next to the funicular*.
*The funicular is the railway that runs between the marina and the city center at top of the island. You must have a ticket to ride the funicular and tickets can be purchased at the marina for 2 Euros
Cost: We redeemed Chase Ultimate Rewards points through the redemption portal. The cost was 26,300 Ultimate Rewards points. The paid rate would have been ~$395 per night. This hotel was great and I thought 26,000 points worth it even thought it’s not my usual 2 cents per point threshold.
We arrived in Capri around lunch time. Since check in time was 3pm, I assumed our room would not be ready, so the plan was to check our bags at the front desk until our room was ready. To our pleasant surprise, the room was ready. We dropped off our bags and then went to the front desk to see about booking a boat tour around the island. After booking a tour, we had a few hours to walk around and eat a light lunch. There are lots of restaurants and shops in the marina.
Boat tour around Capri
We had read that a private boat tour was a great way to spend the day in Capri. I had emailed the front desk ahead of time to inquire, but I waited until we actually arrived before booking the boat because we were unsure what time we would arrive in Capri. Since we were in Italy just after peak season, we had no trouble booking a boat the day-of, however, I highly suggest booking in advance if you’re going during peak season.
Anyway, the front desk called their preferred boat company, Capri Boat Service and we were booked on a 3 hour private tour for the afternoon! The cost of a private boat is about 90 Euros per hour. The company we used also provided some non-alcoholic drinks and snacks. We brought our own champagne!
Our captain gave us a tour around the entire island. The Blue Grotto was closed due to high water, but we still had a great tour. You can see the whole island in 2 hours, but since we had 3 hours, he also stopped at a few places to let us swim. This was one of the highlights of the entire trip.
We’ve seen sea caves before (Kauai has an excellent tour on the Napali coast), but we’ve never been able to actually swim in sea caves.
We also got to see the famous rock formations known as Faraglioni.
After our amazing boat tour, we returned to our hotel to freshen up and change for dinner.
Tip: I do not think I have covered this enough so I’m going to start now. Anytime you’re staying at a hotel, it’s always a good idea to email the concierge ahead of time to let them know if you’re celebrating a special occasion. Some people do this on the regular to get freebies, which is fine, but I try to stay honest about it.
If we’re celebrating a birthday or anniversary, I tell them! You may just get a nice note and verbal congratulations at check in, but you also may get room upgrades and more. For example, last year in Napa, the Andaz Hyatt gave us a suite and placed a bottle of Champagne and chocolate covered strawberries in our room because I informed them that it was Ryan’s birthday. I did this when I emailed the concierge to inquire about balloon rides (which we were able to do since we spent almost nothing on flights and hotels for that trip!). I emailed Relais Maresca a few weeks before arrival to inquire about private boat tours. In the email I casually mentioned it was our 6 year anniversary. We ended up with a bottle of champagne and some chocolate Capri cake in our room after our boat ride!
We decided to take the funicular up to the top of the island. There are several restaurants and lots of shops.
After walking around for a bit, we decided to find a place to eat one last dinner on a cliff before leaving this beautiful part of Italy! There are plenty of places with excellent sunset views, but we ultimately decided on a restaurant called Panorama. It was delicious. But the waiter totally shamed Ryan for asking for olive oil and bread. He thought we had already ordered plenty for dinner, LOL!
Don’t leave Capri without hand-made custom sandals
Another Capri highlight was having sandals made! Capri Pride has a store in the marina. After custom-fitting your foot, you can pick out your colors and the style you would like. I had 3 pairs made and it took less than an hour. Upon completion, they had me try on the sandals and then they made adjustments accordingly. The sandals are excellent quality and very comfortable. For about 60-100 Euros, depending on the materials you choose, you can also have a custom pair made! Tory who?
Getting from Capri to Rome
After a way-too-short stay in Capri, it was time to head to Rome for our final stop in Italy.
To get from Capri to Rome, our hotel informed us that the best way is to take the ferry from Capri to Naples. Then from the port in Naples, take a taxi from the port to the train station. This is a 10 minute ride and costs about 13 Euros. Then ride the train from Naples to Rome.
So, we did exactly what the hotel said. The ferry from Capri to Naples was about 20 Euros per person. The taxi to the train station was 13 Euros. Finally, the train from Naples to Rome was about 45 Euros per person. We did not know what time we would be leaving Capri and arriving in Naples, so we waited until we arrived at the train station to purchase our tickets. As with our tickets from Rome to Naples, these train tickets could have been significantly cheaper if we booked in advance.
More Italy trip posts:
- How we booked our flights to Italy entirely on points and miles
- How we booked our hotels in Italy entirely on points and miles
- Getting around Italy/transportation logistics
- Packing everything in a carry on
- How to stay connected while traveling without paying ridiculous data roaming charges
- Venice
- Florence/Tuscany
- Amalfi Coast/Positano/Capri
- Rome
Final thoughts
Swimming in sea caves, dinner on a cliff, Faraglioni, and custom-made shoes… what more could you want?? If you can spend a day in Capri, do it!
