Capri, the Island of luxury shopping and limoncello!
If you’re lucky enough to have pencilled in a visit to the quaint, picture-perfect and enchanting town then take a look at my list of must-do’s to make the most of your time on one of the most beautiful island’s in Europe!
Firstly, Getting There!
We were staying in Sorrento as our base for the whole holiday and found it to be a great central location to visit the Amalfi Coast.
If you’re staying in Capri, then perfect, you can skip to number 1 on the list. But, if like us, you’re just doing a day excursion, then here’s what we did.
To get to Capri, you can book a boat tour with lots of different companies which will take you there and back. Although these tours were around €90 each! We were told we could get tours once we arrive in Capri and we could book ferry tickets online for cheaper. After looking around we decided we would leave the group tour and do it ourselves. We have a tendency to get side tracked by all the views and cobbled streets so we decided to buy the tickets on the day (worth the €5 extra!)
There are several ferries every hour with many different companies. We obviously went with the cheapest one which was €28 return each.
Tip: Our return ticket said 16.48pm return time, but you are able to use them on any return ferry as long as it is the same company. So don’t worry about rushing back to catch the time on your return ticket, but make sure you get the last ferry back to where ever you are staying!
1. Boat Tour of the Island
If it’s your first time on the Island or a returning tourist, a boat tour is a must! As soon as you dock up at the harbour from the ferry and walk down to the Marina Grande there are lots of different companies to go with. We were drawn towards the hut in the middle of the harbour, but when we walked away we were approached by a man who was representing another company in the building just behind. He offered us the full island boat tour for just €15 each! There’s lots of different tours with all the different lagoons, we decided to go for the one which didn’t include the blue lagoon as the tide was too high!
Nothing can prepare you for the breathtaking scenery and all the beautiful lagoons. The tour guide was really knowledgable and even pointed out Georgio Armani’s house at just a stones throw away! The Island tour all in all was around 1 hour long, there’s amazing photo opportunities so be sure to charge your camera!
2. The Blue Lagoon
This is a must see in Capri! So many tourists travel far and wide just to get a peak inside. When we arrived, the tide was too high and it was closed all day. We were gutted, but there’s so many other beautiful lagoons and views to see that we weren’t disappointed for long.
They take you in on a gondola style boat and take you right through the Lagoon. Some tours even let you swim in the lagoon so shop around and find the best deal! The warm waters are rich in minerals like silica and sulfur and bathing in the Blue Lagoon is reputed to help some people suffering from skin diseases such as Psoriasis.
Tip: If this is something you want to see I would definitely recommend googling if it is open on the day you wish you go to avoid disappointment!
3. Bus to Ana Capri
When we arrived in Capri, we were so excited that we just wanted to run about everywhere and decided to explore the area we were in and get the bus to Ana Capri last thing before the ferry home. We bought our bus tickets from the ticket station just opposite the harbour. It was €3 for a return ticket each.
The bus itself was over crowded and very hot, we had to stand the whole way and it almost felt like we were falling off the edge of the road! Don’t be alarmed though, the bus ride to Ana Capri is famous for being extremely narrow and right on the edge off the cliff but the bus drivers know what they’re doing so try to relax. Again, the views on the bus ride are amazing so this definitely makes up for the danger adrenaline!
Tip: Arrive at the bus stop early to get a seat and sit on the right hand side if possible to get the best views on the way up!
4. Take the chair lift to the top of Mount Solero.
As we decided to explore Ana Capri last, we arrived just at 4pm and they were turning people away from the stair lift. Turns out, they close at 4pm…bad luck again! But we didn’t mind because the rest of the day had made up for any disappointment and we weren’t going to let anything change to mood of the day.
I saw people of all ages on the chairlift, so it is the perfect way to take in the best sights of Capri without wearing yourself out. The cost of the chairlift was €10 each round trip.
Tip: Arrive before 3.30pm to make sure you don’t miss the last chair lift!
5. Cable Car to The Top of Capri!
You can buy your cable car tickets from the same place where you buy your bus tickets. It was €3 each, one way. We decided to walk up to the top and get the cable car down (yes, we did it the wrong way round but we fancied a little stroll, LOL at little). We passed a few people walking down on the way who said we were crazy as the walk is very steep and long to the top. We were exhausted, but we found the walk itself to only take around 20 minutes and by the time we got to the top we were so blown away by the views that it made the walk feel like such an accomplishment.
When you get to the top you instantly feel like you are finally in Capri, the buzz of restaurants and designer shops, people sitting outside drinking wine and the amazing view looking out over the whole of Capri! It is stunning and definitely a must see if you’re visiting the Amalfi Coast!
6. Views from the Hotel Luna
We explored every street and alley way in Capri, we were so excited about what we would find next that we followed the path to hotel which looked incredible! The hotel was surrounded by a beautiful garden, and when we followed the path round we saw the most breathtaking view (yes, another one and many more to come!). They also have a private roof terrace looking over the sea so if you fancy getting away from the hustle and bustle of the tourists, this would be a perfect place to settle down and grab some lunch for a couple of hours.
7. Augustus Gardens Via Krupp
The Augustus Gardens are a really nice place to chill out as there’s lots of benches scattered around over looking the amazing scenery. It costed us €1.50 each to enter and we even got to overlook the amazing view of Via Krupp. We spent around 30-45mins in the garden taking in the views and resting our feet before we left on the look out for our next amazing sight to see.
8. Certosa di San Giacomo
Certosa di San Giacomo is a Carthusian monastery on the island of Capri, Campania, southern Italy, founded in 1363 by Giacomo Arcucci. We walked all the way down to where it was only to find it was also closed! Quite a few tourists were walking back up in disappointment but we weren’t too disappointed as we had already seen so many beautiful things. I would love to go and have a look around if we were to visit again so I would recommend googling the opening times and also the times of year that it is open/closed.
Also, I was picked a beautiful flower on the way back, so every cloud! City of Romance and all that.
9. Shopping and Eating
Or shall I say window shopping. The beauty about the shops in Capri is that they have all the latest designer shops and fashion but in beautifully cobbled streets and dainty buildings. It was so much fun looking at all the latest luxury fashion and taking in the luxurious feel of Capri and what the Island is about. Especially since Armani lives just around the corner!
There’s also some really beautiful lemon gardens hidden away in the cobble streets where you can grab a light lunch or drinks away from the crowds. We found a little hotel just opposite the hill to the entrance of the monastery. Really recommend it for salad and seafood, also the best white wine spritzer with fresh lemonade i’ve ever had!
10. Phoenician Steps
Once the only connection between the port of Marina Grande and Anacapri, the town located on the slopes of Monte Solaro, the Phoenician Steps are now a major tourist attraction. 921 stone steps where you can admire the island of Capri in all its glory. As Ana Capri had no wells or supply of fresh water, the women of Ana Capri would have to walk down the near 1000 steps and back up with huge jugs of water on their heads. Crazy!
If you have more than a day in Capri I would definitely recommend the Phoenician Steps. We didn’t have time to do this as we only planned the one day, but I would have loved to do this. So, if you can, squeeze it in!
There is so much history that you can experience in Capri and the perfect place to take in the beauty of landscape and nature whilst experiencing the luxury of Italy. It is one of my favourite places I have seen so far, so I hope you all love it just as much as me!
Happy Travels!
