Capri Isle

Being so close to the famous island of Capri, we wanted to see what the hype was about. Even arriving at the ferry at 8 am, we were joining a large crowd. Then, landing at the pier in Capri, we found that Marina Grande is a serious choke-point, a bottleneck all day long.

Our plan was to head to the highest point on the island, the Observatory Solare, to enjoy the views. From the marina, we took a funicular up the steep hillside to the town of Capri. Capri is a narrowly-built town on the saddle between the east and west humps of the island, full of shoppers and tourists waiting to catch a taxi or bus. We did the latter, hopping a little bus up to Anacapri after a 45-minute wait in the crowds. Anacapri is near the top of the west hump, very pretty and very touristy. We got some gelato and tickets to the chairlift that runs up to the observatory. The chairlift offers one seat at a time and climbs up a very steep hill for about 30 minutes! Pretty fun...if you don't mind heights!

Finally, we reached the observatory, where a pretty terrace with 360-degree views covers the peak of the island. It was a perfect bluebird day with a little breeze over the ocean. We wandered around the terrace, looking out over the island. We saw big yachts to the south (apparently Katy Perry was there on hers but she forgot to invite us), ferries coming and going to the north, and villas along the steep hillsides all around the island.

The observatory was not a great place to find lunch (poor service), so we took the chairlift back down and found some snacks in Anacapri. Then we took a footpath back down the hillside, descending several thousand steps all the way back down to the marina. Thankfully most of the path was shaded, but the many steps were a quad workout for sure.

On our way back, we got a top-deck outdoor seat on the ferry. By the time we got back to Sorrento, we were thankful to sit at Bar Fauna and enjoy a couple of apertivos and a snacky dinner. The crowds of Sorrento were fun to watch, but the crowds of Capri were not worth the effort, in our opinion.

The Day's Stats

2 ferries, 1 funicular, 1 bus, 2 chairlifts, and 6.8 miles walked

The Day's Tips

Capri in the summer is VERY crowded. Get the ferry as early as you can if you want to avoid at least some of the crowd. Be prepared for a bottleneck at the waterfront in Capri, and be prepared for wait times at the funicular, bus station, or taxi stops.

The Day's Favorites

Cal: I enjoyed the hike back down the Capri hillside.

Val: The culture of apertivos and people-watching is a lot of fun, and Bar Fauna in Sorrento is particularly well placed for it. I enjoyed our evening there.