ONE DAY IN CAPRI, ITALY
The Amalfi Coast, the summer haven in Italy, is known for its stunning cliffsides, delicious cuisine, and fantastic shopping. And all of this is seen best on the gorgeous island of Capri, a 30-minute boat ride off the Amalfi Coast in the Mediterranean Sea. Capri is where all of the glitz and glamour of the Amalfi Coast are on display and where you as a tourist can indulge in some of it yourself. Check out how I spent one day on this island and everything I recommend you see on your Capri adventure.
Looking for more inspiration for your trip? Check out these blogs:
THE BASICS
How much time should I spend on Capri?
Truthfully, I could spend the rest of my life on this little island and die happily, so there’s no limit to how much time you can spend there. However, you can also spend as little as one day there (i.e., keep your hotel on the mainland of the Amalfi Coast and not have to drag your bags everywhere), and feel like you’ve experienced it.
How do you get to Capri?
Capri, like all of the major towns of the Amalfi Coast, is accessible by the standard ferries that leave the major ports every 30 minutes or so. From Positano, the ferry took about 40 minutes and cost 23,50€ per person, round trip.
You can either book your tickets online through a service like FerryHopper, or you can purchase them at the local stands. Be sure to purchase the tickets in advance, as the Capri tickets fill up faster than most, and beware of the schedules – the last ferry leaves Capri at 6pm and if you miss it you’ll have to rent a private boat to get back to the mainland.
Once there, how do you get around Capri?
Walking
It’s Europe, after all, so walking is always a great way to get around. Capri has a ton of small walkways that cater to pedestrians so sometimes this is even the easiest option.
Note: Capri is incredibly hilly – with two main hilltops on the island, you’ll find yourself trekking up and down steep hills and stairs for much of your day. Also, because of this, walking is frequently unavoidable on Capri. Wear some good shoes and you’ll be just fine.
The Funicular
One of the tourist attractions of Capri is the Funicular, which leaves near the ferry port and takes you straight up the hill to downtown Capri. The Funicular will reduce your walking time by a ton so I’d recommend you take it up to downtown Capri and then walk back down to the ferry port at the end of your day to see the unique sights that come from both modes of transportation. The Funicular costs €2,20 per person and tickets can be purchased at the office outside of the station.
Buses
To see the most of what Capri has to offer (and not wear yourself out in the process), you’ll want to opt for the public buses. Since the roads of Capri are quite narrow, the buses are small and only fit about a dozen people, so they’ll fill up quickly. However, the buses will go to all of the most popular sites, from Capri to Anacapri, Marina Piccola and Marina Grande, and the Blue Grotto and Punta Carena Lighthouse. Similar to the Funicular, the bus also costs €2,20 per person and tickets can be purchased at the office outside of the station.
Taxis
Taxis are the most private option for getting around Capri and aren’t too expensive if you have a large enough group. All taxis on Capri are convertibles and can fit up to seven passengers. If you’re doing a ton of exploring with a large group, you can also rent a taxi for the day at a fixed rate to ensure you really see everything.
ACTIVITIES
What to buy on the Amalfi Coast:
- Lemon-Printed Garments: As soon as you arrive on the Amalfi Coast, you’ll find dozens of shops selling lemon-printed garments. So many, in fact, that it will be hard to resist buying at least one piece of clothing. Since the Amalfi Coast is famous for its lemons, be sure to pick up at least one fun item as a souvenir of your time in the cliffside towns.
- Ceramics: Across the Amalfi Coast are a wide variety of ceramics shops with handmade and handpainted pieces – everything from mugs to olive oil pourers, to full-fledged tables, and more. Once you go into one of these shops (my favorite is Ceramiche Casola) and see the artists hard at work, you’ll need to take home one of these hand-crafted artisanal goods.
- Handmade Sandals: Across the Amalfi Coast, as well as in the rest of Italy, you can find outstanding handmade leather goods, including sandals, that are custom-made for you. Check out many of these leather shops along the steep hills of Positano for some new summer sandals to bring home with you.
The gardens cost only 1€ to enter and you can pay upon arrival. From there, it’s fairly self-explanatory! Stroll your way through the gardens and enjoy the stunning views of the surrounding cliffsides.
Anacapri is the other main town on Capri island besides Capri town itself. Sadly, we weren’t able to visit Anacapri on our trip, but it’s a great activity to check out and a place you’ll need to go in order to do the next activity in this guide.
To get there, you can take the bus from one of the stations listed above. From my perspective, Capri town is more of the shopping capital of the island, whereas Anacapri is the more historical side.
A few things to check out in Anacapri are:
- Monte Solaro Chairlift
- Villa San Michele
- San Michele Church
- Casa Rossa Museum
- Punta Carena Lighthouse
While we had planned to do this during our day on Capri, we ended up being too hot and tired from our walk from the ferry terminal to town that we decided to just spend the rest of the day lying in beach chairs (see the next activity for details on where we went!)
However, riding the Monte Solaro Chairlift is known as one of the best activities on Capri because it provides 360 views of the island and the surrounding sea. You can either opt to hike one way and ride the other or take the chairlift roundtrip. Considering we were too hot to even sit on the chairlift, I’d definitely recommend not hiking it in the summer months when it can get excruciatingly hot on the island.
If you follow this guide step-by-step you’ll already find yourself in Anacapri, which is where the chairlift departs from. To get there, I recommend using the transportation options at the beginning of this guide and the bus is probably the easiest and cheapest route.
Below are more details about riding the chairlift:
- Departure: Piazza Vittoria in Anacapri
- Cost: 12€ roundtrip
- Time: 12-minute ride each way
- Highest Altitude: 598 meters
Now that you’ve seen the sights of Capri Island, it’s time to eat lunch & relax in some day beds at Da Luigi ai Faraglioni. The Faraglioni is a massive rock structure jutting out of the water just off the coast of Capri Island. In front of the Faraglioni are two restaurants: La Fontelina and Da Luigi. Both restaurants have outdoor seating, a bar, and also sunchairs to rent for the afternoon.
If you can get into La Fontelina (in the summer months you need to reserve your sun chairs up to three months in advance and they require multi-day reservations (i.e. not suitable for a day trip), then I think La Fontelina is the better and more popular restaurant.
However, if you can’t get into La Fontelina, then Da Luigi (which is right next door) is the perfect spot for any last-minute or day-tripping travelers! Below are some tips about Da Luigi:
- Reservations: You likely don’t need a reservation for either the restaurant or the sunchairs. But, if you want to secure your spot, you can make a reservation online in advance here.
- The Restaurant: While the views from the restaurant are beautiful, I was pretty underwhelmed by the quality of the food. Instead, I’d recommend grabbing lunch somewhere in town and then just coming to Da Luigi for the sun chairs.
- Renting Sun Chairs: At Da Luigi, there are two chairs you can rent: those that sit up for about 25€ and lie-down chairs with umbrellas for 35€. While this may seem pricey, I found it 100% worth it because there aren’t many other places to relax on Capri without a hotel reservation, and renting the chairs gives you access to the bar and swimming area for the whole day.
Once you’re finished with your relaxing and sun-filled day on Capri Island, it’s time to head back to the coast. The last ferry from Capri back to the mainland is at 6PM, so be sure to not miss it and get stranded on the island! I would recommend purchasing your return tickets in advance (when you purchase your departure tickets) to ensure you get onto the last ferry. Since it’s the last of the day, it tends to fill up quickly.
Before hopping on the ferry, head to Salumeria da Aldo, a small sandwich shop right near the ferry terminal. This classic sandwich shop served the best prosciutto sandwich I had in all of Italy – it’s definitely worth the stop before your return home!
LET’S CHAT
FOLLOW ALONG
ABOUT ME
