Capri, Italy - March 2017

This is a little short post about a beautiful island called Capri. We visited on our first full day of our trip to Italy as a gentle way to get into the sightseeing mood! It is located just 50 minutes by fast ferry from the port Molo Beverello in Naples which was very easy to get to via the subway system. We booked reasonably last minute and it was around €35 for the round trip ticket - bear in mind you can get better prices if you book in advance or take the slower ferry.

The ferry I was picturing was an open-air with decks affair... seemingly my time on cruise ships has influenced me because actually it was a closed-in ship with rows of comfy chairs quite packed in, not at all the windy experience I was looking forward to! However, the lack of ship-romance was made up for by the 'bumpy ride' we got to experience over to the island - being someone who spends 8 months a year at sea, I loved all the rocking and rolling!! My friend, who has never been on more than a ferry to France (if that) was turning slightly green at the experience.

This was before we started moving...

Once we got there, the ferry docked at Marina Grande and this is where you can take the Funicular up to the town of Capri. However, this was not to be sadly because it was down for maintenance. During summer, the line can apparently get up to an hour to make it the 450 foot trip up above the harbour... so, we went for the alternative which are small mini-buses. They seat about 10 people and everyone else (around another 40 people seemingly) had to stand... on the first bus we got, we were the last two people to make it onboard and had to stand on the exit steps, holding on for a dear life as the bus swung around hairpin bends to make it to the top of the hill! It was an experience for sure.

As it was only March, it is most definitely considered off-peak in Capri. I believe a lot of businesses would have been opening now, around the first couple of weeks of April as many of the shops were closed or re-stocking for the new season. Therefore, we wondered through the piazzetta (which was smaller than I imagined) and just spend time wondering and exploring. After following many paths downhill, we found a garden which cost €1 to enter - considering you had to pay to get in, we figured it must be something worth looking at, and we were right! This was the Giardini di Augusto and whilst we sat there, the sun came out and the clouds were burnt away leading to a beautiful day and amazing views across the bay.

There were fierce signs warning you against picnics in the gardens so it's not a good spot for that, FYI! After that, I finally got my first gelato of the trip - it was an amazing berries and cream with a freshly rolled waffle cone - I watched her make it! After that first taste I knew that no other ice cream or gelato will ever live up to the ones I experienced in Italy!

Once we got back to the piazzetta, we admired the now-sunny views of the harbour before getting another minibus to Anacapri - the second town on the island. Each minibus we took cost €1.80 so take plenty of change!

Once we got to Anacapri, we got lunch at a little side street cafe, I had a panini and of course, wine. Then it was time for the main attraction which I was looking forward to - a chairlift up Mount Solaro! It was only €11 for the round trip - well worth it. Not if you are afraid of heights though... it is the highest point on Capri at 1,932 feet.

On the way up, after about 20 seconds of moving, I realised I was wearing slip-on shoes that were not very tight and therefore spent the next 11 minutes of ascension worrying that my shoes were going to fall off and tumble down the hill below me, leaving me barefoot! I had to press my feet/legs together the whole way to ensure this didn't happen which gladly, it didn't. On the way back down I took them off...

At the top, the clouds had started to gather a bit more so I got one brief shot of the ocean before we got enveloped in cloud and unfortunately couldn't see the views however it was a great experience being up there!

We got the ferry back to Naples at 4.30pm, much less bumpy as we were going the same direction as the tide. Definitely a great day trip at this time of year although I can imagine how busy it gets in summer.. but a great way to start our trip. We actually missed out the main tourist attraction which is Grotta Azzurra - a boat trip into a cave that glows blue, it looks cool but because of the changeable weather and lack of sun at the beginning of the day, we didn't do it. Again.. maybe next time! ;-)

View towards Marina Grande from Capri Town