The beautiful island of Capri is often associated with ‘la dolce vita’ (even though the original film was set in Rome), and a visit to Capri makes the perfect day trip from the Amalfi coast (with ferries and hydrofoils from Naples, Ischia, Procida, Sorrento, Positano and Amalfi).

Capri

My initial experience on arrival, however, did not quite live up to this ‘dolce vita’ reputation, as instead of taking the funicular (railway) from the port I decided to walk up to the town of Capri  from Marina Grande, which is all uphill and takes about 20 to 25 minutes! I could be heard grumbling all the way up, as even though it was only about 10 am it was already incredibly hot (and a funicular ticket is only 1€80!).

Capri

Given, this active start to the day, I was extremely glad that I had opted to wear my comfy and stylish sandals from Franchetti Bond, and Franchetti Bond are offering all my readers a discount of 10% on anything on their site with the code ‘velvet10’. 

Despite my initial grumblings, Capri is a beautiful island and the views were well worth the effort! Read on for some ideas of what to do on Capri.

What to do in Capri in a day

 Visit the Piazzetta in Capri Town 

Capri Old Town

At the end of this exertion, I arrived at Capri’s famous Piazzetta where a marmalade croissant and a coffee, basking in the sun, restored my good humour and my impression of Capri! There are four café bars in the Piazzetta and all are similarly priced and offer similar refreshment. (I tried two of the four and the service was very friendly in both!).

 Take a boat trip/ visit the Blue Grotto

Blue Grotto; A day in Capri

An alternative option on arriving at Marina Grande is to take a boat tour  to the Blue Grotto, which avoids the need for the uphill climb. The ticket offices for the Motoscafisti di Capri and Laser boat tour companies, which offer Capri island boat tours with a stop at the Blue Grotto, are situated here. Alternatively, you can take a private boat trip from one of the people who greet the ferries. I didn’t visit the Blue grotto this time, as I already had done so on a previous visit to Capri, but I definitely recommend it. However, the boat ticket price (18€ or 16/17€ if pre-booked on-line) doesn’t include entrance to the Blue Grotto, which is an additional 14€ by a small rowing boat.

 Visit the luxury shops and the Belvedere

Capri

After breakfast in the Piazzetta, you can walk down Via Vittorio Emanuele towards the Hotel Quisisana, and then continue along Via Camerelle, making sure to have a look at the luxury boutiques along the way.

Capri

At the end of the road,  you will then reach the Via Tragara, which will take you past some of the most beautiful villas and hotels on Capri, to the Belvedere, from where you can see the shimmering sea and the Faraglioni rock formations.

Capri

Visit the Gardens of Augustus 

A day in Capri

Another must is a visit to the Gardens of Augustus. These are very small gardens, but the entrance is only 1€, and the views are spectacular. 

Capri

The terraces and gardens were constructed in the 1930s and don’t miss the Capri Sundial, where the position of the sun on the dial shows the time (and it works! I checked!).

 Visit the Carthusian Monastery 

Capri

We also visited the Carthusian Monastery, which was built in 1371 by Giacomo Arcucci, on land donated by Queen Giovanna 1st of Angiò, and is the oldest historic building on the Island of Capri. It is very close to the Gardens of Augustus and you can buy a combined ticket for the two.

The Monastery itself is sometimes home to exhibitions (there was an art exhibition while we were there) but my favourite part of the visit was the gardens , which wind down through olive groves to terraces overlooking the sea and the Faraglioni, and were the best views I saw all day! Also, there are relatively few visitors so it’s much quieter to take photos!

Take a bus to Anacapri

After a leisurely lunch in Capri, we took the bus to Anacapri, which was quite an experience! The cost of a one-way ticket is €1.80, but the small (eight seater) bus will take as many people as it can possibly squeeze in during busy periods, and the roads are not for the faint-hearted! The hairpin bends explain why the bus is small!

Anacapri, A day in Capri

The historic town centre is much quieter than Capri and you are much more likely to find artisan craft shops than designer boutiques. One thing I had forgotten in my planning, however, is that all the shops are closed between 1pm and 5pm for the siesta!, so my shopping opportunities were very few! 

The bus to Anacapri  will drop you off at Piazza Vittoria and from here you can take a chair-lift to Monte Solaro, the island’s highest point. This costs  €10 for a round-trip, and is apparently well worth it! Unfortunately, there wasn’t really enough time to fit this in in a day trip. So, if you have visited it I would love to know what you thought of it!

At the end of the afternoon, we took the bus back to Capri. If there is a long queue at Piazza Vittoria,  walk down Viale Tommaso de Tommaso a few blocks in the direction from which the bus arrives, and board at one of the much less crowded stops before the Piazza.

Capri

On arrival back at Capri, we just had time for an aperitif back in the Piazzetta , before heading off to the ferry.

For some reason, I mistakenly thought that the ferry left from Marina Piccola (even though all the ferries come and go from Marina Grande) so I headed off from Capri town towards Marina Piccola and my day ended in a similar way to the way it began. Once I realised my mistake I had to run (not even walk) all the way back up to Capri town and back down the other  side (which was made even more stressful by the fact that I had booked the last ferry, and probably provided some entertainment for all the people in the cafés in the Piazzetta!)

So, my advice is to make sure you book your return ticket at the start of the day, if not before! I would never have made the last ferry if I hadn’t pre-booked my ticket, and especially in the Summer months, you run the risk that your chosen ferry will be full!

Capri

And as before I was very glad to be wearing these comfy sandals from Franchetti Bond, which I can now confirm can even be worn for running! So, don’t forget to take advantage of the discount code ‘velvet10’ to get a discount of 10% on anything on the Franchetti Bond site.

I hope you enjoyed this feature about Capri and La Dolce Vita, and have a look here for more of our travel guides.

PS If you enjoyed this article, please check out some more of our travel guides, such as what to do in Barcelona, Los Angeles,  Lisbon and more travel posts!