Capri Travel Guide

I’m at all times just a little unhappy after I hear vacationers discuss spending simply at some point on the Italian island of Capri. Like Venice, this glittering island in the Bay of Naples is likely one of the nation’s hottest locations. And its proximity to the mainland lends itself to “hit it and stop it” day-tripping.

Whereas a day could can help you snap some images of Capri’s ample magnificence, it’s not sufficient time to find this island’s particular appeal, character, and historical past. That is, in spite of everything, the island that has wooed Roman emperors, together with Tiberius, who allegedly carried out all kinds of debauchery at his hilltop Villa Jovis, which stays one of many Capri’s high points of interest. Writers, poets, artists, scandalous lovers, and attention-seeking glitterati have all handed by means of right here, contemplated and canoodled on slim whitewashed lanes, swam within the cerulean sea, and rode in tiny boats into the ethereal Blue Grotto. However they didn’t do it in a day.

For a extra considerate, immersive multi-day journey to Capri, I drew by myself visits to this dazzling island, and I requested Capri journey specialists to share their favourite locations to remain, dine, and expertise the island with Journey + Leisure. So decelerate, dive in, cease to odor the plentiful flowers, and possibly wax just a bit poetic on this inspiring jewel of an island.

Finest Accommodations & Resorts

J.Ok. Place Capri

“If there have been such a factor as a 7-star lodge rating, J.K. Place Capri would have it,” Toni DeBella, a journey author and Capri professional instructed T+L. “Its refined but relaxed ambiance instantly put me comfortable — like I used to be visiting a buddy’s dwelling, albeit a really lovely and stylish dwelling.” She advisable a leisurely aperitivo on the terrace overlooking Capri’s solely sand seashore.

Resort La Palma

Resort La Palma, Capri’s oldest lodge, reopened in 2023 and is one in every of T+L’s It List Hotels for 2024. And, in response to Laura Thayer, an Amalfi Coast-based author and historian with Ciao Amalfi, this property ”created a brand new definition of luxurious on the island.” She gushed over the “calm and a subdued Mediterranean fashion that merely envelops you,” in addition to the stellar eating expertise at Gennaro’s, the lodge’s restaurant led by chef Gennaro Esposito, who’s behind the two-Michelin-starred Torre del Saracino.

Grand Resort Quisisana

The grand dame of Capri hotels has what T+L A-List Travel Advisor Jim Strong referred to as “the perfect place on the island.” A see-and-be-seen patio bar, parklike grounds, and a sea-view pool are among the many many property right here. However, in response to Sturdy, Grand Resort Quisisana’s “hidden gem” is its three-bedroom villa with a personal pool and butler service.

La Floridiana

This family-run hotel with regular folks costs was the primary place I ever stayed on Capri and stays a sentimental favourite. Set away from the busiest a part of Capri city, it’s a majolica-tiled oasis that harkens again to the island’s pre-Instagram golden age.

Finest Issues to Do

Pull up a (lounge) chair at a seashore membership.

Seashores are prized actual property throughout the Capri summer season, so plan forward by reserving an umbrella and chaise lounge at a seashore membership. Hotel La Palma’s Da Gioia at Marina Piccola is one in every of Thayer’s favorites and Sturdy likes the household setting and unpretentious service at Bagno di Tiberio, which is a brief distance from Marina Grande.

Trip the scenic chairlift.

The one-seater, open-air seggiovia, or chairlift, whisks non-acrophobic folks from the middle of Anacapri as much as Monte Salario. Alongside the best way, it affords views that are nothing short of jaw-dropping. Many riders select to stroll again all the way down to city, however the experience again is simply as gorgeous.

Splash out on a personal boat experience.

Skip the cattle automobile boat excursions of the island and the site visitors jam on the Blue Grotto and go for a personal or semi-private day or half-day out with a ship and captain. Ensure that there are stops for swimming and snorkeling, and that the prosecco and snacks are included. We not too long ago booked by means of Get Your Information, however there are scores of impartial operators — ask your lodge to set you up.

Take a stroll on the wild aspect.

“Spending time immersed in Capri’s pure magnificence is a should,” Thayer stated. “The stroll to achieve Villa Lysis, as soon as the opulent and eccentric dwelling of the French author Jacques d’Adelswärd Fersen, takes you thru a quiet a part of the island, previous little vegetable gardens and beneath hovering pine bushes to one of many island’s most scenic spots. It’s another excuse to plan an extended keep on Capri.”

Stroll to the perfect view on the island.

“The stroll alongside the kilometer-long bougainvillea-bordered By way of Tragara is a must-do on the island,” DeBella stated. “It ends on the Belvedere di Tragara, the place the views of the Faraglioni are impossibly lovely. Alongside the best way, you’ll catch glimpses of lavish villas and luxurious lodges.”

Finest Purchasing 

Y’AM Capri

“Capri and trend go hand in hand,” Thayer stated, “and Capri-born designer Valeria De Gregorio captures the vibrancy and class of the island in her designs for Y’AM Capri. Don’t miss her colourful boutique not removed from the Piazzetta.”

Fiore Capri

A purchase order right here, from made-to-order sandals to signature luggage or a stretch silk gown is an funding, for certain, however one which pays dividends. “Fiore Capri has distinctive choices that go with your keep on Capri,” Sturdy stated, “and elegance that interprets to any seashore vacation spot.”

Chantecler

There are some superb jewellery designs right here, together with little baubles like La Campanella, the signature bell-shaped, gem-studded image of Capri. Sturdy calls Chantecler a “sweet field of varied (jeweled) goodies. You’ll be hard-pressed to not discover one thing that places a sparkle in your eye.”

Finest Eating places

Pulalli

“So far as places go, it doesn’t get extra iconic than eating beneath Capri’s belltower within the Piazzetta,” Thayer stated. “Pulalli is a delightfully hidden in plain sight setting with a fowl’s-eye view over the buzzing sq. under and a menu that’s as removed from ‘touristy’ as one can get.” She’s a fan of the seared octopus with grass pea hummus, sumac, and Capri-grown microgreens, paired with a crisp Capri white wine or their basic limoncello spritz.

Giardino di Capri

Although not a restaurant per se, Anacapri cooking college Giardino di Capri affords non-public tasting and dinners, in addition to gelato, sorbet, and limoncello-making workshops, cheese and wine tasting, picnic baskets, and extra. DeBella instructed T+L that chef Gianluca Michelangelo and his spouse Holly, together with their two kids, “are a delight to know.”

Pescheria Le Bottega

As a substitute for dear Capri eating, DeBella geese into this Carpi-town hole-in-the-wall for recent seafood to dine in or take away. “My favourite is a paper cone, or coppetta, of deep-fried seafood and greens to take pleasure in whereas window-shopping,” DeBella stated.

Da Paolino

For a particular night, head all the way down to this enchanting fine-dining restaurant in Marina Grande. “There’s a magical setting beneath a lemon arbor, with to-die-for meals served in conventional Italian fashion,” Sturdy instructed T+L.

Due Pini

With tables set on a sequence of open-air terraces overlooking Anacapri’s fairly Piazza Vittoria, this long-established restaurant serves conventional island dishes, with a deal with seafood and substances sourced from their very own backyard and the broader Campania area. 

Finest Time to Go to

Summer time is the height season in Capri when seashores, slim lanes, buses, and funiculars swell with crowds. However as DeBelle factors out, most lodges and companies on the island are open from about mid-April to round mid-October, so the window of alternative to go to is kind of quick. “I personally choose visiting in early April, when the climate is gentle and crowds are sparse,” DeBelle stated.

Late April is Thayer’s favourite time slot “when bushes and flowers are in bloom and the air is even sweeter.” DeBella additionally likes fall, with a caveat: “If a storm blows by means of, it could possibly trigger uneven situations which may droop ferry service to the mainland. If that occurs, you can be caught on the island for days.”

How one can Get There

Except you are arriving by helicopter, there’s one solution to get to Capri: by sea. There are each day, frequent ferries to and from Naples and Sorrento to Marina Grande, the island’s primary port. Season service (April-October) is obtainable from Salerno, Ischia, Amalfi city, Positano, and different cities on the Amalfi Coast. Play it protected, and e book your ferry crossing nicely upfront. Capri.net additionally has an entire web page of personal switch choices. You’ll be able to count on to pay round €30 (about $32) per particular person for a ferry and about €800 (roughly $870) and up for a personal group switch.

Neighborhoods to Know

Capri City: The bigger of the 2 primary cities on the island, Capri and its principal piazza, the Piazzetta, are many guests’ first level of reference. There’s a focus of lodges, eating places, outlets, and vacationers right here, all amongst a comfortable community of fairly, pedestrian-only pathways. The walks as much as Villa Jovis, to the Belvedere di Tragara and the Giardini di Augusto terraced botanical gardens all begin right here.

Anacapri: Smaller, and, as soon as upon a time quieter Anacapri is reached by bus or taxi from Capri. Regardless of a flurry of newish lodges and eating places within the final decade or so, Anacapri nonetheless has a extra laid-back vibe and barely extra native really feel than its extra populous, glamorous sister city of Capri.

Marina Grande: The island’s small port city has a smattering of lodges and eating places, and the island’s solely sand seashore. Boats depart from right here for island excursions, together with to the well-known Blue Grotto and different smaller grottoes and coves. 

How one can Get Round

Funicular: From Marina Grande, Capri’s well-known funicular carries visitors as much as the Piazetta of Capri city. The price is barely €2.40 (about $2.50) and it runs roughly each quarter-hour from 6:30 am to 11 pm. Notice: throughout peak season, the wait to go as much as city could be busy.

Bus: Capri’s cute little mini-buses join Marina Grande to Capri city and Anacapri, and Capri to Marina Piccola and Anacapri. For the latter, stand behind the bus for some low cost thrills. Bus tickets are additionally €2.40, and contours could be equally dense.

Taxi: Cabs wait on the port and in each cities and price about €20 (about $22) for a experience to most components of the island. Non-residents will not be allowed to convey automobiles to Capri, so skip the rental automobile. Scooter leases can be found and are a enjoyable solution to get across the island.