I’m all the time just a little unhappy once I hear vacationers discuss spending simply at some point on the Italian island of Capri. Like Venice, this glittering island within the Bay of Naples is among the nation’s hottest locations. And its proximity to the mainland lends itself to “hit it and give up it” day-tripping.
Whereas a day could mean you can snap some photographs 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 types of debauchery at his hilltop Villa Jovis, which stays one of many Capri’s high sights. Writers, poets, artists, scandalous lovers, and attention-seeking glitterati have all handed via 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 ample flowers, and possibly wax just a bit poetic on this inspiring jewel of an island.
Prime 5 Can’t Miss
- Swoon beneath the moon. Be sure your go to to Capri contains a night stroll — ideally within the moonlight — to the attractive sea views from Belvedere di Tragara.
- Get on (and in) the water. In case your finances permits, e book a non-public boat tour across the island, and ensure it contains no less than one cease for swimming and snorkeling.
- Spend a day by the pool. Go away the noon solar and relax at your lodge pool. Even higher if there are sea views, like those at Grand Lodge Quisisana.
- Sip a post-dinner limoncello. A basic liqueur of Capri and the Amalfi Coast, an after-dinner limoncello tastes particularly candy at Pulalli, a family-run restaurant with views over the Piazzetta.
- Take dwelling some timeless island fashions. Sure, all the large manufacturers are right here, however a made-in-Capri shirt, gown, or purse, like these at Y’AM Capri, will all the time be a trendy reminder of your go to.
Greatest Inns & Resorts
J.Ok. Place Capri
“If there have been such a factor as a 7-star lodge rating, J.Ok. Place Capri would have it,” Toni DeBella, a journey author and Capri skilled instructed T+L. “Its subtle but relaxed environment instantly put me comfortable — like I used to be visiting a pal’s dwelling, albeit a really lovely and stylish dwelling.” She really helpful a leisurely aperitivo on the terrace overlooking Capri’s solely sand seashore.
Lodge La Palma
Lodge La Palma, Capri’s oldest lodge, reopened in 2023 and is one among T+L’s It Record Inns 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 model 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 Lodge Quisisana
The grand dame of Capri lodges has what T+L A-Record Journey Advisor Jim Robust referred to as “one of the best 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 Robust, Grand Lodge Quisisana’s “hidden gem” is its three-bedroom villa with a non-public pool and butler service.
La Floridiana
This family-run lodge with regular individuals 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.
Greatest Issues to Do
Pull up a (lounge) chair at a seashore membership.
Seashores are prized actual property throughout the Capri summer time, so plan forward by reserving an umbrella and chaise lounge at a seashore membership. Lodge La Palma’s Da Gioia at Marina Piccola is one among Thayer’s favorites and Robust likes the household setting and unpretentious service at Bagno di Tiberio, which is a brief distance from Marina Grande.
Journey the scenic chairlift.
The only-seater, open-air seggiovia, or chairlift, whisks non-acrophobic individuals from the middle of Anacapri as much as Monte Salario. Alongside the best way, it affords views which might be nothing wanting jaw-dropping. Many riders select to stroll again all the way down to city, however the journey again is simply as beautiful.
Splash out on a non-public boat journey.
Skip the cattle automobile boat excursions of the island and the visitors jam on the Blue Grotto and go for a non-public or semi-private day or half-day out with a ship and captain. Be sure there are stops for swimming and snorkeling, and that the prosecco and snacks are included. We lately booked via Get Your Information, however there are scores of unbiased operators — ask your lodge to set you up.
Take a stroll on the wild facet.
“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 one of the best 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.”
Greatest Procuring
Y’AM Capri
“Capri and vogue 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 positive, however one which pays dividends. “Fiore Capri has distinctive choices that flatter your keep on Capri,” Robust stated, “and elegance that interprets to any seashore vacation spot.”
Chantecler
There are some wonderful jewellery designs right here, together with little baubles like La Campanella, the signature bell-shaped, gem-studded image of Capri. Robust calls Chantecler a “sweet field of various (jeweled) candies. You’ll be hard-pressed to not discover one thing that places a sparkle in your eye.”
Greatest 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 hen’s-eye view over the buzzing sq. beneath 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 faculty 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 contemporary 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 model,” Robust instructed T+L.
Due Pini
With tables set on a collection of open-air terraces overlooking Anacapri’s fairly Piazza Vittoria, this long-established restaurant serves conventional island dishes, with a concentrate on seafood and elements sourced from their very own backyard and the broader Campania area.
Greatest 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 sort of quick. “I personally favor visiting in early April, when the climate is delicate 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 via, it could actually trigger uneven situations which might droop ferry service to the mainland. If that occurs, you may be caught on the island for days.”
Tips on how to Get There
Until you are arriving by helicopter, there’s one strategy to get to Capri: by sea. There are each day, frequent ferries to and from Naples and Sorrento to Marina Grande, the island’s foremost 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.web additionally has an entire web page of personal switch choices. You possibly can count on to pay round €30 (about $32) per particular person for a ferry and about €800 (roughly $870) and up for a non-public group switch.
Neighborhoods to Know
Capri City: The bigger of the 2 foremost 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.
Tips on how to Get Round
Funicular: From Marina Grande, Capri’s well-known funicular carries company as much as the Piazetta of Capri city. The fee is simply €2.40 (about $2.50) and it runs roughly each quarter-hour from 6:30 am to 11 pm. Be aware: throughout peak season, the wait to go as much as city will 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 at the back of the bus for some low-cost thrills. Bus tickets are additionally €2.40, and contours will be equally dense.
Taxi: Cabs wait on the port and in each cities and value about €20 (about $22) for a journey to most components of the island. Non-residents should not allowed to convey automobiles to Capri, so skip the rental automobile. Scooter leases can be found and are a enjoyable strategy to get across the island.