Capri Travel Guide
Where do you even begin when talking about Capri? I Faraglioni? The abundance of bourgainvillea on every corner? The people watching? The food? Everything about Capri is epic and it's an absolute bucket list location.
QUICK TIPS | ANDARE IN GIRO
Stay on the island - I'd originally planned to stay in Sorrento and only day trip to Capri, but thankfully my beautiful friend (who knows Italy like the back of her hand) advised me otherwise. 'You don't want to end up spending the day with a bunch of annoying tourists' she'd said, and she couldn't have been more right. There is so much more to Capri than the obvious tourist traps, so avoid this by actually staying on the island and exploring in the morning before the day trippers arrive or once they've left, as the sun starts to go down - it's so much better and so much more relaxed.
Getting Around - If you do stay, make sure you ask your hotel if they can pickup your luggage from the port. You can use the funicular to get up the hill (like Santorini, Capri sits high in the island) but be prepared to lineup for a while and you have to pay 2 euros per bag (not including hand luggage). Thankfully our travel agent booked transfers, which at first I thought was excessive, but was actually so good. Someone met us at the port, arranged for our luggage to be taken to our hotel and had a pre-booked taxi ready to take us up to the piazetta, where we walked with only our hand luggage, another 5 minutes to our hotel.
Avoid high/peak season - We went in the first few days of June and it was perfect. Weather was 25 degrees and over each day and the island was busy, but not unbearable. Whenever I asked a local about coming in July or August, they all rolled their eyes and described it as either 'disgusting' or 'revolting' quickly followed by 'Don't come then'. 15,000 people per day ascend the island in Jul/Aug and locals depsise this time, saying that even getting into restaurants becomes near impossible. Based on what lots of people (locals & friends/tourists) have said, ideal travel times to Capri are May, June and September.
THE PEOPLE | LA GENTE
While the locals are charming and so very friendly, people watching the holiday goers in Capri is one of the best things to do while on the island. Celebrities and wealthy europeans flock to Capri every year to unleash their designer summer wardrobes and laze the days away on supersize yachts. Come dinner time, the women dress-up as though in a Bond film (I mean full hair, makeup, heels & gowns) and wander the designer stores as the sun goes down, on the arm of their equally well dressed man, and it's divine to watch.
STAY | RESTARE
WE STAYED
Hotel Mamela | Accomodation in Capri is not cheap. The end. Yes there's plenty of little b&b's kicking around, but to really soak up the island life, I'd highly recommend staying in a hotel - ideally one with a pool, like Hotel Mamela, where we stayed.
Mamela is perfectly located in Capri town and is only a 5 minute walk from the Piazetta. It's a 4.5 star hotel, but has no restaurant or room service - this didn't bother me though because I'm all about going to as many restaurants as I possibly can when I travel. The pool was perfect with a zillion sun lounges and was a great place to relax & escape the daily onslaught of tourist boats from nearby Sorrento. Our room was super cute too with a seaview and the famous colourful floor tiles typical of Capri.
ALL OUT LUXE
Hotel Punta Tragara & Quisisana | Despite not staying at either of these hotels, I feel I can go out on a limb and pretty much guarantee they would be amazing. These are two of the best on the island and both boast beautiful seaviews & luxury 5 star accomodation. Quisisana has a great open air bar that is ideal for people watching over a drink, while Punta Tragara has one of the best views of the Faraglioni and is positioned just up the hill from the famous La Fontelinabeachclub.
EAT | MANGIARE
Like the rest of Italy, Capri has some delicious food, but also has plenty of nasty touristy food spots too. While they do have a lot of seafood options, I was surprised to notice that almost everywhere, it's not fresh, meaning it's been shipped in frozen. Regardless, it's still very good, but just an interesting thing I noticed.
VILLA VERDE
Thankfully this place was recommended to me as it was one of my favourite meals from the trip. Don't forget though that island life means eating late - we arrived for dinner at 7:30 and were the only people there - rookie mistake! I had this incredible risotto with local prawns - definitely worth trying if you do go.
VILLA MARGERITA
Tucked away just off Via Camerelle, next to Hotel Mamela, is Villa Margherita, a gorgeous little place with a dreamy seaview. Owner Pietro and his wife grew up in Capri and pride themselves on delivering delicious, locally inspired meals. Sticking to my seafood them while on the island, I had the lemon fettuccini and Jono had the lamb chops and both were delish.
HOTEL SYRENE
When in Capri, you have to eat under the lemon trees at least once and as I couldn't get into Paolino (unless I wanted an 11:30pm booking) I went to Hotel Syrene, another good hotel option that also has a beautiful garden of lemon trees to eat under.
BUONOCORE GELATARIA
Impossible to miss, Buonocore will most likely have a line of people out the front, all queuing for their famouse gelato. If you don't see it first, you'll certainly notice the intoxicating smell of freshly baked waffle cones as you wander down Via Vittorio Emanuele away from the piazetta. Apart from gelato, they also have a huge variety of baked goods and sweets - the Ricci Caprese in particular, are soooo good!
DO | FARE
A PRIVATE BOAT TOUR
Surely theres nothing better in life that sailing around the mediterranean, so make the most of it and do a boat tour. Yes, there's ferries but doing a private boat tour is a bit of a yolo situation.
Capri Precious, a local tour boat company actually messaged me on IG (obviously after seeing my stories the day before from #Capri - clever) to see if I'd like to do a private boat tour, and I am so glad we did. Our driver Nico was awesome and took us to Positano for the afternoon - the trip was about 1.5 hours each way and well worth it to avoid sharing the journey with a million other loud tourists on a ferry. If you prefer to stay local though, a trip around Capri itself exploring the grotto's is also a must.
SPEND A DAY AT LA FONTELINA
Now ironically this is something I didn't actually do (but will definitely do next time), but spending a day at one of the worlds most famous beach clubs is a must. Be prepared to drop 100 euro on beach chair, towel & umbrella hire alone, but also remember lounging around Fontelina overlooking the Faraglioni is not something you get to do everyday. Be warned about the trek to get there though - going down not so bad, but back up again is quite the hike.
VISIT THE CARTHUSIA FACTORY
Carthusia is a fragrance brand from Capri that originally dates back to 1380. Using ingredients from the island, Carthusia has a range of some of the most unique and beautiful fragrances I've ever come across. Their factory on Viale Matteotti is so so pretty and showcases the brands history and lab where the fragrances are still made today. It's also a great spot to pickup gifts for friends back home that aren't magnets.
WALK
If there's ever a place to explore by foot, it's Capri. Long lazy walks around the island are an ideal way to avoid the swarm of tourists during the day, and lets be honest, there's no where you could end up in Capri that isn't postcard pretty. Stop for a lemon granita on your way and if you head down Via Tragara, be sure to visit the drinks stand just near the lookout point and if you're lucky the beautiful woman who works there will be singing.
Indulge in the bourgainvillea lined mini streets and truly allow yourself to get lost, but keep your camera handy, as there's ready made pictures at every turn. Wander to Hotel Luna for a drink and lose yourself in the view of the Faraglioni as the sun goes down.
SHOP
Capri is a designer shopping dream. Via Camerelle is where you'll find all the beautiful luxury stores, while just off the Piazetta, Via le Botteghe is where you'll find loads of cute little local stores including La Conchiglia, a bookstore & publishing house specialising in beautiful books written by local authors that document the island and surrounding area. Perfect for coffee table book shopping.
MY FINAL THOUGHTS
HOW LONG - We stayed four nights and I'd recommend staying as long as you can. There's endless things to do in Capri.
ARRIVED BY - High Speed Ferry from Naples.
GET AROUND - Walks where possible, otherwise buses run frequently connecting most major destinations and then of course, taxis are reliable too.
SHOPPING - Shopping is great if you're a designer shopper. But in saying that I loved the Capri souvenir stores too.
AIRPORT - Is on the mainland - there is no airport on the island of Capri.
PEOPLE - Super friendly locals and cashed up holidays makers blend to make Capri uber glam.
WOULD I GO BACK? Absolutely - I didn't even get to Anacapri this time, so next time will be for much longer!