How-to Skip the Line at the Blue Grotto + See All of Capri
Is the blue grotto worth the trouble, you ask? Let’s make this simple, YES. Yes the Blue Grotto is absolutely worth the trouble and here’s why.
Well the easy reason is because it’s absolutely amazing, but here’s the thing: while it looks as if it’s just this beautiful desolate cave in the middle of the ocean it’s actually flooded with tourists. Speaking of floods, you can only visit when it’s low tide. I didn’t quite understand that part until we got there. The entrance is so small you literally have to get into a boat the size of a canoe and lay flat (close your eyes & say a quick prayer) on the way in.
We were on a private boat tour around the island when we visited, which I 12/10 recommend. They are reasonably priced for the experience, IMHO. Our tour guide, Luigi, was from Capri and knew everything there was to know from the history of the island to the best photo-ops. He also knew the slowest/busiest times to visit the Blue Grotto. He explained that most people take a ferry tour to visit the Grotto, which means, all those people on the ferry have to then switch into tiny boats two at a time to enter. As you can imagine this can take hours just bobbing in the ocean outside the entrance. Here’s the thing, most of the tour guides know the guys collecting the fee of €14 per person and this is where it really pays to be on the private tour. One nice little tip and a few minutes later we were inside this magical cave that looked like something out of a Disney movie. It’s very dark inside above the water, but the way the light hits the water makes it seem unreal.
Inside, most of the Italians will sing and their voices echo throughout the cave creating a chorus of sound I couldn’t understand, but obviously loved.
After our visit to the Blue Grotto, Luigi took us on a complete trip around the Isle of Capri. While cruising around in our traditional Gozzo boat, Luigi explained the history of the island. For example, he told us how emperor Augustus first discovered Capri and built a palace. After him, it was Tiberius that ruled the empire. He served us wine from his family’s vineyard in small plastic cups as we popped in and out of less known caves and grottos like the White Grotto and the Green Grotto.
Then he took us to the Faraglioni rocks, which you might recognize from The Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue commercials.
(at least that’s where I had seen it lol) He explained how legend says, if lovers kiss as they float under the arch they’ll be linked together forever. Luigi was a total romantic.
Our tour didn’t stop there! We docked the boat in the heart Capri and took an open-air taxi to La Piazzetta, which is the main square of Capri. It’s lined with shops and cafés and also crazy busy. A short walk brought us to the Augustus Gardens. As far as the view of the bay of Salerno from there goes, just take a look for yourself.
The tour also included the Funiculare, which is the cable car that offers beautiful views of Capri, but since we were already staying in Anacapri (which is literally above Capri) we opted to head to lunch at a family-owned B&B restaurant on a beautiful vineyard a short open-air taxi ride away. The restaurant is called da Gelsomina and I 12/10 recommend it!
Tour guide information: We booked a tour through Angela Private Tours of Capri info@privatetoursofcapri.com +39 3319349227
Cost: This full day tour costs 230€ per person for a group of 2 people and includes: Hotel pickup and drop-off, English-speaking guide, tour by boat, entrance fees for Blue Grotto and the Cable Car.
xx,
rachel
South Florida based travel blogger creating a diary of how-to’s for 12/10 recs
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