The Isle of Capri

 July 6, 2023 – Naples, Italy

Docked: 7:00AM to 6:00PM 

We arrived a little later than expected at the Naples port but were docked by 7:40 am and were able to depart the ship around 8:00 am.  Our plans for the day had changed several times, because of the distance and travel times that would be involved to do anything in Sorrento.  So, we decided to catch a ferry to Capri and spend our time seeing photographic sites on the island.  The initial problems we encountered were the very long queues for ferry transit and that early ferries were booked.  We managed to get tickets on the 10:35 am with a 3:24 pm return NLG ferry to Capri.  It was very hot with a cloudless sky and we killed time getting cold drinks at a local restaurant and enjoyed the shade.

The trip takes about 50 minutes to get to the Isle of Capri with good views of the Amalfi coast.  Our ferry was late, so we arrived in Capri at noon.  

The port area was absolutely packed with people and the lines for tickets to the funicular that takes you to the city of Capri at the top were unbelievably long.  Emily set it up so some of us stood in that line, others in the taxi line, and she went looking for the bus.  Fortunately, she found and negotiated a round trip bus ride for all of us for 90 euros.  So, we all went to the bus stop and boarded the small bus for an interesting ride that wound us up the steep side of the island to Capri 

on a road barely wide enough to accommodate two vehicles.  In fact, in some places it was like the one-track roads in Ireland and Scotland. 

Within about 15 minutes we arrived at the top.  The view was gorgeous. 

The island contains a lot of villas that cling to the cliffsides, and many narrow streets and whitewashed passageways adorned with bright flowers to shops and sites.  We decided to walk, or should I say climb, to the Gardens of Augustus.

I don’t think there was a level street on Capri and everyone seemed to be going up!!  

It took us a while to get to the gardens as we negotiated the narrow passageways.    Although not very large, the views from the gardens are fabulous.  We had some breathe taking views of boats and the cliffs at a lookout just before we entered the gardens.  

We arrived at the gardens and purchased our tickets.  Once inside we walked up the path to the two terraces from which we had gorgeous views of the coastline, anchored pleasure crafts and yachts, and the famous Faraglioni rocks.

What a place for amazing photographs.  The rocks are a symbol of Capri.  They tower out of the blue waters.  There are three rock stacks that have been formed by waters slowly eroding all but the strongest rock formation.  The three rocks are:  Stella (closest to Capri), Mezzo (in the middle) and Scopolo (furthest away).  

We then walked to the Capri Roof Top Lounge/Bar 

that overlooked the sea for a light lunch. 

What a gorgeous place for a restaurant.  Naturally several of us had the Caprice Salad

and it was delicious as only having it is Capri could be.  We certainly enjoyed lunch in such a gorgeous, picturesque place.  

After lunch, we started our trek back (naturally uphill, :-)) to the center of the town to catch a bus back to the port.  

Along the way, we passed numerous famous exquisite and expensive shops. 

We arrived at the bus stop and were divided up between two buses to make the trip down to the port. 

Evidently all buses went to the port and any bus would take you.

Once in the port, we had over an hour prior to NLG ferry departure, and we spent that time using the AC in some of the shops.  

At 2:55 pm we worked out to terminal 12 to wait for our boarding time.  It was very hot, and we were fortunate to stand for some time under a covered boarding area.  We boarded at 3:10 pm and sat on the upper covered, open-air deck. Shortly after departure we had a good view of the Isle of Capri. 

Throughout the ride there were good views of the Amalfi coast and Sorrento. 

As we approached Naples, there were also great views of Mt. Versuvius. 

Once docked,  

we disembarked and made our way to Beyond, which was docked close by.  Now was the time to complete our packing and have our suitcases ready for pick-up outside our door by 10:00 pm.  We finished by 6:15 pm and decided to relax at the Martini Bar before our last night’s dinner.  Under sail, we gathered at 7:15 pm for dinner in the Oceanview Café for our last onboard dinner on the AFT patio.

As we sailed away from Naples, there was a great view of Mt. Versuvius and the large section that blew away during the eruption.

The plan is to rise early (5:00 am) so that we are fully ready for disembarking at 6:30 pm.