Hello friends. I wanted to share some details about our trip to Capri. We arrived here by ferry. We started by walking down a wonderful street. The main street here is filled with the most interesting shops and restaurants. My first impression of Capri in the summer was that it is a super noisy place, heavily built-up and crowded. It feels like a global shopping capital with a high concentration of designer boutiques, craft workshops, souvenir shops and luxury stores.
I saw many luxury brand boutiques that are not found in Bari. Apologies to Bari, the capital of the Puglia region, because Capri is a small island with a population of about 14000. However besides the shops, clubs, popular resorts and hotel complexes, there are also many interesting places on the small island of Capri: the Phoenician Steps, churches, monasteries, villas and gardens and a large lighthouse. If you aim to see everything, you need to set aside about 5 days for tours. Accommodation prices in Capri are high throughout the season. They start at 130 euros per night for two people, so tourists often spend the night in Naples. Then they spend a day touring the islands by ferry. One day in Capri, one day in Ischia and another day somewhere else like Amalfi. Ferries run from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm and tickets can be bought online or at the ticket offices at the port. By the way one of my friends mentioned that we could bring our own car onto the ferry, but in reality, it seemed like a bad idea to bring your own car onto the ferry, as the roads are steep and very narrow and non-standard narrow buses and cars drive on these narrow roads. When there is two-way traffic and two cars pass each other side by side, they slow down and pass each other carefully to avoid collisions or accidents. In general I can’t even imagine how you could drive a regular car. Even if there are people driving around Capri with their own vehicles, I think there are very few.
Since we didn't have our own vehicle, we got around Capri using local buses and minibuses. You can also use the cable car, which is great but doesn't run frequently and you need to buy tickets for it. During the season, there are many people wanting to buy tickets. You can also use local taxis. These bright open-top cars are very nice and funny. But there can be queues for those as well and you need to be quick, otherwise other tourists might get in before you. There are ferries returning from Capri to Naples and tickets can be bought at the ticket offices at the port. The fare from here to Naples ranges between 20 and 21.5 euros, depending on the time and company. You might find that they only accept cash here; they do not accept cards. Come here for a bit of relaxation. It’s great but expensive, crowded and there are many people now. As our guides told us, when there are people here in July and August, walking in the streets is not easy. By the way you need to pay 3 euros for luggage and 4.5 euros for pets and then you can take your pet and luggage onto the ferry.
What should you see in Capri? Of course the first thing that comes to mind is the Faraglioni, the massive rocks rising from the sea, which are symbols of Capri. You may have seen pictures of a rock with an arch known as the Lover's Arch. I will provide more details about these rocks in my next post, where we sailed around the island by boat. Secondly we visited the Blue Grotto, a 60 by 25 meter cave that can only be entered by a small boat. Sunlight illuminates the sea water in the cave, giving it a bluish appearance and that's why it is called the Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra).
Besides that we visited Monte Solaro, a mountain on the island that is 589 meters high, from where you can even see Naples and Salerno. You can climb to the city of Anacapri. This time we didn’t reach Anacapri. We spent all our time in Capri town. However if you climb a bit higher, you will reach Anacapri, the second largest town on the island, which is very beautiful and also very useful because from Anacapri, you can go to Monte Solaro, Cape Arena and the lighthouse. The Church of St. Michael the Archangel or the famous red house are also worth seeing.
While exploring the island we visited Piazza Umberto I, a square in Capri town. It is located in the city that shares the island's name and is also known as Piazza Capri, considered the heart and most central spot of the island. There are also many interesting villas on the island, such as Villa Jovis, or rather, what remains of it. This was once one of the largest villas in the world with an area of 7000 square meters and was built by Emperor Tiberius in honor of the god Jupiter. And there is Villa San Michele, which was the home-museum of Swedish doctor Axel Munthe. It is a very beautiful and interesting place with a belvedere and gardens.
Besides the villas there are also churches and monasteries. We also visited the beaches of Capri. The beaches of Capri have incredibly clear blue-green waters. There are both paid and free beaches, so if you come during the hot season, you can sunbathe and enjoy the island's main attractions from the sea. Of course there are also observation platforms on the island because the most beautiful thing about Capri is its breathtaking views. These beautiful views can be seen from belvederes scattered all around the island, such as Belvedere Tragara, Punta Carena, Augustus Gardens and the areas at Villa San Michele.
We stopped by a shop on a street. The colorful trays are very beautiful and there are also plates in the same colors. The sales assistant explained that these are from a Dolce & Gabbana collaboration and that the plate sets go well with coffee machines. These plates are very beautiful in this size, with many different motifs: black and white leopard patterns and bright Sicilian motifs, among others, are souvenirs you can bring back from Capri.
There are many craft workshops and showrooms on the streets of Capri. The island's most popular souvenirs are handmade sandals, which are adorned with eye-catching stones and look like works of art. They make the sandals based on your foot size and the type of straps and stones you like. The cost of sandals starts from 100 euros and on average, the prices in the windows are around 200 euros. You can also make your own perfume in Capri, an old tradition that dates back to the 15th century.
In the shops and stores, you can find many Italian gastronomic delights; the most traditional is limoncello, a liqueur made from lemons.
Also, “cedro” or giant citrus fruits are very popular here. They are citrus fruits that taste like lemons but have an edible peel and sour flesh and are similar in texture to pomelo. At first glance, people might think they are lemons.
The peel of the cedro is very thick, covered with a white substance. They coat the peels with sugar and eat them, consuming both the peel and the outside. It’s an amazing fruit, very large. By the way the weather was really hot, so walking around the city was not better than lying on the beach, but we were walking because we had just had a new lunch and were exploring.
What can you eat in Capri? A few decades ago, food supply to the island was limited, so all historical dishes were based on ingredients grown on the island. Of course, these included tomatoes, vegetables, greens, lemons, fresh fish and seafood. Now there are no food shortages, so a wide range of Mediterranean cuisine options are offered in any restaurant. You must try a cocktail with citron or Aperol with the magnificent view of the Marina.
In Capri you can order local dishes such as Capri salad, linguine with sea bass sauce, homemade ravioli, scallop soup and lamb with potatoes. For dessert you can have a cake called Torta Caprese made with almonds and cocoa and limoncello liqueur as a digestif. Many establishments in Capri open in mid-April and close in October. Very few are open year-round. Prices on the island are high. Dinner costs around 40-60 euros per person, excluding wine.
I’m wrapping up my travel notes on Capri for now. There’s so much more to share and I hope to have the chance to talk about it in my next posts.
