Is Capri worth the visit

[homeinboca]

We cruising for the first time to Italy with a stop at Naples. I am looking at the Princess Tour that includes Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri. There is also an option for Pompeii and time on our own in Sorrento.

 

I realize there's lots to see everywhere, but don't want to overdo it. Also my wife has trouble walking for long periods of time.

 

So my question is - are we missing alot if we skip Capri? We may be back at some point, but you never know!

 

Thanks,

[wcook]

Speaking only for myself...

 

I am totally baffled at what people are trying to accomplish by going on a one-day tour to Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri. It must be popular for the tour to be offered.

 

But what is the point of leaving one beautiful, relaxing Italian resort with spectacular views of the sea, going through all sorts of travel logistics, to end up at a beautiful, relaxing Italian resort with spectacular views of the sea.

[suec12]

I'd say do EITHER Pompeii or Capri - the option with Sorrento, Pompeii and Capri sounds exhausting - but Pompeiii is going to invlove a fair amount of walking. I LOVE Capri, esp. on a pretty day but again to combine Pompeii and Capri is going to be a very long outing.

[6rugrats]

That tour is way too much. I just don't understand all the frequent posts, where people want to cram everything into one day. This is not enjoyable for me.

 

I would take the hydrofoil to Capri on my own. Get there early and take the funicular up the hill. There are lots of restaurants and shops. You can relax, sit down and have a nice lunch. It's really beautiful.

[screwcork]

That tour is way too much. I just don't understand all the frequent posts, where people want to cram everything into one day. This is not enjoyable for me.

 

I would take the hydrofoil to Capri on my own. Get there early and take the funicular up the hill. There are lots of restaurants and shops. You can relax, sit down and have a nice lunch. It's really beautiful.

 

An excellent piece of advice!

 

Screwcork

[hubofhockey]

We cruising for the first time to Italy with a stop at Naples. I am looking at the Princess Tour that includes Pompeii, Sorrento and Capri. There is also an option for Pompeii and time on our own in Sorrento.

 

I realize there's lots to see everywhere, but don't want to overdo it. Also my wife has trouble walking for long periods of time.

 

So my question is - are we missing alot if we skip Capri? We may be back at some point, but you never know!

 

Thanks,

 

You could easily skip Capri and add Positano, which is absolutely incredible and close to Sorrento. Agree with others about that Princess tour. Just one they take you somewhere, it's time to leave. Doesn't sound great to me. If you get back to Naples, get Capri the next time around. That's our plan.

[jpver]

Pompei is one day visit if you want to do properly. Capri is a small island , cute and more relax and take also a full day. Alternative is indeed Positano, or why not Herculaneum, the other town destroyed by the volcan,but nicer to see . In Pompei the lava ass did fall over the city and all house are destroyed by the weight of it. In Herculaneum it was the lave stream trough the streets and the house who have been of course restored were in a quite good shape.

[Eightydays]

Agree with all of the posts saying its too much for one day. Actually, it's way too much. On one cruise, we did Pompeii and Sorrento, another cruise, the Amalfi coast, and yet another cruise, Capri. I loved Capri, and an entire day was not enough. In fact, the only tour for which one day might really works is Pompeii and Sorrento.

 

Do just one or two things, and that way you will have a reason to go back. This year we are going to Ischia.

[homeinboca]

Thanks everyone for your comments. Having waited a whole lifetime to visit Italy, I'm thinking like we want to see everything we can and will just have to make sure we return one day!

[Keith1010]

Remember the key to a successful Med cruise is to pace yourself. In certain ports you will want to do full day touring but from time to time you might consider breaking it up with a day that allows for free time.

 

Keith

[hubofhockey]

Thanks everyone for your comments. Having waited a whole lifetime to visit Italy, I'm thinking like we want to see everything we can and will just have to make sure we return one day!

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=783451

 

Above is an older Cruise Critic thread with reviews of your Princess excursion and others like it. It certainly has its pluses and its minuses. The things that would give me pause relate to the actual 5 hours of touring times and 6 hours of waiting and travel times. I am not sure of that included the shopping stop at the cameo store. My other problem with the tour is that you are missing so much as I believe Sorrento pales in comparison to Positano, which is amazing and a special place. I have not been to Ravello. But many say the same. We did our first Med cruise last year. Like you, I had never been before and thought I might never get back again. We decided on Pompeii/Sorrento/Positano with AP Tours. It was an exhausting but great day. I would have liked to have gone to Capri. But I really believed that you can't do everything and our tour stretched it. In fact, in retrospect, I wish we had more time in Positano and ZERO in Sorrento.

 

We had such a great time on our Med cruise that we wanted to bring our kids who are 13 & 11 this year. As luck would have it, Carnival has a new ship and we found great pricing for four people for a 9-day cruise for the four of us, top balcony level for less than $5K. So now we are going to Capri and spend a full day there with a boat ride than tour on our own. I am not sure that we will want to see the Blue Grotto just to say "we did it" or "saw it" if it deprives us of enjoying our day more and our boat driver assured us that there are other grottos that have a similar glow and beauty to them. Tough choice. But we'll follow recommendations.

 

We each have our own perspectives on what makes a great vacation and how much emphasis we place on sightseeing and seeing as much as possible or simply seeing one or two key things and soaking it all in as an experience. When you come here, you will get all different perspectives. Naples provides so many choices. Research and enjoy no matter what your decision is.

[homeinboca]

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=783451

 

Above is an older Cruise Critic thread with reviews of your Princess excursion and others like it. It certainly has its pluses and its minuses. The things that would give me pause relate to the actual 5 hours of touring times and 6 hours of waiting and travel times. I am not sure of that included the shopping stop at the cameo store. My other problem with the tour is that you are missing so much as I believe Sorrento pales in comparison to Positano, which is amazing and a special place. I have not been to Ravello. But many say the same. We did our first Med cruise last year. Like you, I had never been before and thought I might never get back again. We decided on Pompeii/Sorrento/Positano with AP Tours. It was an exhausting but great day. I would have liked to have gone to Capri. But I really believed that you can't do everything and our tour stretched it. In fact, in retrospect, I wish we had more time in Positano and ZERO in Sorrento.

 

We had such a great time on our Med cruise that we wanted to bring our kids who are 13 & 11 this year. As luck would have it, Carnival has a new ship and we found great pricing for four people for a 9-day cruise for the four of us, top balcony level for less than $5K. So now we are going to Capri and spend a full day there with a boat ride than tour on our own. I am not sure that we will want to see the Blue Grotto just to say "we did it" or "saw it" if it deprives us of enjoying our day more and our boat driver assured us that there are other grottos that have a similar glow and beauty to them. Tough choice. But we'll follow recommendations.

 

We each have our own perspectives on what makes a great vacation and how much emphasis we place on sightseeing and seeing as much as possible or simply seeing one or two key things and soaking it all in as an experience. When you come here, you will get all different perspectives. Naples provides so many choices. Research and enjoy no matter what your decision is.

 

Ljberkow,

 

Thanks so much for your input and the link to the discussion on the excursion. I agree everyone is different and how much they cram into one day. At this point I think I am leaning towards the Pompeii and time on our own in Sorrento and skipping Capri for this trip. We are thinking that we will one day do a land based visit just to Italy alone so can spend more time at each location. So many places, so little time..

[nparmelee]

We've spent 3 days on the Amalfi coast and haven't made it to Capri yet. There is plenty to do in the area, it just hasn't been our top priority compared to some of the other options. We also know some people that go to Capri first and then look at the other options. Best advice, decide which is more important to you and enjoy that as much as you can while there and if there is time, maybe plan a quick trip or stop to the secondary or even tertiary options.

[cruisemom42]

We've spent 3 days on the Amalfi coast and haven't made it to Capri yet. There is plenty to do in the area, it just hasn't been our top priority compared to some of the other options. We also know some people that go to Capri first and then look at the other options. Best advice, decide which is more important to you and enjoy that as much as you can while there and if there is time, maybe plan a quick trip or stop to the secondary or even tertiary options.

 

Yes, exactly.

 

Everyone has different interests and it's better to enjoy one or two things than try to cram four into a day.

 

It might raise the eyebrows of some that I'm planning to spend just over a week in the Naples area next March and don't plan to visit the Amalfi coast. (Nor have I done so on two previous port calls in Naples.) :D

 

Then again, those who know me here won't be surprised to hear that I am planning to spend a day and a half at Pompeii.......

[ArizonaCruzer]

We went on a Pompei, Amalfi Coast tour on our first Med cruise. It was great of course, but we spent so much time driving. Stops were short. Lots of traffic. Going to Capri on our upcoming cruise in Oct. Excited to really sit at cafes and enjoy the day. If we have time maybe we'll go to Sorrento too. No interest in going on another one of those mega driving tours.

 

Have fun whatever you do!

 

Laura

[Carolyn R]

Have you joined your roll call? That is where you will find your fellow cruisers arranging all kinds of private tour shares. I arranged a full-day private tour for eight people to Herculaneum and Positano for my upcoming cruise on the Ruby Princess. My traveling style is to decide what is most important and to savor it. We will spend an unrushed morning in Herculaneum, have lunch at Ristorante da Costantino high overlooking Positano, and then spend the afternoon leisurely exploring Positano down to the sea. Ahhh! Cannot wait for October.

[homeinboca]

Have you joined your roll call? That is where you will find your fellow cruisers arranging all kinds of private tour shares. I arranged a full-day private tour for eight people to Herculaneum and Positano for my upcoming cruise on the Ruby Princess. My traveling style is to decide what is most important and to savor it. We will spend an unrushed morning in Herculaneum, have lunch at Ristorante da Costantino high overlooking Positano, and then spend the afternoon leisurely exploring Positano down to the sea. Ahhh! Cannot wait for October.

 

Hi Carolyn R, yes I am active on our roll call, but it's a very quiet one for some reason. I'm trying to get the activity going.

 

We did decide to skip Capri this time around for the reasons you are mentioning. We are going to leisurely explore Sorrento on our own in the morning and then a tour of Pompeii in the afternoon. For next time, we are planning a land based trip to Italy so we can spend more time in each of the areas. You need more than a one-day stop in Florence, Naples, Venice, etc.

 

We are arriving in Rome three days before our cruise so we'll have time to do all of the main sites there.

 

Enjoy your cruise and buon viaggio

 

Ron

[4774Papa]

I'd say do EITHER Pompeii or Capri - the option with Sorrento, Pompeii and Capri sounds exhausting - but Pompeiii is going to invlove a fair amount of walking. I LOVE Capri, esp. on a pretty day but again to combine Pompeii and Capri is going to be a very long outing.

Agree, Capri is worth a visit, but considering the time, you need to focus on fewer sites.