Blue Grotto on Capri

[JPO]

We will be moored & tendered in Sorrento for a day. I have always wanted to see the Blue Grotto. It is not included in any of the ship's tours. Is it practical to try to do this on my own?

[caliber35]

The Blue Grotto is not to be missed. You can go ashore and purchase an excursion from a local vendor. They will take you by motor launch over to Capri, where you will transfer to small rowboats that go into the Grotto. It may be touristy, but I thought it was one of the highlights of my trip to Italy five years ago. Enjoy!

[mrmac]

Do not try to book a tour boat to see the Blue Grotto. You will only see the small opening from 200 yards away! You must use the small rowboat as stated above or take the bus on Capri to see it, walk down the stairs, jump in the water and swim through! Pay no attention to the 'No Swimming' signs. It is a cave with a small opening at the water line. When you swim in it is dark but keep swimming and turn around. Then you see the "Blue" Grotto - the sunlight from the small opening lights up the water when viewed from the rear of the cave. It was fantastic! (said with an Italian accent) And so is all of Capri. I highly recommend it.

[jesse]

When we were in the Blue Grotto, some people went in the water from their little rowboats--the rowboats are four people and one gondolier so to speak. Wear your bathingsuit, it's not a situation where you can change when you are in there-it's very very cool

[JPO]

When we were in the Blue Grotto, some people went in the water from their little rowboats--the rowboats are four people and one gondolier so to speak. Wear your bathingsuit, it's not a situation where you can change when you are in there-it's very very cool

 

Is that cool or Kool :) That is, cold water or great experience.

[jesse]

hmm-cool as in fun, we went when the temps outside were around 100 degrees so we were quite jealous that others were swimming and we were not. you do need to be limber enough to get back into the little four person rowboat-without tipping everyone else into the water :)

[KellyGA]

We just did the Blue Grotton on July 17 when our cruiseship (legend) stopped in Naples. We wanted to go to the Blue Grotto (small boats go into a cave for 5 minutes with ethereal water that appears to be lit at the bottom). It is enjoyable even waiting in line to watch the boats from the steps down to the water while waiting. Instead of taking a taxi from the ferry to the Blue Grotto ($$$), we took the funicular from the marina on Capri island up to Capri and then took a taxi. When your hydrofoil/hydrojet arrives in Capri, walk straight up the dock and buy your funicular ticket to go up to Capri itself. (Takes 10 minutes). We took an open air taxi from Capri to the Blue Grotto (in Ana Capri) which is a good 15-minute drive but so beautiful. (You could also take a bus there but would have to change busses when you reach Ana Capri. Not hard to do—we did it 3 years ago but it was hot this time and we were concerned re time.) We had to wait in line for some time to go down into the little rowboats and then into the cave but it was fun watching even while we were waiting. The entire process from when we arrived at the Blue Grotto to when we climbed out of the rowboat was about 45-50 minutes even while quite crowded. When done with the rowboat, we climbed some stairs but instead of going immediately back up to the road, we took a path to the right and walked to the very end where there is a small outside snackbar and people swimming off the rocks, which was enjoyable. When we finished, we planned to take a public bus (easy) from the Blue Grotto to Ana Capri. There was another open air cab there though. I told him we were thinking of taking the bus but wanted to see what he’d charge and he gave us a great rate to Ana Capri. (It’s a fun little stop.) We walked about ¼ of a mile (towards Capri) to the Caesar Augustus (5 star) gorgeous hotel overlooking the water on 3 sides and had a relaxing drink on the terrace there enjoying the view and breezes and then walked back (5 minutes) to Ana Capri for the bus. You can get busses there that will take you to either Marina Grande, which was directly to the hydrofoil or to Capri (= top of the funicular) where you can shop. (Of course we shopped.) It took us only about 30 minutes to get back down the funicular to the ferry but we were warned that it could take 45-50 minutes if the line gets long when tours are trying to return to the ferry. (Important to note so you don’t miss the ship!) Past threads re Capri also warned us to be SURE to purchase your return ticket for the hydrofoil/jet since they sometimes sell out with tourgroups and we didn't want to miss the ship!

[Cruising Retired Army SGM]

Below I will post an except from a daily email newsletter I sent out last month from the Carnival Freedom. For the OP who opened this thread, since you are docking in Sorrento, it is only a 25 minute hydrofoil ride to Capri and you should not have any problems getting over.

 

There were several people who dived off the row boat into the Blue Grotto but the secret to this is you have to tip your row man real good before he will let you do it. I go back in September and I am hoping two people that I will be taking will give it a try. I took my 16 year old daughter back in 1987 and she was able to dive off inside the Blue Grotto.

____________

We were all ready by 6:45 am and we went up to the lobby deck to get ready to get off the ship as soon as it docked. Well they turned us loose at 7:15 am and we were the first ones off the ship. We all walked over to the hydrofoil dock and I bought tickets for all and we were booked on the 7:55 am hydrofoil and we arrived in Capri at 8:40 am and I was all prepared to take the bus around to the Blue Grotto but at the last minute I was out voted and all my party wanted to take the boat around to the Blue Grotto. We walked right up and bought 6 tickets for Euro 10 each and had to wait 4 minutes to get on the small boat for a ride around to the Blue Grotto. When we arrived at the cave entrance, we transferred to a small 3 person rowboat and we had to pay an additional Euro 9 to the row boat man. Well, Beverly and I were in the front of the small boat on the floor and Anna was in the back. When we went thru the cave opening I guess we were top heavy up front because we hit a wave and both Beverly and I were soaked and Anna did not get a drop on her. I had it all in my face and mouth and I still have some in my right ear. Everybody really enjoyed all that they saw and it was worth the extra money to say that they got to see the Blue Grotto. If anyone out there does know what the Blue Grotto, please do a Google search and you see all the pictures? When we got back to the Port there was a line a mile long at the ticket booth and just about everybody was trying to get this tour

[travelingmcmahans]

We chose to hire a boat and captain/guide instead for 3 hours and got a private tour around the island. Rather than wait our turn for the Blue Grotto we had the Green Grotto to ourselves and swam it. It was incredible.

[dbh62ark]

We will be moored & tendered in Sorrento for a day. I have always wanted to see the Blue Grotto. It is not included in any of the ship's tours. Is it practical to try to do this on my own?

It is easy to do on your own, and I highly recommend the full Capri experience. We had a wonderful day there last month. After we arrived by hydrofoil, we walked less than a block on the dock to the boats that take you to the Blue Grotto. I recommend going this route because the boat ride is very scenic. After transferring from the large boat to the small row boats to go into the grotto, we were returned to the same dock. From there, we took one of those fabulous convertible taxis for 20 Euros up to Anicapri where we rode the chairlift, and it was FABULOUS! There's also a nice department store at the base of the lift where you should purchase any nice mementos (boxes, etc.) that you plan to buy (best selection and good prices). And a good gelati stand at the base, so we rode the lift eating gelati. Then after walking around Anicapri, we took a 10 or 15 (can't remember which) Euro taxi ride down to Capri. In Capri, we walked around the village, shopped (there are some jewelry stores there displaying jewelry that Liz Taylor would find gaudy ), walked down to the gardens and the marina. We then took the funicular (or whatever it's called) down to Marina Grande for our return hydrofoil at approx 5:00 (was on a hydrofoil that morning at 7:30 a.m., so we had a full day). The buses were full on Capri the day we were there, so the taxi was a much better option for us and so much FUN.

 

Have a great trip,

Donna