Best Way to Explore Capri in a Small Boat

And an Unexpected Hike

It was a warm day in mid-September on the Amalfi coast – a perfect day for some exploration. We had decided to splurge on a privately captained boat to explore Capri. Really our budget wasn’t blown by much because we had only booked a small inflatable motorboat along with a captain. As we waited in Sorrento’s Marina Piccola for our boat and captain to arrive, I joked with my husband pointing to any dilapidated boat I saw saying, “Here it comes.” I’m not sure how much my husband appreciated my humor, but before we knew it. Antonino, our captain, had arrived in a serviceable looking boat.

We climbed on board and stowed water and a few snacks in the coolers Antonino provided. We were more prepared than the prior day when we hopped on a ferry with no provisions and empty bellies. My husband and I wore bathing suits with UV surf shirts and hats since the day was expected to be very sunny.

Antonino guided our boat out of Marina Piccola and along the Sorrento coast pointing out points of interest along the way. There was a rather large chop, but it didn’t seem to faze him as he turned the boat towards Capri. The crossing to Capri is relatively quick from Sorrento and before we could say limoncello we were gazing at the dramatic sea cliffs and rock formations that define this beautiful island. 

My husband and I are experienced boaters, and the boat charter companies will let you captain a boat yourself, but we appreciated the knowledge of a local captain.  Antonino expertly backed our boat into the Grotta Bianca (White Grotto) jockeying among the larger tour boats so that we could gaze down at the crystal-clear water in the cave. This is something we would have been too timid on our own to try.

We continued along the coastline to I Faraglioni. This is an impressive geologic rock formation that juts out from the sea. Antonino explained that boats are not supposed to go through the arch; however, they do it if the coast guard isn’t hanging around. On our day there was not a coast guard in sight, so let’s just say that we followed this Capri tradition. 

At this point in the journey things became a bit of a blur. Antonino took us to a series of coves where we could jump off the boat and swim. Each cove was prettier than the next. The turquoise water was warm, and we swam around under the amazing cliffs looming above us. It was fun to look at the various boats and yachts nearby as we floated in the water. The final cove was my favorite; he said it was a secret and the water was perfectly calm and turquoise.  I could have stayed there all day, but we wanted to explore more of Capri, so I reluctantly got back on our trusty boat. 

Antonino offered us the opportunity to see the famed Grotta Azzurra (Blue Grotto), but he did note that in his opinion it’s a huge tourist trap, and we had seen just as blue waters in the many places he had already taken us. You can only see Grotta Azzurra on designated rowboats that people stand in line for; it’s a grueling job for the young guides. We opted to skip it in favor of some land adventure.

Antonino had an arrangement with Lo Smereldo, a restaurant in the Marina Grande section of Capri. A small tender ferried us to this picturesque coastal restaurant where people were feasting on fresh seafood and soaking in the view. I had a cuttlefish salad that was delicious, although I’m still not sure what it was. We didn’t linger over lunch because we were determined to get to the top of Capri on the famed Mount Solaro chairlift. Much as we adored Antonino, his English wasn’t perfect and our Italian was extremely limited, so we weren’t quite sure how to get to the chairlift.  We wandered around busy Marina Grande looking for information on transportation to Anacapri where we could pick up the chairlift. The line at the bus station looked busy, so we naively decided to hike.

We found stone steps leading up from Marina Grande towards Anacapri and using google maps were confident that these would get us to where we wanted, so we started climbing. Step after step up the cliffs of Capri towards the more remote Anacapri. Little did we know that these were the historic Phoenician Steps constructed in the seventh or 6^th century BC, probably by ancient Greek colonists, not Phoenicians. There are 921 steps leading up the cliffside, and they are not for the faint of heart although the views looking down are spectacular.

The steps grew steeper as we climbed, and our legs were rubbery from all our swimming. Sweat was pouring off our bodies as only stair climbing can do, but we wanted to do that chairlift, so onward and upward we went hearts pounding with exertion. We only saw a couple of other people climbing the steps, but several more descending, probably the smarter move. Still, we climbed. After about forty minutes we were almost ready to give up when we sensed that we were coming to a flatter road. Lo and behold we had made it. We trudged the rest of the way to the chairlift and got in line. 

Luckily the chairlift was a twelve-minute ride each way, so it gave us a chance to rest and see the amazing views from the pinnacle of Monte Solaro. We paused at the summit between rides to take pictures and admire the view of Capri, the Amalfi peninsula, and the glistening Bay of Naples below. From there we flagged down a taxi and found our way back to our boat and Antonino who was quite surprised when we told him we had climbed the Phoenician Steps. We laughed about it and turned the boat towards Sorrento as the afternoon was getting late. 

Our return trip to Sorrento was uneventful; we were happy to rest up on the boat from all the swimming and hiking. That night we enjoyed an amazing rooftop dinner at Grand Hotel la Favorita eagerly taking the elevator and forgoing the stairs. 

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Helpful Info:

• Nautica Sic Sic – to charter a wide variety of boats on the Amalfi coast
• Lo Smereldo Restaurant – delicious and fresh seafood with a great view
• Grand Hotel La Favorita – Sorrento rooftop restaurant has an amazing view and live music. We didn’t stay in this hotel, but I would next time. The staff was very friendly.
• Carve Surf shirt – an essential on a boat without any shade like ours so you don’t fry.