After staying in Praiano for five nights, we headed to the island of Capri to settle in for lots beach time, delicious food, and a little luxury – it is Capri after all!
We heard mixed reviews of Capri, some hated it, some loved it. I’m always honest (sometimes not my best quality 😉 ). When our ferry ride straight from Positano at the Capri port, panic immediately set in. This was not the island I was expecting, with luxury stores, supermodels, and outdoor cafes! Thankfully, the port is a very small part of the island, and I quickly discovered that the rest of Capri was nothing like the little tourist trap that is the main port.
Getting There
We took a high speed ferry from Positano, and it took less than an hour to arrive at the port of Capri. We purchased tickets beforehand, which both our Airbnb host and others highly recommended. The ferry left right on time, and I was a happy camper with a fresh mimosa in hand for the ride. If it’s within your budget, you can hire a private charter boat from anywhere on the coast for around $600 one-way. The ferry was well worth this savings for us. After you arrive at the port, most hotels provide free transportation if you call to notify them right when you arrive, otherwise, there are plenty of taxis. Side note – Capri’s taxis are the cutest! Think old school vintage cars that are half convertibles. Some are even pink!
Where We Stayed
We stayed at Hotel Weber Ambassador, a mid level hotel on Marina Piccola Beach. It’s important to understand where you’ll be staying on the island, as it is fairly big, and the areas differ greatly. We wanted to be near the main town square, on the beach, and close to the port since we were only staying two nights. Although this wasn’t the best hotel I’ve been to, it wasn’t terrible. It did it’s job on the location front, and it’s free shuttle to and from the main square was super convenient. It’s rated a 4 star, but honestly, the grounds, rooms, and service would be more of a 2 star in the US. Our favorite thing about this hotel was our free room upgrade which included a balcony bigger than the room itself! I’m dying to stay at the famous J.K. Palace.
Day 1
Lunch at Il Riccio Restaurant: When we arrived to Capri, it was only mid-morning, so we quickly checked in (thank god for early check-in!) and headed towards Anacapri for our lunch reservations. Anacapri is about a 20 minute drive by Taxi, or 30 minutes by bus. We took a taxi there from the town square ($40), then took the very packed public bus back to the hotel. This restaurant was on every must do list, as it has one michelin star and is known for its famous “dessert room”. Yep, a secret room full of desserts, and let me tell you, it was well worth it. You could also easily stop by this hotel & beach club and just grab a drink upstairs in their beautiful lounge if you don’t have reservations. Following lunch, we saw signs for Grotta Azzurra right by the path leading to Il Riccio, and decided to follow the signs. You’re technically not suppose to swim in this one, but a bunch of people were doing it. We followed the pack and had so much fun! #rebel
We headed to town after freshening up at the hotel, and after walking around for about an hour, taking in the sites, stores, and restaurants, we sat down to dinner at Villa Verde. We happened to walk by when we walked through a little art show with live music. It was the best choice! We had pizza and a delicious shrimp dish, and our waiter gave us great tips for our next stop on our trip. We followed up dinner with an aperitif on the square, and spent the rest of the evening sipping our sweet cocktails, and wondering why California nightlife isn’t more like Capri…
Fun fact…I wore this dress to my senior prom! Talk about a recycled outfit!
DAY 2
I had been looking forward to this day since reserving it! We headed to La Fontelina late morning. I’m sure you’ve seen in plastered all over Instagram, and honestly, it looked exactly like the photos. The beach club sent us a little boat to come pick us up, after our hotel called to let them know we were ready. You can see the beach club from Hotel Weber, it’s that close. If you aren’t within the Marina Piccola Beach area, I’ve heard you need to hike down a huge hill to get to the club – another perk of staying in the area we did. We spent the day lounging under pretty blue umbrella’s and sipping over priced Whispering Angel Rose ;). We dining on fresh seafood pasta and fell deep into our books. The perfect beach day.
We followed up our great day on the water with drinks on the town square again, and our kind waiter recommended a restaurant to us. We quickly looked it up and decided we had to go! In order to get to the restaurant, you have to walk through the town path up the hill almost a mile. No cars can access it. We called beforehand and they said they didn’t have any openings for the night, but we took our chances anyways and they were able to fit us in! The restaurant is located in the middle of nowhere, way outside the tourists swarming the town square, and looks over the sparkling Mediterranean. Le Grottelle is a family owned and operated hidden gem and I highly recommend making the trek to try it! Mama was literally cookin’ in the kitchen! Don’t do what we did, and make reservations!
After dinner, we stocked up on pistachio chocolate truffles at Nino, then proceeded to eat our “gifts” for our friends while we sipped red wine late into the night and chatted with the owner at YUU Bar Gallery. This hidden wine bar was tucked inside a romantic alley way looking over the beautiful town.
Day 3
Our Ferry to our final stop in Italy wasn’t until late afternoon, so we took advantage of the sunny day and rented chairs right at the beach in front of our hotel. Marina Piccola Beach is super popular with the locals, so you could easily lie on a towel on the sand or rent chairs like we did. The service was impressive and we had lunch at the restaurant attached to the beach, Ristorante Le Sirene.
After our beach day we hopped on the ferry to our last and final stop in Italy…ISCHIA!
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