Sorrento: Exclusive Capri Boat Tour and Optional Blue Grotto — review
My verdict: the best-rated tour on this site at the highest volume of ratings, which is a rarer combination than it sounds and the main reason it is the one I point people at by default. It is about four hours from Sorrento and it is a day on the water first. The Blue Grotto is optional here too, so the cave is the part of the day I would hold most loosely.
Why the number behind the score matters more than the score
Four tours on this site show 4.8. Two of them rest on 267 and 173 ratings; this one rests on 5,297. A high average on a thin sample is a promising early signal. A high average on five thousand ratings has already survived bad weather, bad days, tired crews and people who would have complained about anything. That is why I treat this one as the default recommendation rather than the one with the prettiest decimal. How the seven scores compare.
What the reviewers keep coming back to
Michayla, from Australia, calls it “worth every penny”. Janice, from the United States, calls it “one of the top highlights of my trip” and singles out the staff’s commentary on the island’s history. Simona, from Italy, rates it too. The pattern across the strong reviews is the crew rather than the itinerary, which tracks: four hours of coastline is four hours of coastline on any boat, and what differs is whether somebody on board is telling you what you are looking at.
The optional word, again
The grotto is an optional extra on this listing exactly as it is on the cheaper Sorrento boat. Entry is not included and never is: the €18 at the cave — €12 to the rowers, €6 to the state — is paid on the spot, in cash, on top of whatever the tour cost. And the stop can vanish on the day if the sea has shut the cave or the rowboat line has stretched past what a four-hour schedule can absorb. I would book this for the four hours and count the cave as the good outcome. Both Sorrento departures, compared.
What works
- 4.8 across 5,297 ratings: the best-rated tour here on the largest sample
- About four hours on the water, so the day stands up without the cave
- Reviewers name the crew and the history commentary rather than the route
- Michayla calls it worth every penny; Janice calls it a highlight of her trip
- Departs Sorrento, so it works as a day trip without staying on Capri
Worth knowing
- The Blue Grotto is an optional extra: not included, not guaranteed
- Entry is never included — €18 at the cave, in cash, on the day
- €119 per person is nearly five times the cheapest tour on this site
- It does nothing about the rowboat queue, because nothing does
- A rough-sea morning can remove the grotto from the itinerary entirely
Treat the four hours as the product and the grotto as the upside. Read the day that way and a 9am closure costs you a stop rather than the trip; read it the other way and you have paid €119 to be told no at a cave mouth.
Which boat, and from where?Every option below still leaves the €18 at the cave to pay on the spot. What changes is where you sail from and how long the day is.
Compare all sevenWho it suits
First-time visitors crossing from Sorrento who want the best-reviewed version of the day and are not counting every euro, couples, and anybody who values commentary over saving €25. It suits you less well on a tight budget, where the €25 island trip does a smaller version of the same thing, and it suits you badly if the cave is the whole point, which is a case for timing rather than spending.
Other tours to consider
From SorrentoFrom Sorrento: Capri Boat Tour with Blue Grotto Optional
CheapestCapri: Island Boat Trip with Grottos
Private boatCapri: 3-Hour Private Boat Tour with Blue Grotto Visit
Frequently asked questions
Is the exclusive Capri boat tour worth €119?
It is the best-rated tour on this site at 4.8 from 5,297 ratings, which is the most settled good score here, and it runs about four hours. Whether that is worth €25 more than the other Sorrento boat depends on how many of you are travelling. Both Sorrento boats, compared.
Does it include the Blue Grotto?
The grotto is optional on this listing, so it is an extra you choose and pay for on the day, and the stop is not guaranteed. Entry itself is never included on any tour: €18 in cash at the cave. Where every euro goes.
How long is the tour?
Roughly four hours from Sorrento, which is the reason to book it. Inside the cave, if the stop happens, you get under five minutes. Those two numbers are the whole argument for booking the day rather than the cave. What the five minutes are like.
Does it skip the queue at the Blue Grotto?
No. Nothing skips the rowboat queue, and any product marketed as though it does is selling something that does not exist. In summer the wait runs 60 to 90 minutes. The hours when it is shortest.