The Blue Grotto from Naples: one full day, and it is a long one

The Bay of Naples with Capri on the horizon

In short: one listing, €162 per person, rated 4.8 from 1,673 reviews and the best-rated of the from-Naples set. It is a full day and it takes in Anacapri as well as Capri, which is the part I rate. What €162 does not buy is the cave: €18 per person at the grotto, cash, on the day. And the honest warning — Naples is the only full day of the four departure options, so you are giving up a whole day for a stop that lasts under five minutes and may not happen.

Price€162 per person

Rating4.8 from 1,673

ShapeFull day

Takes inCapri and Anacapri

Grotto entryNot included

At the cave€18 per person

What €162 buys

A full day out of Naples that reaches both Capri and Anacapri, at 4.8 from 1,673 reviews. Anacapri is where I was born and I am not neutral about it, but I will defend its place on the itinerary on the merits: it is the quieter half of the island, it is where the road down to the grotto starts, and a day that includes it is a day that has seen Capri properly rather than seen the Piazzetta.

The rating is the second thing worth noting. Of the listings that leave Naples, this is the best-rated one, and 1,673 reviews is a big enough sample to take seriously.

Check dates on the Naples full-day trip

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start, on all seven tours listed here. That covers a change of plan, not the grotto closing on the day.

What it does not buy

Grotto entry, which is €18 per person handed over at the cave mouth: €12 to the rowboat cooperative and €6 to the state. It does not buy a place in the rowboat queue either, because no product does — access is capacity-capped and the line is worked in order. In June to September that line runs sixty to ninety minutes, sometimes past two hours. And it does not buy an open cave. Each of those three charges, and who takes them, is broken down on the prices page.

The long-day problem, said plainly

This is the only full day among the four departure options, so you spend the crossing twice and the day is bracketed by it. Somewhere in the middle sits a queue and then under five minutes inside a cave. If the sea turns — and northerly winds almost always mean closed, with conditions often worsening after three in the afternoon — the stop goes and the rest of the day carries on without it.

That is the reason I do not mind this listing, oddly enough. Because Anacapri is on it, the day survives a closed cave. A Naples trip built only around the grotto would be a bad bet. One built around the island, with the grotto as a possible five minutes in it, is a reasonable use of a day. Book it on the second basis.

Before you goCheck whether the cave is open before you get on the boat. the Motoscafisti open/closed banner carries a dated open or closed verdict through the season, and there is a phone line that answers after nine in the morning. The skippers make the call at the cave mouth at nine, so there is no way to know the night before.

If you are staying in Naples and only want the cave

Then a full day is a heavy way to buy four minutes, and I would tell you to get yourself to the island under your own steam and go down from Anacapri. The Staiano bus from Anacapri to the grotto is €2.40 bought in advance and €2.90 on board, a day pass is €7.50, and at the bottom of the stairs you pay the same €18 as everybody else. That route, in full, is on going without a tour.

The Naples day, and two shorter alternatives

If the full day is more than you want to give up, the other two here are shorter rather than better. The €119 boat leaves from Sorrento, not Naples, so you would have to get yourself down the coast first; the €25 circuit starts on Capri and assumes you are already on the island. Both are covered on the boat tours page.

From Naples

Can’t make these dates?

Browse more available Blue Grotto Capri tour and find one that fits your schedule — all with instant confirmation and free cancellation.

Live availability & more tours

Frequently asked questions

Can you do the Blue Grotto as a day trip from Naples?

Yes, and the listing we carry is €162 per person at 4.8 from 1,673 reviews, taking in Capri and Anacapri. It is a full day, it is the longest of the four departure options, and the grotto stop inside it lasts under five minutes if the sea allows it at all. Book it for the island rather than for the cave.

Is the Blue Grotto entrance included in the Naples trip?

No. Entry is included in nothing. The €12 rowboat and the €6 state ticket are collected at the cave mouth on the day, per person, in cash, on top of the €162. Compare that against €18 by land and €41 to €42 by boat from Marina Grande on the tours hub.

What if the grotto is closed on the day?

The trip runs without it. There is no published closure statistic I would repeat, but the cave shuts on any swell, and the island sites describe it as often closed between November and March. Hours, and why it closes has the live status sources, which are worth checking before you leave Naples.

How long is the day?

A full one. The listing is sold as a full-day trip and I will not put a clock figure on it that the operator has not published. Plan on the day being gone and nothing else being scheduled around it.