Capri Island Boat Trip with Grottos — review
My verdict: this is the cheapest way onto the water at Capri and it is also the lowest-rated tour on this site, by a clear margin. The two facts are connected, and not in the way you would expect. It is an island circuit, not a grotto trip, and my reading is that a large share of the people marking it down booked it believing the cave was included. Read what it is before you read the score.
The 4.3, and why I think it is there
Four of the seven tours on this site sit at 4.8. This one sits at 4.3, and it does so across 5,948 ratings, which is a big enough sample that the number has settled and will not be moved by a bad fortnight. That is the weakest score here and I am not going to soften it.
What I do not think it means is that the boat is bad. Read the strong reviews and the weak ones together and the shape of the complaint is a mismatch: people booked the cheapest thing with the word grotto in the title and found they had bought a circuit of the coast. An island tour runs about two hours and the grotto stop is the first thing dropped when the rowboat line is long, which in June through September it usually is. The one-hour transfer-only boat from Marina Grande is the product that guarantees the stop, and it is a different thing you buy at the pier. Transfer or circuit, set out in full.
What the reviewers who liked it are describing
Nicholas, from Portugal, writes that a 90-minute trip “felt more like 4 hours because of the non-stop great scenery”, and praises a guide who kept a multilingual boat entertained. Sylvia, from Italy, is in the same camp. That is a review of an island circuit by somebody who wanted an island circuit, and it is worth taking at face value: the coast on that run is the best thing about Capri that you can see for €25. The faraglioni, the sea caves you pass rather than enter, the cliffs under Anacapri. None of it requires the Blue Grotto to be open.
If the grotto is what you want from it
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. On top of that, the stop itself is conditional twice over: on the sea, which is decided at the cave mouth at 9am, and on the queue, which the operator has no control over and no incentive to sit in. Assume you are booking a boat trip past the cave and treat getting inside as the good outcome rather than the plan. How to check whether it is open before you spend anything.
What works
- The cheapest water time on this site, from €25 per person
- 5,948 ratings behind the score, so it is a settled number rather than a guess
- Reviewers consistently praise the scenery and the multilingual guiding
- A short commitment, from a pier you are already standing at if you are on Capri
- Works as a day out even when the Blue Grotto is shut
Worth knowing
- 4.3 is the lowest rating of the seven tours reviewed here
- It is an island circuit, and the grotto stop is often skipped when the line is long
- Grotto entry is not included, and the €18 at the cave is extra
- Nothing about it shortens the 60–90 minute summer rowboat queue
- You board at Marina Grande, so you have to be on Capri already
Book this for the coast rather than the cave, and check the live open/closed status the morning you sail. If the cave is shut, the trip is unaffected and you have lost nothing; if you had booked it for the grotto, you have lost the whole point of the day.
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
People already on Capri who want two hours on the water at the lowest price, people travelling in numbers where the per-head difference against a €119 crossing compounds fast, and anyone who has already worked out that the Blue Grotto is a five-minute stop rather than a day. It suits you badly if you are making a special trip for the cave, in which case read whether it is worth it at all first, or if you want the queue solved, which no boat on this site does. The early-entrance tour is the only one that even tries.
Other tours to consider
Beats the queueBlue Grotto Early Entrance Experience
Best ratedSorrento: Exclusive Capri Boat Tour and Optional Blue Grotto
Private boatCapri: 3-Hour Private Boat Tour with Blue Grotto Visit
Frequently asked questions
Why is the Capri island boat trip only rated 4.3?
It is the lowest score of the seven tours here, across 5,948 ratings, so it is a real number rather than a wobble. My reading is that it is a mismatch rather than a bad boat: it is the cheap island circuit, and a share of reviewers booked it expecting the Blue Grotto. The circuit skips the grotto stop when the queue is long. Circuit versus transfer, explained.
Does the €25 island trip include the Blue Grotto?
No. Entry is never included on any tour. At the cave you pay €12 to the rowers and €6 to the state, in cash, on the day — and on this trip the stop itself is optional in practice, because an island circuit drops it when the line is long. The full price breakdown.
Is it worth booking if the Blue Grotto is closed?
As a coast trip, yes — the scenery is the thing reviewers praise, and it does not depend on the cave being open. Check the live status before you sail so you know which day you are getting. Why it closes, and where the daily status is published.
Is there a cheaper way to see the Blue Grotto?
Yes, and it is not a tour. The Staiano bus from Anacapri costs €2.40 and leaves you €18 to pay at the cave, which is the cheapest honest total there is. You queue on land rather than bobbing offshore, which matters if you get seasick. The land route, step by step.