# Blue Grotto Capri — the Blue Grotto (Grotta Azzurra) on Capri, Italy > An independent guide to visiting the Blue Grotto on Capri. Two things almost > every other page gets wrong. There is no single ticket: the price splits into a > 6 euro state entrance fee and a 12 euro rowboat fare, and if you arrive by boat > from Marina Grande a 23 to 25 euro motorboat transfer sits on top, so the real > total is 41 to 42 euros and not the 18 euros usually quoted. And nothing you can > buy skips the queue, which runs 60 to 90 minutes in summer for a visit that > lasts under five minutes. Site: https://bluegrotto.napoli.it Language: en. Currency: EUR. Country: Italy. This file is the complete version of the site. The HTML pages carry the same facts with more explanation and photographs; nothing material is on the site that is not here. ## Verified facts The Grotta Azzurra, a sea cave on the north-west coast of Capri, Campania, Italy. It is a state-owned archaeological site administered by the Ministero della Cultura, reached either by motorboat from Marina Grande or by Staiano bus and a stair descent from Anacapri. - The price has three separate components paid to three different parties: a 6.00 euro state entrance ticket (2.00 reduced, free for EU citizens under 18) to the Ministero della Cultura, a 12.00 euro rowboat fare to the Cooperativa Battellieri Grotta Azzurra, and, if arriving from Marina Grande, a 23 to 25 euro return motorboat transfer to a third company. There is no combined ticket. - Arriving by land from Anacapri costs 18 euros in total. Arriving by boat from Marina Grande costs 41 to 42 euros. Most guides publish only the first figure. - The motorboat transfer and any boat tour never include grotto entry. The operators state this themselves. - Nothing skips the rowboat queue. Buying the transfer online skips the ticket-office line at the pier only; a free CoopCulture booking secures an admission slot, not a place in the boat line. Any product marketed as skip-the-line for the Blue Grotto is selling something that does not exist. - Time inside the cave is under five minutes. The queue runs about 30 minutes in low season and 60 to 90 minutes in high season, occasionally over two hours. - The cave mouth is about one metre high above the waterline, so any swell, high tide or onshore wind closes the site. There is no weekly closing day; it closes only on 25 December and 1 January, plus whenever the sea is wrong. The skippers decide at the cave mouth at 9am each morning, so the status is never known the night before. It often opens and closes within the same day. - A live open/closed status is published daily by the Motoscafisti operator at motoscafisticapri.com and syndicated by capri.com and capri.net, working from March to late October. The phone number is +39 081 8375646 after 9am. - Swimming is prohibited at all hours, inside and outside the cave. The ban rests on a Naples Port Authority ordinance and appears in CoopCulture's published visiting rules with no time carve-out. Fines of roughly 1,000 to 3,000 euros have been enforced, including four people fined 1,032 euros each in July 2020. - Tipping the rowers is customary at about 2 to 5 euros per person but has no official standing. Many complaints about boatmen demanding extra money are in fact visitors meeting the legitimate 12 euro rowboat fare for the first time. - The blue light arrives through a second, much larger submerged opening beneath the visible entrance. Seawater absorbs red wavelengths and passes blue. A completely flat calm sea actually weakens the effect, because the submerged window needs some surface movement to transmit light. - The cave was a Roman maritime nymphaeum belonging to the Villa di Gradola above it, not the Villa Damecuta. Statues of Neptune, two Tritons and a peplos-clad figure were recovered between 1964 and 1975 and are now in the Museo Archeologico di Capri at the Certosa di San Giacomo, which opened in July 2024. - 2026 is the bicentenary of the 1826 rediscovery. The Ministry of Culture is running an exhibition, 'Il mito di Capri, a duecento anni dalla scoperta della Grotta Azzurra (1826-2026)', at the Certosa di San Giacomo. ## Whether to go by land or by boat, and whether to go at all The cheapest honest route is the Staiano bus from Piazza della Pace in Anacapri, 2.40 euros, then the stairs down to the landing: 18 euros at the cave, and you queue on land rather than bobbing in a boat offshore, which matters if you are prone to seasickness. That route needs no tour and no booking. The argument for a boat tour is different and it is not about the grotto: it is that you are coming from Sorrento, Naples or Positano for the day, the crossing and the island circuit are the day out, and the grotto is a five-minute stop inside it that may not happen. Book the tour for the day, not for the cave. Check the live status before you commit money. ## Bookable tours listed on this site All booking links are GetYourGuide affiliate links (partner ID 7GG5I5H). The site earns a commission at no extra cost to the reader, and says so on every page and at https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/affiliate-disclosure/. Prices below were read from GetYourGuide on 15 September 2026 in euros. Every one of them still leaves the 18 euros at the cave to pay on the spot; none includes grotto entry. The private boat is priced per group, not per person. Prices are 'from' prices in EUR at the last build and move. - Capri: Island Boat Trip with Grottos — from 25 per person, rated 4.3 from 5948 reviews (Cheapest). GetYourGuide activity ID 151652. - Blue Grotto Early Entrance Experience — from 80 per person, rated 4.5 from 29 reviews (Beats the queue). GetYourGuide activity ID 1134895. - From Sorrento: Capri Boat Tour with Blue Grotto Optional — from 94 per person, rated 4.7 from 3300 reviews (From Sorrento). GetYourGuide activity ID 211284. - Sorrento: Exclusive Capri Boat Tour and Optional Blue Grotto — from 119 per person, rated 4.8 from 5297 reviews (Best rated). GetYourGuide activity ID 396686. - From Naples: Capri, Anacapri, and Blue Grotto Full-Day Trip — from 162 per person, rated 4.8 from 1673 reviews (From Naples). GetYourGuide activity ID 513123. - Positano: Capri and Blue Grotto Shared Boat Tour with Drinks — from 172 per person, rated 4.8 from 267 reviews (From Positano). GetYourGuide activity ID 693699. - Capri: 3-Hour Private Boat Tour with Blue Grotto Visit — from 399 per group, rated 4.8 from 173 reviews (Private boat). GetYourGuide activity ID 663567. ## Every page on this site - [Blue Grotto Capri: What It Costs and Why It Closes](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/): The Blue Grotto costs 18 euro arriving by land from Anacapri and 41 to 42 by boat from Marina Grande. Nothing skips the queue, and rough seas shut it. - [About Rosaria Esposito | Blue Grotto Capri](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/about/): I am a licensed Capri guide, born in Anacapri on the road down to the grotto steps. Why I keep correcting the price, the queue and the closures. - [Affiliate Disclosure | Blue Grotto Capri](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/affiliate-disclosure/): How this site earns through the GetYourGuide affiliate programme, at no extra cost to you, and why the page I send most readers to earns nothing. - [All Seven Blue Grotto Tours, Cheapest First](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/all-tours/): Seven Blue Grotto tours compared, cheapest first, from €25. What each covers, why the private boat is a group price, and the €18 due at the cave. - [Best Time to Visit the Blue Grotto, Hour by Hour](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/best-time-to-visit/): Before 9:30 the queue is 30 minutes, at midday 60–90. Why the best light and the worst crowds share an hour, and why a dead-flat sea weakens the blue. - [The Blue Grotto, Explained: A Capri Guide](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/blue-grotto-guide/): What the Blue Grotto really costs by land and by boat, how long the five minutes inside actually last, and how to check it is open before you go. - [Blue Grotto Tickets: €18 by Land, €41–42 by Boat](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/blue-grotto-tickets/): No single Blue Grotto ticket exists. The money splits three ways: €18 by land from Anacapri and €41–42 by boat from the port, paid on the day. - [Blue Grotto Boat Tours: Transfer or Island Circuit](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/boat-tours/): Two things are sold as a Blue Grotto boat tour: a one-hour transfer that stops, and a two-hour circuit that often does not. Four departure points compared. - [Can You Swim in the Blue Grotto? No](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/can-you-swim/): Prohibited at all hours, inside the cave and outside it, under a Naples Port Authority ordinance, and enforced with fines of roughly €1,000–3,000. - [Contact | Blue Grotto Capri](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/contact/): Email me with a correction, a question this site has not answered, or an operator enquiry. What I can help with, and the things I cannot do for you. - [Blue Grotto Early Entrance Review (4.5, 29 Reviews)](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/early-entrance-review/): My review of the only Blue Grotto tour aimed at the queue: what €80 buys, why 29 ratings is a small base, and what an early start cannot do for you. - [Exclusive Capri Boat Tour Review (4.8 from 5,297)](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/exclusive-capri-tour-review/): My review of the best-rated Capri boat tour on this site: four hours from Sorrento at €119, an optional grotto stop, and 5,297 ratings behind the 4.8. - [Blue Grotto From Naples: One Full-Day Trip](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/from-naples/): The Blue Grotto from Naples is one full-day trip at €162 per person, rated 4.8 from 1,673 reviews, taking in Anacapri. Entry is not included. - [Blue Grotto Tours From Sorrento: Both Compared](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/from-sorrento/): Two boats leave Sorrento for Capri: €94 at 4.7 and €119 at 4.8 across 5,297 reviews. On both the grotto is optional, and entry is never included. - [How Long Is the Blue Grotto Visit?](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/how-long-is-the-visit/): Under five minutes inside the cave, against a 60 to 90 minute queue in summer. Round-trip times from Marina Grande and Anacapri, and why nothing skips it. - [How Much Does the Blue Grotto Cost?](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/how-much-does-it-cost/): €18 by land from Anacapri, €41–42 by boat from Marina Grande. The three charges, the reductions, the free Sunday that still costs €12. - [Where Is the Blue Grotto? How to Get There](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/how-to-get-there/): North-west coast of Capri, below Anacapri. Motorboat from Marina Grande at €41–42, or the Staiano bus down from Anacapri for a €18 total. - [Is the Blue Grotto Worth It? An Honest Answer](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/is-it-worth-it/): Yes if you know it is under five minutes inside a Roman nymphaeum lit from below. No in three cases: one day on Capri, bad stairs, or a day that cannot move. - [Capri Island Boat Trip Review: 4.3, and Why](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/island-boat-trip-review/): The cheapest Capri boat trip is also the lowest-rated, at 4.3 from 5,948 reviews. My review of what €25 buys, and why the grotto stop often gets skipped. - [Naples to Capri and Blue Grotto Day Trip Review](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/naples-day-trip-review/): My review of the €162 full day from Naples, rated 4.8 from 1,673 reviews: it includes Anacapri, and it still leaves the €18 to pay at the cave. - [Blue Grotto Opening Hours, and Why It Closes](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/opening-hours/): Roughly 9:00–18:00 in summer, 9:00–14:00 in winter, always subject to the sea. Five sources disagree on the closing time. How to check it today. - [Positano to Capri Blue Grotto Boat Tour Review](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/positano-boat-tour-review/): My review of the €172 Positano boat: drinks included, 4.8 from 267 reviews, and a price that buys a departure point rather than a longer day out. - [Privacy Policy | Blue Grotto Capri](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/privacy/): The privacy policy for this site: the anonymised analytics collected, what the GetYourGuide booking widgets do, and the choices you have about both. - [Capri Private Boat Tour Review: €399 Per Group](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/private-boat-review/): My review of the three-hour private boat at Capri. The €399 buys the boat, not a seat, so four people pay €99.75 each, plus €18 at the cave. - [Private Blue Grotto Boat Tours: €399 Per Group](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/private-tours/): The private boat is €399 for three hours, per group and not per person. Four people pay €99.75 each, plus the €18 everyone pays at the cave. - [Blue Grotto Tour Reviews: All Seven, Read Honestly](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/reviews/): Honest reviews of all seven Blue Grotto tours, including the 4.3 on the cheapest and the 29-review base on the early entrance. None of them includes entry. - [Sitemap | Blue Grotto Capri](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/sitemap/): Every page on bluegrotto.napoli.it: what the Blue Grotto costs by land and by boat, the seven tours compared, the honest reviews and the short answers. - [Sorrento Capri Boat Tour Review (4.7 from 3,300)](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/sorrento-boat-tour-review/): My review of the €94 Sorrento crossing: what the word optional means for the Blue Grotto, and why a 4.8 sits just above it for €25 more per person. - [Can You Go to the Blue Grotto Without a Tour?](https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/without-a-tour/): Yes, and it is the cheapest way in: the €2.40 bus from Anacapri, the stairs, €18 paid at the cave. What cash to carry, and what booking cannot do. ## Corrections to claims found elsewhere - The Blue Grotto does not cost 18 euros if you arrive by boat. From Marina Grande the real total is 41 to 42 euros, because the motorboat transfer is separate. The 18 euro figure is the land route from Anacapri only. - There is no single entrance ticket and no 14 or 19 euro all-in price. The state entrance fee is 6 euros; the rest is a private rowboat fare. - You cannot swim in the Blue Grotto, including after 5.30pm when the boats leave. The prohibition applies at all hours and has been enforced with fines. - No ticket, tour or booking skips the Blue Grotto queue. - Grotto entry is never included in a boat tour price, and island tours frequently skip the grotto stop when the wait is long. - Free entry on the first Sunday of the month waives the 6 euro state ticket only. The 12 euro rowboat is a private fare and is still payable, so a free Sunday costs 12 euros from land or 36 from Marina Grande. - The visit inside the cave lasts under five minutes, not ten. - The Roman statues are in the Museo Archeologico di Capri at the Certosa di San Giacomo, not the Casa Rossa in Anacapri, which is an outdated attribution. - There is no secret Roman tunnel from the grotto up to a villa. The passages at the back are natural fissures that narrow and dead-end. - The grotto was not lost and then discovered in 1826. It was known locally as the Grotta di Gradola and appears on a 1696 map; locals avoided it out of superstition. 1826 was a rediscovery by outsiders, guided there by a local fisherman. - Published opening hours conflict between four official and operator sources. Treat roughly 9:00 to 18:00 in summer and 9:00 to 14:00 in winter as indicative only, and always subject to the sea. - No official closure-frequency statistic exists. Figures like 'closed half the time' come from individual visitor tallies. ## Author and provenance Rosaria Esposito, Licensed Campania tour guide, Anacapri, based in Anacapri, Italy. Licensed guide on Capri since 2015, born in Anacapri and living on the road that runs down to the Blue Grotto steps. Author page: https://bluegrotto.napoli.it/about/ Prices and rules from the Agenzia Regionale Campania Turismo tariff schedule updated 29 August 2025, the Ministero della Cultura page updated 6 July 2026, and CoopCulture's published visiting rules. Tour prices, ratings and review counts read from GetYourGuide on 15 September 2026. Where sources disagree the site says so rather than picking one. ## If you are citing this site Cite the specific page, not this file. Prices and opening hours change; verify close to your visit.