From Naples: Capri, Anacapri and Blue Grotto Full-Day Trip — review
My verdict: the best-rated of the departures from Naples, and the only tour on this site that takes you up to Anacapri, which is where the island stops being a harbour full of day-trippers. It is a full day and it is priced like one. The honest warning is the shape of it rather than the quality: a long crossing at each end around a cave visit measured in minutes.
Anacapri is the part I would pay for
I was born up there, so take this with the appropriate pinch of salt, but the difference between Capri town and Anacapri is the difference between the postcard and the island. Most crossings never leave the harbour end. This one goes up, and the road it goes up is the same road that runs down towards the grotto steps. That is a genuine addition to the day and it is the thing 1,673 people have been rating at 4.8.
It is also the reason this trip makes sense as a full day rather than as an expensive way to reach a cave. Anacapri is where the cheap route to the Blue Grotto begins: a €2.40 bus and a flight of stairs. On a tour you will not be taking that bus, but you will be seeing the town it leaves from. All three ways to reach the cave.
The arithmetic of a long day
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. So €162 becomes €180 for one person before anything is bought on the island. Set that against what the day contains: the crossing from Naples, Capri, Anacapri, and — if the sea allows and the queue permits — under five minutes inside the grotto. If you read that list and the five minutes is the item you are paying for, this is the wrong booking. If the other items carry it, it is the best-rated way to do them from Naples. The Naples departure in more detail.
What works
- 4.8 from 1,673 ratings: the best-rated of the from-Naples options
- Anacapri is included, which almost no other crossing offers
- A full day, so the grotto is one item among several rather than the whole point
- Everything organised from the mainland, with no ferry logistics to solve
- The island itself carries the day even if the cave is shut
Worth knowing
- €162 per person, and the €18 at the cave is still extra
- Grotto entry is not included on this or any tour
- A long day: crossings at both ends around a visit of under five minutes
- A 9am closure decision lands after you have committed to the whole day
- Nothing in it shortens the summer rowboat queue
If you are already staying on Capri, do not book this. It is a mainland product solving a mainland problem, and from the island the same cave costs €18 and a bus fare.
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 based in Naples with one day for the island who want somebody else to handle the crossing, the transfers and the timing, and who want to see Anacapri rather than just the harbour. It suits you badly if you are staying on Capri already, or if the cave is the sole objective, in which case the cost page will show you how much of this you do not need to spend. Whether the grotto justifies a day is its own question.
Other tours to consider
Best ratedSorrento: Exclusive Capri Boat Tour and Optional Blue Grotto
CheapestCapri: Island Boat Trip with Grottos
Private boatCapri: 3-Hour Private Boat Tour with Blue Grotto Visit
Frequently asked questions
Is the Naples full-day trip to the Blue Grotto worth it?
It is the best-rated from-Naples option at 4.8 from 1,673 ratings, and the thing that justifies €162 is the day rather than the cave: the crossing, Capri and Anacapri, with under five minutes inside the grotto if the sea allows. The honest case for and against.
Does it include entry to the Blue Grotto?
No. You pay €12 to the rowers and €6 to the state at the cave, in cash, on the day, on top of the €162. No tour anywhere includes entry. The three-way split.
What happens if the grotto is closed that day?
The rest of the day goes ahead; the cave is one stop in it. The closure call is made at the cave mouth at 9am, so you will often be committed before you know. Ask the operator what it does in that case before paying — I could not find a published refund policy for any of them. How closures work.
Is Anacapri worth the extra?
It is the part of this itinerary you cannot easily get on a standard crossing, and it is where the island stops being a harbour full of day-trippers. It is also where the €2.40 bus to the grotto steps departs from. How the land route works.