Jump to content

How Hard is it to DIY to Capri from Port of Naples?


BaseballMomof4
 Share

Recommended Posts

Is the Ferry located in the same area as the cruise ship port or is there travel from one port to another involved?

 

It is the same port area, either a short, or long walk, depending on the docking berth of the cruise ship. When arriving you will clearly see the ferries and the berth position.

 

Best to purchase a ticket in advance, as cruise herds will block up the ticket office.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It is very easy. Both Euro-Cruiser and myself have posted detailed instructions many times, but since its been a while we shall do it again. You do not need any kind of reservation or advance ticket. When you get off the ship in Naples, you will walk out of the port (the distance here varies based on docking position) and turn left and simply walk over to the large ferry terminal (this is easy to spot). This ferry terminal is known as "Molo Beverello" and knowing this name can be very helpful when you want to return to Naples. There is another ferry terminal in Naples (called Mergellina) which is more then a mile from the port and should generally be avoided.

 

Ok, so now you get over to the ferry terminal and there are many ticket windows. There are also the current schedules posted in multiple places. You simply want to look at the schedules for the next hydrofoil/jetboat to Capri. There are 2 different companies (perhaps a third) who each have their own tickets so you want to buy a one-way ticket for the next boat regardless of which company is next. There are also some slower ferries that go to Capri and these are much larger boats that can also haul trucks and cars. The large ferries take at least twice as long to get to Capri and should generally be avoided by cruisers.

 

Once you reach Capri (the port is called Marina Grande) you will see the ferry ticket windows as you leave the pier. At this point we think it is wise to stop and buy a return ticket for the afternoon ferry (regardless of the ferry company) that best fits your schedule. The mid to late return ferries tend to be popular (especially if there are many cruise ships in Naples) so we think its best to deal with the return ticket right away rather then have to deal with afternoon lines. MAKE SURE YOUR RETURN FERRY IS GOING TO MOLO BEVERELLO!. If you somehow make a mistake and take a ferry to Mergellina (also in Naples) you will probably want to grab a taxi to get from Mergellina to the cruise port.

 

One last comment. Do not wait until the last minute to get yourself down to Marina Grande (Capri) for your return boat. If taking the cable car you might find a long line (and delays) getting back to the marina, and you really want to be there at least 20 min prior to your scheduled departure.

 

Hank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you so much! You both rock! :D

 

Printing this thread out and it is going in my planning binder!!

 

Since you are so polite we shall share one of our favorite Capri activities. It is the chair lift that takes folks from Anacapri up to the top of Mt Solara where there are spectacular views. And getting there is part of the fun. You could take the cable car up to Capri Town from the Marina. Then walk to the small local bus station and take the bus up the hill to the charming town of Anacapri. Then cross the road and walk over to the chair lift. These are single chairs (the kind where your legs dangle) and the ride to the top takes nearly 15 min and gives you some spectacular views (DW once spotted a hiker below who was doing a #1 with obviously no thought of the chair lift above :). At the top of the mountain you get breathtaking views and there are some picnic benches and a small café where you can grab a drink and/or snack.

 

Hank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The picture in this link (http://www.ischiainpillole.it/images/molo_beverello.jpg) is what you will see as you approach Molo Beverello. Before you approach the ticket windows look at the board on top of the building in the picture to see which company is running the next boat out to Capri, so you know which ticket line to get in. Each company sells only its own tickets and accepts only its own so it's important to get the right one.

 

This is the reason that Hank advised you to purchase your return ticket on Capri rather than buying both tickets in the morning. You want to be able to choose the best return time from all possibilities, not just those of the company you go out there with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since you are so polite we shall share one of our favorite Capri activities. It is the chair lift that takes folks from Anacapri up to the top of Mt Solara where there are spectacular views. And getting there is part of the fun. You could take the cable car up to Capri Town from the Marina. Then walk to the small local bus station and take the bus up the hill to the charming town of Anacapri. Then cross the road and walk over to the chair lift. These are single chairs (the kind where your legs dangle) and the ride to the top takes nearly 15 min and gives you some spectacular views (DW once spotted a hiker below who was doing a #1 with obviously no thought of the chair lift above :). At the top of the mountain you get breathtaking views and there are some picnic benches and a small café where you can grab a drink and/or snack.

 

Hank

 

Omigosh! Hahahahahaha! I am afraid I may have had to memorialize that #1 on film! I nearly spit out my after dinner coffee when I read that!

 

Now, to do a chair lift, I would most definitely need a valium ahead of time as I am terrified of heights but may have to brave it as my son, who will be my travel companion for this trip, would absolutely LOVE that! (Yes, he climbed to the top of Montserrat when we visited Barcelona :eek:)

 

You guys are the reason I love cruise critic. It makes travel and planning for travel so much more exciting and so much less daunting when you can talk to those who have "been there, done that" and your information is greatly appreciated. I am trying to pay that forward on another board giving some information on Montserrat to another poster ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The picture in this link (http://www.ischiainpillole.it/images/molo_beverello.jpg) is what you will see as you approach Molo Beverello. Before you approach the ticket windows look at the board on top of the building in the picture to see which company is running the next boat out to Capri, so you know which ticket line to get in. Each company sells only its own tickets and accepts only its own so it's important to get the right one.

 

This is the reason that Hank advised you to purchase your return ticket on Capri rather than buying both tickets in the morning. You want to be able to choose the best return time from all possibilities, not just those of the company you go out there with.

 

Thank you for the visual! Fortunately, we have an extra long port time that day which will make it a bit less rushed for us. And yes, it makes sense to buy the return once we get to Capri. Thank you too euro cruiser. Both you and Hank have me feeling confident about DIY'ing this port!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Omigosh! Hahahahahaha! I am afraid I may have had to memorialize that #1 on film! I nearly spit out my after dinner coffee when I read that!

 

Now, to do a chair lift, I would most definitely need a valium ahead of time as I am terrified of heights but may have to brave it as my son, who will be my travel companion for this trip, would absolutely LOVE that! (Yes, he climbed to the top of Montserrat when we visited Barcelona :eek:)

 

You guys are the reason I love cruise critic. It makes travel and planning for travel so much more exciting and so much less daunting when you can talk to those who have "been there, done that" and your information is greatly appreciated. I am trying to pay that forward on another board giving some information on Montserrat to another poster ;)

 

This shows much of what Hank describes in post 7, including the chairlift ride. All the best, Tony

 

[YOUTUBE]uujBnlG7ahs[/YOUTUBE]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This shows much of what Hank describes in post 7, including the chairlift ride. All the best, Tony

 

[YOUTUBE]uujBnlG7ahs[/YOUTUBE]

 

That was AWESOME! My cruise is over a year away and that got me excited!!

 

Are you sure all of you don't just want to come along with us?? Carnival Vista?? May 24, 2016??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you for the visual! Fortunately, we have an extra long port time that day which will make it a bit less rushed for us. And yes, it makes sense to buy the return once we get to Capri. Thank you too euro cruiser. Both you and Hank have me feeling confident about DIY'ing this port!

 

I cannot stress this enough. I did not do this because there were 3 ferries that I could use to get back to the ship in time (or so I thought).

 

HA - SOLD OUT - NO EXCEPTIONS

 

I ended up walking back on board at 6:59pm for a 7:00pm departure. It didn't bother me if I missed it because the next port was Rome but my Mom and the cruise ship workers sure were pissed at me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We will admit that the chair lift might cause "issues" for those afraid of heights. My suggestion is that you stop at a café in Capri Town and indulge in some liquid courage and then when you get up to Anacapri you can visit another café for more liquid courage :).

 

Hank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not a fan of heights, but had no problems on this lift. The back yards and gardens that we passed over top of were beautiful, didn't see any people below!

It was a great island and all the tips we picked up on this forum made it a spectacular day. The two highlights were riding on this lift and going on a private wooden boat tour around the island (Whales by Wendy/ Capri Whales). We went into various colored grottos and saw the island from all angles. Then to see another view from the top of Mt Solara was magnificent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We will admit that the chair lift might cause "issues" for those afraid of heights. My suggestion is that you stop at a café in Capri Town and indulge in some liquid courage and then when you get up to Anacapri you can visit another café for more liquid courage :).

 

Hank

 

Sounds about right Hank! :D

 

I did manage to zip line in Roatan so it CAN be done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The picture in this link (http://www.ischiainpillole.it/images/molo_beverello.jpg) is what you will see as you approach Molo Beverello. Before you approach the ticket windows look at the board on top of the building in the picture to see which company is running the next boat out to Capri, so you know which ticket line to get in. Each company sells only its own tickets and accepts only its own so it's important to get the right one.

 

This is the reason that Hank advised you to purchase your return ticket on Capri rather than buying both tickets in the morning. You want to be able to choose the best return time from all possibilities, not just those of the company you go out there with.

 

Can you buy return tickets? It's been three years since we went, but we were told that we had to buy the return tickets on Capri. Anyone know?

 

And is it possible to buy tickets in advance online? We waited a long time in line last time and lost a lot of time. Plus the return tickets are always sold out after about 3 or 3:30 (I think because of cruise tours buying them up ahead of time), so we end up going back much earlier than necessary.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can buy return tickets but if you do you are limited to the return times offered by that particular operator. If you like the times, go for it. For greater choice and flexibility, purchase your return on Capri (but do it immediately after arrival, don't wait until you are ready to leave).

 

You can purchase them in advance, for an additional fee. Here is the web site for SNAV: http://www.snav.it/desti****oni/capri-e-sorrento.html

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We fully support what Euro-cruiser has posted. Because of the multiple companies doing the route (Naples to Capri) we have always found it easier to purchase our return tickets as soon as we arrive on Capri. The small ticket office has a very simple schedule that shows all the return boats (from all companies) and times....and it is the most accurate up-to-date information. Buying a return ticket in Naples (where each company is often sold at different ticket windows) is a bit more complicated in that you need to check several different schedules (which you might miss). In the past there has never been any cost savings involved in buying the return ticket in Naples.

 

As to buying in advance, we are not aware if you can even do this online and you would have to know the boat company and exact time of the boat you want to take. Given that it is Italy you may find the schedule has changed by the time you get to Naples, or that you get to ferry terminal an hour earlier then you expected and have to miss 1 or 2 other boats (from a different company) just to wait for the one you planned. And you might want to consider that there are times where rough weather causes the companies to cancel some or all of the jetboat/hydrofoils. If that happens and you have already paid for tickets.....good luck in getting a refund :). As to queues, while we have had to wait in some relatively short lines at the Naples (Molo Beverello) terminal, we have never missed the "next boat" because we were in line. And buying a return ticket as soon as you arrive on Capri will generally find no lines at the small Capri ticket office in the morning.

 

Hank

Edited by Hlitner
Link to comment
Share on other sites

As to buying in advance, we are not aware if you can even do this online and you would have to know the boat company and exact time of the boat you want to take. Given that it is Italy you may find the schedule has changed by the time you get to Naples, or that you get to ferry terminal an hour earlier then you expected and have to miss 1 or 2 other boats (from a different company) just to wait for the one you planned. And you might want to consider that there are times where rough weather causes the companies to cancel some or all of the jetboat/hydrofoils. If that happens and you have already paid for tickets.....good luck in getting a refund :). As to queues, while we have had to wait in some relatively short lines at the Naples (Molo Beverello) terminal, we have never missed the "next boat" because we were in line. And buying a return ticket as soon as you arrive on Capri will generally find no lines at the small Capri ticket office in the morning.

 

Hank

 

Thanks everyone for your quick replies and thanks for the link!

 

We have missed the next boat to Capri because the line was so long and slow moving!! Also, both times that we bought tickets after we got to Capri (which is always the recommended idea) we found that we had to leave hours earlier than we wanted because there were no tickets left for the later boats which I believe is because the cruise tours buy out the last few times. So these are the two things that we are trying to avoid.

 

Yes, I know it is risky buying tickets in advance, but last time, we lost 3 hours in Capri due to both things mentioned above, so I would like to maximize the time in Capri even if it costs more. It certainly won't cost the $179 each that the cruise line is charging!!

 

Thanks again:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks everyone for your quick replies and thanks for the link!

 

We have missed the next boat to Capri because the line was so long and slow moving!! Also, both times that we bought tickets after we got to Capri (which is always the recommended idea) we found that we had to leave hours earlier than we wanted because there were no tickets left for the later boats which I believe is because the cruise tours buy out the last few times. So these are the two things that we are trying to avoid.

 

Yes, I know it is risky buying tickets in advance, but last time, we lost 3 hours in Capri due to both things mentioned above, so I would like to maximize the time in Capri even if it costs more. It certainly won't cost the $179 each that the cruise line is charging!!

 

Thanks again:)

 

Sounds like you really had a bad experience. Since we have never heard of advance tickets for those boats hopefully somebody will have a solution to your problem. I am wondering if the reason we have never had issues with tickets is that we are always among the first to get off a ship in that port and then head directly over to the ferry terminal.

 

But, perhaps you can be the one who finds the solution :). So we will give you some starting help. Here is a good link where you can look-up schedules and it also has the names and phone numbers of the various ferry companies. With a little internet research you should be able to solution and we sure hope you post it here :).

 

http://www.capri.com/en/ferry-schedule

 

I did take a quick look at the SNAV company's web site and they actually have a button for online ticket sales. But when I click on the button it brings up a dialog box that indicates that online sales are temporarily suspended. Being Italy this might mean it will work tomorrow, or perhaps not until the year 2200!

 

Hank

Edited by Hlitner
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We will admit that the chair lift might cause "issues" for those afraid of heights. My suggestion is that you stop at a café in Capri Town and indulge in some liquid courage and then when you get up to Anacapri you can visit another café for more liquid courage :).

 

Hank

 

Careful about how much "courage" you do: that is how we lose people on the ski chairlifts all the time :eek: And, we were taught that those bars that come down to rest your hands and feet on are NOT called "safety" bars, but "comfort" bars...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

I did take a quick look at the SNAV company's web site and they actually have a button for online ticket sales. But when I click on the button it brings up a dialog box that indicates that online sales are temporarily suspended. Being Italy this might mean it will work tomorrow, or perhaps not until the year 2200!

 

Hank

 

That's weird. I went all the way through the process up to the buy step as I am not ready to do it this far out and it seemed fine. What step did it say that on?

 

"Bad" might be an overstatement but not good. It was hot waiting in the sun and seeing the ferry pull away and knowing that meant 30-40 minutes more. I know we probably weren't off the ship at 7, but I am guessing 8-9. It just limits how long you can stay at Capri if you don't get there before 10-11 and then the only ferry with tickets back is 2:30-3!

 

It looked like we could get either 8:05 or 8:30 tickets with a 7am arrival time and a wait for customs, that seemed safe. And we don't leave until 7, so I am hoping for either the 4:30 or 5 trip back. That would give us 2-3 hours more time on Capri which would be great! I think it said 80 euros for both of us with handling fee.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

That's weird. I went all the way through the process up to the buy step as I am not ready to do it this far out and it seemed fine. What step did it say that on?

 

"Bad" might be an overstatement but not good. It was hot waiting in the sun and seeing the ferry pull away and knowing that meant 30-40 minutes more. I know we probably weren't off the ship at 7, but I am guessing 8-9. It just limits how long you can stay at Capri if you don't get there before 10-11 and then the only ferry with tickets back is 2:30-3!

 

It looked like we could get either 8:05 or 8:30 tickets with a 7am arrival time and a wait for customs, that seemed safe. And we don't leave until 7, so I am hoping for either the 4:30 or 5 trip back. That would give us 2-3 hours more time on Capri which would be great! I think it said 80 euros for both of us with handling fee.

 

Not weird at all. I assume the "temporary" out of order issue was resolved after I posted here. And by the way, we would not gamble on a 5pm return boat unless we had a reasonable "Plan B" to catch-up to the ship the following day :). While the fast boats are very reliable, they are not perfect and delays do happen for various issues such as mechanical failure, high swells, etc. We normally take a return boat that gets us back to Naples at least 1 1/2 hours before our required boarding time. So with a 7pm departure we would probably take something that leaves Capri between 3;30 and 4.

 

Hank

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...