Day trip to Capri

On the second day we were in Rome, we planned to do a day trip to the island of Capri. 

We booked a trip through Viator long before leaving home.  The link with the details of the trip are http://www.viator.com/tours/Rome/Capri-Day-Trip-from-Rome/d511-2390GRET14.  

Because we weren't staying a hotel, we didn't arrange a pick up from our hotel.   The tour company's offices were very close to Termini train station so we used the Metro to get to Termini and then walked one block to get to the tour company. There was a little corner shop near the offices, and we picked up a water and some snacks for the trip beforehand.

Because we were early, we managed to get good seats on the bus and managed to sit together. The bus also took people to the Pompeii site, so was quite full. The commentary was in English, Italian and Spanish and was quite repetitive! I was glad I had downloaded an audio book to listen to during the trip. 

The bus dropped the Capri visitors off at the port in Naples, so unfortunately we didn't see much of Naples, but did get a view of the countryside on the drive out of Rome. We passed Montecasino along the way.

The ferry set off not long after we arrived at the port. Unfortunately the weather outside was drizzly on the day we went, so we didn't get great views apart from the massive ocean liners in the harbour. 

When we got to Capri port, we were advised that the speedboats that usually take visitors to see the coastline and Blue Grotto (cave) weren't running as a result of the weather. We were quite grateful as we had more chance of exploring the island. Our guide perked up at the chance to actually show off the island, which apparently doesn't happen too often!

From the harbour, we took a very small bus up the steep hills and stopped at Capri town. The island is full of lemon tres growing and has such a Greek/ Mediterranean feel which was lovely. 

We walked through the little narrow streets of Capri town and walked through some beautiful public gardens to see the view. 

After stopping at the obligatory limoncello shop, it was off to town of Anacapri for lunch. From the reviews of the tour, we weren't expecting much but this certainly was our foodie lowlight of the whole trip! I would not like to relive the experience. In retrospect for a first time, it was an easy option to take a tour and I loved the island but if I went back I would do the research and do this independently. 

After lunch we had a chance to view the little shops in Anacapri and go on the chairlift to see the island (we didn't do this) instead we managed to find a pretty good gelato shop!

Once our guide had warmed to the group, we found him to be an avid gardener (probably not surprising as Italians seem to be keen on growing produce in the smallest of places) and he was keen to point out interesting fruits and plants I had never seen before. 

The trip ended with a ferry ride back to Naples around 5pm, and a bus ride back to Rome that meant we arrived back at the apartment at around 9pm. A long day but really worth the experience.