Excursion to Capri & Positano from Naples Port

[Hlitner]

Great info Euro and thank you very much. The train or bus does seem to make more sense then a rental car (much cheaper for a relatively close trip). It is on our agenda for November :)

 

Hank

[euro cruiser]

It is on our agenda for November

I look forward to hearing your reaction - I found it more interesting than Versailles. Since I've mostly visited in the winter I still haven't covered all of the gardens, so there's at least one more visit to Caserta in my future.

[euro cruiser]

The train or bus does seem to make more sense then a rental car (much cheaper for a relatively close trip). It is on our agenda for November :)

One thing to know about the train; the regional commuter train that goes from Naples to Caserta leaves from auxilliary tracks a short walk from the main track head at Napoli Centrale. It's sort of like the situation at Termini for the regional trains to Civitavecchia, except in Naples these tracks are on the opposite side (past track #1) and they are not as far away (a shorter walk) than the ones at Termini.

[SSAA33]

Thank you all (including your wife Hank :)) for sharing your experiences!

 

It's funny that you mentioned sitting with other people on the small boat since I was just wondering earlier today if we would have our own boat for the 2 of or have to share.

 

Euro Cruiser - I am sorry to hear about the passing of your friend but glad that she had the chance to fullfill a life long dream.

 

We are now leaning towards using our short time in Capri to get a more complete overview of the island and saving the Grotto for a future visit when we have more time. If we do have a sudden desire to go that morning, we will have all the information we need :)

Otherwise, I think we will just take the funicular up to Capri and explore that area. We are hoping we have time to get to the Via Krupp.

 

How long would it take to go up to Anacapri for the chair lift? I am thinking our 3 hours may not be enough time for it..?

 

I hope you have a wonderful time at Caserta! I look forward to having enough trips under our belt that we can start exploring these 'off the beaten path' trips.

 

EC, since you mentioned the train to Civitavecchia from Termini: I had heard about the long walk to the tracks and made a note to leave extra time for it. From your experience, how long does the walk actually take?

[SSAA33]

Positano is not a place to be seen quickly on foot. Have you seen pictures? Unless you are in really good shape, the trip up that hill is going to take a while.

 

 

 

Edited: sorry, the picture I attached was too large and came out unclear.

 

Euro Cruiser - How long can I expect the walk from the Marina/dock (in Positano) up to the Via Sponda SITA station to be?

 

I have been told 20 minutes on a TripAdvisor forum so I figured that 1.5 hours would be enough to do it at a leisurely pace. But if this is not correct - we may need to revise our plan!

[Hlitner]

Thank you all (including your wife Hank :)) for sharing your experiences!

 

It's funny that you mentioned sitting with other people on the small boat since I was just wondering earlier today if we would have our own boat for the 2 of or have to share.

 

Euro Cruiser - I am sorry to hear about the passing of your friend but glad that she had the chance to fullfill a life long dream.

 

We are now leaning towards using our short time in Capri to get a more complete overview of the island and saving the Grotto for a future visit when we have more time. If we do have a sudden desire to go that morning, we will have all the information we need :)

Otherwise, I think we will just take the funicular up to Capri and explore that area. We are hoping we have time to get to the Via Krupp.

 

How long would it take to go up to Anacapri for the chair lift? I am thinking our 3 hours may not be enough time for it..?

 

I hope you have a wonderful time at Caserta! I look forward to having enough trips under our belt that we can start exploring these 'off the beaten path' trips.

 

EC, since you mentioned the train to Civitavecchia from Termini: I had heard about the long walk to the tracks and made a note to leave extra time for it. From your experience, how long does the walk actually take?

 

With only 3 hours doing the chair lift is "iffy." It will take you a few minutes to walk over the Capri bus station and the bus will take about 15 min to get you up to Anacapri (plus the waiting time for a bus). Assuming there is no line for the chair lift it is about a 20 min ride (at least it seems that long) up to the top of the mountain. And after taking in the view you have to reverse that entire process. One way to shortchange the process would be to get a taxi from Marina Grande directly to Anacapri which avoids the funicular wait but those taxis do charge about 16 Euros (one way). The last option is that you can actually take a bus from Marina Grande (where you come on the ferry) directly to Anacapri (avoiding the funicular) but that bus ride will take about 25 min.

 

Hank

[SSAA33]

Looking for advice on a another alternative I am considering:

 

Is 3 hours enough time to get a breif but nice overview of Capri?

 

We can skip Capri and just the the train to Sorrento & bus to Positano.

 

This will cost us less than the hydrofoils to Capri & Positano and give us more time in Positano.

 

I understand that the Circumvesuviana train isn't the nicest but the SITA bus can offer nice views if it is not crowded.

 

How is the hydrofoil experience? Is arriving in Capri & Positano by hydrofoil a nice experience in itself? If the hydrofoil experience is significantly better than the train + bus, that would justify the extra cost for us. And there is also the convenience of reaching the ferry dock easily from the cruise port as opposed to making our way to the train station in downtown Naples.

[SSAA33]

With only 3 hours doing the chair lift is "iffy." It will take you a few minutes to walk over the Capri bus station and the bus will take about 15 min to get you up to Anacapri (plus the waiting time for a bus). Assuming there is no line for the chair lift it is about a 20 min ride (at least it seems that long) up to the top of the mountain. And after taking in the view you have to reverse that entire process. One way to shortchange the process would be to get a taxi from Marina Grande directly to Anacapri which avoids the funicular wait but those taxis do charge about 16 Euros (one way). The last option is that you can actually take a bus from Marina Grande (where you come on the ferry) directly to Anacapri (avoiding the funicular) but that bus ride will take about 25 min.

 

Hank

 

Thank you, Hank! Sounds like our 3 hours might be better spent exploring Capri & Via Krupp at a less rushed pace.

 

Is there a lot to see/do in Anacapri besides the chair lift to Mt. Solaro?

[euro cruiser]

The walk at Termini is the equivalent of about four city blocks (one third of a mile, to be more precise) from the head of the main tracks to the head of the auxilliary tracks.

 

Given a choice of a boat/hydrofoil or the Circumvesuviana train I'd choose the boat every time. It costs a lot more but you're on vacation, not commuting.

 

In Positano and hour would be plenty of time to make the walk and get you there without huffing and puffing. It's less than a mile in total.

[SSAA33]

The walk at Termini is the equivalent of about four city blocks (one third of a mile, to be more precise) from the head of the main tracks to the head of the auxilliary tracks.

 

Given a choice of a boat/hydrofoil or the Circumvesuviana train I'd choose the boat every time. It costs a lot more but you're on vacation, not commuting.

 

In Positano and hour would be plenty of time to make the walk and get you there without huffing and puffing. It's less than a mile in total.

 

Thank you, EC! That will certainly help in determining how much time to leave for the Termini walk.

 

The boat definitely sounds more pleasant than the train. I guess this will be one of those times when the journey will have to be the destination :)

 

We will still have to take the train back to Naples but that just makes most sense with our destination being downtown Naples.