Capri full-day review: the sticker is not the whole price
My verdict: a full day on Capri at the friendliest price of the three island tours here, on condition that you understand the two payments waiting for you in cash on the day. One is small and certain. The other is larger, optional, and can be taken away by the sea before you get near it. This is also the lowest-rated listing in the catalogue, on the largest Capri review pool here, and both halves of that sentence matter.
The arithmetic, done in the open
The listing says $172. Here is everything that happens after that. Stepping ashore on Capri costs a disembarkation fee of about €5, collected in cash on the day. If the Blue Grotto is running and you want to go in, that is roughly €18 more, also cash, paid at the cave itself, and no skipper anywhere can promise you it will be open. Lunch is yours. Hotel pickup is not part of this. So the honest description of what this day costs is the sticker plus two euro payments made in the middle of the sea, one of which you may or may not get the chance to make.
Set that against the grotto-inclusive day at $238, which has the grotto entrance and the roughly €10 Capri landing tax already inside it. On the stickers alone, the pricier listing is about a third again this one. Once both cash payments land on this boat, the two finish a good deal closer together than the listing pages suggest — close enough that the choice stops being about money and starts being about whether you would rather hand over notes at a cave mouth or have it done for you. And on a day when the swell shuts the grotto, this listing stays the cheaper of the two and nobody sees the cave either way. The whole fee picture, including what the ferry costs, is laid out at what it all costs.
4.6 from 621, and what that combination means
This is the second-largest review pool on the site and the lowest score on it, which is a more informative pairing than either number alone. A 4.6 built on 617 people is not a warning — it is a lot of good days out with a meaningful minority of merely fine ones mixed in. I have not found a pattern of complaint behind it beyond the ordinary shape of a long day on a shared boat: eight hours is a long time, the sea decides the itinerary, and a day that starts with a fee you were not expecting starts badly. Two of those three are fixed by reading this page before you book.
What the reviewers say
Cheryl, from the United States, described the kind of skipper you want on a long day: “The captain explained everything and even provided his name and number in case we needed to reach out to him.” Joseph, from the United States, and Fiona, from Australia, both named the same guide — “The sites were spectacular. Pepe was a great guide with lots of recommendations.” and “Pepe and his team made sure we had an excellent experience.” Two strangers naming the same person is about as good a signal as a review pool produces, though you cannot request a guide and the listing will not tell you who you are getting.
On the money, Nicole Ann, from the United States, wrote: “This was a great value for a full day excursion like this!” She is right about the day and I would only add the thing this page exists to add, which is that the value depends on knowing about the cash before you are standing there with none.
Three towns, one boat
This listing boards at Positano, Praiano or Amalfi, so the option you pick at checkout is the one that decides where you stand at eight in the morning. In Positano that means the Spiaggia Grande pier and the staircase down to it, which is covered at where the boats leave. Eight hours is the full day, so this is the whole of your Saturday rather than part of it — what actually fits into a day on the island is at Capri in a day.
Usually included
- The skipper and the boat for a full eight hours
- Drinks, prosecco, homemade limoncello and snacks
- Towels, masks and pool noodles for the swim stop
- A shower and a toilet aboard
Not included
- The disembarkation fee, which is cash on the day
- The Blue Grotto entrance, which is cash at the cave and never guaranteed
- Lunch
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
What works
- 621 reviews is the largest body of evidence of any Capri day here
- The lowest sticker of the three island tours on this site
- A full eight hours, with towels, masks and noodles aboard for the swim stop
- Two separate reviewers named the same guide, which is rare in a pool this size
- Boards at Positano, Praiano or Amalfi, so it fits more itineraries
Worth knowing
- 4.6 is the lowest rating in this catalogue
- Two cash payments land on the day, and there is no cash machine at sea
- The Blue Grotto is extra and can be closed by the swell without notice
- No hotel pickup, so the walk down to the pier is yours
- Eight hours is the whole day, not an afternoon
Carry the day’s cash in small euro notes and keep it dry. Both of the payments on this tour are made away from any cash machine, one of them from a rowing boat at a cave mouth, and a card is no use to you in either place.
Who it is for
People who want the full island day, are comfortable with a shared boat for eight hours, and would rather keep the booked price down and settle the extras themselves. If you would rather everything were paid for before you leave the beach, the grotto-inclusive day does that. If the walk down to the pier at eight in the morning is the part you are dreading, the day trip with hotel pickup solves it. All three sit together at the Capri boat tours.
Frequently asked questions
What is not included in the price?
Four things, and the first two are the ones that catch people out: the disembarkation fee, collected in cash on the day, and the Blue Grotto entrance, also cash and never guaranteed. Lunch and hotel pickup are the other two. The full set of fees on this coast, official and otherwise, is at what it all costs.
Will I get into the Blue Grotto on this tour?
Nobody can promise you that, on this or any other boat. Entry is from a rowing boat that takes four at a time, the cave closes whenever the swell is up, and in high summer the queue at the mouth can run past an hour. It is an extra payment here rather than an inclusion. How the visit works, and whether it is worth the wait, is at the Blue Grotto.
Is it really cheaper than the tour with the grotto included?
On the sticker, clearly. After the cash payments on the day, much less clearly — the two finish close enough that the choice is really about whether you want the fees settled in advance. I have done that comparison properly on the grotto tour review.
Is 4.6 a bad rating?
No. It is the lowest score in this catalogue and it rests on 621 reviews, which is the largest Capri pool here, so it is a well-evidenced description of a good day out with some ordinary variation in it. How I weigh review counts against scores is set out at the rankings.