Despite being off-season, meaning all the high-end designer boutiques were mostly closed (because I can afford a bunch of $600 pants, obvi), Capri was stunning.  In fact, I think it was even more stunning with less people.

We hadn’t really planned that far ahead…we knew we wanted to go to Capri, but didn’t know what specifically we wanted to do. In fact, we sort of purposely hadn’t planned, so we had the flexibility to wander, enjoy the scenery, and obviously eat copious amounts of gelato.

So we took the high-speed (which is more like medium-speed) ferry to Capri, around 7am.  It was an hour or so trip with some brilliant salespeople who were very good at persuading the large Chinese tour group to purchase wildly unnecessary numbers of bags and hats.  

When we disembarked, we walked the coastline a bit, admiring the unbelievably clean, crystal emerald water and rows of colorful boats. We decided to take a LaserCapri tour around the entire island. There were lots of men with small, private boats offering tours, and I’m sure most of those are legit and particularly during the off-season, a good deal can probably be negotiated.  But we opted for a slightly larger boat, given my track record on the ocean (read: puke-licious).

The boat tour was actually a lot of fun. It was a clear day, and the water was absolutely beautiful. I didn’t get seasick which also made it a win-win.

I had read mixed reviews of the Grotta Azzurra (Blue Grotto); some visitors said it wasn’t worth the 13€, which covers a small boat/oarsman, and the entrance fee.  I guess I can see their point of view, but part of the fun of the Grotta Azzurra, is actually getting in the Grotta Azzurra. You pull up in your larger boat (you switch to a small rowboat), and you see a little hole in the cliff.  That is your entrance.  They pulled our boats through by a chain on the side of the rocks, slightly depressing the boat in the water, with everyone lying down to make it through the hole. It was really pretty inside, too. Knowing what I do now, I definitely would have been disappointed to miss it.

There were many other sites visible from the tour, including the I Faraglioni, the famous and recognizable rocks jutting from the ocean (pictured above).

I also thought the Green Grotta was beautiful.  

The color of the water throughout the tour was so different from anything I’ve seen.  It’s hard to describe, doesn’t like to photograph well (at least by a non-professional that gets tired fiddling with aperture and exposure), but it’s gorgeous.  And incredibly, surprisingly, crazily clean: I actually never even saw trash floating in the harbor, even by the ferries.

Our morning in Capri definitely fulfilled expectations! But now we were hungry…for beer and gelato, of course.  Balanced meals people, balanced meals.