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When reading the tabloids, it is always fun to read about the awesome places that celebrities dock their yachts while on vacation!
While I would just love to have a small sailboat to dock in these locations, even for a day, I thought it would be fun to head out to one of those islands and see where those multi-million dollar yachts are anchored. Capri, located in the Tyrrhenian Sea has been a resort since the time of the Roman Republic and is a place where celebrity spotting becomes sport, especially in the square in the evenings as they leave their expensive floating homes for some ground time.
The ferry to Capri was located just down the block from our hotel and easy to get to, so we decided to make that one of our day’s destinations. Purchasing our tickets quickly, we were on the next departing ferry and forty-five minutes later pulling into Capri’s Marina Grande.
Our first views of Capri’s harbor were stunning! It would have been tempting to just take a seat along the waterfront to take in the scenery but we were on a mission and there was a lot to see before catching our departing ferry that evening.
One of the main attractions that we wanted to mark off of our list was the Blue Grotto (Grotto Azzurra), a cave-like cavity within the islands rocky parapets. Once inside the grotto, the sunlight entering the opening beneath the inlet passage give an intense azur color to the water. Spotting the ticket booth for the Blue Grotto boat tours, I knew that there were two ways to visit this primary attraction; bus and boat. Since the boats were departing here, it seemed like the logical choice to take the boat and after the boarding was complete, we headed out of the harbor and along the island’s northern coast.
The fifteen minute ride offered up beautiful views of the villas that top the high rocky cliffs that make up much of the island’s coastline. Finally spotting a cluster of boats, we realized that we had arrived at the Blue Grotto. Jockeying for position, we began to analyze the situation…there were a lot of boats, with a lot of people…waiting to board a small number of rowboats to gain entry into the cave.
Every time our captain moved our boat, we somehow thought we might be closer to our time to board one of the rowboats. Spying the buses dropping visitors at the top of the cliff and those visitors making their way down the wooden stairway, we began to notice that because of their proximity to the cave’s entrance and dedicated rowboats, their wait was quite short. Watching their quick movement and continually counting the boats around us, we realized that our stay here would be lengthy.
It was an extremely hot and sunny day and we had limited shade on our boat. We suddenly realized that although our boat ride to the Blue Grotto was cool and picturesque, maybe we should have taken the bus. After an hour and a half of tortuous waiting, the rowboats finally began to approach our boat. Deftly stepping into the tender, our boatman guided us over to the craft where the cave entrance admission was collected. After gathering our tickets, we headed toward the opening, our gondolier instructing us to lay down into the bottom of the boat. Pulling us through the tight opening with a guide rope, it took a few minutes for our eyes to adjust to the darkness all around us.
There were no fewer than ten other boats making their way around the small cave’s perimeter (25 meters wide and 60 meters long). As our boatman turned our craft towards the entrance, we gazed in awe at the fluorescent color of the water. An awesome sight! Our time was inside was short and before we knew it, we were laying down at the bottom of the boat to make our way outside, back to our waiting shuttle and to Marina Grande.
Checking our watches, we realized that much of our time on Capri had been devoted to that one activity. Grabbing a quick lunch, we then headed back to the ferry ticket booths. Thankfully, with the help of a kind ticket agent, we were able to switch our return tickets to Naples to ones leaving a couple of hours later…giving us some more precious time on the island.
Glad for our reprieve we decided not to waste any more time. Capri had so much more to see!
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Blue Grotto
- https://www.excursionboatsorrento.com/en/everything-about-the-blue-grotto/?gclid=CjwKCAjwxt_tBRAXEiwAENY8hXwlP3bstmpEHSuPz0YOMQIlS9MBHN3l9GEYmGrT1ruIfxHPY2IeBBoC2ykQAvD_BwE
- Hours: 0900-1700, daily. The grotto is closed to visitors during rough seas or high winds, and it’s always closed on December 25th and January 1st.
- Admission: Shared boat service, 10€ plus cave entrance (cash only) paid prior to entering, 4€. Tip is expected from the boatmen. Children under the age of 6, cave entrance, free. Citizens of European Union under the age of 18, cave entrance, free. Citizens of European Union between the ages of 18 and 25, 50% reduction on cave entrance.
- Getting There: Private boat (boat rentals located near Marina Grande. Shared boat service. Bus, from Anacapri, stop located 50 meters from Piazza Vittoria. On foot from Anacapri, follow Viale T. de Tommaso, Via Pagliaro and Via Grotta Azzurra (3.5 km).
“No thanks.” We opted to wait.
One of the selling points of this tour was how muddy everyone was going to get…it was recommended that you not do the tour if you can’t give yourself to the idea of being covered in muck! They went on to elaborate on how refreshing the cave swim would be after the spattered adventure. I guess it hadn’t rained in a while, because the only mud puddles I saw were near the shower area at the starting point. The real problem was the dust. Bandannas or something to cover your nose and mouth was recommended (they even sell them if you forget), but what you really need are goggles. As a contact lens wearer, I spent most of the ride squinting as I tried to keep the dust of my eyes or wiping the tears flowing down my cheeks from the pain of the dust abrading my cornea under my lenses. Thankfully, I had relinquished all driving rights to my oldest son.
Once the presentation was complete, more driving ensued until we arrived at the part of the tour that promised a swim in a picturesque cave. A large grouping of buildings hawking food and souvenirs lined either side of the stairs to the cave and many buggies were parked here. By the different types of vehicles, it was quite evident that many different companies come to this location.
As we approached the stairway, we were taken aback by how many other people were trying to make their way to the cave. Finally reaching the entry to the small body of water, we noticed that people were being instructed to jump into the cool water and immediately make their way to the guide rope leading to the water’s exit.
Let’s just say, I’m glad I stayed out of the water and kept an eye on the boys’ belongings. That was really not worth getting wet.
Finally, noticing our guide’s summons, we reluctantly toweled off and jumped back into our buggies. Crossing the highway once again, we made our way back to the companies headquarters.
While it was nice to be able to enjoy a different aspect of Punta Cana, there are many other companies which offer Buggy adventures. Our dune buggies were in poor working order, seatbelts not connected, bald tires and buggies being hot-wired in order to start them. While parked at the cave location, I was able to inspect other company’s vehicles and while in short supply, there were others in much better condition. Still, while I was happy to venture out from our resort for a while, I would think twice about partaking in this type of adventure.