Blue Grotto - Capri - Things To Do Reviews

Our first time in Capri and we were looking forward to seeing the Blue Grotto. For those that don't know, it's a water-filled cave in the side of the island that you can take a boat tour into and see the brilliant blue color of the seemingly lit up water by the reflection of the sun. This is a review from 2001 and I do not remember the exact costs which were in Lira at the time. Anyway, after waiting in line for a very long time with space invaders pushing their bellies up against my back (seriously, I was ready to throw elbows), we finally pay a moderately expensive fee to get into a boat that held about 20 or so people. They cram as many as they can into this speed-type boat. So, we're boating to the Grotto and enjoying the view when all of the sudden we get closer and there's all these mini rowboats near the mouth of the cave. Next thing we know, they're demanding another fee to get into those boats! At this point you really have no choice, so we pay (again!) and have to make a very precarious step from the bigger boat into the little bobbing dingy...scary! Now we're in and the rower guy in our boat is trying to tell us in broken English to get down. Get down where? Ya know how a rowboat has slats for seats? Well, he made my husband and I lay down longways in the bottom of the boat under the seats! We were CRAMMED in there. At this point my husband is getting really sea sick and can't even enjoy the sight. So, we're entering the cave and I admit that it was beautiful, but they row in, hang out for not more than 10 minutes and row out. Keep in mind that there are dozens of these rowboats in the cave so it's not this great unobstructed view. As we're rowing out, the rower guides start talking about how hard their job is and how great they are at doing it. Then they proceed to basically demand tips! So, after two expensive fees for a short vomit-inducing boat ride through the grotto, they're asking for more money!! When my husband handed over what must've been too little of tip, the rowboat guide started shouting in Italian (I'm sure cursing us out) and getting so animated that he ended up knocking the Lira in the water. We were like "life's a bitch, huh". My advice is see if the discovery channel has a high-def Blue Grotto DVD or something...don't waste your time, money and agrivation here.

This is as about as big of a tourist trap as you can get. The price is
also extraordinarily steep - you have to pay once to take a motor boat
to the entrance of the grotto itself, then you have to pay again to
take a rowboat inside the grotto, but it's worth seeing once in your
lifetime.



Most of your time will be spent getting to and from the grotto. The
amount of time you get inside the cave is fairly brief and probably
heavily dependent on how much the rower thinks you are going to tip
him. They just row you in and row you out. However, the few minutes you
get inside are enough to gain an appreciation of the beauty of the
place. Because of the way the sunlight reflects off the sand inside the
cave, the water glows with an intense, almost artificial looking blue
color. It is the only place I have ever seen water of that color and
the effect is quite striking. Apparently, in ancient Roman times, the
grotto was connected via underground tunnels to a private villa and
lined with statues, which must have made it one of the nicest swimming
pools around.