We’re Andrew and Kait – we share travel tips to help you see the world and have the best vacations ever. If you daydream about traveling to sunny Italy as often as we do, here’s what you need to know about traveling to Capri from Rome in 2023.
FLY TO ROME
We’re based in Dallas, Texas, so our first step to getting there was to fly to Italy in the first place! Our American Airlines flight path took us from DFW to a three-hour layover in Philadelphia. Two hours later, we boarded the almost nine-hour flight from PHL to Rome. While we didn’t sleep as much as we wanted to during the journey, we were thankful for an entire row to ourselves to stretch out and watch plenty of new movies! Here are a few of our favorite things to get us through those long overnight flights!
ROME TO NAPLES
Once we landed safely in Rome at about 9:00 a.m., we breezed through security and customs in less than 15 minutes. After passing through, we followed the airport signs throughout baggage claim, guiding us to the (external) trains attached to the airport that take you into the city. We bought our tickets through the Trainline app. Within 30 minutes of arrival, we boarded the train that would take us from the airport to Roma Termini in 30 minutes.
Upon arrival at Rome’s most central train station, we used Trainline again to book our tickets from Roma Termini to Napoli Centrale. Why Naples? Not only is the port city one of the best launching points for the rest of western Italy, the islands of Capri and Ischia, and the Amalfi Coast, but it also has some of the best availability for speed train arrivals. The speed train options to look for include Italo and Le Frecce, which have two options of either Frecciarossa or Frecciargento. We’ve taken all of them, and they’re all equally good rides!
NAPLES TO CAPRI
Once you arrive in Naples and depart from the train station, you have two options: take the popular public ferry or rent a hired private boat.
It’s vital to plan your trip around the ferry schedule as they mostly run in the morning, take a break throughout lunch hours, and resume trips in the later afternoon. You will also need to take a $10-13 taxi from Napoli Centrale to the ferry terminal. Plenty of taxis can be found directly outside of the station. (And if you’re on a budget and wondering, no, you don’t want to walk from the train station to the ferries – it’s farther than it looks. The cheap taxi ride is worth it.)
Once you arrive at the ferry terminal, you can either buy a ticket on the FerryHopper app in advance or from kiosks on location. The ferry typically costs about $22-25 per ticket and will take 45-55 minutes to arrive in Capri.
Plenty of private boat transfer options are available for those looking for a private, more luxurious experience free of ferry timetables. The price ranges in the hundreds, so while this might be a considerable expense for a solo traveler or a couple, it could be worth the time and money for a catered, private service for a group.
Arriving in Capri
Once you arrive at the Capri Marina Grande, you can walk, take a taxi, or take the small local buses to your final destination. We chose to take the local bus that only cost a few euros per person which took us most of the way to our Airbnb. We only had to walk about 200m more from the bus stop. During the rest of the trip, we took taxis all around the island. While it’s a bit more expensive (about $25 per trip), the open-air experience and expedited commute were well worth it!
Many people make Capri a day trip from nearby cities like Naples, Positano, or Sorrento. Still, we think it’s worth at least two nights to explore this cute island properly! With coastal Italian cuisine, incredible grottos, crystal clear water, chairlifts in the clouds, and lemons the size of your head, Capri is the perfect place to soak up the sun during your vacation to Italy.
