Every Capri boat tour from Sorrento, compared
The zero option, and I would rather you heard it from me
I have worked the Marina Piccola quay for eleven seasons and the question I am asked most is still a transport question. Five companies run the Sorrento crossing — Gescab, Caremar, Laser Capri, SNAV and NLG — the hydrofoils take 20 to 25 minutes, the fast ferries about thirty, and Caremar is usually the cheapest of them. First departures are around 07:15, the last back is around 19:45, and in April to October there is something leaving every half hour or so. Book that, walk off at Marina Grande, and you have spent under thirty euro. Nothing below competes with it on price and nothing below is trying to. What the six boats sell is the water itself: the coastline you cannot see from the ferry deck, and the hours of the day you would otherwise spend queueing for a funicular.
The six boats
All six leave from the Sorrento harbour area, four of them collect you from your hotel, and all six sail the island circuit in some form: Marina Grande, Tiberius’ Leap, the White Grotto, the Natural Arch, Villa Malaparte, the Faraglioni and the arch through the middle stack, Marina Piccola on the far side, the Punta Carena lighthouse, then the north-west coast and the Blue Grotto on the way back. Where they differ is length, group size, how long you get ashore, and whether anyone on board is going to explain what you are looking at.
Most bookedSorrento: Exclusive Capri Boat Tour and Optional Blue Grotto
Best valueFrom Sorrento: Capri Island Boat Day Trip With Transfer
Best for swimmingFrom Sorrento: Capri Boat Tour with Snorkeling & Drinks
Longest dayCapri: Full-Day Small Group Boat Tour
Guide on boardFrom Sorrento: Capri Guided Boat Tour
Private charterCapri Private Full-Day Boat Tour from Sorrento
The flagship: the one most people end up on
The exclusive tour is the most-booked boat on this route: five to eight hours in a group capped at twelve, and it carries 4.8 from 4,997 reviews — more than the other five put together, several times over. You get the circuit, snorkelling, about four hours ashore, a skipper, drinks on deck including prosecco, beer, water and soft drinks, a limoncello tasting, and pickup at your hotel. It is also the only listing that names the Blue Grotto in its own title, with the word optional doing a great deal of quiet work: the grotto is about €20 extra, paid at a floating booth, with its own queue that the boat does not control. Julie’s review is the one I quote most — her guide made good suggestions for other caves, she wrote, but there was a two-hour wait. Rebecca, on a day when the tides cooperated, waited fifteen minutes and called it the best part. Same boat, same product, two different mornings. Ada mentions the easy hotel pickup, a few minutes to check in, a restroom before boarding and a skipper who knew what he was doing; Ori sailed with Antonio and came away with a list of places to go on the island. If you want one recommendation and no further reading, this is it.
The value pick, which is also the best rated
The day trip with transfer runs five to seven hours and rates 4.9 from 1,882 reviews. That combination is unusual enough to say out loud: it is the cheapest of the high-volume boats and the highest rated of them. It sails right around the island, explores the grottoes, stops to swim, feeds you snacks and drinks and a limoncello tasting, gives you about four hours ashore and collects you from your hotel. Jordan called it great value for money and the perfect length of time, which is the whole pitch in one line. Brenda said it was the best activity of her trip, perfect from pickup to drop-off. The review I would rather you read is Anne’s four-star one: the weather was poor, one of her party was unwell and the guides looked after them, and when others got cold the crew lent them coats. That is the Bay of Naples in April and October, and it is worth knowing that a good crew is the difference between a shortened day and a ruined one. Danielle wrote that even in rocky water Italo made them feel comfortable.
The swimming boat, with one caveat
The snorkelling tour is around $150 and rates 4.9 from 444 reviews over six hours: snorkelling, the Faraglioni, the grottoes, drinks and fruit on board, and a listing that states there are no extra landing fees. It gives you three hours ashore rather than four, which is a real trade and the reason to read the clock before you book. Two reviewers make the same point from the other direction: Adysen, at four stars, and Grace both wished for more swimming time, so this is a boat that leaves people wanting more water rather than less. Chelsea described a relaxed atmosphere and said to book it if a relaxed tour is what you are after; Darcie called it worth doing if you are trying to choose between options, and noted how easy it was pulling up in Capri; Marcelle preferred the small group with the drinks included. The caveat is Caroline’s, and I am repeating it because it is the kind of thing a listing will not tell you: she uses a walking stick, the crew helped her aboard, and she wrote that she would say this is not suitable for those with mobility impairments. Getting on and off a day boat in swell is not a handrail situation.
The longest day, and the one with a guide on it
The small-group full-day tour is the dearest per head here, and at eight hours it is the longest day on offer: max twelve people, roundtrip transfers, a skipper and guide, snacks and drinks, swimming stops and four hours free on the island. It rates 4.6 from 257 reviews, joint-lowest on this page, and I would rather be straight about why you would pick it. You pick it for the hours, not for the polish. Andrew got commentary on all the grottoes and then his four hours to explore. Roisin wrote that they were held up a little at the docking and that nothing could be done about it, which is a fair description of a busy Marina Grande in August.
The guided tour is joint-cheapest of the high-volume options, seven hours, with hotel pickup, and it is the only one carrying both a guide and a skipper as the headline. It rates 4.6 from 165 reviews, and the reviews are strikingly consistent about what made the day: Sophie had a lovely and knowledgeable guide and skipper who made it fun despite rain; Richard said the guide clearly described all the highlights; Carolyn called it well worth the money with snacks, drinks and prosecco included, and mentioned the Anacapri lift. Miel was picked up on time, driven to the docks and found the whole thing well organised. If you are the sort of person who wants to know what Villa Malaparte is doing on that rock, book this one and accept the 4.6.
The private charter
The private full-day tour is priced per group, not per seat — about $1,200 for the whole boat — for six hours with your own skipper, swim stops, Punta Carena and Marina Grande. It takes up to five people, so at full occupancy that is about $240 a head with five aboard — more than any shared boat here, but not the number the listing appears to shout. It rates 5.0, and it rates 5.0 from 16 reviews, which is a thin base and I would rather you knew that than were impressed by it. Kerry’s review is the concrete argument: her captain got the group into a hotel pool on Capri and made their lunch reservations. The full case, including who should not bother, is on private boat tours.
The three most people shortlist
| From Sorrento: Capri Island Boat Day Trip With Transfer | Most bookedSorrento: Exclusive Capri Boat Tour and Optional Blue Grotto | Capri: Full-Day Small Group Boat Tour | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $126 | $141 | $153 |
| Length | 5–7 h | 5–8 h | 8 h |
| Time ashore | ~4 h | ~4 h | 4 h |
| Group | Shared | Max 12 | Max 12 |
| Rating | 4.9 (1,882) | 4.8 (4,997) | 4.6 (257) |
| Best for | Value, and the ratings agree | Wanting the obvious safe choice | People who want the hours |
| View → | Book this → | View → |
Whichever boat you take, treat the Blue Grotto as a maybe rather than a plan. The operators make the call fresh at nine in the morning, wind and swell shut it, and the same day can open and close more than once. Anyone who promises you the cave in August is promising you something they do not control.
How I would choose
Cheapest and best rated, take the day trip with transfer. Most reviewed and hardest to get wrong, take the flagship. Swimming above everything and happy with three hours ashore, take the snorkelling boat. Wanting the longest possible day, take the small-group tour. Wanting somebody to talk to you about what you are passing, take the guided one. Five of you travelling together, do the sum on the charter. If the grotto is the reason you are coming at all, read the grotto tours page before you book anything, and if you are still working out what a day costs once the cave at about €20 and a small landing tax are added, that is the cost page. Every boat has a longer write-up with the complaints left in at the reviews.
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Frequently asked questions
Which Capri boat tour from Sorrento is best?
For most people, the day trip with transfer — it is the cheapest of the high-volume boats and rates 4.9 from 1,882 reviews, which almost never happens together. If you would rather take the option thousands of others have taken, the flagship is the most-booked boat on this route, rates 4.8 from 4,997 reviews and is the one that names the Blue Grotto as an option. Both are compared above.
How much does a Capri boat tour from Sorrento cost?
Per person, the shared boats all sit in the same band, around $150 a head, with the cheapest of the high-volume options a fair way under that. The private charter is priced for the whole boat instead, about $1,200 for a group of up to five, or about $240 a head with five aboard. On top of that sit the Blue Grotto at about €20 if you queue for it and a small landing fee, a few euro a head and higher in summer. For comparison, a one-way ferry ticket is roughly €20–€30 with the landing tax already included — see the ferry, explained.
How long do you get on Capri itself?
Three to four hours on most of these boats. The snorkelling tour gives you three, the flagship, the transfer trip and the small-group day give you about four. That is Capri town and one more thing done properly, or the whole island done badly. The boats themselves run five to eight hours door to door, because the crossing happens twice.
Is a boat tour better than just taking the ferry?
Only if you want the day rather than the journey. The ferry does the crossing in 20 to 25 minutes for roughly €20–€30 and no tour beats that. A boat tour buys the island circled from the water, the Faraglioni arch, the sea caves and two or three swim stops, and costs roughly five to six times as much for that reason.