Inside Capri Italy: Capri Town, Anacapri and Marina Piccola Explained
The short answer
Boats land at Marina Grande. Capri town is four minutes up the funicular; Anacapri is fifteen more by bus and 275 m up; Marina Piccola is ten minutes down the other side. One town properly beats two badly, and the high island is the half most visitors never reach.
Three places, one name
People say "Capri" and mean at least three different things: the island, the town on the saddle above the harbour, and the general idea of the place. Add Anacapri, which is a separate town and a separate comune, and Marina Piccola on the far shore, and you can easily spend your day in the wrong one.
Here is the geography in one paragraph, and it is all you need. Your boat lands at Marina Grande, on the north coast, at sea level. Capri town sits above you at about 140 m, four minutes up the funicular. Anacapri is higher again at about 275 m, another fifteen minutes by bus. Marina Piccola is on the south coast, ten minutes below Capri town. Nothing is far and everything is up or down.
Marina Grande: where you land, and where the boats leave
A working harbour with a pebble beach, a row of ferry ticket offices, the funicular station and a very great many boats. It is where every crossing lands and where nearly every trip on this list meets you. It is also where you can lose twenty minutes looking for a pier, because the numbers do not run in an obvious order along Via Cristoforo Colombo.
Give it: twenty minutes between the ferry and any boat departure. Do not give it: your afternoon. There is a beach and some restaurants, and everything better is above it or round the coast.
Capri town: the Piazzetta and what is round it
Properly Piazza Umberto I, universally the Piazzetta: four cafes, a clock tower and the most watched square in southern Italy. Sitting down will cost you what sitting down there costs, and that is part of the transaction.
Within a fifteen-minute walk of it: the Gardens of Augustus (€2.50), laid out for Friedrich Alfred Krupp and renamed in 1918, looking down on the hairpins of Via Krupp; the Certosa di San Giacomo (€10, closed Mondays); the Belvedere di Tragara, which is free and gives you the Faraglioni from above; and the smart shopping of Via Camerelle. Further out, uphill and about forty-five minutes on foot, is Villa Jovis (€6), where Tiberius ran the Roman Empire from AD 27 until he died there in AD 37.
Anacapri: the other town, and the one people skip
Higher, quieter and older in feel, and the reason to take your bus fifteen minutes further. It is where the Monte Solaro chairlift leaves from at Piazza Vittoria — €14 return, twelve minutes, up to 589 m — and where Villa San Michele is, the house Axel Munthe built for himself at the start of the twentieth century (€12, and closed for all of February).
Anacapri is also your land route to the Blue Grotto, twenty minutes by bus, and to the Punta Carena lighthouse, twenty minutes the other way. If you have a second day on the island, spend it here. The highlights page prices everything in it.
Marina Piccola: the swimming, and the wrong side of the island
The main bathing beach, on the south coast, ten minutes below Capri town by bus or taxi. Expect pebble rather than sand, with public stretches and beach clubs, the Scoglio delle Sirene rock, and the far end of Via Krupp above you. The kayak trip on this list launches from here.
Which one you actually need
| If you have | Go to | Skip | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Four hours | Marina Grande and a boat | Both towns | A boat lap sees more of the island than the funicular queue will |
| A full day, first visit | Capri town and the Piazzetta | Anacapri | One town properly beats two badly |
| A full day, been before | Anacapri and Monte Solaro | Via Camerelle | The high island is the half most people never reach |
| A day with children | Marina Piccola | Villa Jovis | Swimming beats a forty-five minute uphill walk to a ruin |
| Two days | One at sea level, one above 200 m | Nothing | The two halves do not compete for the same hours |
Getting between them
- Marina Grande to Capri town: funicular, 4 minutes, €2.40, every 15 — or a bus for the same fare
- Capri town to Anacapri: bus, 15 minutes, €2.40
- Marina Grande to Anacapri: bus, 25 minutes
- Capri town to Marina Piccola: bus, 10 minutes
- Anacapri to the Blue Grotto or Punta Carena: bus, 20 minutes each
- Anything to anything: taxi, €17 up to four passengers
The funicular shuts for January and February and a bus replaces it, and the visiting page has the full fare table. Buy tickets at Marina Grande in front of the ferry offices, in Piazza Martiri d'Ungheria, or in Piazza della Pace in Anacapri.
Every trip named here is compared on price, hours and what the fare covers at Capri Italy Tours.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Capri and Anacapri?
How do I get from Marina Grande up to Capri town?
How much is a taxi on Capri?
How much is the Monte Solaro chairlift?
Is the Gardens of Augustus free?
Trips that reach the parts a ferry ticket does not
Capri Italy Small-Group Tour: Blue Grotto, Anacapri and Capri Town
Covers both towns, Monte Solaro and the Blue Grotto in one guided day, with the island transport included.
From $142 per person
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Discovering Capri in one day
A private vehicle between Monte Solaro and Capri town, which is the awkward leg to do on the bus timetable.
From $59 per person
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Kayak Tour in Capri Between Caves and Beaches
Launches from Marina Piccola, the beach on the far side, and paddles into caves no boat can enter.
From $51 per person
Check AvailabilityPick the one that matches your hours rather than trying to collect all three, and Capri stops feeling like a queue.