Capri — Local services in Anacapri

I honestly don’t understand how Capri has such amazing reviews. If I had to guess, I’d say most of them come from influencers trying to look rich, or from people who actually are rich — the kind of crowd that either doesn’t notice poor service, or gets treated better because of how much they spend.

Money wasn’t the issue for us — we came prepared to spend and enjoy ourselves — but we’re also realistic people who understand the value of money, and honestly, Capri is absurdly overpriced.

You pay €9 for a Coke, €20–€30 for a cocktail, and €20–€50 for a single dish — and for what? The food, in most places, was shockingly bad, especially considering it’s Italian cuisine. We only had one decent meal during our stay, and even that wasn’t impressive. It just feels like people here charge as much as possible while putting in the least possible effort.

And then there’s the friendliness — or rather, the complete lack of it. This was the red thread throughout our trip. Out of everyone we met, the few who were actually kind didn’t come from Capri itself — they were from Naples or other parts of Italy.

Honestly, I just don’t get the hype — Capri is completely overrated. When you read the reviews, people either warn you “don’t come in July or August, it’s way too crowded,” or they say “don’t come off-season, nothing is open.” We went at the end of the season (October), and even then, it was still extremely busy during the day, yet the locals already seemed tired of tourists — all the friendliness and energy were gone. So really, when are you supposed to come? Because it seems like it’s either too crowded, too rude, or too dead.

Yes, the views are beautiful, but that’s nature’s work, not Capri’s. The island itself isn’t more beautiful than many others I’ve seen. I’ve lived in Malta, and it’s just as stunning. I’ve been to Lanzarote, which I found far more unique. Even Monaco and Saint-Tropez, Cannes, Santorini, Nice.., which are also expensive, at least feel worth their price — they’re impressive, they have class, and you truly get what you pay for. Capri? Not so much.

The shopping area is, to be fair, quite elegant — lined with high-end designer stores and luxury boutiques. What surprised me was that there’s no visible security, so if you actually want to shop in peace, this might be the place for you. Perhaps that’s part of Capri’s appeal to the wealthy crowd. Still, I can’t imagine it being relaxing during the high tourist season, when the narrow streets are packed. We visited towards the end of the season, and even then, the attitude of the staff was noticeably cold. So if you want a place where you can shop in style but still be treated with basic friendliness, you’re probably better off going to Monaco or Saint-Tropez — both are elegant, impressive, and much more welcoming. Want to go luxury shopping in Italy specifically? Go to Milan, it’s maybe not that high class as Capri but at least the food is decent.

So who would enjoy Capri? Probably two types of people: Those who don’t care about spending and don’t mind being treated poorly, and Those who come here just for the photos, to post on social media and say, “Look, I’ve been to Capri.”

If you fall into one of those categories, you’ll probably love it. If you value kindness, authenticity, and actual quality, you’ll likely leave disappointed.

The only place I’d genuinely recommend visiting is Anacapri. It’s less fancy, sure, but the people there were warmer, friendlier, and much more genuine. It proves that the issue isn’t tourism — it’s attitude.

And one more strange thing: most of Capri only opens during the tourist season. You’d think they’d treat those few months — and their guests — with care, but sadly, they don’t.

So yes, while Capri is beautiful, I can’t give more than one star. The views alone aren’t enough to make up for the arrogance, the prices, and the lack of basic friendliness.

Even if I were a billionaire, I don’t think I’d spend...

Picturesque yet very expensive.

Capri is one of the most beautiful places that we have visited on our holiday so far. As we arrived by ferry from Sorrento the view from the sea was so impressive and we really got to see the topography of the island, the lush green slopes, the craggy rocks overlooking the sea, the houses wedged in to every last available space; all very impressive.

If you're staying in Sorrento or Napoli it really is worth visiting but do remember that it isn't cheap. The funicular (€2.20 per person/pet) is by far the easiest way to get to the hilltop town of Capri from the main port. It doesn't take long and it is certainly alot easier than the steep climb. We took the funicular up and walked down. The staff in the funicular aren't particularly helpful & 'yap' at the tourists in order to keep the queues moving, face masks at half mast.

We had a pleasant enough meal in Capri, a restaurant with a really good view of the port below. The restaurant charged a cover charge of €4 per person which I'm sure is standard on Capri, where it really does feel like they want to extract every last single euro out of the tourists, a sentiment echoed by other diners whom we spoke to.

I suppose when some restaurants & hotels are displaying photographs of celebrities like Sylvester Stallone, Rod Stewart you kind of know and understand that the prices are going to be as steep as the pathway from the port to the town.

The narrow streets meander around the town, giving refreshing shade from the hot sun and make it a very pleasant experience to explore. The small shops and boutiques offering anything from bangles and jewellery to high end clothing & leather products. The one thing that we noted was that there weren't many seats or benches and if you sat in a public area on steps then you were quickly moved on by the Municipal Police, of which there are a few. When challenged you're told 'it's the city rules' and one officer pointed to the town hall in the square.

Now having just retired from the police in England I can't remember telling tourists to move on, I always wanted visitors to where I worked (including the beautiful Cotswolds in Gloucestershire) to see my county for what it was and to portray it in the best possible light. I had other & more important things to do than blowing a whistle or barking orders at someone enjoying their deserved & undoubtedly hard earned holiday, so it really annoys me and feels like the 'authorities are taking the *iss' when they haven't provided enough seating and then get the local police to order you to 'stand up' 'no sit there'...when in reality the whole reason they're there in the first place is because of tourists, spending their pounds, their hard earnt buck or dollar.

A few more drinking water fountains in the town of Capri wouldn't go a miss.

A beautiful place that could do better on the tourist...

Deciding to put dozens of luxury hotels on an island that is almost completely elevated is a questionable idea. While Capri is beautiful and it’s streets have an air of luxury to them, that luxury quickly disappears when several tiny auto rickshaws and taxis roar down the streets per minute. I’m not kidding. I spent approximately 4 hours on the island and the longest amount of time that went by without some vehicle rudely interrupting everyone was about 10 minutes. Even in relatively isolated areas of the island, we had to make way for an auto rickshaw at least every few minutes and sometimes multiple at once. With the streets as crowded and narrow as they were, the entire street had to come to a halt. This is fine if it happens a few times, but imagine doing this on average, once every 2 minutes, sometimes 2 times a minute. These rickshaws were used primarly to transport fruit and beverages or to transport suitcases to all the hotels. Seeing a rickshaw that was empty or only had a few suitcases (realistically they can carry 10-15) made my blood boil. I understand that if you pay thousands of dollars a night to stay on the island, you may expect a suitcase charter service however, if I were paying that amount of money, I would expect the marked pedestrian streets to be free of any vehicles most of the time and to be able to wander freely without much motorized interruption. This sounds dramatic but this genuinely took away so much enjoyment from my time in Capri. I was there on a Saturday which could be a popular day to check into hotels but not even the knowledge of Saturday being a busy day for tourism could have prepared me for the cacophony of vehicles. I didn’t even get into the taxis, but in their defence, they didn’t drive in pedestrian only areas. There were also way too many pedestrians and at some points, human traffic jams were forming on the streets. The shopping is primarily of the ridiculously high-end kind, so if you don’t have Louis Vuitton money, 80% of the stores are unavailable to you. The island is genuinely beautiful, both in terms of nature and in architecture, which is what is saving this from being a 1-star review. The streets themselves look impeccably well-maintained considering the amount of traffic it gets and I don’t even think I need to mention the landscape. It’s just a shame that such beauty can be...