One of the most beautiful wonders offered by nature, one of the most exciting and engaging passages, one of the most popular destinations for all tourists: the Grotta Azzurra captures both your eyes and your mind, while winning your soul over.
How can you not be enchanted by the rays of the sun that enlighten, guide and lead you through an extreme sensory experience, a journey to discover one of the most extraordinary beauties.
Grotta azzurra: discover its color’s magic, uniqueness and purity
Grotta Azzurra has something magical, unique and highly engaging about it. Only those who have visited it at least once in their lives know what we are talking about. An experience that involves every sense of your body, that captures every part of you, transporting you into a completely natural universe.
To your eyes, heart and soul will arrive the purity of its blue color, enlightened by the rays of the sun that get through thanks to the underwater window in the entrance, shining on the crystal clear water. Also, some small, nice and interesting silver-colored reflections, linked to the little air bubbles created on the external surface, embellish the scene, making it unique. The particular coloration is the result of an important phenomenon of light refraction, which elevates it to a natural wonder.
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An extreme sensorial path inside Grotta Azzurra
The cave has a width of 25 meters and a length of 60mt, with an entrance that’s less than a meter high: yes, that’s right, to enter you have to lie on the bottom of a very small boat, which slides inside the cave thanks to its small opening.
Once inside, you float immersed in a pleasant contrast between darkness and the light of the sun’s rays, between dark tones and reflections that make this water unique, so crystal clear to seem transparent. Only a few attentive people manage to notice the elevated cavity which can be accessed through a small landing point, covered and protected by a Roman cement work.
Many theories have been created about this cavity and we will examine them in depth in the next part, related to the history of the Grotta Azzurra.
Grotta Azzurra: between history, legend and tradition
A rocky cavity, at the bottom of a crystalline sea, pierced by the rays of the sun: how can we remain indifferent in front of that? It was 1826 when the writer Augusto Kopisch and the painter Ernesto Fries, during a vacation in Capri, revealed to the whole world the natural beauty of this place. They then decided to call it the Grotta Azzurra (Blue Grotto, just for the characteristic coloring): since then, this wonder has never left them. It became the protagonist of their works, their drawings and their thoughts!
This place was known, loved and appreciated at the time of the Romans, who left, on its inside, a cement platform used as an internal landing, as well as archaeological remains of remarkable importance. A statue of Poseidon and one portraying a triton, currently kept at the Museum of the Certosa di San Giacomo. Grotta Azzurra became the personal marine nymphaeum of the Emperor Tiberius.
How do you get to Grotta Azzurra? Here are all the ways and prices
There are three main ways to get to the Grotta Azzurra. Let’s take a look at them, together.
By a shared boat. At the Port of Marina Grande, you can find various ticket offices to purchase the ticket and make your little travel around the island, to stop, at last, in front of the entrance of the Grotta. Once there you have to move on small boats, thanks to which it will be possible to enter inside the Grotta. The price to be paid will be about 18 euros (with entrance to the Grotta excluded).
If, instead, you only want to visit the Grotta (without the tour of the island) the cost is about 14 euros (with entrance to the Grotta included). Children under 6 years old enter for free, on the first Sunday of the month you only pay for the boat service, for EU citizens between 18 and 25 years old there is a reduction on the entrance fee so, instead of paying 10 euros for the boat and 4 euros for the entrance, they will pay 12 euros.
By private boat. If you have rented or are planning to rent a boat to visit the island, you can moor offshore, around the buoys, and then ask the boatman to pick you up. You can also choose to rent the “gozzo”, a typical boat used in Capri (for a maximum capacity of seven people), with a sailor that will guide you for both the tour of the island and the Grotta. The cost ranges from 150 to 200 euros for a three-hour tour.
By land/on foot. You can also reach the entrance to the Grotta from Anacapri. Once in the center of the city, walk along Via Pagliaro and then go in Via Grotta Azzurra. At the end of the street, there will be a staircase that leads to the entrance of the Grotta. From here you will get on the little boats. The distance covered is around 3.5 km.
At the same time, you can also use the bus line that leaves from Piazza della Pace in Anacapri and reaches the Grotta in 15 minutes. The visit lasts 5 minutes, the wait is long, on average, given the number of tourists.
Opening hours and modalities of Grotta Azzurra
La Grotta Azzurra è di norma aperta tutti i giorni dalle ore 09.00 alle ore 17.00. In caso di mare mosso, vento forte e condizioni sfavorevoli, non è possibile visitarla. Nel periodo invernale, raramente è aperta: è consigliato sempre rivolgersi ai botteghini per avere informazioni certe sull’eventuale apertura della Grotta.
Consigliamo di visitarla nella fascia oraria che va dalle ore 12.00 alle ore 14.00, lasso temporale in cui i riflessi solari raggiungono il loro massimo splendore e donano alla Grotta la bellezza che merita.
More information about Grotta Azzurra
The question we are asked the most is: can we swim in the Grotta Azzurra? No, swimming entrance is completely forbidden as, besides being illegal, it’s dangerous.
The visit lasts about five minutes while, as we said, the wait can last a little longer due to the summer crowds. We therefore recommend that you always bring a bottle of water (for proper hydration), sunscreen and wear a hat.