The first stop on my recent Silversea Cruise was the beautiful town of Sorrento, a place that I’ve always dreamed of visiting. The picture-perfect Sorrentine Peninsula is dotted with grand hotels and elegant villas perched on the cliffs and pretty stalls selling line the buzzing port.
Our brilliant tour guide Anna shared some facts about Sorrento while we enjoyed the blissful morning sun.
However, our time in Sorrento was short, as we had planned a full day excursion to the nearby isle of Capri. We boarded a double-deck hydrofoil and zoomed across the sea with literally no choppiness, reaching our destination in around 20 minutes.
Of course, it makes perfect sense to start from the top of the isle and work down, so we boarded a coach to the hillside town of Anacapri. After the numerous twists and turns on the narrow road, the tranquility of old-world Anacapri was most welcome.
On the excursion, there is the choice between taking the chairlift to 589-metres Monte Solaro, or visiting the Villa San Michele. Discovering that the chairlift flight takes 30 minutes each way, I decided to visit the Villa San Michele and explore the shops and streets of Anacapri.
Anacapri’s cobbled, peaceful streets are lined with small shops selling gourmet Italian produce and Limoncello di Capri, hand-made ceramics, soap and bespoke sandals. I was told that l’iSola di Sapori is the place where Capri’s well-heeled locals and in-the-know tourists come to get sandals hand-made to the shape of their feet.
Limoncello liqueur is the most popular souvenier, however I recommend picking up some marmellat di limoni, a sweet and juicy marmalade packed full of delicious lemon zest.
A must for fragrance lovers is the delightful Carthusia Profumi di Capri boutique. Its famed perfumes are based on old formulations created by Carthusian monks at the Certosa si San Giacomo. The high quality fragrances are pure and classic yet intense, using ingredients sourced from the isle. The scent of fresh lemons, figs and bergamot just feels so right in Capri.
Villa San Michele is a petite but interesting museum featuring a number of Roman artifacts. The villa was built by Swedish physician Axel Muthe at the turn of the 20th century on the ruins of the Roman Emperor Tiberius’ villa.
The highlight of the Villa San Michele is the stunning garden and incredible view overlooking the bay.
While Anacapri is steeped in low-key charm, Capri is the place to see and be seen, with a buzzing atmosphere and a mix of international tourists and Italians on vacation.
The centre of Capri is filled with designer stores such as Gucci, Tods, Blumarine and Fendi, however, the shop with the most enviable view has to be Prada.
For lunch, we stopped for a tasty al fresco lunch of pizza and Caprese salad at da Alberto, a casual terrace cafe and pasticceria that also serves gelato. It’s a traditional, central and affordable place to sit and people-watch in the centre of Capri.
Luckily, the centre of town is connected to the harbour by a funicular. Within a few minutes we were by the port and bound for the busy, narrow pebble beach nearby. While it was lovely to take a dip in the sea to cool down, there are better beaches to be found elsewhere on the island. The glamour crowd tend to gather at the private beach clubs around the isle.
We couldn’t resist leaving Capri without a few scoops of luscious sorbetti from one of the seafront gelaterias. If you still have some energy at the end of the day, it’s possible to further explore Sorrento before taking the water taxi back to the Silverwind.
The excursion was expertly planned and offered enough free time to explore Anacapri and Capri at leisure. Organised transport was a big benefit and helped us see a lot in a short time – plus Anna is one of the most entertaining guides that you could hope for.
Silversea’s Silver Wind departs on 9th August 2014 for a 9-day cruise from Venice to Rome and prices start from $4,450 per person. Calling at Venice, Koper, Split, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Sorrento and Rome. For more information and booking, visit: www.silversea.com
Read more about my Silversea Cruise around the Mediterranean:
- What is a Silversea luxury cruise around the Mediterranean really like?
- A day in the Sicilian city of Trapani and a countryside olive oil farm.
- A morning walk around historic Valletta in Malta.
Chérie City was a guest of Silversea
All photos by Chérie City
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