Blue Grotto

Where: Grotta Azzurra, Anacapri
Best for: Electric-blue light
Allow: 1 hr 30 min
Tickets: From €6; Checked September 2026

The Blue Grotto is a sea cave on Capri's northwest coast, in the municipality of Anacapri, about sixty meters long and lit by sunlight entering through an underwater opening and reflecting off the sandy floor, which turns the water an electric blue. The way in is a fissure barely a meter high, so visitors lie back in a small rowboat while the boatman pulls them through the chain. Roman concrete niches under the water, once holding statues of Neptune and Tritons, show that this was a maritime nymphaeum belonging to the Villa di Gradola, associated with Tiberius. The cave was made famous again in 1826 by the German poet August Kopisch and the painter Ernst Fries, whose account drew Europe's travelers to Capri.

A natural sea cave with a documented Roman maritime-nymphaeum layer, connected archaeologically to the nearby Villa di Gradola.

Sources and citations (2)

Ministero della CulturaGrotta AzzurraSite overviewRead source
Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per l'Area Metropolitana di NapoliVilla di Gradola, CapriVilla and nymphaeum relationshipRead source

Four things worth finding

If you see nothing else, see these.

The entrance fissure
A gap barely a couple of meters high, so visitors lie back in a small boat while the boatman pulls along a chain.Entrance on the sea face
The blue light
A submerged opening filters the light so the water glows blue.Inside the main chamber
The silver glow
Anything submerged, including the oars, appears silver because of tiny air bubbles.On the water surface
Roman nymphaeum remains
A Roman landing platform is still visible, and statues of Poseidon and sea creatures were found in 1963.Inside the cave and at its landing

Plan your visit

Everything you need before you go.

Tickets: From €6
Booking: No booking needed
Time needed: 1 hr 30 min
Best time: A calm, clear morning, late spring to early fall
Getting there: By land, take the bus from Anacapri's center to the grotto's landing, or walk down the road from Anacapri and take the steps to the rowboat queue. By sea, motorboats leave Marina Grande on Capri and take you to the grotto's mouth, where you switch to a rowboat.
Accessibility: Not suitable for anyone who cannot lie flat in a small moving boat or has limited mobility: entry is through a very low, narrow opening, in boats for four passengers.

€6 is the entrance ticket (€2 for EU citizens aged 18 to 25; free for under-6s). The small rowboat is a separate cash payment of about €12 to €13, so the cave costs roughly €18 to €19 in total, plus the boat from Marina Grande if you do not come by land. EU under-18s pay only the rowboat. Last updated September 2026. Prices change, so check the official site before you go.

Keep a spare day in your Capri plan: the grotto closes at the first sign of a swell, and boat visitors sometimes reach the entrance only to find it shut.

See tours Official website

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Grotta Azzurra, 80071 Anacapri (NA)