We’ve been lucky enough to travel with large groups of friends a couple of times, where it’s financially feasible to rent a private boat for the day and explore the coast and local islands. The first two times were in Ibiza, with day trips to Formentera. This time, we teamed up with our housemates, as well as another couple of friends and got an amazing boat through Plaghia Charters, for a day on the water and a trip to the island of Capri.
The charter company’s driver picked us all up in a van, at the bus stop located very close to our rental house. The drive to the dock at one of the small inlets in Praiano was only about 10 minutes away, and after a quick stop at the adjacent shop/restaurant for a last-minute bottle of wine, some beer and a few extra snacks, we were on our way! Our captain, Alessandro, was super-welcoming and helped us get situated and get an iTunes playlist going for us.
We made our way down the coast, stopping just short of Postiano, at a private beach for some impromptu cliff-jumping and quick dip in the Mediterranean. With a couple of successful jumps and one not-so-successful one (only bruised legs and ego from a rough, water landing), we poured some drinks and made our way to the island of Capri. We avoided the super-touristy Blue Grotto, but did visit the Green Grotto and a couple of other small inlets to swim and dive and have an amazing time overall.
After making an unremarkable short visit to the actual town of Capri, we had lunch at the famous La Fontelina Beach Club and were impressed with the quality of the food, especially the various seafood pastas. The views here are amazing. Nothing but a sea of blue and white umbrellas, pouring out into the yacht-filled waters off the coast. Definitely worth the trip, all things considered. Once lunch was done, Alessandro had a small water taxi take us back to our boat and then it was off to Praiano to end our day.
Our excitement for the day poured over into the evening and after a short shower/nap session, we were back to Positano for some drinks at Franco’s and then dinner at Covo de Saraceni. We ended the night with a few drinks at Music On The Rocks, a combination restaurant/nightclub/jazz lounge right on the beach in Positano. We still don’t have our luggage, but after a day like this, the sting of that is finally starting to fade, a bit.
We will post more details about this part of our trip in an upcoming post “Three Days on the Amalfi Coast” including travel tips and ideas.