The ride up from Anacapri is open to the elements but it’s a real thrill with great views!
The chair-lift up to Monte Solaro from Anacapri is an exciting and exhilarating ride – provided the weather is good! There are great views on the way up (and down) and tremendous panoramas of the Faraglioni Rocks and over to the mainland from the restaurant at the top. Ride with Tony and Helen on the descent from the summit…
“Well, it’s a bit bumpy, but the view’s good, and it’s certainly airy enough! It’s actually very relaxing, sitting here with your feet dangling. It’s quite a change, after wandering about so much over the last few days.”
“Let’s see how Helen’s doing.” (Zooms into a close-up of Helen, who descends out of frame)
“The first part going down is quite steep, but then it really evens out. It takes about thirty minutes to come up, and fifteen minutes to come down. I’m not quite clear why there’s this difference, maybe I just misread it.” (I did, it takes 12 minutes in either direction, BUT beware the queues to come down from the top)
(Pan Pipes sound mysteriously; the chair bumps a little as it runs over the pylon support wheels)
“It’s a bit lumpy over the pylons, isn’t it?”
“Well, here we are onto the flat bit, as you can see; when you look ahead there, see the streams of people?”
“Now, as that’s the exciting bit over, we’ll just – fade to black…”
As you go up on the chair-lift from the lower station in Anacapri to the summit of Monte Solaro, you can see the Gulf of Naples with Vesuvius in the background, the Gulf of Salerno, the town of Anacapri itself, and the island of Ischia. The sea is really luminously blue when the sun is shining.
Monte Solaro is the highest point on Capri at 589 metres, and from there you get a good view of the famous Faraglioni Rocks emerging from the sea below, and a wide-ranging panorama of the island’s rugged coastline. They claim that there are over 850 species of plants on Capri, and I can believe it, because the vegetation is certainly varied.
The Seggovia (Chair Lift) Monte Solaro opening hours are:
- March – October : Non-stop 9.30 to 17.30
- November – February: non-stop 10.30 to 15.00
The return fare was 10 Euro in 2012, one way 7.50 Euro, and the journey time was given as 13 minutes, although their website says 12 minutes: I thought it took longer, though.
How to get there (Seggovia Monte Solaro website)
Read more about the Chairlift Ride from Anacapri to Monte Solaro Here.
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First visit to your site; really enjoyed the Monte Solare video and info. Also the info on Positano to Sorrento ferries. Was that your info?
Hi Mike, thanks for your kind comments! Don’t miss the chairlift, it’s a blast (provided the weather is good…).
Yes, we travelled on the ferry back to Sorrento, well worth it. We had the option of travelling back earlier with a bus, but after seeing the ferry timetable down on the harbour front realised that this was both practical and gave us the opportunity to stay longer. If you’re in Sorrento, this might be a preferred option, at least for one direction. It’s slower, of course, but a pleasant change of pace.