1 in the Bay of Naples, each dog and his brother is a “Local Guide”.
The high level of poverty in the Bay of Naples means that today, every dog and his brother is a “Tour Guide”. Know that the best guides do not work for almost nothing. So spend a little more for your local guide. While paying a little more is no guarantee that you’ll get a higher quality Capri guide, know that many will be willing to work for next to nothing, and you generally pay for what you get.
2. Avoid booking your guide at the last minute.
The best guides are booked in advance. This is just a simple fact of life. Good quality guides can occasionally be found at the last minute if there are cancellations, but they are usually highly sought after. Especially avoid the “hawkers” on the boat crossing from Sorrento to Capri, who will try to sign you up for their tour. You will end up being dragged to all the most touristy places.
3. Everyone is “selling” Capri because it “attracts customers.”
Agencies often use Capri to “hook” clients, as it is very famous. They do this by packing Capri with other places on the same tour. These agencies may be selling you a tour of Capri, whether they know anything about the place or not.
Try to book your tour through someone you already have a history with or have developed a relationship with. Ideally, the person through whom you book your tour will know about tourism on the island and have experience. Making connections like this is probably the best approach if you can find one.
4. Capri and Pompeii Packages
If you are sold a package, know that combining Capri and Pompeii in one day is a very complete day of sightseeing. By virtue of the way local logistics work, if you’re buying a package, there’s a good chance you’ll arrive at each location at the same time as 1,000 other tourists. That’s a lot of people to share tourist facilities with and you may find it stressful, to say the least.
This is especially true if you arrive on a cruise ship to Naples or Sorrento. The best selling tour is a full day tour “Pompeii Sorrento Capri”. This tour shows you a very brief overview of Pompeii, a very quick visit to the island of Capri, and shopping time in Sorrento.
A better balance for your time in the Bay of Naples would be a maximum of two sites in one day.
