Naples to Procida is thirty minutes by hydrofoil, Naples to Ischia an hour and a half by ferry: the difference is not the sea, it is the company you pick and the pier you leave from. Four owners cover the gulf — Caremar, SNAV, NLG and Alilauro — and a fifth name, Gescab, sells the Capri tickets without owning a single ship.
Who is who, in one line
- Caremar is the operator under public service obligation: car ferries, fast motor vessels and hydrofoils to Capri, Ischia, Casamicciola, Procida, Pozzuoli and Sorrento. It is the only one that takes your car.
- SNAV runs fast craft from Molo Beverello to Capri, Casamicciola and Procida, plus the long routes to the Aeolian and Pontine islands and Croatia.
- Navigazione Libera del Golfo (NLG) is the coast company: Capri and the seasonal links to Positano, Amalfi, Minori, Maiori, Cetara and Salerno.
- Alilauro serves Ischia, Forio and Sorrento from Naples, and nothing else: it has no direct Naples departures for Capri, Positano or Amalfi.
- Gescab is not a shipowner but a sales company: it issues tickets on the Capri lines for Alilauro Gruson, Alicost, NLG and SNAV. Buy at the “Gescab” window and you are buying an SNAV or NLG sailing.
Which pier you leave from
Getting the quay wrong costs you half an hour, and in Naples it happens often.
- Molo Beverello: hydrofoils and fast craft run by SNAV, NLG, Alilauro and Caremar. This is the pier for passengers without a car, a few minutes from piazza Municipio, where Alibus arrives.
- Calata Porta di Massa: Caremar ferries and fast motor vessels, the ones that load cars and motorbikes. Slower, cheaper, steadier when the sea gets up.
- Mergellina: marginal today. SNAV uses it for the Aeolian islands in summer; Alilauro lists no departures from here for the gulf islands.
The route-by-route table
One-way adult fares, from the companies’ official price lists; the landing fee is always extra.
| Route | Company | Naples pier | Minutes | Fare each way |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capri, jet | SNAV and NLG (Gescab ticket office) | Beverello | 50 | €23 R.I. runs · €25 standard |
| Capri, fast motor vessel | Caremar | Porta di Massa | 52–57 | €21.50 |
| Capri, ferry | Caremar | Porta di Massa | 80–87 | €14.80 |
| Ischia Porto, hydrofoil | Alilauro | Beverello | 60–65 | €23.30 regional band · €24.10 tourist |
| Ischia Porto, hydrofoil | Caremar | Beverello | 60–65 | €21.60 |
| Casamicciola, fast craft | SNAV | Beverello | 55 | from €23.80 |
| Ischia, ferry | Caremar | Porta di Massa | 90–100 | €14.80 |
| Procida, hydrofoil | Caremar | Beverello | 30–40 | €17.40 |
| Procida, fast craft | SNAV | Beverello | 40 | from €20.90 |
| Procida, ferry | Caremar | Porta di Massa | 60 | €12.70 |
| Sorrento, hydrofoil | Alilauro | Beverello | not published | €19.00 |
| Positano | NLG (SNAV seasonal) | Beverello | 1h50 per the partner listing | €32.00 |
| Amalfi | NLG | Beverello | not published | €32.50 |
Two cells stay empty for a reason: on the Beverello–Sorrento and Beverello–Amalfi routes Alilauro and NLG publish only the departure time, with no duration and no arrival time, and on Amalfi some sailings involve changing ship at Capri. Frequencies matter more than fares. For Capri the Gescab list counts twenty departures from Beverello between 7:00 and 20:00, alternating between SNAV and NLG, plus four Caremar ferries and four motor vessels from Porta di Massa, the first at 4:00. For Procida there are eight hydrofoils and seven ferries: the problem is never finding a place, it is the hour you come back.
How the fares work (and why the same sailing changes price)
This is the mechanism almost nobody explains to the passenger. Sailings in the regional band — 6:00 to 9:30, 13:00 to 15:00, 18:00 to 20:30 — carry the capped fare; those in the tourist band, 9:31–12:59 and 15:01–17:59, cost more. Gescab, SNAV and Alilauro all word it identically.
In plain terms: the 9:10 hydrofoil to Capri costs €23, the 11:10 costs €25. Booking early has nothing to do with it, the clock does. Leave early and you save twice, on the fare and on the queue at the Grotta Azzurra: the full plan is in Capri in a day.
Then come the extras, which add up on a family trip:
- landing on Capri €5.00 from April to October, €2.50 from November to March; landing on Procida €3.50 according to Caremar; boarding at Salerno €1.50 with Alilauro;
- luggage: €5 per piece on the Gescab list, €3.50 with Alilauro above 50x35x20 cm and 9 kg;
- Gescab advance sale: €1 extra per passenger, not applied to groups;
- bikes €7, pets €5 on both lists; infants free up to 2 without an assigned seat, children 2–12 at a reduced fare (€17 to Capri, €14.80 to Sorrento).
Watch one genuine inconsistency: on the same Capri line, the Gescab list gives €23–€25 while snav.it starts “from €27.50”. Compare the final price, not the label.
Rough seas and cancellations: how to check
Caremar warns that published timetables are the officially scheduled ones and can be subject to cancellations for unforeseen events, pointing to its passenger notices page. The fast craft are the first to go; ferries hold out longer, which is the practical reason to prefer them in winter or with children who get seasick.
Three rules: check the company’s notices the same morning, never buy the return on the last useful sailing and, if the way back looks risky, look for an alternative via Sorrento or overland along the coast, as in the Amalfi Coast in a day.
Port ticket office or partner voucher?
On GetYourGuide the same crossings exist as e-tickets, one way or return. Prices checked regularly.
The voucher pays off if you arrive on the day and would rather skip the queue at the Beverello windows. Buying at the port pays off if you are flexible about the hour: at the window you pick a regional-band sailing and pay less, which a fixed-time voucher will not let you do. For island combinations, see Ischia and Procida in a day.
Verdict
There is no “best company”: there is the right choice for the route. Caremar for the car, for the budget and for a running sea; SNAV and NLG for Capri, with the single Gescab ticket office; Alilauro for Ischia and Sorrento; NLG for the coast in season.
Three details separate a good trip from a ruined day: the right pier, a departure in the regional band and a return that is not the last sailing. The rest of the logistics is in getting around Naples and in the Circumvesuviana review.
Questions people ask
Which Naples pier does the Capri ferry leave from?
Hydrofoils and jets leave from Molo Beverello; the Caremar car ferries and fast motor vessels leave from Calata Porta di Massa. They are two different quays, about a ten-minute walk apart.
How much does it cost to get to Capri from Naples?
Hydrofoil €23 on the regional-interest runs and €25 on the others according to the Gescab price list; Caremar ferry €14.80; Caremar fast motor vessel €21.50. The Capri landing fee is added to all of them.
How much is the landing tax on Capri?
€5.00 from 1 April to 31 October and €2.50 from 1 November to 31 March, on top of the fare. On Procida, Caremar gives €3.50.
Why does the same crossing have different prices?
Departures in the regional band (6:00–9:30, 13:00–15:00, 18:00–20:30) carry a lower fare; those in the tourist band (9:31–12:59, 15:01–17:59) cost more. It has nothing to do with how early you book.
Is Gescab a shipping company?
No: it is the company that sells tickets on the Capri lines on behalf of Alilauro Gruson, Alicost, Navigazione Libera del Golfo and SNAV. The ship is not theirs.
Which is the fastest crossing and which the cheapest?
The fastest to the islands is Naples–Procida by hydrofoil, 30–40 minutes; the cheapest is the same trip by ferry, €12.70 in an hour.
What happens if the sea is rough?
The companies cancel the fast craft first, as they suffer more than the ferries. Caremar warns that published timetables can be subject to cancellations for unforeseen events and points to its passenger notices page.
Official sources
Read next
- CapriHydrofoil or ferry to Capri, what the day costs, whether the Blue Grotto is on and which tour pays. Verified timetables and prices compared.
- Ischia and ProcidaTwo islands in one day: ferry fares, island buses, thermal parks and the boat tour that joins them. Procida from €32.50. Compare and pick your day.
- Amalfi CoastMinivan, boat, ferry or train plus bus: what an Amalfi Coast day trip from Naples really costs, with verified timetables and tours compared.
- SorrentoCircumvesuviana, Campania Express, hydrofoil, shuttle or airport transfer: verified fares and times for a Sorrento day trip from Naples.
- AlibusHow Alibus ANM works: €5 a ride, three stops, departures every 20 minutes, Tap&Go and 90-minute validity. What to check before you board.
- Operators and platforms44 reviews of booking platforms and local operators in Naples: what each one sells, where it takes bookings and how to check it before you pay.