Emerald Grotto (Grotta dello Smeraldo)
The Basics
The Emerald Grotto can only be entered with official grotto rowboats, and lines to enter can be long during summer as these rowboats only seat about 20 passengers at a time. To avoid the long wait by land, book a tour with a private boat and arrive by sea. Visits to the Emerald Cave are often included on half- and full-day Amalfi Coast tours from Sorrento and Naples, as well as on boat excursions to the islands of Capri and Ischia.
Things to Know Before You Go
Visitors can only enter the cave by small rowboat, which may be uncomfortable for those prone to seasickness.
The Emerald Grotto shouldn't be confused with the Blue Grotto, another popular marine cave located on the nearby island of Capri.
Entering and exiting the small rowboats may be a challenge for those with limited mobility.
Many private boat tours include stops at the Emerald Grotto and the nearby Fiordo di Furore, a picturesque fjord along the coast to the west.
How to Get There
The Emerald Grotto (Grotta dello Smeraldo) is located in Conca dei Marini between Positano and Amalfi. You can reach the grotto by land along the SS 163 coastal highway and take the elevator down to the cave entrance where rowboats await. Otherwise, you can arrive by sea with a private tour from Amalfi, Positano, or Sorrento and transfer to a rowboat to enter the cave.
Trip ideas
When to Get There
The sea cave is only open from May through September and is best visited between noon and 3pm, when the color of the water is most vivid.
The Nativity Scene at the Emerald Grotto
An underwater Nativity scene was created in the cave in 1956, and divers place flowers around the manger each Christmas.
- Things to do in Amalfi Coast
- Things to do in Positano
- Things to do in Capri
- Things to do in Pompeii
- Things to do in Amalfi
- Things to do in Naples
- Things to do in Salerno
- Things to do in Matera
- Things to do in Rome
- Things to do in Palermo
- Things to do in Taormina
- Things to do in Catania
- Things to do in Split
- Things to do in Lazio
- Things to do in Puglia
- Praiano
- Ravello
- Coral Museum (Museo del Corallo)
- Spaggia Grande Beach
- Mt. Faito (Monte Faito)
- Correale di Terranova Museum (Museo Correale di Terranova)
- Piazza Tasso
- Sorrento St. Anthony Basilica (Basilica di Sant’Antonino)
- Cloister of San Francesco (Chiostro di San Francesco)
- Tasso Theater (Teatro Tasso)
- Sorrento Foundation (Fondazione Sorrento)
- Via Capo
- Punta del Capo
- Baths of the Queen Giovanna (Bagni della Regina Giovanna)
- Mt. Vesuvius (Monte Vesuvio)