A Guide To Visiting Neptune’s Grotto
Neptune’s Grotto (Grotte di Nettuno, in Italian) is one of the largest marine caves in Italy and one of the most captivating gems of nature in the Mediterranean. It is a must-see when in Alghero, Sardinia, and thus attracts a lot of tourists during the year.
Little bit about the caves
The grotto was formed about two million years ago and inside await rooms with astounding karst formations, a white sandy beach, and a huge underground lake. They were discovered by a fisherman in the 18th century by chance and attracts thousands of people.
The cave extends horizontally for about 4 kilometers on the same level as the surface of the sea and lies in the marine protected area of Capo Caccia-Isola Piana, inside the Porto Conte Park.
In the Catalan language, it’s called Coves de Neptú and you will reach the cave after 654 steps clinging onto the western ridge of the promontory of Capo Caccia (in case steps are your enemy you can take the boat – read further down).
Best time to visit Neptune’s Grotto
The caves are open from 9 am in the morning and that is the time we highly recommend.
The caves can be entered each hour only, with a guide, but the later into the day the more people will visit – meaning it can get cramped even on the stairs down and up.
We visited early in the morning, where together with other people visiting we were a group of 9 people and 1 penguin. We had the caves basically for ourselves and know the cave holds up to 200 visitors per hour.
You can find information about the tour being 1 hour long, but it’s calculated with 200 people visiting, then it’s slow.
It took us also one hour, but we took our sweet time going down and into the cave as well, with no rush whatsoever.
How to get to Neptune’s Grotto
Located about 24 km (about 15 miles) from Alghero, waddling is not really an option, although some make a one-day trip out of it. It’s great for a hike as well as the trail will take you through one of the many National Parks.
In case time is of the essence, as it was with us, here are your three other options.
Bus to Neptune’s Grotto
- Takes about 50 minutes.
- Price from 2.50 € one-way and 4.50 € roundtrip.
- Line 9321 (the bus route operates every day)
- First bus leaving at 9:00 AM (whole timetable here)
The bus starts at the Via Catalogna (in case you took the bus from the airport you know the bus stop already) and it stops at various places on the way. The bus stop in front of the caves is called Capo Caccia.
Note: there are only a few buses (about 5 or 6) that will get you there during the day. The same goes on the way back, there are 3 buses going back, so you need o plan the visit carefully unless you don’t want to be stuck there.
IMPORTANT to know – buy your tickets at the Via Catalogna. In front of the cave, you can’t buy any and on the bus, the bus driver doesn’t sell them and doesn’t accept money (we learned it the hard way). The best is to download the DropTicket app and buy tickets there.
Boat to Neptune’s Grotto
A popular choice especially during the peak of the season. Great experience and the boar stops not only at the caves, but has more stops on the way.
When traveling by boat you will not have to take the 654 steps. Some see it as a positive, but to be honest they are missing out on amazing views.
The journey by boat takes about 40 minutes and there are two companies operating the trip. You will see stands where you can buy tickets at the port and boardwalk.
- Frecce delle Grotte di A. Piccinnu. Phone number +393683536824 or +393317229999. Tickets: adult €15 (*penguins free)
-
Linea Grotte Navisarda. Phone number +39079950603. Tickets: adult €16 (*penguins free)
Note: the prices of the ferry do not include the tickets to the cave.
Taxi to Neptune’s Grotto
The taxis in Alghero are white as far as we saw it and they have an official standpoint on the corner of the roads Banchina Dogana and Lungomarre Barcellona. It is the same spot you will be dropped off when taking a taxi from the airport going to the city center of Alghero.
In case you choose a taxi as your transport, make sure to arrange it upfront.
Our first choice was the bus, but we read the bus schedule wrong and at 6.30 am were standing in the sleeping town of Alghero, when one taxi driver arrived at the mentioned spot above and we took it.
The journey took faster than by bus (also our taxi driver went quite fast despite the wild boars jumping under the car) and it cost us 40 €.
Going by car to Neptune’s Grotto
If you have a rented car, it’s the easiest way, as you need to only consider the visiting time. It will still take you around 30 minutes, depending on how fast you go. There are a few car rentals around the town, but you can also rent a car at the airport. The parking lot in front of the cave is small and has space for about 7 to 10 cars. Coming later you will probably have to park on the road leading towards the cave. The parking is free of charge.
Beware of the wild boars when driving, there are many of them and you will see at least one for sure. We saw two on our way to Neptune’s caves.
From Alghero take State Road SS127 Bis to Fertilia, then switch to SP 55 to Capo Caccia. It’s about 25 km (15.5 miles) from the city.
Tickets to Neptune’s Grotto
Note: booking the tickets upfront is mandatory, especially during peak season. You can do so at the Alghero Experience website, where you choose the date and time of the entrance.
You can see there that the maximum number of people allowed is 200 and we saw booking where 150 places were already taken later the day. Again we highly recommend taking the first possible entrance at 9 am.
After the booking, you will receive an email with a QR code – download it to your phone or print it, as you will show it at the ticket booth where you will buy the tickets.
The ticket price is 14 € for adults (*penguins free entry) and it includes the guide as well. It is also possible to pay by card.
At Alghero Experience you can also buy a family or single bundle ticket, if you know you will also be visiting other things around Alghero it can be better to purchase to save some money.
It is also advised to be there 40 minutes before your entry as it takes time to waddle down. It should be around 15 minutes to waddle down, but when you take pictures it will be longer. Also when you will be surrounded by 150 other people it goes slower.
Waddling down the 654 steps
First, let’s note it is not as dramatic as it sounds to waddle down 654 steps (although going up is a different story), however, the views you will see are beyond dramatic and it’s worth taking the steps.
They cling onto the western ridge of the promontory of Capo Caccia and have various turns.
We came early morning and didn’t have to rush down taking our time and enjoying each turn. It is also a nice workout in case you plan to have a pizza later 😅.
If a penguin can do it, you can do it as well.
What to expect inside Neptune’s Grotto
The entrance is a passage covered by concretions of vegetation and dense with stalactites and stalagmites. You will be welcomed by a line of columns nine meters high and will waddle along with the crystal clear salty waters of Lake La Marmora, one hundred meters long and nine meters deep at the deepest point.
Note that the stalactites and mites only grow 1 millimeter per year, when you see the sheer scale of the stalagmites and stalactites down here you will be speechless.
From here you start to waddle through various rooms and each is more mesmerizing than the other. For example, a short waddle slightly downhill path takes you to the Room of ruins and a little waddle further is the Palace room.
Next is the Smith room or the Organ room, dedicated to an English captain, who was one of its earliest explorers. In the center of the room, you will see the great organ, the largest column in the entire grotto with rock flows resembling organ pipes. This was one of my favorites as next to the “organ” is a huge stalagmite resembling a Christmas tree, which is also its name.
The overall cave may surprise you a little, it is not as lost for the waddle and at one point you will turn around and take the same route back. There is also one part that is closed currently, but has as well a lake in it. Maybe it will be opened in the future.
It was interesting to listen to the history as well as how the stalagmites and stalactites are formed. The tour guide was very helpful in answering any questions.
Back out don’t forget you have to climb up the 654 stairs again and it’s a little harder than going down, but again you can take breaks and enjoy the views as we did. No rush.
Check out the whole waddle on our Youtube channel.
2 thoughts on “Neptune’s Grotto ~ Alghero, Sardinia”
Comments are closed.