Animal Crossing: New Horizons - What's special about Kapp'n Islands?

The world of Animal Crossing: New Horizons just got bigger, thanks to the seafaring Kapp’n and his tours of undiscovered islands.

Visiting far-flung locales with the Kapp’n not only lets you listen to one of his rousing sea shanties on the journey there, but gives you access to a host of difficult to access content that would otherwise be tempting you to time travel.

How do you visit the Kapp’n’s islands in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?

Heading off on a trip with Kapp'n is simple. Just head down to your island's pier and you should find him there with his trusty dingy.

Pay the fare of 1000 Nook Miles and you'll be whisked away to a never-before-seen place.

You can take a tour with Kapp'n just once a day.

What’s different about the Kapp’n’s islands in Animal Crossing: New Horizons?

In previous Animal Crossing games, the Kapp’n would take you to the same tropical island every time after singing you a song. Then, once you’d landed, you could catch the rarest and most valuable bugs in those games, along with food items you couldn’t find anywhere else like coconuts and bananas.

However, you can already snag all of those things in New Horizons, so what’s so special about these latest Kapp’n islands?

Well, this time around they’re more similar to the Dodo Airlines islands you visit with Orville and Wilbur, but with all sorts of exciting extras.

You can get:

• New DIY Recipes in bottled messages
• Crops and other produce for cooking
• Vines that serve as permanent ladders without using inventory space
• Gyroid Fragments
• And chances at rare and valuable fish and bugs

Interestingly, by visiting a remote island with Kapp’n you can find places that are in a different season to your main island. Meaning you can catch hard-to-find critters outside of when they’d normally appear, as well as enjoy event weather like Cherry Blossom year-round.

You can also find islands that are a different time of day from your main island - perfect for if you only get the chance to either in the morning or after work!

The islands you visit with the Kapp’n can also have different weather conditions from your main island, so you might just find a coelacanth in the rain, or a meteor shower at night.

Taking a trip with Kapp'n is well worth the time, and probably more worth it for advanced players than chancing a plane-ride with Orville and Wilbur.

Kapp'n's Islands also play a key role in where to find Brewster and unlocking The Roost cafe.

While they also present a wild counterpoint to the more civilized addition of the shopping plaza on Harv's Island.

Or for more general help, we also have a full page of Animal Crossing: New Horizons guides, plus lists of fish prices, bug prices, and sea creature prices.