Trips & tickets
By boat from Genoa's Porto Antico along the Ligurian coast, with two hours in Portofino for the piazzetta and Castello Brown.
A boat with a shaded sundeck from Rapallo past Santa Margherita Ligure and the cliffs, stopping in Portofino.
With an instructor and marine guide, paddle from Paraggi to Portofino harbour and on towards the lighthouse, with optional snorkelling.
The full GetYourGuide listing for Portofino — boat trips, San Fruttuoso visits and day tours from Genoa and Milan, with live prices.
Portofino is a small harbour on a wooded headland on the Ligurian coast. The road in is narrow and parking is limited, so many visitors arrive by boat from Santa Margherita Ligure, Rapallo or Genoa.
Around the headland, the abbey at San Fruttuoso can only be reached by boat or on foot. Day tours from Milan and Genoa, coastal walks and kayak or diving trips complete the options compared here.
Plan it properly
Getting to Portofino without stress: the train to Santa Margherita Ligure, bus 782, the ferries from Rapallo and Santa Margherita, the 5 km coastal walk, the covered car park at about €8 an hour, and day trips by boat from Genoa, Rapallo and Milan.
What to see in Portofino: the piazzetta and harbour, the church of San Giorgio, Castello Brown (€10.00, hours by season), the 20-minute walk to the Punta del Capo lighthouse, the swimming spots at Baia Cannone, Niasca and Paraggi, and how to time your visit.
A guide to San Fruttuoso, the abbey reachable only on foot or by sea: its history since the 8th century, tickets (€10, family €26), the Christ of the Abyss placed in 1954, boats from Camogli all year and from Portofino in season, and walking the Portofino park's 80 km of paths.
The coast
Photographs licensed from Shutterstock.
You can, but the usual advice is to leave the motorway at Rapallo, park before Portofino and take the bus or a ferry in — and check the last return bus or boat.
The nearest station is Santa Margherita Ligure–Portofino on the Genoa–La Spezia line. From there take bus line 782, a ferry or the coastal walk.
Direct ferries from Genoa and other Ligurian towns run in the summer months, and boat tours from Genoa give you about two hours in Portofino.
Yes. An easy 1.5-hour guided kayak tour paddles from Paraggi to Portofino harbour and on towards the lighthouse.