Cinque Terre Day Trip Question

We spent an afternoon in Portofino. It was a very pleasant town with great views. We went on a sunny day and enjoyed sitting outside for lunch and apertivi.

Portofino doesn't do much for me. I usually go there just to take friends and relatives visiting from the US, but it's really not a big deal. You might want to hike to the lighthouse, which is a nice walk with view, but other than that it is just a yacht harbor for the rich and famous, in fact there are many paparazzi stationed there 24/7 hoping for a chance to take a photo of a VIP. Prices are high too, if you eat at a restaurant there. Don't bother to follow signs to the 'spiaggia' (beach). I don't even know how they can call it beach. If you need a beach, the closest decent one is in Paraggi, between SML and Portofino, but they charge a lot for a chair and an umbrella.

I stayed in Camogli and hiked to the abbey at San Fruttuoso (there are two trails; I took the batterie trail, the one with more views but that is much more difficult apparently; sometimes it was scary). Then I took the ferry to Santa Margarita Ligure; I didn't get off at Portofino when the boat stopped there. Camogli and SML are both really nice towns. Camogli is smaller and less touristy, though in summer I'd expect a lot of Italian tourists. To be honest, the boat ride itself (at least between San Fruttuoso, Portofino, and SML) wasn't quite as lovely or fun as it sounded for some reason. I enjoyed exploring at the places I stopped much more.

I think you could hit San Fruttuoso-Portofino-S. Margherita Ligure as a day trip. What are you interested in doing? If you like hiking and/or swimming, consider hiking into San Fruttuoso and having lunch and a lie/swim on the beach. We hiked from Ruta, got there by taking the bus from S. Margherita-Ligure. It was one of my favorite days in Italy. If you choose to go, I would make that your first place, especially if it's a weekend. We went on a Saturday and there were a lot of local day trippers there. Ferries in and out were crowded and if you miss a ferry, your only way out is hiking. And bring cash! There was no ATM there and all of the restaurants only accepted cash ( I was prepared but some in the group were not and I ended up buying everyone's ferry tickets for the return!!!).

It was neat to see Portofino and the yachts and be fabulous for a little bit but I couldn't have spent all day there. We hiked it, up to the light house, had a picnic lunch down on some beach we had to walk down to (and then back up out of, unfortunately). Then we left. But it is easy enough to get there via ferry or bus and then move along. I actually preferred Santa Margherita Ligure. By the way, if you are trying to by a train ticket there at an automated kiosk, the city comes up under "S." and not "Santa". That took me awhile to figure out.

If you are looking for a more active day trip, another hike is S. Margherita to Paraggi and then onto Portofino. You can do a more moderate hike from SM to Paraggi by going up into the hills and then back down again.
Or you can just walk along the board walk. Then the route from Paraggi to Portofino had some ups and downs but it was nothing too crazy. Paraggi also has a place where you can rent kayaks and go sea kayaking which was a really fun way to see the area. Kayaking experience was not needed. The guides were really good.

You can see some pics and places outside on Cameron's blog too

https://blog.ricksteves.com/cameron/2016/05/italian_riviera/