We are going to be staying in Monterosso for a few days and thinking of visiting Portofino for a day trip.
Hoping someone could tell us if this is a good place to visit, the best way to get there, and any other advise.
Also, any other ideas for places to visit, other than the 5 villages?
Posted by
Fort Lauderdale, FL
1241 posts
You can take a train to S.Margherita (39 minutes) then change to a bus to Portofino (18 minutes). Just check your times, the train runs every 2 hours and the bus is hourly.
For other travel time info, you can use https://www.rome2rio.com. Very helpful site.
Posted by
Boston
1799 posts
On Monday and Friday in July and August, there is a ferry tour that visits Portofino for 3 hours from Monterosso, and includes a cruise along the Portofino peninsula past San Fruttuoso. The schedule has been the same for several years, and it is archived on this website: https://www.apathtolunch.com/2014/06/complete-cinque-terre-portovenere-la.html
You can also take the train to Rapallo or Santa Margherita and take the ferry from those cities to Portofino and San Fruttuoso. It's also nice to combine the ferry one way with the very pretty walk along the shore road between SML & Portofino, especially as the bus can be quite crowded.
Posted by
Minnesota 🎒
16537 posts
While I haven't done Portovenere personally, I've seen far more love expressed for that one than Portofino. It's said to be lovely and much less touristy and expensive.
https://www.apathtolunch.com/2013/01/getting-to-portovenere.html
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32350 posts
Another method that you can use to travel to Portofino....
- take the train from Monterosso to Santa Margherita Ligure.
- buy a ticket for the boat. As I recall, the Bar behind the rail station sells tickets.
- walk down the stairs from the station and around to the harbour. It's an easy walk. The Ferries leave about hourly.
- the Ferry trip is about 20 minutes.
You may be bored in Portofino after a short time, as there's not much to see other than the yachts in the harbour. You could walk up the hill to Castello Brown, as they sometimes have interesting displays there. That also provides spectacular views of the harbour.
In addition to the five villages, you could also visit Porto Venere. It's an easy Ferry ride from Monterosso, and it's nice to see the five towns from the water. The Ferry stops in all of the towns except Corniglia.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16895 posts
Ferry will be the most scenic way to get to Portofino. It looks like the same web site mentioned above can give you updates on roadway re-construction, especially relevant if you travel before "summer," but it's not on every page: https://www.apathtolunch.com/2014/07/portofino-ferry-boat-schedules-from.html. Actual bus schedules available closer to departure at https://moovitapp.com/lines?customerId=4908&metroId=1782&lang=en&ref=1.