Hello everyone! Just looking for some feedback on Portofino. We are planning on doing a relatively extended trip in Europe (4 weeks) across three countries (well, four including Monaco): Britain, France, and Italy. Part of the trip will involve a stretch from Milan/Lake Como to Nice. I am debating on whether a 2 night stop on the way to Nice (I realize Portofino is a bit East off the aforementioned route) in Portofino will be "worth" 2 nights. The train ride from Milan to Nice is quite long, so I thought a stop in Genoa would break that up, and then I discovered that Portofino is right there. Alternatively, we could fly from Milan to Nice. So I need to decide if Portofino itself is worth it, or if we should just take the flight and skip Portofino. "Worth it" should be understood relatively here. Of course Portofino is worth it, and is quite picturesque. But we are also doing the Amalfi Coast, Varenna, and the French Riviera, so in light of those destinations, is it worth spending two nights in Portofino. Thanks everyone for your time!!
Posted by
11205 posts
We are not fans of Portofino and much prefer nearby Santa Margherita Ligure.
Portofino shops are filled with international high end goods and the crowds there to gaze are off putting. Yes, it has a beautiful setting but we don’t care for any of it.
Posted by
Gettysburg PA
6194 posts
We spent a few short hours in Portofino, that was plenty
We did enjoy our days in Santa Margherita though
Posted by
Citizen of the World
1439 posts
Portofino is a tiny, albeit picturesque, town of a little more than 500 residents whose marina is visited by the yachting set. While I wouldn’t recommend overnighting there, you might take a look at one of its neighboring towns with more going for them- Santa Margherita Ligure and Rapallo. They both are only 5 miles or so away and you can drop in on Portofino for a look if you decide to
stop over in the Italian Riviera.
Posted by
OP
8 posts
Wow, seems like Santa Margherita is getting love here. I'm going to look into this place. Thank you!!
Posted by
WA State
3961 posts
Although I can’t comment on staying in Portofino, like you I have been researching the area. I like what I am hearing about Santa Margherita & Rapallo! Enjoy your 4 week adventure. BTW we did a day trip to Monaco from Nice and loved it.
Posted by
Calgary, AB
154 posts
It wasn’t worth 1 let alone 2 nights for us.
For the Cinque Terra, we were staying 4 nights at a very nice B&B at Levanto and after spending 2 full days on CT, decided to go to Portofino on our last day. Took the train and bus. We walked around the town and then out along the cliffs / shore to the lighthouse to the SE. Having observed a ‘small’ 200 ft yacht dock and an older woman all dressed up with high heels and lots of jewelry disembark, we caught a bus back to Santa Margherita Liguria for rest of the day. A pleasant town, reasonable restaurants, nice church and caught train back to our B&B.
Later, I checked on the yacht Lady Kathryn and you can charter it for €450,000 per week plus assorted expenses. Portofino is a town for the very rich.
Posted by
Atlanta
3250 posts
Another non-fan of Portofino. We stayed in Camogli and used it as a base to visit nearby villages and Genoa. We had a car but used the train as was very convenient for day trips.
Posted by
Portland, OR
1091 posts
Agree with others that SML or Camogli are better to stay in than Portofino. While it is gorgeous, it is a tourist spot and it literally felt like a Disneyland ride as we were pulling up to it in the ferry. It was great for lunch, but I wouldn’t have spent the night there. It’s an easy short ferry ride from SML or Camogli if you would like to visit it. And if you’re into hiking, this is an amazing area to do so. San Fruttuoso is also a lovely stop.
All of this said, if you’re already doing all of those other riviera stops, I’m not sure that I would go out of my way to spend two nights here. I prefer to minimize hotel/location changes so I personally would eliminate this stop and just fly.
Posted by
Northern California
87 posts
We were in that region this summer. Stayed in the Rapallo area which I preferred to SML and Portofino - felt more local and less touristy. I would like to stay in Camogli next visit - we rented a boat and swam off the Camogli coast which was beautiful.
Posted by
Boise, ID, USA
2191 posts
Agree with the others. We stayed in Camogli, took the boat to Portofino, loved seeing it from the water (beautiful!), quickly wanted to get out of there, and walked to SML. We enjoyed the walk.
Posted by
MD
484 posts
I was there years ago and agree that while Portofino was worth wandering around and looking at all the yachts, I loved staying in Santa Margherita. It was easy to catch the train to Cinque Terre from SM and we loved walking around town. We also spent an afternoon in Portovenere, and liked it much better than Portofino.