Portofino from Genoa regional vs intercity train

That is a short ride you will not notice much; but some regionale have a/c some do not. Sunday may have less service versus during the week

Eileen,

Is your cruise just in Genova for the day? If so be sure to leave enough time to get back to the ship.

As you may know, you'll be travelling from whichever station you choose in Genova to Santa Margherita Ligure - Portofino rail station. When you arrive there, you'll have to walk down the long stairway and around to the harbour to connect with the boat to Portofino. As I recall, you can buy tickets for the boat in the Bar behind the rail station. You'll probably have a wait of up to an hour for the boat (depending on when your arrive) and then another 20 minutes or so to Portofino. Follow the same procedure for the trip back to Genova.

Thanks Jazz+Travels! True, it's a short ride. I guess I was picturing a crowded train, packed like sardines, with no a/c. Hopefully it won't be that bad.

Ken - thanks for the details! Yes, we're only in Genova for the day. Ship leaves at 5 pm, I plan to be back an hour before. Here's what I have planned out, hope it all works out.

(1) 9:22 am regional train from Genova Piazza Principe station (9:48 am intercity is backup)
(2) 10:06 am arrive S. Margherita Ligure station
(3) 11:15 am ferry to Portofino (10:15 if can catch it)
(4) 11:30 am arrive Portofino
(5) 11:30 - 2:00 Portofino lunch and walk around
(6) 2:00 pm ferry to S. Margherita
(7) 2:15 pm arrive S. Margherita
(8) 2:55 pm S. Margherita Ligure station for train back to Genoa (3:46 pm intercity is backup)
(9) 3:46 pm arrive back Genova Piazza Principe

The pace of meals in Italy is such that lunch at a real restaurant (as opposed to a cafe) may leave you precious little time for walking around Portofino. Be prepared to walk up to the bar/cash register when you're ready to pay if you have trouble catching the server's eye.

The big difference between Regional and Intercity is seat reservation. Regional is get on and go. No seat, stand till one is available. With a Regional ticket you can use any Regional train within the time period of the ticket. With an intercity you need a specific ticket. Miss it and you need a new ticket. A/C is the least of your concerns. All the trains have A/C.

Just be warned that I experienced significant train delays in the Riviera last year (I took numerous trains up and down the corridor while I was there for a few days), and I understand delays are common.

Personally, I wouldn't waste so much time just to get to and from Portofino, unless you have been before and have some special affection for it. Each extra mode of transportation adds room for delay and error. Why not stress less and pick another nice town like Santa Margherita Ligure or Camogli? You could start in Santa Margherita Ligure and take a (one stop) train up to Camogli on the way back if you want to see another town and feel you have the time.

That's a good point acraven, thanks! We will probably just walk around the harbor area. I hope to do a separate Italy trip at some point, so if we like Portofino, we'll be back! :)

Thanks for the details Frank!

Andrew H. - we haven't been to Portofino before. The ferry ride along the coast appeals to me though. Thanks for the warning about delays. I'm mentally prepared to pay for an expensive taxi ride if it comes to that (hope they won't be too hard to find?).

I took the ferry from Portofino to SMN. It was nice - but I don't recall it being especially memorable. If you are already going to be on a cruise, I'd guess you will already be seeing plenty of ocean scenery, so I guess I'm not sure why you'd be so excited about the ferry.

Maybe Portofino is great, but I never even got off the boat there. (Would have with more time.) It has a reputation as an expensive town, and that didn't appeal to me, so I didn't prioritize it over the other towns I saw.

Eileen,

I hope the trip goes according to your well laid plans. Given the time you'll be spent in travel and the concern about getting back to the ship in time vs. the short time you'll be spending in Portofino, I'm not sure it's worth the effort. Your call though. There's not a lot in Portofino for "sights" except for the town itself.

I haven't checked but I don't imagine the Intercity is that much more expensive than the Regionale. It might be worth paying a few Euro more for the trains to allow more of a "cushion" or perhaps a bit more time in Portofino.

Thanks again for all the replies! We're back from our trip and things pretty much went according to plan. We were travelling with a large group for the cruise, so it ended up being 11 people to Portofino. I breathed a sigh of relief when everyone was back on the ship! I'm glad we went though. The ferry ride was lovely. Quite different to see the coastline close up as opposed to far away from the cruise ship. Don't feel like I need to go back to Portofino, but would love to explore that region of Italy on a land trip eventually.

Some other thoughts:
- For some reason, I couldn't find S. Margherita Ligure on the ticket machine. We ended up going to a ticket counter. Luckily the line wasn't long and we were early enough.
- The train getting there was quite crowded. Maybe half of us managed to find seats spread out across different train cars. Coming back we all had seats close by.
- For lunch, we went to Ristorante Stella in Portofino. I called to make a reservation as we were waiting for the ferry, so they had our table for 11 ready when we arrived. It was not cheap, but I thought it was worth it. Food was delicious and we enjoyed the view of the harbor and people watching. Service was efficient and we had enough time to do a little shopping.
- We had granitas (not at the restaurant) and they were 6 euros each! I see why Portofino has a reputation for being expensive.
- Train back was delayed 5-10 minutes, but we made it back in plenty of time. :)

Eileen, thanks for the report! It's fun and informative to get actual reactions / experiences from folks who asked for input.