Portofino or Cinque Terre?

[elaine5]

We are stopping in Portofino in mid-Sept. We are active, early 60s.We've walked/hiked CT 10 years ago, but never been to P. Wondering if we should just stay in Portofino area and DIY to Rapallo and surrounds vs ship tour to Vernazza and Monterrosso? Are there enough picturesque hikes/walks to occupy a day with lunch? However, I have read that many times the ships miss Portofino. So, if we had to stop in Genoa, is it easy enough to get to the Portofino area?  We don't want to be stuck on Genoa for the day--we want to be in small towns near the coast. 

Edited July 13, 2022 by elaine5

[euro cruiser]

If you wind up in Genova it's easy to take the train from Piazza Principe (a quick 500 meters/one-third of a mile walk from the cruise port) to Rapallo and do the hike from there to Portofino (see here:  Hike from Rapallo-Santa Margherita-Portofino - Daily Nautica).

 

The hike is about 8 km/five miles so you might want to do it one way and take a bus or taxi back.

 

The train ride takes between 30 minutes to one hour, depending on the train you get.  There is no need to buy these tickets in advance, making it an easy fall back option if you suddenly find yourself at Genova.

[marazul]

15 hours ago, elaine5 said:

We are stopping in Portofino in mid-Sept. We are active, early 60s.We've walked/hiked CT 10 years ago, but never been to P. Wondering if we should just stay in Portofino area and DIY to Rapallo and surrounds vs ship tour to Vernazza and Monterrosso? Are there enough picturesque hikes/walks to occupy a day with lunch? However, I have read that many times the ships miss Portofino. So, if we had to stop in Genoa, is it easy enough to get to the Portofino area?  We don't want to be stuck on Genoa for the day--we want to be in small towns near the coast. 

You can hike from Portofino to San Fruttuoso and take the ferry from there.  Check the schedules because some of the ferries can take you back to Genoa. 

https://discovergenoa.com/how-to-get-to-portofino/

[edinburgher]

I could also suggest to visit Santa Margherita (Ligure)from Portofino, or even from Genoa. Threre are several options for getting between both S M and Portofino including walking, although the very short ferry ride is super scenic and I would recommend you use it at least one way. Santa Margherita is a lovely seaside resort town with several points of interest, parks etc.  There will be info and images on eg Tripadvisor.  Portofino is so tiny you won't maybe spend much time there and SM is so close by it is an easy option.

 

Therre have been multiple threads with some great info just recently, and reading them should help you decide.  As they fall into threads for Genoa, la Spezia, Cinque Terre and Portofino you would need to search for the threads on each in turn.

 

Finding them is very easy

 

Go to this Italy Forum (but not to your own post)

When you are logged in, just below your user name you will see the empty SEARCH BOX.

Simply insert the name of ONE of the places mentioned above, (or any other )then select ON THIS FORUM from the drop down under the search box, then all you have to do is hit the little magnifying glass next to the search box and all previous threads containing that word will appear ready to be read.  Repeat for each of the other destinsations.

 

this to start you off:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2858141-genoa-excursions/#comment-63363893

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Edited June 19 by edinburgher

 

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Edited July 14, 2022 by edinburgher

[shemp2000]

Cinque Terre

[bennybear]

Keep in mind that the Cinque Terre is not the same as ten years ago,  major landslides closed a lot of pathways and you still need to check what is open.  Also the hordes have discovered it,  so I would avoid it.