Italy, Portofino

There are so many picturesque little beach towns all over Italy, but Portofino really stands out. There is an entire song dedicated to it and there is a reason why this town is so loved.

With one main road to access it, Portofino is beautiful and simultaneously simple. The facades are handpainted in many wonderful colors and boats constantly visit its coast for water bathing on the pretty blue ocean surrounded by a beautiful natural and man made landscape.

Here I'll tell you everything you need to know to spend a perfect day in Portofino.

Tips for Portofino

There is only one road to get in and out. The road is two ways and it is extremely narrow. If you are driving and anything happens you'll get stuck there for hours (as I saw happening).

If you can, take the train to Santa Margherita or find a garage bu the train station to park your car and then take the local bus. Parking right in the town of Portofino is really hard if you have not booked a hotel with a parking lot.

The schedule of the bus is a bit off and it gets really crowded but goes very fast.

Walking from Santa Margherita to Portofino takes about one hour. Even with luggage, I would still choose the crowded bus. With the bus you have the option to end up walking in the worse case scenario of gettig stuck on that road, instead. The bus takes about twenty minutes to complete the entire route from Amargherita train station to Portofino.

To use the bus you can tap your credit card. This is the bus schedule to Portofino:

https://www.amt.genova.it/amt/orari_est/TOC/782.pdf

Portofino is truly expensive. A simple can of soda is about $12. Keep that in mind.

Start your day in Portofino with this view:

This is right by Villa Valdameri Mondadori

Have lunch at La Terrazza

From the previous point, Villa Valdameri Mondadori walk up to the hotel Belmond Splendido and have lunch at La Terrazza. Panoramic views and the delicious food.

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Portofino is very small, along with walking through town exploring you can do a hike to Castello Brown, although summer is really really hot and you may end up feeling more inclined to go have an aperitivo by the water.

https://www.castellobrown.com/en

Walk aroind and explore the shops for some fruit to eat as a snack on the beach or get a beautiful piece of art to hang on your wall, perhaps some wine too.

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Once you digested lunch after a walk through town try delicious gelato at Gelateria Gepi. Fragola is my favorite in Italy, natural, flavorful and refreshing when too hot in the summer.

Head to the beach by walking, about twenty minutes. On your walk to the beach you will find incredible views of Baia Canone, the famous Portofino postcard.

Beaches and Beach Clubs in Portofino

• Spiagga Paraggi, completely public, no beach clubs.

• Baia di Paraggi, almost all beach clubs and very small public beach in the center. Spiaggia dell'Olivetta, also public and very small. As you walk towards Santa Margherita there are plenty of more options.

After the beach don't miss out the town of Santa Margherita as this is very cute, bigger than Portofino and there is plenty to explore. I do have to say this is a much arger town and seeing it it's really nice but if you want to explore the entire area deeply you will need at least two full days.

I can't wait to go back and keep adding recomendations for this wonderful beach town. Hope you make the most of your day in Portofino!