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Portofino for a day trip or spend the night?

Portofino for a day trip or spend the night?

Old Jun 3rd, 2016, 06:06 PM
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Portofino for a day trip or spend the night?

My husband and I will be spending 3 nights in Manarola and are deciding on either doing a 4th night there or spending one night in Portofino. We are heading up to Lake Como afterwards. Is Portofino worth a stay or a better day trip? I found a hotel in our budget. Thank you!
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Old Jun 3rd, 2016, 07:16 PM
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Worth a stay this time of year---night and early morning not as crowded as during the day. I'd either to that or wait to return off season--day trip too much like disneyland memorial day weekend.
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Old Jun 4th, 2016, 02:11 AM
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Portofino is in a tiny cove, with overpriced restaurants and hotels. It's worth a couple of hours maximum, including a coffee stop.
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Old Jun 4th, 2016, 03:27 AM
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I agree with Rubicund. A few hours is enough.
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Old Jun 4th, 2016, 06:53 AM
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I have only stayed at the Splendido and I could have stayed there forever. If you can afford it, it is definitely worth a stay. Otherwise you could go there for lunch, the views are fantastic.

There are tons of things to do in Portofino, if you have a boat licence you could rent a boat, or walk in the Parco di Portofino, which is a huge protected area, and so wonderful!! Trails are very well marked and most are easy. If you enjoy shopping Portofino has some luxury boutiques with prices well below prices in the US.

Drinks and food are not overpriced at all in my opinion but I live in northern Europe.
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Old Jun 4th, 2016, 07:04 AM
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We fell in love in Portofino on a rainy March Wednesday night. The rest of the country was watching soccer, we were the only customers at the Ristorante Delfina. They treated us like a prince and a princess.

Six months later we were married in the next town, Santa Margherita Ligure, and we spent our wedding night at the Splendid. I agree with ticino--it is one of the world's great hotels. Lunch there would be a good idea because it would be less crowded in the cove.

I can't be truly objective because this is a special place for us, but the village is lovely and you can walk to Santa Margherita Ligure which has a long passerella, the trattoria Alfredo, and the (now open to the public) Villa Durazzo where we were married, which has been restored to the style of the times in which it was built.

If you can spend a night at the Splendido, don't miss it. When is your trip?

Thanks for this post. We are returning to Liguria next January (my husband is Italian) and it's been a while since we visited our two villages on the Italian Riviera.
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Old Jun 4th, 2016, 11:54 AM
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I would stay nearby in lovely Santa Margherita Ligure and spend a few hours in Portofino if you wish.
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Old Jun 4th, 2016, 03:59 PM
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Another vote for Santa Margherita Ligure and Da Alfredo. The ferry to Portofino takes about 20 minutes.
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Old Jun 4th, 2016, 04:10 PM
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Sadly, cruise ships now offload passengers in Portofino so check to see what if any cruise ships will be there on your dates if you decide to visit Portofino.
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Old Jun 4th, 2016, 06:33 PM
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Portofino is enchanting. A walk up the hill, past the church, and then out to the lighthouse is a wonderful way to see the coast and it's just beautiful.

A boat to San Fruttuoso is a beautiful way to spend them there. Visit the Abbey, have lunch, even swim in the cove. Unlike any experience I've had in Italy.

I would ditch the crowded CT, switch to Santa Margherita Ligure, and spend at least a day in Portofino.

The CT scenery is very nice, but there are really no "sights" other than the scenery. The Portofino Promontory offers fabulous scenery and some other interesting things to do.

Lunch at the Splendido would be fabulous. Nearby towns, SML and Camogli included, all have terrific restaurants.
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Old Jun 5th, 2016, 03:11 AM
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I hope I may say that we found Manarola to be the least attractive town of the CT. But then, you can buy a Trenitalia Cinque Terre Card that includes train service between Levanto and La Spezia (including all the Cinque Terre towns, of course) AND 'battello' (boat) service between Riomaggiore and Monterosso. At least, this was the case when we visited some years ago.

The best views of the CT towns are from the water and it's not just the five CT towns that are interesting to visit, also the surrounding towns like Lerici, Rapallo, Santa Margherita Ligure, Portovenere, ...

An extract from my (old) trip report:
"In Rapallo you can take the ferry to Santa Margherita Ligure, Portofino and San Fruttuoso. The ferry harbour is in the centre of the promenade.
It's easier to park your car in Rapallo and take the boat to the other towns than to drive to Portofino and try to get rid of your car over there!"
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Old Jun 5th, 2016, 03:23 AM
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I did Portofino as a day trip from my base in Rapallo, which is 2 minutes by train from Santa Margherita. I though Rapallo was the perfect base - I visited S. Margherita, Portofino, Camogli, the CT villages and Portovenere. Portofino I did by boat as suggested above. I spent several hours early in the day and it wasn't crowded at all (in July). The walk up to the castle has some of the best views I've seen. Still love the photo I took from there. But the rest of the village was - meh. And even gelato and water were twice the price they were in Rapallo so glad I wasn't staying there.

I took the boat to San Fruttuoso after Portofino and abbey was nice but the tiny beach was so crowded you literally could not have sat on it if you had wanted to.

Photos of the region- http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/ital...ligurian_coast

Portofino from the castle - www.pbase.com/annforcier/image/151986095

San Fruttuoso - www.pbase.com/annforcier/image/151986111
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Old Jun 5th, 2016, 07:46 AM
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We've vacationed in SML three times. I would love to return.
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Old Jun 5th, 2016, 05:54 PM
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Thanks for all of the help. Our trip is in early September. Can not justify the cost of a night at the Splendido but planned to have a meal there, either lunch or dinner. Any hotel recommendations in SML?
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Old Jun 6th, 2016, 12:41 AM
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We stayed at the Metropole and enjoyed it. Elegant dining room, informal bar, pool and nice rooms. It's a two minute walk down to sea level.

http://www.metropole.it/default.aspx?page=&id=&lang=EN
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Old Jun 6th, 2016, 08:51 PM
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We like the Hotel Mediterreaneo. There is a large room on the second floor that has french doors that open to a balcony. Well worth the extra money. Two blocks from the beach makes it less expensive.
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Old Jun 7th, 2016, 11:50 AM
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The Miramare is my favourite, maybe not as posh as the Splendido but just as enjoyable. Santa is indeed wonderful. Consider taking a water taxi to or from Portofino, it won't cost you more than an airport taxi and it's nicer than the big boats. There is also a wonderful inland path that starts almost behind the Miramare and that eventually comes down to the coast. It's a very easy path but I wouldn't attempt it if it's too hot, and I guess you won't have time for walking.
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Old Jun 7th, 2016, 12:27 PM
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If you have a car, there is a public underground parking garage in Portofino. The drive from Santa Margherita is 5-10 minutes.
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Old Jun 7th, 2016, 12:38 PM
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I also enjoyed staying at the Metropole. Very close to the train station which I considered a big plus.
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Old Jun 7th, 2016, 07:17 PM
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We just returned from a two week trip in northern Italy (i will write my trip report soon) and our favorite, hands down, was Santa Margherita Ligure and the Hotel Miramare, where we spent three nights.

We had a fourth floor corner room with a balcony and view of the gardens, and a second window overlooking the port. The people could not have been nicer. We had two dinners on the patio overlooking the sea (the bar serves light meals), and to sit with glasses of wine and great food - ahhh.

One day we walked along the sea and through the woods to Portofino, up to the Castello Brown, then back again; I’m guessing about 5 - 6 miles total. Wonderful scenery, few people on the path. Even Portofino wasn’t particularly crowded.

SML was a lovely small town with some good restaurants.

We took the train one day to the CT, and for us, it was not as enjoyable as we’d hoped. It was extremely crowded in early May. The train schedule has apparently been shortened from SML, and there were only three fast trains per day, so we felt limited by time constraints. The direct trains only went to Monterroso, so we needed to get off, then catch the local to Manarola (which we wanted to see, and where we walked a bit and had lunch).

The trails between Riomaggiore - Manarola and Manarola - Cornelia were closed (these are the less strenuous trails), so we opted not to walk village to village. I think that if we had walked, it would have been a totally different experience, so if that’s the focus of your trip, I’m sure you’ll love it. We had to make sure we got the train from Manarola to Vernazza, then Vernazza to Monterroso...

We have said to each other several times - wish we’d spent an extra night in SML. It was really special, relaxing, beautiful.

Just my two cents.
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