Santa Margherita Ligure
 

We will be staying at the Hotel Jolanda for I night in late August. Can anyone suggest a cool itinerary for having such a short time. We will be driving from Nice, France- will have all day to get there and will be returning in the mid-afternoon the next day. Any suggestions would be helfpul. Thanks!

You would be close enough to the Cinque Terre to go visit a town or two. It's an easy train ride, very short. Or, Portofino is near Santa Margherita Ligure, too. Both make nice day-trips.

Thank you! Do you happen to know how short the train ride to Cinque Terre area is?

Divert to Camogli as you drive that route for lunch. The CT is an hour from there.

From SML to Vernazza is 45-60 minute train ride.

If you are looking for truly "cool," you can take a ferry to Portofino, and from there you can take another to San Fruttuoso and/or Camogli. If you like hiking, you can do a morning walk to Portofino (just make sure you get a good map from the hotel) and take the ferry back to SML.

Portofino is very touristy place with ostentatiously posh restaurants and designer label shops. If you want to escape those crowds and that atmosphere, walk away from the harbor and up into the hills overlooking the Mediterranean for some peace and lovely views.

Another "cool" option is to take the train or car to Sestri Levante, which has two beautiful, large sand beaches (rather rare in the area).

In the alternative, you can go to Cinque Terre, but be prepared to find it very crowded at that time of year. The famed "Lover's Walk" between Riomaggiore and Manarola is the shortest and easiest, but it is also the least rewarding (most of it is concrete, there is chain link fencing, etc.)

Or you might enjoy just staying put and enjoying Santa Margherita Ligure. On your way back to France, stop for a leisurely lunch in Camogli.

Thank you!

Kathryncee

I also recently drove from Nice to SML and can accurately tell you the trip will take you approximately 3 hours if you stick to the autostrada. To get to SML, you turn off at the Rapallo exit.

If you are only staying 1 night in SML, I would suggest that you leave Nice nice and early, get there late morning, check into your hotel have a quick lunch and then explore SML. Take the #7 bus to Portofino (you buy the bus ticket from the blue vending machine at the main bus stop at the round-about, it will cost you 1 Euro per person). Explore Portofino and take ferry back from there (4.50 Euro per person).

The next day, take the 8.55am train to the furthest town, Riomaggiore, in CT, it should take approximately 1 hour. By lunch you should arrive at the 3rd town Corniglia. It is an easy walk/hike up to this point with the exception of the stairs leading up to Corniglia from the trail, 365 steps!

Since you are leaving SML mid-afternoon, I would suggest you train to the next 2 towns. Vernazza, the prettiest of the 5 is a must see. If you have time, have lunch at Gambero Rosso by the tiny beach. After lunch, you can continue on to Monterosso al Mare by train then train back to SML.

Hope the above helps! Have fun!

S

The bus between SML and Portofino is actually #82, NOT #7, my apologies. (I must have been thinking about the one between Firenze and Fiesole!)

S

Thank you- that helps alot.. just wish I had more time... Where did you stay in Nice?

Kathryncee

On our return from Italy back to Nice area, we tried Hotel Welcome in Villefranche and Brise Marine in St Jean Cap Ferrat, both were unfortunately 'complet'.

The owner of Brise Marine recommended the Hotel Panorama on top of the hill and we ended up staying there for one night before flying out of Nice airport the next day. We paid 120E for the night and had a room with a perfect view of the port of Cap Ferrat and the Mediterranean. We visited Villa Rothchild which is a 10-minute walk from the hotel and ate at one of the restaurants at the port, namely Restaurant Le Pirate which serves a mean paella and fish soup!

S

Kathryncee, my daughter and I stayed at the Hotel le Grimaldi in Nice, and the Nuova Riviera B&B in Santa Margherita Ligure. We were in both towns just last month. My full trip report on each is posted on this forum, and include references on the hotels, great restaurants we found, and details on day-trips and transportation to them.
If you can't find the reports, I could post them in full on this thread for you. Both towns we enjoyed and would highly recommend. We spent three nights in each.

ttt