We are spending 3 days in the general Portofino area after la Morra and on our way to Montepulciano. I’ve read some great ideas on this site on CInque Terra but not 100% sure we will go, Maybe a day? What are the must-do and must-sees in this area? Also should we stay in Portofino or elsewhere?
Thank you!!!
Cinque Terre is hard to cover in a day. Hard to see all 5 towns in a day, particularly if you want to do the hike from Monterrosso. Two alternatives if you only have a day are to park in Monterosso and take a boat to Vernazza (a cute fun town easy to explore) and back, or head to La Spezia and tool around the town for a day
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Thank you. I had read about Vernazza. I also just edited my question to ask if we should stay in Portofino. DO you think we should spend three days in Vernazza?
No. Staying in Portofino, Sta Margarita or Camogli (where we spent the first week of our honeymoon gorging on focaccia) are more rewarding if you have limited time, particularly if you have a car. Each can be day trips, but we’ve spent weeks there exploring. Ideally, couple of months in Liguria would be optimal
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We stayed a couple of days in Santa Margarita and visited Portofino.
Given the opportunity, I’d do it that way again.
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We did this and enjoyed it. SM has lots of options for everything with Portofino being less so. We stayed at the Continental Hotel but I think it’s gotten much more expensive but it does have an unbeatable location. But we went to Portofino twice out of three days for lunch. Take this for what it’s worth given that it was 12 years ago but O Magazin in Portofino was an awesome restaurant. Perfect pulpa and potato salad, braised whole fish and I will never forget the Pappardelle alla Portofino. We actually ate if for dessert. Both days. Portofino is a magical little place. Enjoy it!
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Portofino is beautiful and, unless you want to camp out at the Splendido or Splendito Mare, Rapallo and Santa Margherita are more convenient to more places. The municipal coastal bus is great for covering all three.
The Excelsior Palace is located between Rapallo and Santa Margherita, has its own beach club, and is lovely.
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We stayed in an Airbnb apartment in the village of San Lorenzo della Costa, which is just up the hill from Santa Margherita di Ligure, and it was fantastic. Santa Margherita is much more of a liveable town than Portofino, which is very beautiful but tiny and crowded. We took the bus down into Santa Margherita daily, which was super easy and fast. (Parking is impossible.)
Also it is very easy to get to Cinque Terre from Santa Margherita by train, which we did. We went to Manarola, had lunch at a great little restaurant called Cappun Magru (get the anchovies!), and hiked straight up and over the hill to Riomaggiore - which was totally exhausting and definitely not for everyone, but I found amazing.
There’s a good thread here: Cinque Terre and Portofino, Italy recs
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