Planning
How to Visit Portofino: Harbours, Ferries, the Two Paid Sights (2026)
No gate and no entry fee: where to arrive, the ferry from Santa Margherita and Rapallo, the abbey and the castle, and how long to give the village.
Portofino Tours Blog
Short answers to the questions you ask before a day on this coast. Do you need a ticket? Can you walk to San Fruttuoso? Can the children paddle? Comparing the Portofino Italy tours? The fares sit side by side there.
Start with the how-to post if this is your first visit, and the San Fruttuoso post if you want the bay next door as well. One post weighs the long run down the coast to the Cinque Terre, one collects what surprises people about the village, and the family post sets out who can paddle, who must swim and where the steps are. Longer planning pieces are in the guides.
San Fruttuoso
San Fruttuoso from Portofino: by Boat or on Foot?
A bay with no road: the public boats, the path over the promontory, the abbey's price and hours, and which days out stop there.
Day trips
Portofino to the Cinque Terre by Boat: Private Day or Public Ferry
The long way down the coast: a private day with two hours in Vernazza, or the public line with three hours in Monterosso. What each costs and gives you.
The village
Surprising Facts About Portofino
A Roman name for dolphins, a church rebuilt four times, two pines planted for a wedding, a bronze figure on the seabed and a village of a few hundred people.
Families
Portofino with Kids: Swims, Steps and the Easiest Day Out
Who can paddle and who must swim, the child prices at the abbey, the steps up to the church, and the gentlest ways onto the water.
The practical answers are in the visitor guide and the FAQs, and every tour is compared on Portofino Tours.