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Portofino Tours › MapUpdated 2026-09-28

Portofino Map: The Promontory, the Harbours and Every Start

Hours, prices and access verified by the Portofino Tours team — last checked 2026-09-28.

On a map Portofino is a small harbour at the tip of a green headland. Before you buy Portofino tickets for a trip, find where it starts. It may be the village, a pier across the gulf, a bay before the village or a quay in Genoa.

The coast from west to east

The promontory juts south into the sea between Genoa and the Gulf of Tigullio. Camogli sits on its western side, and Santa Margherita and Rapallo on the eastern. Portofino sits in a small bay near the tip.

Genoa
The city to the west, with the cruise terminal and Porto Antico. A car takes about an hour to Portofino, one private walk's listing says.
Camogli
The town on the western side of the promontory. Its boats sail to San Fruttuoso all year.
Punta Chiappa
A point on the Camogli side of the promontory. Boats stop off it to swim.
San Fruttuoso
The bay with no road, on the south side, with the abbey and the statue offshore.
The lighthouse
The white light on the tip of the headland, past the Olivetta. Boats and the kayak go round it.
Portofino
The village round its narrow harbour, with the Piazzetta at the top.
Paraggi
The small bay a kilometre before the village, with the kayak base at Niasca.
Santa Margherita Ligure
The town with the station, the ferry pier and the long seafront.
Rapallo
The town further along the gulf, with the motorway exit and several boarding points.

The village itself: harbour, square, church and castle

Portofino is compact. The quays run round the harbour, and the Piazzetta opens at its head. From the harbour, Salita San Giorgio climbs to the church on the cliff.

The castle stands above the harbour, reached from Via alla Penisola or from its park. A path leads on toward the lighthouse, and painted tiles on a wall point you the way. Things to do covers each sight, with its hours.

Round the headland by boat

The classic boat run shows you the promontory in order. The small-group boat from Portofino harbour spends ten minutes off the lighthouse. Then it crosses the bay of the underwater statue and stops in the bay of San Fruttuoso.

After a swim stop it passes Punta Chiappa and reaches Camogli, then turns back. That is the whole south side of the park, seen from the water in two and a half hours.

Boats from Rapallo start on the gulf side. They pass Santa Margherita or Paraggi before they reach Portofino.

Further along the gulf: Chiavari, Sestri Levante and the Cinque Terre

East of Rapallo the shore runs on to Chiavari, Lavagna and Sestri Levante. Ferry line 2 links them to Portofino and San Fruttuoso, and line 5 runs from them to the Cinque Terre all day.

The Cinque Terre lie further south-east, past Sestri Levante. From Santa Margherita or Rapallo, line 4 spends 3 hours ashore in Monterosso and 1 in Riomaggiore. One private boat also sails there for the day.

The harbours, and which boats use them

Most trips on the water start in one of three towns: Portofino, Santa Margherita or Rapallo. The public ferries link all three, and continue round the headland to San Fruttuoso.

From Camogli, a different company sails to San Fruttuoso all year. From Genoa, boats come east along the coast in season.

The protected sea round the headland

The sea round the promontory is a marine protected area, split into zones A, B and C. It touches three comuni: Camogli, Portofino and Santa Margherita.

On the western side, boats may not anchor over the seagrass from the Cenobio dei Dogi to Camogli's Tonnarella. Your skipper knows the lines.

A wooded headland and a small harbour below it, the open sea beyond
A wooded headland and a small harbour below it, the open sea beyond

The park on the land

Above the sea, the Parco di Portofino covers the headland, with 80 km of trails. The trail from Portofino to San Fruttuoso runs along the south side.

From Santa Margherita, a gentler route climbs past Nozarego and the Mulino del Gassetta to the village. Activities gives each route's grade and time.

Where each trip starts

The tripWhere you meetTown
Small-group boatMolo Umberto I, outside Ristorante CraccoPortofino
Private boatsMolo Umberto I, or opposite Ristorante StellaPortofino
Private walksThe Piazzetta, or the Molo Isolotto tender pierPortofino
Kayak and paddleboardThe Niasca base, Via Duca degli Abruzzi 62Paraggi
Pesto walkPiazza Martiri della Libertà, by the ferry pierSanta Margherita Ligure
Private boats and walksMolo Maloncello, or Piazza Vittorio Veneto 1Santa Margherita Ligure
Small-group and private boatsRotonda Marconi, by the river bridgeRapallo
Private boatsThe Andrea Doria pier, or pier F12 at Porto Carlo RivaRapallo
Private hikeYour hotelSanta Margherita, Camogli or Portofino
Day boatPorto Antico, Molo Ponte Morosini 1Genoa
Bus and boat dayVia Fanti d'Italia, by the cruise terminalGenoa

Your booking gives the exact pier, and a boat may change it with the sea. Check it the evening before. Getting there shows how to reach each town.

Map of Portofino and the gulf

Portofino, Liguria, Italy
The promontory, from Camogli to Rapallo

The map loads from Google only when you press the button. Zoom in to find the harbour, Paraggi and the bay of San Fruttuoso.

Found your start?

Boats from three harbours, the kayak from Paraggi, and days from Genoa.

See the top Portofino toursCompare every tour

Questions about the map

Where is Portofino?
On the tip of a promontory on the Italian Riviera, east of Genoa, in Liguria. It faces the Gulf of Tigullio, with Santa Margherita and Rapallo along the shore. Camogli lies on the other side of the headland.
How far is San Fruttuoso from Portofino?
It is the next bay west, round the headland. The ferry runs between them in season. On foot, the park's guided hike took 2 hours 30.
Where do the Portofino boats leave from?
From Portofino harbour, from Santa Margherita's ferry pier and Molo Maloncello, and from three piers in Rapallo. One day boat sails from Porto Antico in Genoa.
Is there a map of the park's trails?
The park publishes its trails and restored sites on its own website. Check its notices before a walk, because paths close after storms.

Where these facts come from

The marine area and its zones are its own page, and the park is its own site, checked 28 September 2026. The ferry lines are the consortium's. Every meeting point comes from that trip's own listing.

Trips from the other harbours

Next: read getting there, see where to stay, or pick a trip on Portofino Tours.