Visiting Portofino: The Harbour, the Two Paid Sights and the Ferries

There is no gate to Portofino, so your visit does not start with a ticket. Before you choose a Portofino tour, settle three things: where your day starts, whether you want to go ashore in the village, and which of the two paid sights you want to see.

The village is free: two sights charge for entry

Portofino is a fishing village on a small bay at the tip of its promontory, east of Genoa. You can walk the quays, sit in the Piazzetta and climb to the church of San Giorgio without paying anyone. The village keeps no opening hours, and the church is open in daylight.

Two sights nearby charge for entry. The Abbey of San Fruttuoso, in the next bay to the west, belongs to the FAI and costs €10 for an adult. Castello Brown, the comune's castle on the path above the harbour, costs €10, and you pay at its gate.

The abbey sells its ticket at the door and nowhere else. No tour fare includes it, and some listings say so plainly, so budget for it if your boat stops long enough for a visit. The castle ticket is sold only at the castle gate, never online. The full prices, hours and history of the bay are on the San Fruttuoso page.

Opening hours for the two paid sights

In October the abbey opens 10:00 to 15:45, with last entry 45 minutes before closing. From November it keeps the same hours but closes on Mondays that are not public holidays. It also closes whenever the Camogli boats cannot run, because on a rough day nobody can reach it.

The castle opens 10:00 to 18:00 in October, then 10:00 to 16:00 from 1 November to 31 March. Last entry is 30 minutes before closing. Its summer hours are longer, up to 21:00 from 1 June to 30 August.

Where your day starts

Most boat tours do not leave from Portofino itself. Many start in Santa Margherita Ligure or Rapallo, across the gulf, and a few in Genoa. The kayak and the paddleboard leave Paraggi, a small bay about a kilometre before the village.

Your booking names the pier. Check it the night before, because Portofino, Santa Margherita and Rapallo each have more than one meeting point.

Every harbour and meeting point is plotted on the map. The train, the bus and the ferries that bring you to the coast are covered in getting there.

Ways to see Portofino

On foot, you see the village. From the water, you see what the village is built on: the headland, the lighthouse, the cliffs and the next bays along the coast. Most visitors want some of both.

A boat tour is not a ferry. Most small-group and private boats sail past the village and stop at sea to swim, and do not put you ashore unless a landing is on their route. The one that does, from Rapallo, gives you an hour in Portofino before it heads for San Fruttuoso.

Getting here by ferry

The Servizio Marittimo del Tigullio runs the public boats along this coast. Line 1 links Rapallo, Santa Margherita, Portofino and San Fruttuoso, daily in season. A return from Santa Margherita to Portofino costs €20 in 2026, and from Rapallo €22.

You buy tickets at the pier. Each sailing needs a minimum number of passengers, and boats are cancelled when the sea is rough, so have a plan for the road if the weather turns.

How much time you need

Half a day covers the harbour, the Piazzetta, San Giorgio and the path out towards the lighthouse. Give yourself a full day if you add San Fruttuoso, by boat or on the trail over the promontory. A boat tour of two and a half to four hours fits into either.

Arriving by cruise ship

Ships anchored off the village send their tenders to Molo Isolotto in Portofino, and ships off Santa Margherita to Molo Maloncello. Some private walks meet you at either. From Genoa, a bus and boat day starts next to the cruise terminal and gives you about two hours in the village.

Leave a margin for the tender queue on the way back. A tour that ends late is a missed ship, and the operators do not wait.

Steps, cobbles and access

The quays are level, but everything above them climbs: steps to San Giorgio, a steep path to the castle, cobbled lanes. Only one listing here, a full-day private charter, says it is wheelchair accessible. At San Fruttuoso you land on a jetty and climb several flights of steps, and the FAI says the abbey itself is difficult for a wheelchair.

If anyone in your party has limited mobility, ask the operator before you book. One reviewer's private guide shaped a walk around a wheelchair and helped with the ferry.

On the day: what to bring

• Cash in euros. The small-group boat from Portofino harbour adds a fuel surcharge of €10 a person, paid in cash at boarding, on top of the fare you booked.
• Swimwear and a towel. Most boats stop to swim, and some ask you to bring your own towel.
• Shoes with grip. The lanes and steps are stone, and the trail to San Fruttuoso is a hike.
• Something to eat, if you paddle. The kayak base at Paraggi sells nothing, so bring water and a snack.

Weather, the sea and refunds

Every tour listed here refunds in full if you cancel at least 24 hours ahead, except one full-day private charter, which is non-refundable. A late arrival is not refunded.

The sea decides the rest. Skippers change the route or do not sail in rough water, and a cancelled trip is the operator's to refund or move. Operators often offer a calmer day instead, sometimes a week ahead, so keep a spare day in your plans if you can.

Asked before you go