2 nights – July 2020 – family and friends trip
For these locations we were only able to spend a few days there, but we really enjoyed them and in many cases we easily could have spent more time in that spot.
Like the rest of our travel guides, this is not an all-encompassing account of everything we did. We do not want to make a list of ‘Best’ or ‘Must-do’ experiences since we know it depends on your personal preferences. These are only our personal favorites.
Portofino is easily the most famous place on the Ligurian coast. It is an exceptionally cute little port town that is not historically important but famous for being a place for Hollywood stars of the past. Because this picture-perfect town is tiny and the peninsula is mostly forest, it is extremely difficult to find hotels and the ones that are available are very expensive. Even though it took a lot of perseverance to find an affordable place to stay (we stayed two towns over in Rapallo), it was worth it because we didn’t want to miss this highlight during our time in Italy.
- Food: In Rapallo we ate a great meal at Armida 1905 with lots of bright citrus flavors. We also enjoyed the famous focaccia genovese at a local focacceria (we especially loved the focaccia with cheese). We also liked the gelato at La Carapina with interesting ice cream bar options.
- Boat tour – We knew that doing a boat tour was the best way to see the Portofino peninsula, but we were not successful in finding a boat for our group prior to going. After calling many companies and walking down to the harbor, we eventually found a “deal” for 800 euros for the day! Aside from the price, it ended up being a lot of fun and was a beautiful boat. They also provided lots of foodie touches. We had raw shrimp on a salt block with prosecco and the highlight was a stop in Recco. Recco is not that cute of a town (much of it was destroyed by bombings in WWII), but we had focaccia from La Baracchetta di Biagio delivered fresh to the boat and toured their kitchen. We also walked to enjoy great gelato at Da Vitto. Afterwards, we swam in the waters below the beautiful homes owned by the ultra-wealthy families of Italy and stopped at Abbey di San Fruttuoso. We highly recommend trying to secure a boat experience while in Portofino.
- After our boat tour, we enjoyed an aperitivo on the piazza in Portofino along the water and then walked along a really nice trail from Portofino to Santa Margherita Ligure (about 45 minutes). We would recommend staying in Santa Margherita Ligure. It seemed a little nicer than Rapallo and easier access to Portofino and Baia di Paraggi.
The Avventura 