Outdoor Portofino, Portofino

This kayak tour was the highlight of our Italian honeymoon. A shoutout to Sara for helping us make it happen! It was actually thunderstorming two hours before our scheduled sunset kayak tour and we were notified that we would have to cancel, we were so bummed but decided to head over anyway just in case. Then the weather cleared up and it was so beautiful, maybe there was a chance we could still do the tour! So we met Sara and explained the whole situation and she really went out of her way to help us get out on the water. After lengthy phone calls, we finally made it out there and the Cinque Terrae is jaw droppingly beautiful. We couldn't have asked for a better experience. We got to see a small waterfall, drink wine and eat pesto foccacia, it really made our trip! Thank you so much Sara and Outdoor Portofino for getting through all of the issues and having us be able to enjoy the Cinque Terrae from the water.

What an absolutely gorgeous part of the world to visit. I had seen Andrea Boccellis outdoor concert on TV, filmed in what appeared to be this quaint, beautiful Italian coastal harbour.. I had no idea at that time, that 9 years later I would get to visit the wonderful village of Portofino at the heart of the Italian riviera. I stayed in the centre of the fishing village in a well furnished and nicely decorated clean appartment, directly over a restaurant in the main square and for the week I was there I felt as if I was part of the village life. I would wake early and sit drinking my coffee and eating a delicious fresh croissant from 8am, when one of the two side street cafes would open. As I happily watched the village start it's day, you would see the same characters also start their daily routines. This usually consisted of the Captain of the coastguard, fully dressed in his smart uniform parading slowly down the cobbled street. the local police station was just on the corner and I couldn't help but notice a rather dashing female officer sporting a blonde ponytail who was a regular feature of the local pedestrian traffic. That's probably just me being my usual artist self, noticing these characters amongst the various delivery men and tradesmen moving amongst the palm tree edged village streets, flanked by exquisite Italian buildings with bright pastel shades of every colour. I absorbed the wonderfully relaxed atmmosphere, as this sleepy village prepared for another busy day of Italian village life. I visited towards the end of the season in October, so I think I missed the worst traffic of the tourist season, yet the weather and temperature of the air and sea was still perfect. This beautiful, picturesque fishing harbour was full of boats moored against a backdrop of brightly painted houses. The local restaurants served delicious, though quite expensive food and there was a wide choice of eating establishments from the popular Pizzeria to fine dining where the movie and pop stars have dined. The locally produced wines are exquisite. On weekends a few billionaires can be seen parking their super yatches in the harbour, as this is definitely a stop over for the super rich. The rest of us are quite happy to enjoy the wonderful ferry rides along the Ligurian coast to see Santa Margherita or the Benedictine monastery and beautiful beach of San Fruttuoso, which lies between Portofino and Camogli. Portofino has a small, but interesting sculpture park and the usual collection of gift shops, high end boutiques, jewellers and art galleries. Don't miss out on taking a fairly short walk to the Portofino light House where you can sometimes catch the dolphins chasing fish into the bay and catch a panoramic view of the exquisite coast line. The surrounding hills of Portofino are surrounded by small olive groves and vineyards and locally grown hops has resulted in the production of two very palatable beers. The fresh tomatoes, herbs, vegetables, fish, pasta and bread from this region add the extra ingredient to a perfect vacation.There are wonderful, fully stocked shops that sell everything of the best quality, they are situated by the main Cathedral in Santa Margherita. If you are self catering, my advice would be to buy your supplies there, or at least stock up before you head out, perhaps visit the home made pasta shop for a taste of Italy. The roads into Portofino gets busy, especially at rush hour and Italy is full of scooters busily zipping back and forth... Car parking is expensive and extremely limited in Portofino, so unless you have designated parking in the private villa you're staying in, my advice would be to park in a quiet back street in Santa Margherita and rely on the very regular bus servive that runs between Santa Margherita and Portofino. Another option is to cycle along the coast road or walk along the specially designed, well maintained coastal path that has guard rails and runs parallel to the road... Enjoy your visit to this spectacular part of Italy.