Private tours and shore excursions starting from Portofino, Santa Margherita Ligure and Rapallo

In the morning your private driver will pick you up at your hotel or cruise ship and take you to Portofino, where you will meet your professional English speaking tour guide.

You'll start your day with a guided visit of this beautiful village, considered the pearl of the Tigullio area and a popular VIP location. It has colourfully painted fishermen houses at the harbour, which have been transformed to elegant boutiques and bars.

After a hike up to the Church of San Giorgio and the Brown Castle - built around the year 1000 and used as a defensive fortress in Napoleonic times – you will move on to Rapallo with the private transfer, enjoying the magnificent view on this stretch of coastline.

Rapallo is another charming little sea town to be discovered, but first of all you will learn how to prepare the original Genovese Pesto with the traditional mortar in one of the typical "bottega" of the region. The pesto course is followed by delicious local snacks. Your guide will finish his/her service at the end of the pesto course, while you can decide to stroll around in Rapallo and enjoy its city center or the seaside promenade.

If you would like to share an experience with others and get to know fellow travelers, this is the perfect tour for you in Portofino.

You will enjoy a panoramic ferry boat ride from Santa Margherita Ligure to Portofino, stroll around Portofino - guided by a professional, local tour leader - learn the secrets of pesto making and finally, savour a light lunch near the sea.

The tour ends in Portofino, but you can stay as long as you'd like to. The eventual ferry boat ride back to Santa Margherita Ligure is included in the price.

The tour is available every day, between March and October. It lasts 3 hours.

Enjoy a unique culinary experience: a professional cooking class with one of the most well-known cooks of Liguria in his restaurant right in the centre of Sestri Levante. Private transfer by car or minivan from the Portofino area to the restaurant.

During the morning you will prepare fine meals of the Ligurian cuisine. You learn how to prepare the original Genovese Pesto with the traditional mortar and many more regional specialties.

The cooking class is followed by a gourmet lunch. After lunch you will have some free time to visit Sestri Levante and its famous bay "Baia del Silenzio". In the afternoon you will return to the hotel or the cruise ship by car or minivan.

Enjoy an amazing day on an exclusive motor yacht and see the picturesque Cinque Terre.

In the morning meet the English speaking hostess in one of the harbours of the Portofino area. You will embark on a private motor yacht and you will see the beautiful coast of Eastern Liguria. The cruise continues to the unique Cinque Terre coast.

Get off at the picturesque village of Vernazza and have lunch in a famous restaurant on the beautiful piazza, near the harbour. The seafood lunch includes starters, a first course, a second course and a dessert, 1/4 l of local wine per person and water.

Return by boat to the Portofino area late afternoon and enjoy the beautiful lights on the coastline.

The most authentic way to discover the natural beauty around Portofino is to go on foot. The Natural Park of Portofino is a great place for hiking and features a lot of beautiful trails leading through varied Mediterranean vegetation. You will enjoy a unique panorama over the steep coast.

Pick up at your hotel with a private car or minivan and transfer to Portofino where you'll meet your professional hiking guide.

You will start your hike directly in Portofino. After about 2 hours of hiking on a beautiful trail you will reach the picturesque bay of San Fruttuoso with its ancient abbey. The place can be reached only by foot or by boat, there is no road to San Fruttuoso.

In this hidden bay you will enjoy a seafood lunch in one of the lovely restaurants. Possibility to visit the abbey. Return to Portofino by public boat in the afternoon.

Important: please bring good hiking shoes, a hat and sufficient drinking water. To participate in this program, a good fitness level is necessary.

One of the most authentic Cinque Terre experiences with a beautiful hike off the beaten track.

In the morning a private driver will take you from the Portofino area to Levanto, where you will meet your professional English speaking hiking guide. You will catch the train to Manarola together.

You will hike through pine forests, olive groves and the famous terraced vineyards. The stunning views over the sea and the tiny villages will make you speechless.

In this unique scenery, the famous Cinque Terre wine is produced. Your guide will tell you about the history of wine making in this area, the construction of dry stone walls and the people, who since generations have been struggling with the surrounding conditions and who are so proud of every drop of wine they produce.

Once you reach Corniglia, you will taste these fine wines and enjoy some local snacks like focaccia or vegetable cake. In the afternoon you will catch the train to Monterosso, and after a walk through this village, your driver will take you back to your hotel.

Important: please bring good hiking shoes, a hat and sufficient drinking water. To participate in this program, a good fitness level is necessary. The total hiking time is about 2.5 hours.

You will be picked up by our car or minivan and transferred to the Cinque Terre, to the village of Monterosso. The drive takes about 1.5 hours. You will meet your professional English speaking guide in Monterosso. Depending on your wishes and the weather conditions you are free to plan your visit of the Cinque Terre with your guide.

You can just enjoy the atmosphere of the little villages, hopping from one to the next by train or by public boat. You can decide to spend longer time in one of them and have a wonderful lunch in a typical trattoria with local seafood specialties. You can do a wine tasting if you'd like.

After the Cinque Terre National Park was declared a UNESCO world heritage site, the villages of Riomaggiore, Manarola, Corniglia, Vernazza and Monterosso have become a destination to be ticked off the bucket list for many travelers. However, our local expert knows how to move around best in the Cinque Terre and which villages to visit at what time of the day.

Your guide will show you some hidden treasures that other travelers won’t see, tell you about the work and life of the locals, the tradition of wine making and the true essence of the local landscape and history. You will discover secret corners and wonderful views by venturing up the stairs and along the tiny, narrow alleys on the sides. A memorable experience off the beaten track. The car will bring you back in the afternoon to the Portofino area.

You will be picked up by our car or minivan and transferred to the main center of Genoa. (Driving time is about 1 hour.) You will meet your professional English speaking guide in the old port area, where the power of this town, an ancient maritime republic, began.

You will start your walking tour with a typical local breakfast: cappuccino with focaccia. After this delicious breakfast, you will visit the Cathedral of San Lorenzo and Garibaldi Street, declared UNESCO world heritage site with its magnificent palaces. Throughout history, these palaces hosted emperors, kings, popes and ambassadors. The glorious past of Genoa is still evident here.

During your walking tour you will have a look at the characteristic old shops and the lively oriental market with its thousand colours. Before finishing the tour, your guide will suggest you one of the most famous typical osterias in town where you might want to have lunch, enjoying the simple but delicious traditional specialties of Genoa.

In the afternoon, you will have some free time for shopping, a visit to the famous aquarium or one of the numerous museums. At around 4:00PM, return to your hotel with the private transfer.