Genoa and Portofino Day Tour: Explore Christopher Columbus Birthplace and Ligurian Sea Pearl
3.6
30 Ratings
Genova

Explore Genoa, celebrated as Christopher Columbus’s hometown, a city steeped in magnificent history. Immerse yourself in the allure of this Northern Italian city during your morning engagements. Additionally, experience the charm of Portofino, known as the jewel of the Ligurian sea, with its iridescent green waters.

Duration: 9 hours
Cancellation: 1 day learn more
Highlights
  • Cattedrale di San Lorenzo - Duomo di Genova - The biggest medieval town in Europe, Genoa maintains the charm of the ancient maritime republic. The Ancient Harbor renovated in 1992 by the architect Renzo Piano and the labyrinth of narrow alleyways in the old town are just two of the many attractions of this city.

A professional guide will show you the heart of the city on an inspiring walking tour.

  • Santa Margherita Ligure - Free time for lunch and to explore the colorful village of Santa Margherita Ligure on the Tigullio gulf, nicknamed the Dolphins Gulf due to the large school of dolphins that are often spotted there. Here you take the boat for a mini-cruise to the charming fishing village of Portofino.
  • Castello Brown - Free time to expolore Portofino, the half-moon shaped sea side village, whose beauty has been narrated across the millennia by writers and poets such as Guy de Maupassant.

The journey ends with the return by boat to Santa Margherita, where your coach will be waiting to take you back to Milan.

What's Included
  • Scenic roundtrip boat ride from Santa Margherita Ligure to Portofino
  • Guidance from an English-speaking guide
  • Comfortable in-vehicle air conditioning
  • Engaging 2-hour walking tour of Genoa
What's Not Included
  • Gratuities
  • Food and drinks, unless specified
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
Additional Information
  • Times subjected to organization and/or traffic problem.
Location
City Sightseeing Genova
Piazza Caricamento
Meet your guide at the City Sightseeing bus stop in Piazza Caricamento in Genova
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
3.6
(30 Ratings)
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Experience674458
Sep 16, 2023
Adventure - Good value, competent guides, well managed on time. No fault of tour, personally disappointed in commercialism of Portofino. Big outdoor shopping Mall alrho Pucci had the best designs
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Bill_v
Aug 1, 2022
The walking tour of Genoa... - The walking tour of Genoa was very informative. Santa Margherita and Portofino were very beautiful as well.
Review provided by Viator
Alberto
Jul 14, 2022
Fantastic! - Had a wonderful time on this tour! The tour guide, Antonella, was so friendly and funny. She spoke English very well and has great knowledge of Genova and it’s history. The trip was well planned and organized. I had such a great time, I highly recommend!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Angelln9441uh
Jul 10, 2022
Enjoyable and easy to navigate - A very enjoyable tour. Great Information and ease of travel was safe and fun. Tour guides were easy to communicate with and very helpful.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Aprille
Aug 11, 2023
A nice day in Genoa and Portofino - The tour was very informative. We got to walk around Genoa and learn all about its history. We then took a bus ride to St Margharita Ligure and had some lunch there and got to explore the beautiful beachside town. In total we had about 2 hours of free time here. Then, from there, we took a ferry to Portofino. Portofino is incredible but the only thing I would say is that I wish we got more free time in Portofino. We only had about 1.15minutes. I think 2 hours would have been nice. Otherwise, it is a great tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Lorime5192td
May 9, 2023
Not what I hoped - The tour guide Antonella was humorous and very knowledgeable about Genoa, however there were about 30 ppl in the tour and the use of headphones and microphone did not work. Unless your proximity to the tour guide was within 2 feet the connection cut out and we missed 3/4 of what she was saying. It was a Shame bc she was great, but we did not learn much about Genoa bc we couldn’t hear her. If you are looking for transportation to Santa margherita and Portofino I guess it’s good, but such limited time in both places and then just provided a ferry ticket for a 1 hour 40 min ride back to Genoa without enough time to really explore Portofino. Other tours are more expensive but I guess you get what you pay for.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Misty_s
Oct 7, 2022
So so - This tour was okay not the best walking tour I’ve been on. The tour was over booked (in my opinion) and the tour guide was dealing with people from a couple of different towns that were on a bus and walking pick up point. I think this tour should be limited on its number of people so the guide isn’t spending his time trying to located members of the group. The tour company also forgot to book our boat ride back so they booked us train tickets at the last minute and WhatsApp the train tickets to one person then the tour guide having to deal with getting the other half of his tour to his bus he pointed to the train station and directed us to go there. Imagine the confusion for tourists that are not familiar with the language having to depend on a stranger for their ticket. There was confusion among the people depending on each other to take the correct train. That wasn’t cool, totally not a reflection on our tour guide. He tried his best with what he was working with. We were looking forward to the boat ride back where we would have continued our tour of Genova and that didn’t happen. Santa Margarita was a cute little town and we were glad to have walked around and explore it. Portofino was a very short stop so I really couldn’t say much about it especially since it wasn’t guided so we had to figure it out so we just sat down at a cafe had a drink and people watched until we had to meet our tour guide.
Review provided by Viator
Suzanne_d
Jul 29, 2022
It was chaotic in... - It was chaotic in Portofino trying to leave on the ferry. One couple was almost left behind if fellow passengers hadn’t seen them. Portofino was very crowded too.
Review provided by Viator
Jamie
Aug 5, 2023
Excursion cancelled without reason - We had a day trip planned and it was cancelled the day before with no explanation given. We were on a cruise ship and was unable to plan another excursion with less than 24hrs notice
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Roland-sab
May 14, 2023
Save your money and do it yourself - Honestly this tour was a waste of time. The tour is combined with a group from Milan and as a result the bus arrived late to pick us up. After a short bus trip we walked around the city for about 30 minutes and then stopped for free time of 20 minutes then waited around for another 30 minutes until the bus turned up. We arrived at Santa Margherita Ligure where we had around an hour of free time, but really it ended up being 20 minutes because by the time you find somewhere to have lunch, order and eat there goes 40 minutes. Again once we were back at the meeting point we waited around for 20 minutes for no reason that we could understand. From there we took the ferry to Portofino whereby we were given 40 minutes free time which was just enough to run through the town, line up for an ice cream and get back to the meeting point where by we waited around for another 20-30 minutes for the boat to arrive. This was the point was where the frustration hit a tipping point, the people who were collected from Genoa were supposed to take the Ferry back to Genoa from Portofino, not to Santa Margherita, however, when we disembarked from the bus at Santa Margherita everyone was told it was ok to leave our bags on the bus, so we (the group members from Genoa) did too. The tour guide then said (when we were at Portofino waiting for the ferry) that we were not going with the group back to Santa Margherita but instead Genoa, however our belongings were on the bus. So in the end we went back to Santa Margherita with the rest of the group whereby we were told that we would have to find our own way back to Genoa which was by train. We were told that we would be reimbursed for the train costs, however after following up with the email address and phone number given to us, no funds have been reimbursed and no reply to my emails has been given. So long story short, don't bother paying for this tour, instead purchase a train ticket from Genoa station to Santa Margarita Ligure station which will cost 10 Euro (or free if you have the Eurail pass) and then purchase a return ferry ticket from Santa Margherita to Portofino for about 16 euro or a ferry ticket from Portofino to Genoa Euro and actually enjoy your time and not have to wait around for no reason.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
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1 Adult
June 2024
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