Portofino beaches are in fact… outside of Portofino town. 🙂
It’s a well known, half moon shaped town, with colorful houses and disproportionately large yachts moored in its small, pleasant bay.
Explore the beaches you can visit on your trip to Portofino. Most of them require some kind of transportation as they are located further south, in the magic land of Cinque Terre.
Sestri Levante Beach
It’s beach is sandy, the water is calm and the surrounding hills provide a nice backdrop to this interesting place.
It stretches along the town’s waterfront, and there is also a medical post at the beach to tend to any emergencies.
Lounge chairs are available for rent, and there are plenty of water sports facilities to enjoy.
Paraggi Beach
It is a great beach and one among the best in this area of Italy. It is perfectly inserted between two cliffs and it’s frequented by the locals who like to maintain their tan. 🙂
It is a bit secluded stretch of a beach, which is more romantic and is perfect for couples. The sun can be quite strong during the day here so don’t forget your sun protection.
There’s also a shipwreck of a merchant ship that is a popular tourist destination here. Thanks to its underwater life the Paraggi beach is very popular with divers as well. Might be interesting to know that this is the only beach in the world that preserves red corals.
Monterosso Beach
There is a ladder on the breakwater for deep-water access. The sunbathing area can be found directly under the church and there is a shower as well.
This beautiful beach can be reached by public transport or by car from Portofino.
Vernazza Beach
The Vernazza beach is characterized by a natural pier, and beautiful secluded coves, where you can enjoy swimming, diving and tanning with the locals.
Apart from swimming and sunbathing, you can watch fishermen on their colorful boats as they go about their business during the day. After a nice day at the beach, don’t miss a meal at one of Vernazza’s old restaurants.
Guvano Beach
If you’re ready for an adventure, then this is the beach for you!
Guvano beach can be reached via steps and the pathway and the abandoned railway tunnel that wind down the cliffs from Corniglia.
The locals do not usually promote Guvano beach to the tourists thus you will find it to be very quiet and very peaceful. It is not very easy to find though.
It is also a nudist beach but don’t let that stop you. It is completely optional and left to the individual.
To reach the beach, you will have to go to the bottom of the long stairway, which goes from the train station to the village. Walk down the ramps and continue on your right.
You will find a gate on an abandoned train tunnel. You will have to do a 15-minute walk through this tunnel to reach the Guvano beach.
You may have to pay a small fee (usually 5 Euro) when you reach the tunnel end.
Photo credit: gruenemann/Flickr CC BY 2.0
The glamorius Portofino is the place where you can see a sharp contrast between the tiny fishing town and large yachts competing for the space in the picturesque bay.
It has a lot of charm, and is close to a number of famous Cinque Terre villages which you must not miss if you are already in this part of the world.
But as you can see, there’s quite a few beaches for you to enjoy and have a wonderful time in Portofino!
