Tours and Tickets to Experience Santa Margherita Ligure

There are plenty of ways to experience Santa Margherita Ligure. Looking at ratings and reviews previously given by customers, these are the best tours available right now:

• Portofino Boat and Walking Tour with Pesto Cooking and Lunch
• Genoa and Portofino Day Trip from Milan
• Gulf of Portofino Private Boat Tour
• Exclusive Private Day Trip: Portofino and Santa Margherita from Portofino’s Port
• Private Boat Excursion to Portofino

If you’re based in Santa Margherita Ligure, day trip options include pretty Camogli, glitzy Portofino, or hilltop Rapallo—all are within a 30-minute drive. The five villages of the Cinque Terre are further along the coast, along with Genoa, where attractions like Genoa Aquarium await.

Keep in mind that most of the shoreline around Santa Margherita Ligure is made up of pebble beaches, but they’re pretty nonetheless. The public Spiaggia Minaglia is a pleasant spot close to town, while further south toward Portofino is Paraggi Bay (Baia di Paraggi), a beautiful, yet expensive, hangout.

Santa Margherita Ligure is small enough to manage without a car, and nearby destinations like Rapallo, Genoa, and Cinque Terre towns—such as Riomaggiore—can be visited by train. Portofino is within a 3-mile (5-kilometer) stroll along the seafront promenade. If you really need a vehicle, there are taxis around.

Summer is when Santa Margherita Ligure really comes to life, with beaches full and restaurants spilling outside in the balmy evenings. As is the case for many Italian coastal towns, Santa Margherita Ligure is busy in August, when many Italians flock to the seaside for vacations. Accommodation is most expensive at this time.

Visit Santa Margherita Ligure in February or March to catch the Festa di Primavera (spring festival) when food is prepared on the beach and served up around bonfires. Other notable festivals in the area include Camogli’s Sagra del Pesce (fish festival) in May and the Genoa Boat Festival in October.