Get out of Milan for the day and explore the Italian Riviera, seeing the seaside port town of Genoa and prettied-up Portofino on this action-packed guided tour. Learn about the history of both towns, as you take a guided walking tour of Genoa and then take some free time to discover Portofino on your own.

Full-day trip to Genoa and Portofino from Milan
2-hour Genoa walking tour with your knowledgeable guide
Roundtrip boat ride from Santa Margherita Ligure to Portofino
See Portofino at your own pace, and enjoy its stunning Mediterranean scenery and chic ambience
Transport by air-condioned, luxury coach

What's Included

Professional guide
2-hour Genoa walking tour
Roundtrip boat ride from Santa Margherita Ligure to Portofino
Air-conditioned vehicle
Hotel pick up(if option selected)

Gratuities
Food and drinks, unless specified
Entrance fees to attractions

Meeting And Pickup

You can head directly to the meeting point, or request pickup

Meeting point

Milan Visitor Center - Zani Viaggi
Largo Cairoli, 18, 20121 Milano MI, Italy
Corner with largo Cairoli 18, departure from bus stop next to the agency. Please be ready at the meeting point 15 minutes before the departure of the tour.

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Pickup details

Our Pick up service takes place in the center of Milan (if option selected) The bus takes approximately one hour to pick up all of the passengers, subject to traffic conditions and the number of passengers booked for that particular tour. For this reason, pick up times are shown as an interval “Starting from 6:00” means that we will pick up you at your hotel at 6:00 or after in order to be in time for the beginning of the tour.

What To Expect

Head out of Milan in the morning and relax on the comfortable coach for the 2-hour ride to the coast. Once in Genoa (or Genova as the Italians call it), begin an information-packed walking tour, as you learn about the history of this fascinating history. Let your guide regale with historical anecdotes that include native son Christopher Columbus. Learn about how just a couple of decades ago the historical center of Genoa was a dangerous no-go zone but today it's been cleaned up and is now a safe and fun place to hang out.

When the tour is finished, take some free time to explore independently. Sit down at a restaurant and have lunch (at own expense) or stroll along the sea and explore the village of Santa Margherita Ligure, just to the southeast of Genoa. This diminutive and charming seaside town sits on Dolphin Gulf, named for the abundance of dolphins that inhabit the area. Switch from coach to boat here and cruise through the sea over to Portofino.

Then take some free time in Portofino to explore on your own, strolling the narrow cobblestone streets and going past colorfully painted houses on the waterfront and soaking up the Mediterranean scenery. Head to Castello Brown, the city’s 16th-century castle. If you visit on a clear day, you'll be rewarded with views across the Mediterranean Sea of the lush mountains of Corsica.

Santa Margherita Ligure

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Castello Brown

2 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included

Cattedrale di San Lorenzo - Duomo di Genova

2 hours • Admission Ticket Not Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Infants must sit on laps
Most travellers can participate
Times indicated in the program and order of the visit are subject to possibile changes due to traffic problems and/or organizational requirements to ensure full enjoyment of the tour.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 50 travellers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travellers. If it’s cancelled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Featured review

NormanArnel_Z

With Andrea as our travel host and Domenico as our bus driver, travel to Genoa, Rapallo, Santa Margharita, and Portofino went very well. Domenico negotiated the tight turns with ease and Andrea looked after everyone, even those joining the bus from Genoa, very well. Andrea assisted several tourists with their travel plans to leave earlier than regular plans. Travel to these historic places was pleasant and informative. The places visited were worth anyone's time and stunning.

Reviews

4.0

118 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travellers.

Showing 1-10 of 118 reviews

A good visit to Genoa

John_C, June 2023

Andrea, our guide was excellent. David, a very good driver. Genoa and Santa Margherita were great but Portofino too crowded. Too many self-obsessed people on the tour, always delaying us, but I guess that is the risk with such tours.

Great travel to Genoa & Portofino

NormanArnel_Z, June 2023

It s great day trip

Joyce_W, May 2023

Enjoy the walking tour in Genoa. Portofino is beautiful! The tour was well arranged . Me & my partner have great time

Genoa and Portofino Waste of Time

Carlos_H, Oct 2022

Too much time spend in Genoa with only one hour and a half in Portofino. Use another company skip Viator they don't stand behind its customers. Waste of money.

A long but well balanced day.

Paul_H, Oct 2022

A very long but well balanced day, The walking tour of Genoa was very interesting with plenty of opportunity for photos, free time and lunch at Santa Margharita then a boat ride and a visit to Portofino. The bus trip included a convenience stop in both directions.

PORTIFINO & GENOA 9/22

Leslie_S, Sept 2022

Marquela was great! Everything was so beautiful and well planned thank you as always. You guys def made me want to come back

Disappointing…

Reham_F, Sept 2022

Would not recommend this to anyone. The cities were beautiful but our tour guide ruined our experience with how rude and short he was. It was obvious how much he hated his job. He had no patience for anyone and didn’t seem to care much for how the group was feeling. Our radios broke on our tour and instead of being sensitive to how he explained thing at each stop, he kept it moving and we didn’t learn anything on our tour. This was the case for most people in the group which had to be close to 30 ppl. Find another tour agency!!!

Under the Ligurian sun

Anna_T, July 2022

One of the best - this was with Zani Viaggi - I so loved our local Genovese guide - Antonella - a true professional - I felt like being back at school participating in hands-on History lessons as we walked through scorching summer heat - was so worth all the lessons I learned today on Genova's history and many more tidbits!! Grande!

Average trip

David_P, July 2022

Genoa is not worth visiting, it's basically a commercial port with very little historical buildings to see.. Portofina is very nice and lovely place to visit

Beautiful sea coast towns visited

Tommy_S, July 2022

Although Genova 2-hour walking tour with Natasha was good way to learn about the town, but many of the places were under renovation and the fact we had to watch out for many vehicles detracted from the experience. Kudos to the team for always making the big group stayed together and no one was left behind. Having cooled bottle water on the tour bus for us after the Genova walking tour was a nice amenity, because it was an extremely hot day. santa margherita ligure and portofino were beautiful places. Personally, I would have loved to spend more time in either of those places than Genova. Finally, I loved the clear instructions on meeting time for the ferry rides. Our tour guide even does a head count to make sure everyone is accounted for. Bravo!!! What would have made the tour better for me was giving me options to cool off in santa margherita ligure and portofino because it was a uncomfortably hot day (I am from SF where it is foggy most days).

Worth it

Patrick_E, July 2022

Tour guide was great and friendly. I was presently surprised by the destinations. Santa margarita and portofino were beautiful.

Excellent company and trip

Yvonne_C, June 2022

This company were so professional to deal with. They had great coaches and staff and our guide on the day made sure we were all looked after. He even made sure we knew how to contact the company if we got lost…. The day itself was great. Probably could have done with more time in Portofino but as it’s a long distance from Milan, it’s not possible.

Great Experience

Stephen_A, June 2022

Great scenery, long bus ride but well worth it. The old town of Genoa was brilliant. Santa Marguerita and Portofino were spectacular.

Too much Genoa, too little Portofino

John_P, May 2022

Bottom line, too much time in Genoa, not enough time in Portofino. To make matters worse, about a third of Genoa's buildings are under renovation and covered in scaffolding. We booked this tour because we wanted to go to Portofino, and the time we had there was less than 2 hours

Genoa

Donna T, Oct 2019

I was disappointed in that the Genoa part was to short and would like more time there than the other towns visited. Genoa guide was great but would have liked some free time as well. Other towns were ok but to touristy and did not need as much time in Portfino

Genoa and Portofino Day Trip from Milan Epic

John_P, Sept 2019

The Trip was FANTASTICO. The bus ride to and from the sights was smooth and pleasant. The guide delivered impassioned and informative banter about all the places we went to, and the local people were extremely friendly.

Poor communication and cancelled trip

Olga D, Sept 2019

We booked this trip in advance, and the departure time was clearly stated as 7:30 am. Sadly, Zani Viacci agency in Milan has never communicated that departure time has been changed to 7 am. As a result, we missed this trip. I give it one star, because one person in this agency was very helpful and competent and offered other excursion. However, we missed the trip that we wanted to have.

Visit to Genoa & Portofino

smazz58, July 2019

Just delightful all around long day but well worth it . Views are simply stunning . My compliments to Sylvia our guide . ver knowledgeable and organized despite having to deal with a large group !!!!

A beautiful city and area.

pelegbd, Oct 2018

This is a tour I would recommend to anyone who likes the beautiful Italian cities and cost line also The guide at Genoa was extremely knowledgebale.

unforgettable experience

Anna_I, Oct 2018

The whole excursion was organized perfectly. The guides were wonderful and magnetic people who managed to bring us to the history of the places we visited. We learned many new stories and visited great places.

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