Walk out of Palazzo Durazzo, cross Via Gramsci, and you are at the Porto Antico marina. Your boat is waiting. Within minutes, Genoa is behind you and the Ligurian coastline is unfolding — headland after headland, village after village, the water turning from harbour grey to the kind of blue that only exists between Portofino and the Cinque Terre.
This is the simplest luxury we offer: step out of a 17th-century palazzo and step onto the sea.
From the Porto Antico — directly across from the hotel.
Modern RIBs and yachts depart from the marina, a two-minute walk from our entrance on Via Gramsci. No transfers, no logistics — your skipper is waiting where the palazzo meets the water. This is the fastest way onto the Riviera: within twenty minutes of leaving your suite, you are rounding Punta Chiappa with the wind in your face.
From Santa Margherita Ligure — by traditional gozzo.
For guests who want the romance of a classic Ligurian fishing boat — varnished wood, a low bow, an engine that knows every cove — we arrange a gozzo with skipper from Santa Margherita. Your driver takes you there in an hour; the boat does the rest. This is slower, quieter, and closer to the water. It is the way Ligurians have sailed this coast for centuries.
Half day or full day, your skipper builds the route around the wind, the light, and what you feel like doing. But the coastline between Genoa and Portofino is one of the richest in the Mediterranean, and these are the stops worth knowing:
San Fruttuoso
A Benedictine abbey wedged into a cove with no road access. You arrive by sea or not at all. The water above the Cristo degli Abissi — the bronze Christ submerged at seventeen metres — is clear enough to see him from the boat. You can swim down to meet him if you want.
Portofino
You already know the name. What you don’t know until you arrive by boat is how small it is — a crescent of painted houses around a harbour the size of a swimming pool. Disembark for lunch, or anchor in the bay and watch the piazzetta from the water with a glass of Vermentino.
Paraggi
One bay east of Portofino, and the most beautiful swimming water on the Riviera. The sand is fine, the water is turquoise, and the beach empties by four o’clock. Your skipper knows when to arrive and when to leave.
Camogli
The fishermen’s town that faces west, which means the houses catch the afternoon light and turn the colours you see on postcards. Best admired from the water, where the whole façade reveals itself at once.
Punta Chiappa
The rocky promontory between Camogli and San Fruttuoso, with wild coves that the walking paths never reach. The water here is deep, cold, and impossibly clear. This is where your skipper drops anchor and lets you swim.
The boat is yours. Swim when you want. Stop where you want. Your skipper provides Prosecco, soft drinks, fresh fruit, and a tasting of Ligurian specialities — focaccia, local cheeses, anchovies from Camogli. If you want to snorkel above the Cristo degli Abissi, equipment is on board. If you want to do nothing at all, the sun is included.
The best version of a Ligurian evening may be this: a sunset cruise along the Riviera di Levante, the sky turning from gold to violet behind the headlands, followed by dinner at a waterfront restaurant in Portofino or Camogli — arriving by boat, because arriving by boat is always better. Your skipper brings you back to the Porto Antico under the stars. The palazzo is two minutes away.
We also arrange boats for private celebrations — proposals, anniversaries, birthdays — where the sea itself becomes the venue.
To arrange your boat day, speak to our concierge or write to info@palazzodurazzo.com..
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