How to get to Portovenere, public transport and parking, useful infos

To understand how to reach and how to move around Portovenere it is useful to look on the map at the particular location of this village, at the western end of the Gulf of Poets. Portovenere is in fact located at the head of a promontory where the provincial road makes a loop, and then returns to the city of La Spezia.

Therefore, to reach Portovenere you first have to travel to La Spezia, and then continue with your own or by public transport. There is no train station in Portovenere.

How to reach Portovenere from La Spezia by public transport, bus and ferry

There are two ways of public transportation to move around Portovenere: buses and ferries.

Travel by bus to Portovenere from La Spezia

Bus line to Portovenere and the villages of Fezzano and Le Grazie is the 11 or P. Please note that some buses stop only at the village of Grazie and do not continue to Portovenere, in this case on the bus you will read “Le Grazie” instead of P. Here the infos you may need in order to get to Portovenere by bus.

• Where to get the bus to Portovenere?

Unfortunately there is no direct bus from the train station of La Spezia to Portovenere, you have to reach the stop in Via Garibaldi, it is 5 minutes walk from the train station. The bus ride takes about 25 minutes. If you are near the ferry terminal instead, look for the stop near the Municipio (Town Hall) in piazza Europa.

• Where to buy a bus ticket to Portovenere?

You need to purchase the extra-urban ticket for the ride from La Spezia to Portovenere, which has a cost of € 3.00 one way. It can be purchased in tobacconist shops and authorized retailers in town shown on this map. Other available tickets are daily tickets and 10 one-way tickets carnets.

• Mobile phone electronic bus ticket to Portovenere: how does it work

In case you have an Italian telephone SIM card (Tim, Vodafone, Wind and 3), it is possible to purchase your bus ticket via mobile phone text messages, here is how it works:

1. send the following text message: ATC E3 to the following number: 4850207 before getting to the bus
2. shortly after the text message has been sent, you will receive a message with all the details of the electronic ticket, such as the exact time it was issued and the validity
3. show the message to the driver while getting on the bus, and you are done

• At which bus stop should you get off in Portovenere?

The stop to get off is the terminus, in front of the Palazzata (Piazza Bastreri), where everyone gets off. As for the return to La Spezia, in case after visiting the old village you moved to the small beaches of the Olivo promenade, you can take the bus from there too, without the need to go back to the main terminus bus stop.

Ferry ride to Portovenere

Ferry rides inside the Gulf of Poets, between La Spezia, Portovenere and the eastern villages as Lerici and Tellaro, is ensured – from Easter to November – by the historical Navigazione Golfo dei Poeti company. In winter the service is suspended. This company is the same that connects Portovenere and La Spezia to the Cinque Terre.

The return ticket from La Spezia to Portovenere costs 15 euros per adult and the ferry departs from the Promenade Morin pier.

During summer season, you can reach Portovenere by boat from Lerici and from Cadimare (where our guesthouse is located) too, not only from La Spezia.

Taxi to Portovenere

Lastly, it is worth adding that it is definitely possible to get to Portovenere by taxi too, but it is expensive, around 40 € one way. Call Radio Taxi La Spezia 0187 523523.

Is it possible to reach Portovenere by train?

No, Portovenere has no train station, if you are travelling by train you have to get off at La Spezia train station.

Portovenere by car on your own: where to park

If you don’t want to travel by public transportation, Portovenere has lots of parking, but it can be challenging to find parking in high season or on weekends.

• Paying public car parks

It is possible to park along Viale Garibaldi (entrance to Portovenere) or along Viale Olivo (exit from the village) at a cost of € 1.5 – 3 per hour. The further one moves from the village, the lower the hourly cost. Rate variation also depends on the season, from March to October the rates are the highest.

At the roundabout from which the ring to Portovenere winds (Cavo location), there is also a big parking which is the least expensive in the area, with a maximum cost of € 10 for the whole day. Please keep in mind that this is the furthest from the historic center (about 25 minutes walk). For those who do not want to walk, from this parking area in high season you can take the shuttle bus to reach the village (cost € 1 per ride per person). During low season, parking here is free.

• Private parking and garage in Portovenere

You can take advantage of the few places available in the covered Grand Hotel Portovenere private garage, some places are reserved for hotel guests only, others are available to all. Entrance right next to the bus terminal (€ 3 per hour).

Another solution is the parking of the beach establishment and residence Le Terrazze, the cost is € 2.5 /hour in high season. We can recommend this parking because even during high season it is easy to find a place (many do not know that there is a public parking here), it is 15 minutes walk from the old town.

• Free parking in Portovenere

There are no free parking possibilities in Portovenere, unless you are a hotel guest of some accomodation which provides free parking lots.

• Parking in the historic centre of Portovenere

It is not possible to park in the historic centre, it is a restricted traffic area where cars are not allowed.

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