I had read in a travel book somewhere not to drive into Portofino, and while I was travelling there on public transport I was thinking about how grateful I was that I'd read the book and taken the advice. Take it from me: do not drive to Portofino!
I left the campsite at about 8am to catch a train. To get to Portofino from Levanto, you had to catch a train to Santa Margherita Ligure train station, about 35 minutes away. From there, you caught a bus from opposite the train station. It was during this bus ride that I was thanking my lucky stars that I didn't drive - the road snaked around the coast, with barely enough room for two cars to pass, let alone a car and a bus (and especially because there was also a lot of rocky overhang!). Talk about a horrible combination on a road! The bus was even honking the horn as it approached a corner to let the cars know it was coming. It was so sketchy!
I finally made it to Portofino at 9:30am, after about 40 mins on the bus, and set about exploring!
Portofino was an interesting place. Yes, it was really pretty with the pastel-coloured houses but it was also very much about the rich and famous clientele that holidayed there as there were designer shops, fancy restaurants and expensive yachts everywhere. They probably didn't catch the bus there... Not exactly my scene, I decided to walk up to Castello Brown up on the hill opposite the harbour. It was an absolutely amazing view over the town from that high point!
I was getting hungry so I wandered back down to find some food. It was a little early for lunch so I picked up a focaccia at a nearby bakery, then walked back uphill again to sit under a tree with that view over Portofino.
I wandered back down to ground level and had another look around. Other than the fancy designer stores, there were a whole heap of souvenir shops and a smattering of other stores like bakeries and convenience stores, and that was it!
I left Portofino just before midday, getting back on the scary bus to Santa Margherita Ligure. I got off the bus (thankfully!) and had a look around the cathedral, which was pretty spectacular inside! After that, I went looking for somewhere for lunch, settling for a bowl of vegetarian pasta served by an old couple in their little restaurant. It was delicious!
I wandered around the town for a while, then went to sit by the beach and people-watch for a bit... there were a lot of people selling souvenir junk that kept getting told off by the police, which I thought was hilarious! I finally head off a bit after 3:30pm, caught the train to Levanto and walked back to the campsite by 4:30pm. I settled in for an early night as I was getting up early in the morning to do the Cinque Terre walk.