Eurotrip Vacation Review: Santa Margherita Ligure

Our third stop on the Eurotrip was Santa Margherita Ligure. This was a destination Katy had been to before but to which I had never been. We transferred to Santa Margherita by train, purchasing our tickets through self-service kiosk at the main train station in Florence (S.M.N.). This actually proved to be a fairly easy way to travel, even though we had to transfer twice. The total cost for the tickets was around 40 Euro apiece, which is much cheaper than any other alternative to get from Florence to the Northern Italian coast.

Here are a few of our favorite spots:

  • Hike to San Fruttuoso (& Giorgio Restaurant!):This was easily one of our most memorable outdoor activities of the trip! All in, it’s somewhere around a 4 mile hike, that we were very much excited to do, because the promise at the end of it was an Aperol Spritz and some of the finest white sardines you’ll ever eat at this small local restaurant in the town of San Fruttuoso. The hike had a fair amount of elevation, and some stunning views along the way:

Hike Views

Giorgio Restaurant Sardines

  • Portofino: a great destination in its own right; Portofino is the lap of luxury when it comes to fancy Northwestern Italian Coastal Getaways. It’s a pretty fun town with lots of (somewhat overpriced, as expected) dining and shopping options. We saw several massive yachts, including one worth several hundred million dollars – Zeus:

Zeus Yacht

  • Capo Nord: this was a fairly upscale dining spot literally right on the Mediterranean Ocean. One of the coolest places we’ve ever dined outdoors, I could actually stick my foot in the sea from our table. This was the view from our table:

Capo Nord View with Yacht

  • (The Train to) Punta Chiappa: this is a very cool little spot a few miles away from where we stayed. We could have hiked to it, but we had been fairly active for a few days before so we opted to take the train. It cost us around a couple Euro, and was super fast and easy. Plus – an added bonus – train station views (and beers!):

Beer and View at SML Train Station

The hotel we stayed at in Santa Margherita was Blu di Te House. It was boutiquey and chic, and we very much enjoyed the accommodation as well as the price (it was about middle of the road – not too expensive, but definitely not a hostel). As to be expected, the common area amenities, snacks, apertifs, and breakfast (buffet style, included in the rate), were all outstanding. Here is a picture of the lobby to give a frame of reference for how warm and friendly the room (and the staff!) was:

Blu di Te Lobby

Til Next Time,

Michael