Private water taxi in Portovenere
Board on the Calata Doria quay, glide past the church of San Pietro and Byron's Grotto, and reach the Cinque Terre or Portofino in a closed-cabin boat — no ferry queues, no mountain-road hairpins.
Indicative pricing.
Prices from, for 1 to 12 guests — firm quote within hours (captain, fuel, insurance, fees included).
The seaward gate of the Gulf of Poets and the Cinque Terre
Portovenere n'est pas un port comme les autres : c'est le verrou ouest du Golfe des Poètes, là où la baie abritée de La Spezia rencontre la côte ouverte des Cinque Terre. Nos opérateurs partenaires connaissent les deux visages du plan d'eau — l'eau plate du golfe côté Lerici et Porto Mirabello, la houle de sud-ouest qui lève dès qu'on double la Punta San Pietro vers Riomaggiore — et adaptent l'itinéraire en passant, ou non, par le chenal étroit entre le village et l'île Palmaria. Ils savent aussi composer avec la réalité du quai : la Calata Doria est le point d'embarquement historique des barcaioli du village, très sollicité en été, et un créneau bien choisi (tôt le matin, fin de journée) change complètement l'expérience.
The road ends here — the sea doesn't
The coastal road from La Spezia dead-ends at Portovenere, and there is no through road along the Cinque Terre cliffs: reaching Vernazza or Monterosso by land means backtracking to La Spezia and switching to the train. By boat, the villages line up one after another along the same stretch of coast, minutes apart.
The arrival the ferries can't give you
A private departure lets you round Punta San Pietro at your own pace: the striped Gothic church on its spur, Byron's Grotto below, the Doria Castle above, then the narrow channel between the village and Palmaria island. Scheduled shuttles pass it on a timetable; your skipper stops where you want your photos.
One boat for the whole Gulf of Poets
Cruise passengers tendered into La Spezia, yachts berthed at Porto Mirabello, guests in Lerici or Le Grazie: everyone in your party can be collected around the same sheltered bay and dropped back after dinner, without juggling ferry timetables that thin out in the evening.
Where we pick you up.
- Grand Hotel Portovenere — the hotel set in a former monastery on the seafront; the shuttle-boat dock is directly outside, so pick-up is a few steps from the lobby
- Waterfront hotels along Calata Doria — boarding from the public passenger pier, a short walk from any address in the old village
- Calata Doria — the waterfront quay of the old village, where the local barcaioli cooperative and taxi boats operate; the passenger pier sits right at the entrance to the pedestrian area
- Le Grazie — the sheltered boatyard bay on the way in from La Spezia, a quieter alternative pick-up point
- Porto Mirabello (La Spezia) — convenient pick-up for superyacht guests and cruise passengers across the gulf
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