How to Get from Genoa Airport to the City Centre?
There is only one airport in Genoa, and it is located right within the city. The Genoa airport is officially named "Cristoforo Colombo International Airport", in honor of the famous explorer. It is the largest airport in the Liguria region and is situated on a peninsula in the Sestri Ponente district.
The airport has a single terminal, which includes both the arrivals and departures areas.
Transportation from Genoa Airport to the City Centre
The distance between Genoa Airport and the city centre is approximately 7 km. As such, the transfer from the airport is quick, taking about 30-40 minutes.
1. Volabus
The most convenient way to travel from the airport to the center of Genoa is by shuttle bus. It is called Volabus and is operated by the local transport company, AMT. The bus runs daily between 5:30 AM and 12 AM.
The bus stop is located right in front of the Arrivals area, and you will see it immediately upon exiting the airport.
The Volabus route is: Airport Arrivals - Via Milano/ Ferry Terminal - Principe Station (Piazza Principe) - Via XX Settembre/ Piazza de Ferrari - Brignole Station.
The transfer from the airport to the centre of Genoa takes approximately 30 minutes.
The ticket prices are:
- Adults: €10
- Children (under 1.15 m tall): Free
- Group ticket (four people traveling together): €30
The ticket (called MET Daily) is valid for 24 hours. It allows you to travel on all other means of transport within the AMT urban and suburban network (including the Navebus, the Genova-Casella narrow-gauge railway, and line 782 to Portofino) within that timeframe. Don't forget to validate your ticket when you board the bus!
Volabus tickets can be purchased as follows:
- Online
- Via the AMT app
- From ticket machines in the airport and train stations
- Directly on the bus (by card)
- At AMT ticket offices
- From authorized points of sale
When purchasing tickets online, you may encounter an issue: neither the AMT website nor the app can be accessed from some countries. To resolve this, you will need an Italian VPN. Various VPN service providers (e.g., Nord VPN, Surfshark) offer trial periods of several days that you can use to make reservations and get the necessary information.
Our advice: to buy tickets online, wait until you can connect to an Italian Wi-Fi network (for example, the airport offers 3 hours of free Wi-Fi). If you plan to travel extensively by public transport in Genoa or the surrounding area, feel free to download and use the AMT app.
As with other buses in Italy, you must signal your intention to get off at the next station by pressing the STOP button - otherwise, the bus may not pull over.
Warning! Have a backup plan for getting from the airport to the city and, more importantly, vice versa (so you don't risk missing your flight). Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that the Volabus is late or doesn't show up at all, and no one will notify you (this happened to us...).
2. Bus + Train
Another way to get from the airport to the center of Genoa is to take the bus (Airlink) to the Sestri Ponente train station (it runs approximately every 15 minutes between 6:00 AM and 10:00 PM) and from there, take a train to one of Genoa's two main stations: Principe or Brignole.
The Airlink bus takes about 5 minutes to reach the Sestri Ponente station. From there, it is a 15-minute train ride to Stazione Principe, or approximately 20 minutes to Stazione Brignole.
The bus stop is located in the same place as the Volabus stop, in front of the Arrivals area, and tickets can be purchased from the vending machines at the airport.
The price of a bus ticket is €2 (this allows you to travel for 110 minutes within the AMT network). To this, you must add the price of the train ticket (€1.7) from Genova Sestri Ponente Aeroporto Station to either Genova Piazza Principe or Genova Brignole station.
3. Taxi
The taxi rank is located right next to the bus stop. Taxi fares from Genoa airport are fixed, and established by the City Council - €7 per person (minimum of 3 people) to Principe Station, and €8 per person to Brignole Station, with one piece of luggage per person included. For night trips and Sundays travel, a €1 supplement is added.
Our advice: regardless, ask the taxi driver what the cost of the trip will be before getting into the car!
4. Private Transfer
A convenient but more expensive way to get from the airport to Genoa is to book a private transfer. Use code TPO5 to benefit from a 5% discount (the code is valid for bookings made between April 15 and June 15, 2026).
5. Car Rental
Finally, another option for reaching the city is to rent a car and pick it up at Genoa Airport. This is the most costly solution, but it gives you the greatest freedom of movement and is helpful if you plan to explore the city's surroundings (such as Camogli, Portofino, or Ravello).
