Sunrise slips across the Ligurian Sea as you step onto a small speedboat in Genoa’s old port. The city’s harbor loosens behind you and a line of sheer cliffs and green-capped promontories leads the way east—each cove a private theater of blue. Over the course of the day the skipper threads between rocky headlands and protected bays: San Fruttuoso’s stone abbey and the submerged Christ of the Abyss appear in the shallows; Portofino unfolds with a compact waterfront and alleys made for a short walk; Paraggi’s sheltered sand calls for a swim; Camogli’s low-slung fisherman’s houses promise lunch; Punta Chiappa drops you onto reefs for clear-water snorkeling.