Kikki was born in beautiful Portofino on the Italian Riviera and he returns there in the summers to show visitors the best that the area has to offer. With its clear waters, sheltered harbour and fabulous views, this region has been attracting visitors for thousands of years.
Cristiano (or “Kikki”, as he is known to everyone) has been teaching with us for over 5 years now. He started with ES in Verbier and has now been based in Zermatt for 3 winters. He is originally from Italy and speaks Italian, French and English. He holds the top instructor qualification of Italian Maestro and is also Swiss Brevet Federale equivalent.
Portofino is now famous for its colourful houses, harbour filled with super yachts, seafood restaurants, and still those fabulous views.
By boat, Kikki takes visitors around the Portofino area and also on customised visits to the hidden corners of the Cinque Terre, just an hour away. With its charming hillside villages and spectacular cliffs, the Cinque Terre area is best seen from the sea, and you can access beautiful wilderness areas by boat.
Kikki also arranges visits to places such as Camogli, a fishing village on the western side of the Portofino peninsula on the aptly named “Golfo Paradiso”.
People visit the area from all over the world, with most of the guests on the boat being English speakers, as well as many visitors from France and also some from Italy.
On the tours you can expect to see thousands of fish, and there are also dolphins, which are protected and encouraged here. There is always lots of warm sunshine, as well as beautiful architecture, whether castles, mansions, churches or abbeys.
Portofino is famous for its fresh seafood, with excellent wines and some of the best restaurants in the world.
Kikki loves spending time in the Mount Portofino national park where he can run and train for the winter so he is ready to ski at top speed!
His reason for coming back every summer is to see life from the sea again and go back to his roots growing up in this beautiful area.
