Practical information about Corsica
Corsica in a few
Who knows Corsica and its beauty, says that the gods of the Mediterranean, whatever they are, might have settled here their holiday destination and even their main residence. Everything is there to make your holiday in Corsica a memorable stay. The mountains altitudes are rival with the most beautiful peaks of the Alps: The Monte Cinto is the Everest of Corsica and makes Corsica "a mountain in the sea". But Corsica also has lakes, rivers and beautiful valleys like the Restonica. Far from the sea (half an hour!) Discovers a harsh land, the Alta Rocca. A scrub landscape at the foot of the sublime peaks of Bavella, where villages seem attached to the steep mountains. Corsica is open to the Mediterranean sea and has an idyllic coastline. More than 1000 kilometers of beaches and little bays with cristal water (Carataggio, Porto Novo, Roccapina Punta di Capo di Feno). What we like in Corsica is how preserved the beaches are comparing to French Riviera.
Corsica is a mixed island where all the influences of the Mediterranean basin are still alive. A mixture of steep mountains and pleasure, austerity and flavors. Both secret and open, wild and welcoming, Corsica will never be an island like the others or a tourist destination like any other. Corsica will always be Corsica, with its relief, climate, sea, its passions, its villages and its people, the Corsicans.
When should we come?
In terms of sunshine and prices, April and May are excellent months to consider visiting Corsica although there's a lot of things happening in Corsica between June and the end of September. Once that said, the north of the island is cheaper than the south being the most busiest part during the summer months.
Good to know!
Most hotels have very high prices in July and August. It is also an island and visit Corsica is not necessarily always easy even if the airlines and ferry service allow a access much easier access in summer. If you come out of the peak season and do not live in France, you will often have to take two flights, one for France and then to Corsica (which is also a French territory!). When you are on the island, do not expect to easily get from one point to another, the main roads are busy and frequently "cut" by small villages although local authorities have made great efforts thinking that if things were made easier for tourists, the island's economy would benefit. As you understand, to spend holiday in Corsica or even consider a holiday rental Corsica, in something to deserve!
How to get there?
By boat: Corsica Ferries is the largest ocean carrier to Corsica from Toulon and from Nice to Ajaccio, Bastia, Calvi and Ile Rousse. Departures from the Italian ports of Savona and Livorno are also possible. www.corsica-ferries.fr. SNCM, the other company offers departure from Marseille, Toulon and from Nice to Ajaccio, Bastia, Calvi, Porto Vecchio and Propriano. Sometime, the ferry boat are mixed freight and passengers and departures are from Marseille to Ajaccio, Bastia and Propriano www.lameridionale.fr
Airport: once you have found your holiday accommodation, you can choose how to get there! Corsica has four airports: Ajaccio Campo Dell Oro is the largest, followed by Bastia-Poretta; Calvi and Figari are two smaller airports. Air France and Air Corsica fly all year long to these four airports in Corsica from Paris Orly, Marseille, Nice and Lyon. During the summer season, direct connections are operated from Clermont-Ferrand, Lille, Nantes, Rennes and Strasbourg. Easy Jet flies all year from Paris Charles de Gaulle and Lyon, and London Gatwick between the 1st of May and late September, Basel and Geneva between late April and late October. Corsicatours offers charter flights every Saturday from May to September from Avignon, Chateauroux, Dijon, Rouen and Tours to Figari. Easy Jet and Ryan Air fly seasonally from London (between May 1 and September 25), Geneva (between May 14 and October 29), Lyon (28 March to 29 October). Air France and Brit Air also flies seasonally from Montpellier, Nantes, Quimper and on flights operated by Regional from Barcelona, Bordeaux, Strasbourg and Toulouse. Lufthansa offers flights to Bastia Hamburg and Frankfurt (April to October) from Luxembourg Luxair and Air Berlin flies to Calvi Cologne and Bonn.