The most useful sentence in this guide: you cannot see Corsica from one base.
The island is a hundred and eighty kilometres long with a mountain range down the middle, so the roads go around rather than across. Two bases is the minimum for a week. Three is right for ten days. Anyone selling you a single-base Corsica holiday is selling you a driving holiday.
The full geography is in my complete guide to Corsica.
The harbour towns
Most visitors stay in one of five places. Here is honestly what each is like.
Porto-Vecchio. The southern beach base, and the busiest. An old town up the hill with a pleasant square, a marina below, and the best beaches on the island within half an hour. Not beautiful, but extremely convenient, and the range of accommodation is the widest anywhere on Corsica.
Bonifacio. More dramatic, less practical. Staying up in the citadel is memorable and means the town is yours in the evening once the day trippers leave. Parking is a genuine problem, the beaches are further, and it is expensive for what you get. Worth one or two nights rather than a week.
Calvi. The best all-rounder in the north. A citadel on a promontory, a long crescent beach of sand and pine below it, mountains behind, and a quay of restaurants. Small enough to walk, big enough to have choice, and the Balagne villages are twenty minutes away.
Porto. The west coast base, chosen for position rather than charm. It is small and a little bleak, but it sits at the harbour for the Scandola boats and under the Calanques. Piana up the hill is far prettier if you do not mind twenty minutes to the boats.
Saint-Florent. Quiet, smart, and the launching point for Saleccia and the Agriates. Good for a slower trip, and close to the Patrimonio vineyards.
Staying inland
Almost nobody does this, and it is the best value on the island.
Old stone farmhouses and village houses in the hills, often with a pool, usually a third of the coastal price, and cooler at night in August by several degrees. The trade is fifteen to forty minutes to a beach on a winding road.
If you are travelling in July or August, this is the single change that most improves a Corsica trip. The heat is bearable, the prices are sane, and you eat in village restaurants rather than on a quay.
A ferme auberge, a working farm with rooms and a fixed dinner menu, is the version of this worth seeking out.
How to combine them
One week, two bases. Four nights in the south at Porto-Vecchio or Bonifacio, three in the north at Calvi. Or swap Calvi for Porto if the Gulf matters more to you than the Balagne.
Ten days, three bases. South, then Porto for the Gulf, then Calvi. This is the version that lets the island breathe.
Two weeks. Add Saint-Florent or Cap Corse, and a couple of nights inland at Corte.
Routes and driving times are in the Corsica itinerary.
Camping, which is bigger here than you expect
Corsica has one of the highest concentrations of campsites in France, and they are not all the field-and-a-tap kind.
The good ones sit directly behind the best beaches, particularly around Porto-Vecchio, Santa Giulia and the Gulf of Porto, on land that would be a hotel anywhere else and mostly is not, because much of the Corsican coast is protected from development. Several have permanent safari tents, wooden chalets and pools, at somewhere between €40 and €120 a night for a family in season.
This is how a lot of French families do Corsica, and it is the reason the island can be affordable in August when the hotels are not.
Wild camping is illegal, actively enforced, and taken seriously here because of fire risk. Do not.
Villas and houses
For a family or two couples this is often the best value on the island, and the inventory is large.
Book by February for August. Minimum stays of a week, Saturday to Saturday, are close to universal in high season, and the good ones with pools go early.
Ask specifically about the road. A house described as ten minutes from the beach may be ten minutes of single-track hairpin, which is fine once and tiring twice a day for a week.
Check whether the pool is heated if you are coming in May or October. Many are not, and the air being warm does not make the water so.
What it costs
Rough guide for a double room per night, which swings enormously by season.
| | June or September | August | May or October | |—|—|—|—| | Coastal hotel, mid-range | €150 to €250 | €250 to €400 | €90 to €160 | | Village or inland house | €90 to €160 | €150 to €250 | €70 to €120 | | Smart hotel or resort | €300 plus | €500 plus | €200 plus |
Book months ahead for August. In June or September a couple of weeks is usually enough, and in May or October you can often decide as you go.
Practical notes on booking
Air conditioning is not universal. Older village houses and small hotels often rely on thick stone walls and shutters, which works, but check if you are coming in August and you sleep badly in heat.
Parking matters more than you think. In Bonifacio and the old parts of Calvi it is genuinely difficult. If a place offers parking, that is worth real money.
Many places close from November to March, particularly in the smaller resorts. Out of season, check rather than assume.
Minimum stays of a week are common in July and August, especially for houses and apartments.
Read also
A Corsica Itinerary: 7 to 10 Days | Calvi and the Balagne | Victoria’s Complete Guide to Corsica
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the best place to stay in Corsica?
There is no single best base, because the island is too long to see from one place. Porto-Vecchio is the most practical in the south, Calvi the best all-rounder in the north, and Porto the position choice for the Gulf of Porto. Plan on two bases for a week.
Is it better to stay in Porto-Vecchio or Bonifacio?
Porto-Vecchio for a beach week: it is closer to Palombaggia, Santa Giulia and Rondinara and has far more accommodation. Bonifacio for drama and atmosphere, best as one or two nights rather than a base, because parking is difficult and beaches are further.
How many bases do you need in Corsica?
Two for a week, three for ten days. The island is 180km long with mountain roads, so a single base means spending your holiday driving. One major move per day is the sensible limit.
Is it cheaper to stay inland in Corsica?
Considerably, often around a third of coastal prices, and it is cooler at night in August. The trade is fifteen to forty minutes on winding roads to reach a beach. For a July or August trip it is the single change that most improves the holiday.
When should you book accommodation in Corsica?
Months ahead for July and August, when the island’s population roughly triples and minimum stays of a week are common. A couple of weeks is usually enough for June or September, and in May or October you can often book as you go.
