Two decisions, and the second one matters more than people expect.
Which airport or port you arrive at determines the whole shape of your trip, because Corsica is long and the roads are slow. And whether you hire a car is not really a decision at all, for reasons below.
The wider picture is in my complete guide to Corsica.
Flying in
Four airports, all of them small.
- Ajaccio (AJA) on the west coast, the biggest, best for the west and the south
- Bastia (BIA) in the northeast, best for Cap Corse, the north and the east
- Calvi (CLY) in the northwest, tiny, best for the Balagne
- Figari (FSC) in the far south, best for Bonifacio, Porto-Vecchio and the southern beaches
Air Corsica and Air France fly year round from Marseille, Nice, Paris Orly, Lyon and Toulouse. Connections through Marseille or Nice are usually the cheapest route from anywhere else.
Direct UK flights are seasonal, roughly May to October: easyJet from Gatwick to Bastia and to Figari, British Airways from Heathrow to Figari. Outside those months you connect through mainland France.
Choose the airport for your first region, not for the fare. Landing at Bastia when your week starts in Bonifacio costs you three hours of driving on day one and again at the end.
Arriving by sea
Slower, often cheaper, and the way to bring your own car.
From France: Nice, Toulon and Marseille, run mainly by Corsica Ferries and La Méridionale.
From Italy: Livorno, Piombino, Savona and Genoa, which are the shortest crossings of all. Livorno to Bastia is the quickest way onto the island from mainland Europe.
Arrival ports: Bastia, Ajaccio, L’Île-Rousse, Porto-Vecchio and Propriano.
Overnight sailings with a cabin are a civilised way to arrive, and every route takes cars, motorhomes and bikes.
The Sardinia crossing
Worth knowing even if you had not planned on it.
Bonifacio to Santa Teresa Gallura is 50 minutes. Roughly €30 to €45 as a foot passenger, around 37 crossings a week in summer and about six the rest of the year, first departure usually 08:30 and last around 20:20. Moby Lines and Ichnusa Lines operate it.
It makes a two island trip genuinely easy. The Sardinian end is covered in the Costa Smeralda and Alghero.
Whether you need a car
Yes. Not “it helps”.
The bus network is thin and built for residents rather than visitors. The railway, charming as it is, runs a narrow spine between Ajaccio, Corte, Bastia and Calvi and serves almost none of the coast. Every beach, village and viewpoint on this island is at the end of a road.
Hire a small car. This is not a preference. Village streets were built for a mule and mountain roads are single track with granite on one side and nothing on the other. A large SUV is a liability, and you will meet a bus on a blind bend.
Book early for July and August. Corsica genuinely runs out of cars, and the prices in August reflect it.
One exception. If you are staying put in Calvi or Porto-Vecchio for a beach week and taking boat trips rather than driving, you can manage without. For anything else, no.
The train, for the curious
The Chemins de Fer de la Corse, known as the trinighellu, runs Ajaccio to Bastia via Corte, with a branch to Calvi.
It is slow, single track, and crosses the mountains on Eiffel viaducts. As transport it is limited. As a half day out, the Corte to Calvi leg through the mountains is genuinely lovely and worth doing for its own sake.
Driving here, honestly
The roads are good and narrow. Well surfaced, well engineered, and often with no barrier between you and a long drop.
Locals drive them fast because they know every bend. Pull in and let them past. This is normal and not rude.
Livestock has right of way in practice. Cows, goats and pigs on the road are routine, especially in the interior. They will not move for a horn.
Fuel up in towns. Stations inland are sparse, and many close on Sundays and in the evenings.
Allow half again on any time an app gives you, and more in August.
Booking the ferry, and what it really costs
The ferry price is two prices: the passengers and the vehicle, and the vehicle is usually the larger of the two.
A car adds roughly €80 to €180 each way depending on season and length, and August crossings can go well beyond that. Two adults with a car, return, from Nice or Toulon in high summer is realistically €400 to €700. In May or October the same crossing can be half of it.
Book vehicle spaces months ahead for July and August. Foot passengers can usually turn up. Cars cannot, and the sailings that sell out first are the Saturday ones.
A cabin is worth it on the overnight crossings from Marseille or Toulon, which run around ten to twelve hours. The reclining seats exist and they are a long night.
Check the port, not just the city. Toulon and Marseille are different drives from anywhere in France, and the Nice sailings are the fast ones at roughly five and a half hours to Bastia or Île-Rousse.
Hiring a car, and the local quirks
Book it at the same time as the flights, not later. Corsica has a finite fleet and it genuinely sells out in August, at which point the remaining cars are priced accordingly.
Take the smallest car you can live with. Village lanes, the Balagne, the Restonica road and most of the west coast were not built for anything wide, and parking in Bonifacio and Calvi is a real constraint.
Check the excess and photograph everything before leaving the bay. Corsican roads are narrow, stone-walled and busy with hire cars driven by people looking at the view, and scrapes are common enough that the agencies are attentive about them.
Fuel is more expensive than the mainland and stations thin out inland and on the west coast. Fill up in the towns rather than assuming.
Read also
A Corsica Itinerary: 7 to 10 Days | Where to Stay in Corsica | Victoria’s Complete Guide to Corsica
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best airport to fly into for Corsica?
Figari for Bonifacio, Porto-Vecchio and the southern beaches. Ajaccio for the west coast and as a general purpose arrival. Bastia for the north and east, and Calvi for the Balagne. Choose for your first region rather than for the cheapest fare.
Do you need a car in Corsica?
Yes, for almost any trip. Buses are limited and built for residents, and the railway serves only a narrow spine of the island. The exception is a stay-put beach week in Calvi or Porto-Vecchio using boat trips instead of driving.
How do you get to Corsica from Italy?
Ferries run from Livorno, Piombino, Savona and Genoa to Bastia and other ports, with Livorno to Bastia the shortest crossing. All routes carry cars. There are no direct flights from most Italian cities, so the ferry is usually the sensible route.
How long is the ferry from Corsica to Sardinia?
About 50 minutes from Bonifacio to Santa Teresa Gallura, costing roughly €30 to €45 as a foot passenger. Around 37 crossings run weekly in summer, dropping to about six off season.
Is it hard to drive in Corsica?
Not difficult, but demanding. The roads are well surfaced yet narrow and mountainous, frequently without barriers, and local drivers are quick. Hire a small car, allow half again on estimated journey times, and expect livestock on the road inland.
