Corsica
 

My wife and I are looking to go to Corsica for the first time this June. We will spend a couple days in Paris and then a full week in Corsica. Any recommendations on where to focus our time would be greatly appreciated. Possible to do the south but also check out Réserve Naturelle de Scandola and Calanques de Piana? Feel free to share your favorite sights, towns and activities in Corsica. Also, does anybody have a good guidebook they could recommend? We normally use Rick Steves, Frommers or Fodors but I don't believe they have anything on Corsica. Merci!

Also, should we focus on the north or south or could we visit both areas in 6-7 days?

I'll chip in, in the absence of a reply from anyone else.

Our experience is limited to a day trip from Sardinia. We visited Bonifacio which was absolutely stunning, had very good eating and was very, very vibrant in summer. A very up market party town.

The reason why we haven't stayed on the island (6 times to Sardinia) is cost/ value for money. The places we usually rent are around £3000 a week, this budget goes nowhere in Southern Corsica where a contemporary place near the beach is much more.

BritishCaicos, thanks for your reply. Definitely looks are expensive than our most recent destinations (Greek islands, Amalfi Coast). Saw some pictures of Bonifacio looks pretty spectacular indeed. Sounds like we should consider Sardinia as well :)

As far as I am concerned, this area has the most stunning seascapes in Southern Europe.

Sardinia has cheaper villa rentals but for many the quality is an issue many of the properties can be fairly basic. We have stayed in the North East corner many times and day trips Corscia and The Maddalena Island are very easy by ferry.

I'd say Sardinia is far less vibrant than Corsica as it would seem that most of the Italian visitors to Sardinia probably have family meals at ghe or villas in the evening. We were shocked by the difference in atmosphere, just a short distance over to Corsica. Bonfacio was packed with people.

It's fairly easy to pick up airline transfers into Olbia , where are you flying from?

Bet guide on Corsica is the Michelin Green Guide.
Made by french for french and translated.

I'd limit myself to north or south, not both (and transportation sucks in Corsica).

The island is called 'l'île de beauté' in French so you honestly can't go wrong.

But yes expensive and strange people.

I have been about 7 times to Corsica ( always the North- I have flown into Bastia or more often Calvi... this is know as the balange region with stunning coast lines some very pretty villages. Calvi is a lovely town with a citadel and also some great restaurants. A nice 6 day trip would be Calvi and then drive the route to Bastia - I would stay at least a couple of days in Calvi, maybe stop at Ille Rousee and St Florent.
There is a lovely inland drive that i can highly recommend ( but the name escapes me - it will come back to me)
One of the things I like about Corsica is it's a very "Corsican" place i.e. In the pretty villages you will get local shops and restaurants, you won't find a Starbucks etc)
I also understand the north to be much cheaper than the south...
The scenery is stunning as is the food....

Ps agree North or South not both in the limited time you have...

We spent 10 days in Corsica (2013), staying in Bastia, Calvi, Corte and Ajaccio and also visiting Ille Rousse and Vizzavona. All by train (http://corsicabus.org). We only saw a tiny portion of the island but it was lovely. I was disappointed to not get to Bonafacio but we didn't want to rush so much. Of the places we visited, we liked Calvi and Corte best.

Everyone, thank you for your replies. Still undecided but currently leaning on visiting the northern half. Keep your suggestions and recommendations coming.
Merci.

Well keep us posted as your trip takes shape and we can then recommend some specifics.

Thinking about the following itinerary for 7 days:
Fly into Bastia
Bastia and Cap Corse
Saint Florent and Désert des Agriates
Ile Rousse/ Sant Antonio / Pigna
Calvi
Piana/ Porto / Réserve de Scandola
Ajaccio
Fly back to Paris
Does this sound like too much? If so, what would you cut out?
Thanks

A suggestion could be to do the tour from Ajaccio to Bastia. If you are running out of time, you could skip cap corse. Because, for the rest, There is no shortcut. In fairness, I think I have never been to the cap. If I have, for sure, it was less memorable than the cities, the calanches and st Florent

We would also love to go kayaking on this trip. Any favorite spot(s)?

Rouelan, thanks for the suggestion. We'll definitely consider that option.

I think it sounds like a lot for 7 days you will spend quite if bit of time in the car and wouldn't have any spare time to linger... but then that may be perfectly acceptable type of travel to you.

Would it make more sense to skip Ajaccio , and return back to Bastia via Corte?
Definitely don't want to feel like we're spending the week driving. Thanks

Yes i would skip Ajaccio this time and just concentrate on the North. You could fly to Paris from Calvi so no need to back track to Bastia....