Corsica in March?
 

My husband and I are planning a trip to Corsica in March. Why March? Because there's an Air France seat sale for travel up to 3/31 for flights in Metropolitan France, and Corsica is on our list of places we want to visit before we move home. The trip has to take place before Mar 18 because of some work commitments.

I'm trying to decide which airport to fly into (Ajaccio, Bastia or Calvi - the latter has a limited schedule) and where to stay. We're not beach people and it's not beach weather. A charming seaside village would be nice. Calvi seems to fit the bill, but many of the hotels I've looked into aren't open for the season yet in March.

Can anyone recommend hotels (and locations) for a long weekend trip at this time of year? The price range for the hotel would be 75-150 euros. Thanks.

Bonjour Kate_W,

Yes, your biggest problem will be finding things open in March. Are you planning on renting a car, or will your long weekend consist of staying in the town you fly into?

When we visited Corsica in 2003 we stayed for three nights 9km north of Bastia in Erbalunga, at the Castel Brando http://castelbrando.corsica-net.com/UK.htm It appears the rates are not up-to-date, but they do say they are open all year. If you rent a car you can easily explore Cap Corse.

Nonza, on Cap Corse, is also very charming, but I would doubt things would be open.

You may want to fly into Bastia and take the train to Corte. As a larger town many restaurants will be open, and snow capped mountains would provide a dramatic back-drop. Had several wonderful meals in Corte.

The larger Ajaccio will have many services available. Also ate well on the one night we had there (in fact, we had wonderful meals 29 out of 30 nights on Corsica). If you fly into Ajaccio you may want to look into Porticcio as a place to stay (if anything is open). It occupies a nice spot across the Golfe d'Ajaccio.

Is there no flight as this time to Bonifaccio? It is a beautiful town, and may be the warmest option.

JQ

Hi JQ:

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look them up.

We will rent a car, so we won't be stuck in the town where our hotel is. It's my understanding, though, that it is easier to drive around in some parts of Corsica than others. On the one hand, Ajaccio seems like the best bet for having hotels and restaurants open in early spring, but from what I've read so far, the roads in the area are hair-raising and take more time than you'd expect to navigate - so it might not be the best base if we want to explore a lot. Air France doesn't fly to Bonifaccio.

We did not drive, but I'm not sure the roads are hair-raising but rather slow. Corsicans will not tell you have far a destination is in kilometres, but in time. For example, the 60+ km from Calvi to Porto takes two-and-a-half hours. Slow... Because of winding roads it is possible to get stuck behind buses/trucks/campervans that inch along. Don't let this discourage you--Corsica is a beautiful island--it will just take longer to see. (Don't forget to honk going around blind corners. We were hiking and could hear the toots way off in the distance as cars navigated through the mountains).

Perhaps if you stay in Ajaccio, you can get to Bonifaccio for lunch.

JQ