Together with my children (8 & 10), I will be going to Sardinia for three weeks in June/July. Having searched for info on this site (and all over the Net, for that matter), I read a couple of posts who described Sardinia as a barren, dry an uninteresting place. This is not the impression I have from the few books I've managed to find. However, both posters also mentioned that they've been to Corsica, which was described in very positive terms. This was enough to make me unsure since information (at least in english) is scarce (on Sardinia in particular). We were last summer two weeks on Sicily, which we all enjoyed very much. <BR> <BR>What I would like to know is: <BR> <BR>1. Which island would make for the best holiday with kids? (We would like to stay in a rented apartment or "albergo/pensione" near a beach, a SANDY beach). <BR> <BR>2. If you can recommend one above the other, can you also recommend a specific area that meets the above criteria (A really nice sandy beach which hopefully is not totally wrecked by masstourism). If there are some interesting things to do/see nearby, it is ofcourse a big plus. <BR> <BR>I am most grateful for anything enlightening. <BR>(I am from Scandinavia and consider myself very well travelled but this was DIFFICULT to research, I remember a trip to Greenland a couple of years ago as easier to plan...;-). <BR> <BR>Thank you & Kind Regards <BR> <BR>Rickard <BR>

Dear Rickard, <BR> <BR>interesting question. <BR> <BR>I will get som information for you and send to you directly, as I have afriend who has been in both places lots of times. <BR> <BR>All the best and have a nice week end, Rickard! <BR> <BR>Sophia <BR>

Hi Richard, <BR> <BR>Me too, planning both islands for October and my friend came and showed me pictures of both. She was there last Sept. and disappointed in Sardinia, but loved Corsica and would definitly go back, but not to Sardinia. She said Sardinia had lots of beaches (she lives near beach here on Long Island, NY) and she wanted to see history, not to hang out on beaches. Towns are very new having been built in 1950's. Corsaica for her showed the lovely historical villages with more greenary as Sardinia more dry in temps and landscape. Per her mother (it was a family trip celebrating her parents 50th)the 5 days on Sardinia could have been cut to 2-3 and per my friend, down to 0 days as her parents did not take the trip to Corsica. I am now planning again for only Corsica but have not excluded Sardinia out just yet. Waiting for another friend to relate her two trips to me. Agree with you about the few postingsm most giving Corsica the thumbs up.

Our Italian cousins love Sardinia, but they go there to hang out on the beach, not to see historical things. I think it's very popular with Italians but less suited to others who might be looking for more history. The food of Sardinia is rather unique though. Sicily is certain much different from what I've heard about Sardinia. Can't help with Corsica.

Dear Debbie & Kam! <BR> <BR>Thank you very much for your replies. <BR>We have now decided to skip Sardinia altogether this time and only go to Corsica. The tickets are booked, we'll be arriving in Ajaccio. Accomodation is now the issue, looking at the Porto Vecchio area in the south-east as well as the surrounding bays in the proximity of Ajaccio. If you have any idea which area would be preferrable, I would value your opinion... If we had a car we would have toured Corsica + maybe a couple of days in Sardinia. Since we bring the kids and we know by experience that they will only appreciate being on the beach on a hot summer day and not in a stuffy car or investigating old monuments, we'll save that for later, if/when we go on our own. Therefore it is vital to find a place which will offer a nice, sandy beach as well as some other diversions to avoid anyoneone getting bored on their three week holiday. <BR> <BR>Rickard

As I think I was one of the posters who described Sardinia in a negative way while raving about Corsica I will try and help if I can. We have been to Corsica a couple of times and really enjoyed the island. I assume you will be hiring a car even though you say you do not want to have a touring holiday,indeed modes of public transport seemed to be few and far between from what I can remember when we were there. If you are arriving in Ajaccio I guess you are realy looking at staying somewhere in the south of the island as what might look like a short drive on the map can indeed take a lot longer than you might think due to the nature of the roads. Perhaps somewhere on the Bay of Propriano might fit the bill there are nice beaches on the bay particularly towards Porto Polo and Propriano is a reasonable sized towns with many restaurants and shops. The other side of the bay ends at the small seaside town of Campo Moro we stayed near there and I found it quite charming. A trip out from this area is Bonafacio which is worth a visit. Another thought is that you could perhaps split the three weeks between the south east and the south west coasts that way you get to see more of the island without making it a true touring holiday. I don't think you will get too much of a problem with mass tourism unlike other destinations in the Med, plus June, early July will be quieter than from Bastille day onwards to the end of August. Hope you have a gret time its not called the Ile de Beaute for nothing.

Dear Jan! <BR> <BR>Thank you for the enlightening info. <BR>However charming and beautiful this island is, information is not readily available and unless you speak french you don't find a lot to help you with the planning. This is something I wish we shoulb be grateful for, as I understand Corsica still isn't ruined by masstourism, like a quite a few other Mediterranean destinations... <BR>One explanation for the lack of info in English is ofcourse the fact that the majority of the holidaymakers are french or italian. <BR> <BR>Jan, I wish you a great summer wherever you'll be spending it! (It wouldn't be Corsica, now would it ;-)?

Hi Rickard, <BR>Glad to have been of help. You are right the info. for Corsica is not readily available. The books we used, though they will not be any help with finding accomodation, were the Michelin Green Guide, (our version was in french but it is probably published in english now),and a book called 'The Visitors Guide to Corsica' published by MPC in the UK, & Hunter Publishing Inc. in NJ USA. I am not sure if it is still in print but I gues you could check with one of the on-line book companies. The yellow Michelin map of the island is also useful. Do buy some of the wonderful dried herbs for cooking while you are there, they will mind you of the island long after the holiday is over! No we are not going to Corsica this year, we are visiting Canada later this month and then France (for about the twentieth time!)in August guess you could call us francophiles. Jan.