We are in Paris now and leave at the end of the month to drive to Venice (taking 14 days to do so via the Med route). I've been working on our itinerary and have become quite entranced with going to Corsica on the way. With our current itinerary we could do the following:

- depart Nice at midnight, arriving in Calvi at 6:45am on Saturday
- depart Bastia at 8am the following Wednesday for Livorna

That gives us 4 full days, with the final night in Bastia due to the early morning ferry departure the next day. I'm reading through trip reports now and of course it's not enough time, but am trying to maximize the time. Early questions are:

- is it a bad time to go weather wise? (we don't mind wet weather)
- is the ferry crossing likely to be very rough at that time of year? (not a big deal for us - just curious)
- should we stick to the north - i.e. make our way from Calvi to Bastia perhaps spending time in Erbalunga or go south and then return to Bastia via Corte or the eastern north/south route?

Early planning days here - any comments/suggestions would be most appreciated.

TIA

The weather will be as good as anywhere else in France.
The ferries are big ships and are unlikely to be disrupted by the weather, but gales can happen at any time of year.
The island is very mountainous and much of it will be covered by snow.
There is no need to book in advance, but most hotels and restaurants will be closed, so you need to choose carefully where you stay. Everywhere, including the towns, will be quiet.
I've been there in winter two or three times, staying in Ajaccio or Bonifacio and using the trains and buses to get around.

Covered in snow? That's what I'm trying to get away from! I looked at historical temps and they seemed milder - above freezing but perhaps that's because it was calvi on the coast?

The coasts of Corsica will be mild, but most of the island consists of mountains. The highest point, Monte Cinto, is 2700 m, twice the height of the highest mountain in the British Isles.

Thanks - guess we'll stick to the coast

More questions - while the driving distances are short, I'm assuming driving is slow?

I'm thinking of staying in/near St Florent for the first 3 nights, restricting our sightseeing to the area between Calvi and Bastia - Cap Corse/etc and into the mountains if no snow.

We prefer to stay in one place for a few days, not minding longer sightseeing drives.

Then we'll likely spend the 4th night in/near Bastia as the ferry is early the next morning......

Any recos for the above areas (restaurants/sites/etc) are appreciated.

You can check out my partially completed TR for some impressions.

The driving is definitely slow and "interesting" once you get off of the main roads along the coast - most are 1.5 lanes wide and are also used by many wandering pigs and cows. Don't underestimate the amount of time it will take to get places if you're not on a highway. Don't try to head too far south in 4 days.

I would warn you from staying at the Posta Vecchia hotel in Bastia. We had a horrible room there. The location is good, but otherwise it was the lowpoint of our trip.

One positive in Bastia was that we happened on a polyphony rehearsal in a large church (St Charles Borromee) near the Vieux Port and it was magical. I enjoyed walking around Bastia.

We had a wonderful meal at la ferme auberge l'Aghjale which is somewhere near Santa Reparata di Balagna - inland from l'Ile Rousse. It took us forever to find it (no GPS and in the dark) but it was worth it and a great value.

I also really liked Corte which is nearer the center of the island and has the university. It is surrounded by beautiful mountains and I think can be reached fairly easily from the coast on a limited access highway (no animals). It might be worth a day trip if the weather is nice to get a feel for the mountains which really are the majority of the island.

Be prepared to speak French. People speak some English, but it's not the norm.