Travel Information

Corsica ports

Corsica is a beautiful, wild island with a rugged coastline, old-fashioned charms and modern conveniences. Visitors come here for the superb French cuisine and wine, cultural festivities and the abundance of outdoor sports and activities. The brilliant white city of Ajaccio is the most important port on the western side of Corsica. It is set against a backdrop of wooded hills, fringed by palm trees and the marinas filled with yachts.

Ferries operate out of the two main ports of Ajaccio and Bastia, with smaller ports of Calvi, Il Rousse, Propriano and Porto Vecchio also providing ferry access. Most of the connections are to the French mainland ports of Toulon and Nice in the south of France.

Corsica ferries has frequent sailings from Ajaccio to Nice, as well as Ajaccio to Toulon with a journey time of just under six hours. SNCM Ferries operates many routes to and from the Corsican ports of: Calvi, Bastia, Il Rousse, Ajaccio, Propriano, and Porto Vecchio. Connections are from the French ports of Marseille, Toulon and Nice. The routes from Nice to Bastia, Calvi, Ajaccio and Il Rousse are serviced once daily on the high-speed ferry. All the sailings on these routes are roughly three to four hours long. All the Corsican ports are serviced from Marseilles roughly once daily, with seven days a week service to Ajaccio and Bastia. All these sailings are overnight, 7-13 hours in length, arriving in Corsica the following morning. Sailings from Toulon are limited, with roughly one nighttime sailing a week to Ajaccio. Journey time is roughly 10 hours. There is also limited service available from Toulon to Porto Torres on Sardinia, taking 21 hours. Some of these sailings also go onto the ports of Ajaccio and Propriano.

Known as the birthplace of Napolean Bonaparte, Corsica manages to maintain its own charm within the French culture. The city offers many musuems, parks, restaurants and cafés to the visitor. The daily farmer's market in Campinichi square is a must, to sample local Corsican produce and delicacies. The main business area of the island is in Bastia, a cosmopolitan town with baroque chapels and a popular annual music and film festival.