Published on: 12 January 2017 | Last updated: 9 January 2020
At a glance
Distance
532 kilometres
Difficulty/terrain
Moderately challenging. There are no really big climbs along the route, but there are several that take you from sea level to more than 350 metres altitude. The smaller climbs can also add up.
Traffic
The route is mainly on roads that, outside the main tourist season are quiet. However, there are sections where there is no alternative to using the former routes nationales. The volume of traffic isn’t great, but it is relatively fast moving. The worst section is around Ajaccio, but this can be avoided with a detour.
Surfaces
The route is entirely on surfaced roads. Although the road surfaces are generally good there is one section where the surface is in poor condition. The section is perfectly rideable, but you need to pay attention if you are descending at speed.
Finding your way
This is not a signed cycle route, but it’s easy to find your way using the normal road signs.
When to go
Best times to go are spring (April-June) and autumn (September-October). Note that if you are planning to camp you may find that many campsites are still closed in early April and many close at the end of September.
Definitely don’t go in the main holiday season of July and August — not only will it be hotter, but the roads busy with tourist traffic.
Overview
Corsica is one of the world’s great cycling destinations. It deserves a place on everyone’s list of places to go before their knees give out. The main highlight is the coastline of the north-west around Porto, which deserves to be called spectacular. The rest of the route is pretty glorious although the dramatic bits are so dramatic that the rest suffers a little in comparison.
This route works best as a part of a longer tour taking in Sardegna, but you could do it on its own, or returning to the starting point in Bastia.
Map and altitude profile
Powered by WP-GPX Maps
tips for using the map

Run your cursor over the graph to show the elevation, and distance from the start, for any given point on the route. (Note: the altitude graph is not shown where the route is flat).

Click the little icon in the right-hand corner to see the map fullscreen
Distances | |
---|---|
Bastia to Saint-Florent | 101 kms |
Saint-Florent to L’Île Rousse | 45 kms |
L’Île Rousse to Calvi | 22 kms |
Calvi to Cargèse | 123 kms |
Cargèse to Porticcio | 59 kms |
Porticcio to Porto Pollo | 53 kms kms |
Porto Pollo to Campomoru | 36 kms |
Campomoru to Bonifacio | 73 kms |
Highlights
- The Calanches de Piana The coast of northern and western Corsica is perhaps one of Europe’s great coastal bike rides. The highlight is the spectacular Calanches de Piana where the road threads its way through pink granite cliffs sculpted by the wind and rain into surreal shapes. While the Calanches undoubtedly steal the show, much of the route offers memorable views of the sea and unspoilt coastline.
- Filitosa. A short side-trip takes you to the atmospheric prehistoric site of Filitosa - famous for its statue-menhirs standing stones sculpted into figures.
- Bonifacio. There are a number of picturesque and historic towns along the way, but Bonifacio, perched on 70-metre limestone cliffs is the most beautiful. Perhaps one of the most beautiful port town in the Mediterranean.
Beaches
The route passes some of Corsica’s best beaches, but note that some of these beaches have stayed relatively unspoilt because they are accessible only by rough dirt roads. This is particularly true in the north of the island; in the south-west of the island, there are some beautiful beaches that are much more easily accessible.
Best beaches along the route
- plage de Cala (Barcaggio)
- plage de Saleccia (between Saint-Florent and Calvi)
- plage d’Ostriconi (near Calvi)
- Aregno plage (Algajola)
- plage de Sagone (Sagone)
- Plage de Verghja
- plage de Porto Pollo
- Olmeto plage
- plage de Roccapina
Note that in most cases there’s no lifeguard at the beach, and many of the beaches you come across (not those on this list) there are warnings that swimming is dangerous.
Options
You coulddo the route in either direction, but is anti-clockwise better so that you are on the side closest to the sea and you can most easily enjoy the views.
If you don’t have time to do the whole route then you could travel into Bastia and out of Ajaccio. Alternatively, you could climb to the Col de Vergio (1432 m) before heading for Bastia. It’s a big climb as you start at sea-level. Whatever you do, though, don’t miss the Calanches de Piana.
If you need to, then you could also travel into Calvi or Île Rousse and then out of Ajaccio.
Around the island?
A lot of people do, but be warned the main road along the eastern seaboard of the island is flat, busy, and very boring. A better alternative would be to head from Sartène through the Alta Rocca to Zonza and the Aiguilles de Bavella. From there are stretches of corniche road in the heights above the new main road, which offer a much quieter and more scenic alternative.
Sardegna
There are frequent and quick ferry services across the strait between Corsica and Sardegna so it couldn’t be easier to combine the two islands —for example following the coast of northern Sardegna to Alghero or to Olbia. For more about cycling the Sardinian coast see these articles:
A couple of warnings
Corsica is one of the most sparsely populated areas of Europe. Although you are never really very far from the nearest town, services along the road can be few and far between: so it’s worth making sure you have enough water and something to eat.
Wild camping is definitely not permitted that’s partly because of the risk of forest fires (which can do serious damage, and firefighters have lost their lives fighting them). What may seem to be a nondescript bit of sand dune can be a fragile habitat, and while you may be conscientious about leaving no trace, sadly there are a lot of people who aren’t.
Getting there
The main airports are at Bastia and Ajaccio (although there is also an airport at Figari in the south). Many airlines (including Easyjet) only operate services in summer - so if you are researching flights in winter it may look like there are no flights. visit-corsica.com has a useful search engine visit-corsica.com: comment venir covering 14 countries.
If you are travelling from outside Europe then the easiest option is likely to be to change planes in Paris. Air France has a low-cost subsidiary called Hop! which operates services to and from the island’s airports (although I couldn’t see any services from, or to, Paris CDG).
The major ferry companies are Sardinia Ferries/Corsica Ferries and Moby Lines, with services from Nice, Toulon and Marseille in France, and Genova, Vado Ligure and Livorno in Italy. The main ferry ports are Bastia and Ajaccio but there are also ferries to/from Propriano.
Services between Bonifacio and Santa Teresa Gallura in Sardegna are operated by Moby Lines and Blu Navy
… and getting back
At the end of the route there is an airport at Figari near Bonifacio. In summer it offers a range of low-cost and charter flights to mainland France and elsewhere in northern Europe. However, you can broaden the range of options by taking the ferry to Santa Teresa Gallura in Sardegna and then continuing to either Alghero or Olbia. Alternatively, there are ferry services to mainland France (Marseille, Toulon or Nice) from Propriano and Porto Vecchio.
A warning about trains
The railway company (Chemins de Fer de la Corse) has a prominent warning on its website front page that bikes are not allowed on the trains, this includes bikes that are in bags or boxes —making it perhaps the least bike-friendly rail company in Europe. (‘Les vélos né sont pas acceptés à bord des trains (avec ou sans emballage)’).
Downloads
Maps to print out or view offline
GPS files
More information
Resources
Tour operators

Gulf of Porto by Edward Lear. Illustration from Journal of Landscape Painter in Corsica from the archive.org
Articles in this series
- Corsica Coast: introduction
- Corsica Coast: Part 1: Cap Corse
- Corsica Coast: Part 2: The north-west coast from Saint-Florent to Porto
- Corsica Coast: Part 3: The Calanches de Piana and Cargèse
- Corsica Coast: Part 4: The south-west coast: Campomoro and Bonifacio
Get in touch
Please get in touch if you find any errors in the information, or if there’s anything, good or bad, that you’d want other cyclists to know.
Join the mailing list?
If you’ve found this site useful why not sign up to the mailing list for occasional updates about new routes.