When we were staying in Sardinia we took a day trip to Corsica. Santa Teresa Gallura, in the north of Sardinia, is the only place to get the ferry from.
When we were staying in Sardinia we took a day trip to the French island of Corsica. There was really only one place to get the ferry from and that was Santa Teresa Gallura, in the north of Sardinia. We were staying a 1.5 hour drive away but it was still worth it for a day trip.
Which ferry company to choose?
There were two companies to choose from – Blu Navy and Moby. We went with Blu Navy because the Moby crossings were already fully booked. We went on a Friday in late June 2018, and only booked it (online via their website) on the Thursday night so it seems you don’t need to book months in advance, but we also weren’t willing to drive 1.5 hours at the crack of dawn only to find there was no space for us.
The crossing took 1 hour and Blu Navy was running crossings at 9am, 12pm, 5pm and 8pm (from Sardinia to Corsica) so as we were doing a daytrip there wasn’t much choice – 9am it was. We had to arrive at the ferry terminal at least 30 minutes before the departure time (if you’re taking a car too; if not it was just 15 minutes). We took a car with 4 passengers and it cost us 75 euros per person (return). We did pay extra for having the car.
Paperwork to cross to Corsica
We also needed to bring either a passport or a national ID card (we were leaving one country and entering another after all!) and these were checked, even though we were still within the Schengen zone. When we arrived at the ferry terminal someone came up to our car and asked us for the barcode in our email confirmation. They scanned that and asked to see our documents. One thing to note – passengers needed to get out of the car before we drove it onto the ferry, so we had to quickly decide what to take with us for the crossing. There was also a nice little coffee bar in Santa Teresa Gallura terminal, which is where we poured some strong coffee down our necks after our 6.30am start.
Arriving in Bonifacio
When we arrived we docked into the port in Bonifacio in southern Corsica. It was noticeably busier than Sardinia as soon as we left the ferry terminal. First we got rid of the car, which was easier said than done. Parking in Bonifacio was a bit of a nightmare – there were several car parks but no indication if they were full or not so we ended up doing a tour of Bonifacio’s best car parks before we found one with a space. The cost of parking was also more expensive – 70 cents per 15 mins, compared to 1 euro per hour in Sardinia.
Lighthouse walk
From the car park, our goal was to walk to the lighthouse further round the coast, because we’d read that it was a stunning walk to do. Before we got onto the trail we ducked our heads into the Cimetière marin de Bonifacio, as it looked interesting from the outside. Then we stuck as close to the coast as we could which involved crossing through the centre of town. The path was easy to find but it did involve some steps up first. And from there it was easy walking and a lot of people were doing it in flipflops.
We only ended up walking halfway to the lighthouse as after a while you aren’t seeing anything new, the heat was starting to take its toll and it’s not a circular walk. We decided to stop for a picnic and then head back. But indeed, the views of Bonifacio, the cliffs and the bright blue sea below were nothing short of magnificent.
After the walk we decided to get a cold beer in a bar back in Bonifacio, and nearly yelped at the prices. We paid 6.50 euros for a pint (side note: I used to live in London – that’s London prices!) We had got used to paying 4 Sardinia, so that was a bit of a shock. The same deal with pasta dishes. In Sardinia we paid around 10; in Corsica it was more like 20.
Turquoise waters in Piantarella
We didn’t have a lot of time before our ferry returned at 6pm but we did manage to drive 10 minutes to Piantarella. We didn’t stop because it was super crowded but just above the beach there’s a viewpoint that gives you a glorious panorama of the turquoise waters – excellent photo op. It was worth it just for that.
Then we headed to the port of Bonifacio (not to be confused with the ferry terminal) for ice cream and to stare at some gin palaces before heading back. The check-in at Bonifacio went less smoothly than in Sardinia. The barcode didn’t scan so Kim had to stand in a queue for 30 minutes to get tickets printed. But other than that, no issues at all. When we docked back in Sardinia, there were customs checks with sniffer dogs, and most people were being asked to open their boots.
Short note on Santa Teresa Gallura – when we arrived bleary eyed at 8am, we didn’t really go anywhere near the town itself, so when we returned in the evening we decided to have dinner there before starting our long drive back to our house. And we were glad we did as we found it to be a really nice, bustling seaside town with a main square and plenty of restaurants, both traditional and contemporary looking. I’d go back there.