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Travel
Information
Season: May to October. Anyday except Monday.
This
trip is offered on a land only basis.
There
are a number of possible ways to travel to and from Corsica that can
easily be booked direct using the internet.
Direct
scheduled flights from London are limited to Easyjet flights to Ajaccio
and Bastia. Either airport is convenient for the start of the trip but
Ajaccio is by far preferable for the return journey. These flights only
operate on Sundays.
There
is also the option of flying on an Air France scheduled service from
London via Paris (change airports) on any day of the week; perhaps add a
night in Paris to the start or end of your trip.
Another
alternatively is to use Easyjet flights between London and Nice and take
the ferry across to Bastia or Ajaccio. Ferries are operated by Southern
Ferries, web site www.southernferries.co.uk (tel. 0844 815 7785). Nice
flights can be cheaper, the ferry cost varies but for example a midweek
foot passenger crossing in June from Nice to Bastia is approx 40 Euros
per person. It is possible to fly from Nice to Ajaccio with Air France
but this is an expensive route. If you travel via Nice you could add a
night of two in this chic resort. In fact if you plan to use the ferry
then this will be necessary as the ferry departs at 08.00!
End of Tour:
The cost of the bus transfer to Ajaccio from Porto on the penultimate
day of the tour is not included (18 Euros approx) or from Ajaccio to the
Airport for return flight, by bus which takes approximately 20 minutes
and costs 6 Euros.
Ferries
depart from Ajaccio to Nice and other destinations on the south coast of
France
Level of Difficulty
Grade: The tour is graded Moderate. This self-guided tour is not
available for those who wish to travel alone.
Fitness: The trek is within the capabilities of any normally healthy
and active individual who takes part in regular hill walking. The route
itself is not difficult, although it is more than just a ramble - there
are some fairly rough ascents, with maquis scrub to negotiate and
sometimes on loose, stoney ground. There is one unavoidably long day of
around 9 hours average walking time. The other days are all considerably
shorter.
Day stages: range in length from 9.5km/3
hours to 22.5km/9 hours.
Waymarks: the trail is generally well marked mostly with orange
waymarks.
General information
Baths:
it is not normal for your room to have a bath, the main reason being
that it takes up a lot of space, some hotels/guesthouses may have a
separate room in the house where a bath is available to guests but in
the main expect showers.
Breakfast:
in countries such as France (Corsica) usually consists of coffee and
bread/croissant with jams, if you want more for breakfast then we would
suggest you purchase some food the night before. It is important for you
to tell us if you have any dietary requirements when you book your
holiday so that we can inform everyone who you are staying with.
Language:
Note
that you will not necessarily come across people speaking English.
Remember you have left home to find things different bring a phrase
book, try to learn a bit of French!
Luggage:
When staying in hotels, sometimes your
luggage will have been taken to you room awaiting your arrival. However
don’t be surprised if your luggage is waiting for you to take it up to
your room please politely ask someone if you need assistance.
Accommodation & Meals
7
nights are spent in 2 star hotels with private facilities as standard.
On 3 nights (The first night in Corte, Evisa and on one of the two
nights at Calacuccia) evening meals are included in the tour price. On
other evenings (Corte, Calacuccia, Porto and Ajaccio) there are local
restaurants nearby. Picnic lunches can also be obtained from the
hoteliers or purchased in local shops.
You will need to take about £80 per person for 4 dinners and
about £50 for 7 picnic lunches, with an additional allowance for
daytime refreshments. (Drinks are rather expensive: a small beer or
black coffee costs £1.50-£1.75; a large white coffee can be
£2.50).
Most
frequented hotels are described below but alternatives are used on
occasion, when room availability is limited.
q
Night 1.
Corte. A comfortable 2 star hotel in the centre of Corte, all rooms
have their own en suite facilities, telephone and television. Dinner is
included.
q
Night 2. Corte.
Same hotel as night 1 but dinner is not included. There are numerous
good restaurants in the Citadelle end of town.
q
Night 3.
Calacuccia. A comfortable modern hotel outside the village. This is a
small family run establishment of twelve rooms, each with its own
bathroom. There are splendid views over to Monte Cinto and Paglia Orba
from the terrace bar. The hotel has a bar but no restaurant, however a set-menu dinner is included
normally at the restaurant U. Valdoniellu, 10 mins walk from the hotel.
q
Night 4.
Calacuccia. Same hotel as night 3 but dinner is not included.
q
Night 5. Evisa.
This 2-star hotel is set in
spectacular surroundings. From
the terrace restaurant there is an incredible view west across the
Spelunca Gorge and forest, to the sea, and the peak of Capu D'Orto
(1294m). Dinner is
included in the tour price. Picnic
lunches can be obtained from shops in the village. There is a swimming
pool (open in Summer season).
q
Night 6. Porto.
Back down at sea level; we stay in this typically Mediterranean
small resort. Our hotel is just by the harbour front. (If it is full, a
suitable alternative is only a couple of minutes further along).
q
Night 7. Ajaccio.
We stay in a comfortable 3 star hotel in the old centre of Ajaccio,
located near the bustling harbour of the town, the train and bus
stations and a beach. The rooms are air conditioned, with en suite
bathroom, television and telephone.
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Outline
Itinerary
q
Day 1: Arrive
Ajaccio. On arrival transfer by taxi or
airport bus to the railway station for a scenic journey through the
mountains on the old rack railway to Corte. Taxi and train fares (about
£15 per
person) are not included in the tour price.
For example, Train:
Depart Ajaccio 17.01. Arrive 18.51 in Corte. (Check times.)
If
you arrive in Bastia you also need to take a taxi to the station and the
train to Corte.
q
Day 2: Clients
are transferred by taxi to Sermano to start this day’s walk back to
Corte. 18km/6 hours. A good warm-up day as we traverse the hills and
valleys from Sermano through maquis and chestnut, past a couple of
sleepy villages with interesting churches and then descend from a high
grassy pass, past cork oak and beeches to Corte, the ancient capital of
the island.
q
Day 3: Corte to
Calacuccia. 22.5km/9-10 hours. We pass through the densley-forested
Tavignano Valley and over the Col de la Croix before descending to the
barraged Lac de Croix, and our hotel in the village of Calacuccia. At
850m. This is an unavoidably long day but we hope you will agree that
the spectacular scenery provides adequate compensation. Possibility of
shortening the walk by using a taxi (approx. 90 Euros).
q
Day 4: Calacuccia
to Castel di Vergio. 14.5km/5 hours.
Via the “chemin de ronde” to the Col de Vergio
(1,477m/4,845ft). Today we ascend to the watershed, past shepherds' huts
and with views of Monte Cinto (2,706m/8,875ft) the highest peak in
Corsica. Transfer back to your hotel in Calacuccia. This trip can be
done in reverse if preferred, making it largely a descent.
q
Day 5: Transfer
from Calacuccia to Col di Vergio (or just below) to start walk (cost
included). Col di Vergio to Evisa. 9.5km/3 to 4 hours. In the morning we
walk down through a forest of Lariccio pine, passing waterfalls and
magnificent chestnut trees, to reach the attractive village of Evisa
(850m/2,788ft) with its fine views of the valley.
In the afternoon we can explore the village, which is famed
historically for chestnut production.
q
Day 6:
Evisa to Porto. 13km/4 to 5 hours.
In the morning we continue our descent of the Spelunca Gorge, to
Ota, another picturesque mountain village where we take lunch.
Continuing on we arrive at the scenically located beach resort of Porto
where there will be time for a swim, a walk up to the old Geonese fort,
maybe a boat ride and always time for a great evening meal at one of the
seaside restaurants, perhaps enjoying a great seafood dish.
q
Day 7:
Porto to Ajaccio. Morning at leisure in Porto. Take a coach at
approx 14.00 hours along the corniche road which winds into and around
the Calanches National Park (consisting of impressive coastal cliff
formations) to Ajaccio. This is a direct service, which takes approx 2.5
hours. (This is not included in tour price, and does not run on Sundays.
This is why we do not start the trip on a Monday as to do would make day
7 a Sunday. If you do opt to make day 7 a Sunday you will need to take
an expensive taxi transfer.) In Ajaccio, welcome back
to a busy cosmopolitan Mediterranean town with an impressive harbour and
old winding streets crammed with little restaurants and boutique shops.
q
Day 8:
Departure from Ajaccio. Local bus or taxi to airport.
What's Included
Transfer
from Corte to Sermano on Day 2. Baggage transfers between each overnight
destination days 2 to 6. Your transfers from Col di Vergio to Calacuccia
on Day 4 and from Calacuccia to Col di Vergio on Day 5. 7 nights Bed and
Breakfast. Dinners on Nights 1, 3 and 5 are also included.
On the Self Guided Tour we provide . . .
1:50,000
scale maps with the whole route marked; these are used in conjunction with our detailed
Route Notes.
Escorted Departures
EJMS07
Sun 7 June – Sun 14 June
Books & Maps
Walks in Corsica, part of
the Footpaths of Europe series (Robertson McCarta, 1990). This includes
some 1:50,000 maps, which cover part of the route of this trek.
Carrington,
D. Granite Island (Penguin)
1984 Erudite portrait of the island as shaped by its tumultuous past.
For
general reference; The Rough Guide
to France, Harrap Columbus. Lonely Planet: Corsica.
Travel
books and larger scale (1:25,000) maps can be obtained from
Stanford’s, London Tel: 0207 836 1321 (or fax 0207 236 0189) to check
availability or to place a mail order or
web:
www.stanfords.co.uk.
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