Camping on Corsica with the VW T6.1 across the island

At the end of June we spent two wonderful weeks with the VW bus on Corsica and would like to share our experiences of Bulli Corsica trips with you.

To start with, a few basic tips for camping in Corsica:

• Always have some provisions and enough drinks on board, as there are only a few supermarkets in many areas
• There is no toilet paper at the campsites in Corsica 😉
• Card payment is often not possible, so you need enough cash
• An awning or sunshade on the bus is mandatory to ensure shade

Our first stop on the way to Corsica was, as always, the Camping North Wind in Domaso (www.domasocamping.com). Daniele and his family are warm hosts and the entire campsite, especially the sanitary facilities, are very clean. We have been coming here for many years and are impressed every time.

Afterwards we continued towards southern Italy and to the next stop in Livorno.

Since our ferry left early in the morning, we spent the night before on the Camping Sant Michael (www.campingstmichael.eu). This is about 20 minutes from the ferry port in Livorno and has a special area at the entrance from which departure is possible from 6 a.m. There is a pizzeria on the square with good food and the beach is about 15 minutes away on foot. The beach is a classic family beach in Italy, not particularly beautiful, but enough to enjoy salt water for the first time 😊

The next morning at 8 a.m. our ferry left for Bastia, we chose Moby Lines – we will spare you details about the condition of the ferries, see Google reviews 😉

After a 4-hour drive we arrived in Corsica and were immediately enchanted by the wonderful scent of the island - the maquis blooms all year round and the mixture of intense herbs and sea air is characteristic of the island.

Camping U Paradisu

Our first campsite was a direct hit – the Camping U Paradisu near Saleccia (www.camping-uparadisu.com). Thanks to our professional driver, we managed the adventurous journey with our T6.1, but you need strong nerves and a lot of trust in the car and your own driving skills 😊 We were also lucky that it had been dry the days before, so it wasn't too slippery and wet. Part of the 10km gravel road was still a large water hole, and we benefited from the dirt and dust throughout our vacation 😉

Once you have mastered the journey, you end up at a small campsite that is beautifully embedded in nature and is run by a young, very friendly team. The best thing: The campsite is a few minutes' walk from one of the most beautiful beaches on the island - the Plage de Saleccia. Crystal clear water, white sand and, due to the difficulty of access, only a few people - most visitors come by boat. The campsite has a mini-market with the most important products and a restaurant with good food and very friendly service staff. However, there is also a negative point - the sanitary facilities are very old and unfortunately also dirty and smelly. The showers are officially hot water, but this didn't work and you were lucky if there was any water at all. Since the site is only accessible by car/bus, all guests have to use the sanitary facilities, so the frequency is very high, which unfortunately means that the cleanliness suffers even more. So it's a challenge in that respect, but the campsite, the fun of the adventurous journey and, above all, the beautiful beach are absolutely worth it!

After two nights in Saleccia we set off for the east coast and at Camping San Damiano (www.campingsandamiano.de). It was a complete contrast - a large campsite with lots of pitches, its own large supermarket and several clean sanitary facilities. The site is located directly behind a classic, wide beach; however, there are much nicer ones on the island. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend the site's restaurant; the food was not good at all and the service staff were rather reluctant to do their job.

One day we took a trip to Bastia – a nice little town where you can watch the hustle and bustle of the ferries.

Then we continued towards the south of the island. After a few days on the beach in the heat, we wanted a change and therefore went to Camping U Rosumarinu (https://urosumarinu.fr), which is located a little inland right next to a river. The site is beautifully embedded in nature, the pitches are very shady and the sanitary facilities are new, modern and very clean! The staff are also very friendly and the restaurant on site offers delicious food and very friendly staff. The river flows almost directly through the campsite, is crystal clear and has many places of varying depths for swimming. All in all a great place, highly recommended!

After the break at the river, our next stop was to be at the sea again, where we went to Camping Fautea (www.campingfautea.fr). Beautifully situated on a cliff, many pitches have a sea view, especially for campers with tents, there are great niches with fantastic views. There are an old and a slightly newer building for sanitary facilities, both of which are clean. Unfortunately, there is no supermarket here, not even within walking distance. The bar next door did not convince us, the service staff were unfriendly and the prices were very high. We therefore decided not to go to a restaurant there in the evening and cooked for ourselves - we would recommend that. There are several bathing areas by the sea within walking distance.

We then headed south and stopped at Plage de Palombaggia, one of the most famous beaches in Corsica. The combination of white sand, clear water and red rocks is definitely worth a stop.

Our next destination was the city of Bonifacio in the very south of the island. Since we wanted to stay as close to the city as possible, we chose Camping L'Araguina (www.campingaraguina.com) - from here you can reach the city center on foot in 5 minutes. However, the campsite is more of a parking space and the sanitary facilities are quite dirty. Just right for one night to explore the city - we wouldn't have wanted to stay any longer.

However, a visit to Bonifacio is absolutely worthwhile - a very beautiful city, whose special architecture can be discovered even better on a boat tour on the water.

We then headed west and stopped at Limone beach - also a very well-known beach; due to its location in the west, it has significantly higher waves and a wilder sea.

The road towards Porto was beautiful to drive and offered some great views. Among other things, it leads directly past the Calanches de Piana.

Our next destination was Camping Funtana a l'ora (https://funtanaalora.fr) in the west. The welcome was very warm and the staff were the friendliest of our entire vacation 😊 The site is beautifully embedded in nature, the pitches are very shady and there is a well-maintained, clean pool to cool off in. You can also reach a great, crystal-clear river in a few minutes on foot, which is great for swimming. The restaurant is also good and the sanitary facilities are clean. There is no mini-market, but you can buy baguettes and croissants in the morning. Overall, a great campsite and highly recommended!

During our stay at the Funtana a l'ora campsite we visited Porto - a beautiful little town that is very impressive with its red rock formations. You can also swim here, the beach is made of coarser gravel and the waves are much stronger than in the east.

We then headed towards the centre of the island and were accompanied in places by free-roaming goats and sheep – a completely normal sight in Corsica 😊

We also drove along a very adventurous road here – narrow, winding, very high up and without any safety features – not for the faint-hearted, but the scenery was fantastic!

At the end of our holiday, we went on a hike to the highest mountain in Corsica - Monte Pincu. For this we went to Camping U Monte Pincu in Lozzi (no website), whose spacious pitches are on a meadow. Absolutely great location with a beautiful view of the surrounding mountains. The sanitary facilities are old, but in good condition. There is no mini-market, but the campsite next door has a pizzeria. A little tip - there are a lot of flies and mosquitoes on the campsite, appropriate repellent spray is a must 😉

The hike up Monte Cintu was – as expected from other travel reports – a challenge and more like climbing than hiking. But the climb was worth it for the great view and landscape.

Our last stop on the way home was on the Camping Federico Farm in Pontremoli (between La Spezia and Parma, www.federicofarm.com). The operators are very friendly, speak excellent English and respond quickly to inquiries. The site is idyllically located with a great view and the sanitary facilities were very clean. A great place on the way home/to the ferry.

Unfortunately, that was the end of our vacation - but we are still fascinated by Corsica and the diversity of this beautiful island. We will be back, no question!