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

We spent two wonderful weeks in Corsica with the VW Bus at the end of June and would like to share our experiences with you.

Let's 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 on the campsites in Corsica 😉
• Card payment is often not possible, so you will need sufficient cash
• An awning or sun sail on the bus is mandatory to ensure shade

As always, our first stop on the way to Corsica was 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 always delighted.

We then continued towards southern Italy and our next stop near Livorno.

As our ferry left early in the morning, we spent the night before on the Camping Sant Michael (www.campingstmichael.eu). It is about 20 minutes from the ferry port in Livorno and has a special area at the entrance from which you can leave as early as 6am. There is a pizzeria with good food on site and the beach is about 15 minutes' walk away. 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 8am our ferry left for Bastia, we chose Moby Lines - we'll spare you the details on the condition of the ferries, see Google reviews 😉

After a 4-hour drive, we arrived in Corsica and were immediately enchanted by the island's wonderful scent - 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 - Camping U Paradisu near Saleccia (www.camping-uparadisu.com). Thanks to our professional driver, we managed the adventurous journey in our T6.1, but you need good nerves and a lot of confidence 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. Nevertheless, part of the 10 km gravel road was a large waterhole, from whose dirt and dust we benefited the whole vacation 😉

Once you have mastered the drive, you arrive at a small campsite that is beautifully embedded in nature and run by a young, very friendly team. The best thing is that the campsite is just a few minutes' walk from one of the most beautiful beaches on the island - Plage de Saleccia. Crystal-clear water, white sand and only a few people due to the difficult accessibility - 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 minus point - the sanitary facilities are very old and unfortunately also dirty and smelly. The showers are officially with hot water, but that didn't work and you had to be happy if there was any water at all. As the site is only accessible by car/bus, all guests have to use the sanitary facilities, so the frequency is very high, which unfortunately also affects the cleanliness. A challenge in this 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 arrived at Camping San Damiano (www.campingsandamiano.de). This was a contrasting program - 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, but there are much nicer ones on the island. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend the campsite restaurant, the food was not good at all and the service staff did their job rather reluctantly.

One day we took a trip to Bastia - a nice little town where you can watch the ferries go by.

We then headed south of the island. After a few days on the beach in the heat, we were in the mood for a change and therefore went to Camping U Rosumarinu (https://urosumarinu.fr), which is located slightly inland directly on 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 on-site restaurant offers delicious food and very friendly staff. The river flows almost directly through the campsite, is crystal clear and has many different depths for swimming. All in all a great place, absolutely recommendable!

After our time out by the river, our next stop was to be by the sea again, whereupon we headed to Camping Fautea (www.campingfautea.fr). Beautifully situated on a cliff, many pitches have sea views, especially for campers with tents, there are great alcoves with fantastic views. There is an old and a somewhat newer building with sanitary facilities, both of which are clean and tidy. 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 the restaurant in the evening and cooked our own meals - we would recommend this to others. There are several bathing spots by the sea within walking distance.

We then made our way south and stopped at Plage de Palombaggia, one of Corsica's most famous beaches. The combination of white sand, clear water and red rocks is definitely worth a stop.

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

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

We then made our way west and stopped at Limone beach - also a very well-known beach, with much higher waves and wilder sea due to its location in the west.

The road towards Porto was beautiful to drive and offered some great views. Among other things, it leads right 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 the friendliest on our entire vacation 😊 The site is beautifully embedded in nature, the pitches are very shady and there is a well-kept, clean pool for cooling off. You can also walk to a great, crystal-clear river in a few minutes, 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. All in all, a great campsite and highly recommended!

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

We then set off towards the center of the island and were accompanied in places by free-roaming goats and sheep - a completely normal sight on Corsica 😊

We also drove along a very adventurous road here - narrow, winding, very high up and with no safety barriers - not for the faint-hearted, but the scenery was fantastic!

To round off our vacation, we tackled a hike to the highest mountain in Corsica - Monte Pincu. To do this, we went to Camping U Monte Pincu in Lozzi (no website), which has spacious pitches in a meadow. An absolutely fantastic 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. Small tip - there are a lot of flies and mosquitoes on the campsite, appropriate repellent spray is mandatory 😉

The hike up Monte Cintu was - as expected thanks to other travel reports - a challenge and more like climbing than hiking. However, the great view and landscape made the climb worthwhile.

We made our last stopover on the way home at 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 in an idyllic location 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 - what remained was a fascination for Corsica and the diversity of this beautiful island. We will be back, no question!