Travel question of the day: Simon Calder on flying to Corsica
Have a travel question that needs answering? Ask our expert Simon Calder
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Q My wife and I have been unsuccessfully scanning the internet to find direct flights to Corsica for July 2017. Ideally we wish to visit the island for 10 days. However, all we can find are easyJet flights from Gatwick and even they only appear to fly on a Sunday. Are there any alternatives to this and when would any flights to Corsica first be available to book?
Russell Kennedy
A To investigate your question, I first looked at all the flights this summer from the UK to the beautiful French island of Corsica.
It was a simple matter of A, B, C - the three main airports serving the island. A is Ajaccio in the south-west, B is Bastia in the north-east and C is Calvi in the north-west. The task didn't take long. According to my OAG Pocket Flight Guide, easyJet flies once a week from Gatwick to Ajaccio, twice a week from Gatwick to Bastia, and once a week from Manchester to Bastia. Flybe flies once a week from both Birmingham and Southampton to Bastia. There are no scheduled flights from the UK to Calvi, but some summer charters. And guess what? All those flights, including the pair from Gatwick to Bastia, are on Sundays.
That may look mad, but there is method in the flight plan. For British visitors, Corsica is a niche destination. And because the island is so popular with holidaymakers from mainland France, accommodation is in short supply. So a large proportion of the UK visitors to Corsica are travelling with specialist tour operators. They like to have a common changeover day, and Sunday is it.
For any other day of the week, then, you have to travel via somewhere else. Treat this, though, as an opportunity rather than a nuisance: you can build in an extra bonus, a cut-price city break.
To or from Ajaccio, you can choose a stopover in one of the “big three” hubs for Corsica, in the shape of Marseille, Nice and Paris; there are also options for Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Brussels, Geneva, Lyon, Strasbourg or Toulouse, but with fewer flight choices.
My personal recommendation: a train and ferry combo via Marseille. Eurostar runs direct from London St Pancras to Marseille St-Charles, with one-way fares (including luggage) from £49.50. You can either explore this beautiful, sprawling city, or hop on a bus for less than half-an-hour to Aix-en-Provence if you prefer somewhere more compact; we have recently written 48 Hours guides for both cities. Then, when you are ready to sail, you can snooze your way to a range of Corsican ports, and arrive at dawn ready to explore.
Every day, our travel correspondent, Simon Calder, tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet@simoncalder
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments