Traveling by sea to Ajaccio
Update
Thanks to the new lines to Corsica established by the Moby company, it is now possible to reach, at least in high season, the capital of the French island from the Italian peninsula: here is the Genoa – Ajaccio.
Alternative route
There were no ferries to Ajaccio departing from Italy until some time ago, but a travel formula that allowed you to still arrive in the capital of Corsica by sea, currently only an alternative for non-conformist travellers, is this: it involves reaching Sardinia first by ship, with or without your own vehicle, where you can then embark to quickly cross the Strait of Bonifacio and find yourself on the southern Corsican coast. At this point it will be necessary to proceed by road (car or bus) towards the destination.
Let’s see in detail which sea lines (and also land lines) are useful, the itinerary, the duration of the navigation, transport prices and other information. Without forgetting that it is not the destination, but the journey that counts! Along this route it will also be possible, if desired, to explore the intermediate stages, rather than just making a quick passage towards the final finish line.
Ferry to Olbia
The first thing to do is embark for Olbia (there are departures all year round from Livorno and Civitavecchia, in the summer also from Genoa and Piombino).
The Livorno – Olbia ferries make the crossing both during the day (with seven, eight or nine hours of navigation) and at night (with eight or nine hours of navigation); the price of a deck seat for a passenger ranges from €20 to €40 depending on the company. At the links in this paragraph you can consult all the routes, timetables and updated prices.
The Civitavecchia – Olbia ferries take about six hours during the day and about eight hours at night. At the links you can find updated timetables and prices, with the possibility of receiving a quote for deck passage, seat or cabin, with or without a car.
From Olbia to Santa Teresa Gallura by road
Once in Olbia you have to go to Santa Teresa Gallura, from whose port the ships leave their moorings for Bonifacio. It is very convenient to do it by car (it is a question of just over 60 kilometers which, via the SS 125 Orientale Sarda and the SS 133 bis can be covered in about an hour), but even by bus it is not particularly difficult or expensive (the price of ticket is around €5). From the Porto Isola Bianca stop in Olbia, bus line 601 (ARST Regional Transport of Sardinia) takes about two hours to the terminus in Piazza Bruno Modesto, near the port of Santa Teresa Gallura.
Ferry to Bonifacio
The embarkation terminal, in Santa Teresa Gallura, is located in Via Muntanea (at the exit of the tunnel), on the western quay. The Santa Teresa di Gallura – Bonifacio ferries cross the route four times a day in fifty minutes. The ticket price is around €17 but may be subject to updates and should be checked at the previous link.
From 1 November 2022 to 15 December 2022 departures for Bonifacio are made from the port of Palau (reachable with the same bus that leaves from Olbia or in half an hour by car) due to renovation works in the port of Santa Teresa.
From Bonifacio to Ajaccio by road
We’re almost there: to get to Ajaccio, which is 130 kilometers from Bonifacio, only a stretch of road is missing which, by car, can be completed in about two and a half hours via the T40 road.
Those traveling on foot can use the Cullettività di Corsica bus lines (web address isula.corsica/Trasporti-di-passageri_a1607.html) by changing at Figari: the C1 bis Bonifacio – Figari leaves twice a day (morning and afternoon) and takes twenty minutes; the ticket, which costs €4, can also be purchased on board at a slightly higher cost. This short journey can also be done by taxi, especially if the updated timetables of the bus runs, that can be checked at the address of the indicated site, do not allow convenient connections between the two Cullettività di Corsica lines. The bus bound for Ajaccio passes through Figari: it is the C1, which runs three times a day and takes two hours and thirty minutes to travel along the eighteen and a half kilometers that separate these two Corsican municipalities. The ticket, which can also be purchased on board at a cost increased by a few euros, has a price of €12 which may vary over time.
