Bastia to Ajaccio - along the West coast

Your trip starts in Bastia, the capital of "Haute Corse" (upper Corsica). Settle into your hotel in the afternoon and spend some time wandering around this interesting town. In particular, it is worth visiting the ancient Citadelle, the Place St Nicolas and the old harbour. There are plenty of excellent restaurants to choose from for your evening meal.
Night in a 3* hotel

This first stage leads you over the col de Teghime (536m), where you have a beautiful view on both sides of the island. On your way down to St Florent you can stop in Patrimonio for a "short" wine tasting. The region of Patrimonio is well known for its vineyards. For the very courageous ones an 85km stage can be done by cycling north of Bastia onto the Cap Corse and over the col de Santa Lucia (381m).

Distance:

Around 26km (D+ : 584m ; D- : 581m ; Min. : 0m ; Max. : 552m)
or 85km (D+ : 1093m ; D- : 1153m ; Min. : 1m ; Max. : 393m)

Today you will leave the bay of St Florent and head through the "desert des Agriates". At spring time you will be acosted with the scents and colours of the wild maquis (Corsican scrub). After about 30km you reach the coast again, with a superb view of the "red island" that shelters the harbour of Ile-Rousse. Your overnight stop is a village just above it.

Distance: around 48km (D+ : 883m ; D- : 685m ; Min. : 1m ; Max. : 363m)
Night in a 3*-hotel

Today you continue southwards to Calvi. You have the option to stay high and ride through some nice mountain villages (with superb views of the sea) or take the shorter route along the coast (this is the main road).
Once you arrive in Calvi it is worth visiting the Citadelle that overlooks the bay. A refreshing drink on the port is a must.
From Calvi you still have 37km to go on the coastal road. This has been named as one of the most scenic coastal roads in the whole of Europe, despite the fact that it is, at times, in bad condition. Tonight you will spend your evening in a small fishing village.

Distance:

66 km (D+ : 690m, D- : 900m, Min : 1m, Max : 218m)
or 78 km (D+ : 933m, D- : 1148m, Min : 1m, Max : 533m)

Night in a 2* hotel

Just when you thought the scenery couldn't get any better, it does! This is a superb day of cycling with breath-taking views along the whole ride. After a few warm-up km you start to climb the col de Palmarella (408m). From the top you can see the bay of Scandola (a UNESCO World Heritage site). Further on you will climb the pass to the col de la Croix, after which you can enjoy some good downhill riding. You will cross the villages of Curzu and Partinello, before taking the last short climb that separates you from the bay of Porto.

Distance: around 51km (D+ : 585m ; D- : 564m ; Min. : 5m ; Max. : 405m)
Night in a 3* hotel in Porto.

This stage starts with a climb out of Porto to the famous "Calanques de Piana". This is an area with stunning rock formations and has also been named a UNESCO world heritage site. You'll then cross the village of Piana and finally, Cargese, an ancient village built by the Greeks in the 18th century.

Distance: around 31km (D+ : 703m ; D- : 660m ; Min. : 10m ; Max. : 481m)
Night in a 2* hotel

Already your last day on the bike. As it isn't too far to Ajaccio, you can do a round-trip to the bay of Lava and its magnificent beaches. An early arrival in Ajaccio allows a visit of the "iles sanguinaires" at the north cape of the Ajaccio-bay, or a tour of the city including for example, the Tino Rossi harbour and Napoleon's birth place.

Distance: around 49km (straight)
(D+ : 752m ; D- : 831m ; Min. : -1m ; Max. : 412m)
Night in a 3* hotel

After breakfast, your tour comes to an end. If you rented bikes, we'll pick them up at the hotel. Transfer to the airport or back to Bastia (possible by train) on request.

We have arrived in everyday life and can look back with satisfaction on a very nice bike trip in Corsica. Although we decided to start the trip at very short notice, everything worked out flawlessly. Europe Active has done a very good job. The tours were very well marked and corresponded to the descriptions. The luggage transport worked very well and the hotels were, with small outliers, good to very good. The bike rental company worked very reliably (even with our breakdown...).

Thank you for the good organization and positive attitude at our request.