CORSICA – THE ISLAND-SPECIAL
10–20 MAY 2026
After the rousing premiere in May 2024 and the even more exuberant, incrementally refined follow‑up in May 2025, here is the programme for May 2026. Apart from the date, we haven’t had to change anything of significance. The key takeaways from past events up front: Corsica means pure experience! Corsica is stunningly beautiful. And singular. Better still, don’t tell anyone here that you’re in France. If, on the other hand, you meet a (mainland) French person, feel free to mention how peculiar you find the Corsicans. No — better say “special”... Because despite any awkwardness, Corsica is the French favorite holiday island. It’s no coincidence that “la Corse” is meant when people speak of the “Île de Beauté,” the Island of Beauty. This becomes clearer to the sports‑car driver taking part, kilometre by kilometre. Corsica = beauty turned island. Smaller than Sardinia, steeper than Sardinia, more rugged and on average noticeably higher — overall a jewel under the open sky!
Here you will experience a mix of seven-and-a-half more or less demanding driving days, two days “on the boat,” and the day in Bastia.
Breathtaking landscapes, picturesque villages, carefully chosen culinary treasures ranging from robust to refined, and — what perhaps makes the Corsicans so special — the island’s rich cultural and linguistic heritage all combine into a unique, incomparable cosmos. Mentally you feel closer to Italy — and geographically you are — yet Corsica has been nominally French for well over 200 years.
In short: Corsica is and remains one thing only: Corsican!
CORSICA – THE ISLAND-SPECIAL
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Finding the most beautiful, exciting and — at the same time — safest roads for you was the primary aim of our reconnaissance tours on the island. Finding beautiful routes wasn’t really the problem. Spoiler: they’re abundant, even in sufficiently to excellently maintained (i.e. safe) condition.
Finding suitable and pleasant hotels, however, was more of a challenge. All the happier are we to now present five wonderful destinations on this trip, all tried-and-tested with groups. Enjoy a light, relaxed stay in a relais surrounded by a true sea of blossoms on the outskirts of Bastia (two nights here); relish the fortune of a modern, privatized boutique hotel on the island’s west coast (three nights in this gem that could have come straight from the glossy pages of a high‑end interior magazine); marvel at the view over Bonifacio from a small hotel resort in the south (two nights here); and unwind in one of the island’s most luxurious five‑star houses in the southeast (two nights). Your final night on Corsica is in a simple, thoroughly traditional three‑star house in the hills above Bastia, with an excellent restaurant and a top champagne list. We fell in love with each of these properties — hopefully irrevocably — mostly at first sight. The locations of the hotels, both in relation to one another and to the island as a whole, allow you to experience the entirety of Corsica during the Corsica Special.
Part of that experience is the adventure and beauty of the coast from the seaside. So, two boat trips (one of them full‑day) are an integral part of this very Corsica Special. The Calanques of Piana — as stunning as they appear from the little road — are best admired from the sea. Skipper Léo will present his UNESCO World Heritage site to us in a uniquely memorable way.
Equally unique, yet very different, is the sailing off Bonifacio — we have chartered a catamaran for this — where we will cultivate a generous dose of dolce far niente into a sensory experience on the water. This includes the owner‑chef’s finest linguine with scampi prepared personally on board and, for those who wish, a jump into the clear water off Plage de Spérone.
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10½‑day guided sports‑car tour in your own or a rented sports car
Individual arrival to Livorno
Eleven meticulously planned driving and ferry days
Concept and guiding: Reinhard Loeven
Max. 12 two‑person teams or solo drivers
Accommodation (10 nights):
****Hotel, outskirts of Bastia (2 nights)
****Hotel‑villa on the west coast at the foot of the Calanche de Piana (3 nights)
****Hotel near Bonifacio (2 nights)
*****Hotel Casadelmar, Porto‑Vecchio (2 nights)
1 night at ***Hotel La Corniche
10 time‑ and enjoyment‑optimized lunches in typical local venues along the route
10 dinners, either in selected restaurants or at the hotels, including one 2‑star dinner by Fabio Bragagnolo at Casadelmar
Ferry transfers Livorno ↔ Bastia
Two exclusive boat excursions: one full‑day trip in high‑powered motorboats to the Calanche de Piana / Scandola Reserve; the second in a privatized excursion boat through the Strait of Bonifacio
Route map
Extensive photographic documentation of the trip
Various agency services and network contacts
Price:
- Tour price from €6,785 per person (pp) in a double room up to €7,995 pp, depending on room category
- Single driver in a single room from: €11,107 pp
Not included: vehicle, fuel, alcoholic beverages (these will be charged after consumption).
