Corsica and Sardinia

Description

Read the day by day info and join us on this amazing motorcycle tour.

Day 0: Join us in Rome at our rental point by 12pm. After a short briefing and the finalisation of all paperwork, we ride a couple of hours to Civitavecchia and board the overnight ferry to Olbia (Sardinia). The welcome dinner will be on board at the “a la carte” restaurant as we sail across the Med. You all will have a cabin with ensuite bathroom.

Day 1: Breakfast will be on board and as soon as we land in Olbia, we shall ride the twisty road (SS125) north to catch the ferry from Santa Teresa di Gallura to Bonifacio. We wont visit Bonifacio, as we have time to do so on our final night in Corsica. We keep riding north all the way on the T40 and the surprising T20 all the way to Corte, the cultural capital of Corsica. It hosts the most important University of the island. Just before reaching Corte a brief ride to the wild Restonica valley will end a great riding day. Dinner will be in a local restaurant in the heart of the old city centre of Corte sampling the local Corsican mountain dishes. 

Day 2: We keep heading north. Our aim is to ride around the finger of Corsica today, but before we reach Bastia we must pay visit to St Michele a Murato, a beautiful little church set amidst the Corsican hills. A little architectural gem well worth the stop. Our route takes us along the very scenic Cornice of Bastia and then join the coastal road which will offer amazing views of the Mediterranean sea. Cliffs, white sandy beaches, black beaches all from a great twisty road. What could be better?
We stay overnight in St Florent set in the bay at the base of the finger. We eat by the marina with a splendid sunset view. 

Day 3: Time to leave St Florent and head to the West Coast of Corsica. Our ride takes us across the top of the Desert of Agriates with very open views of its rock formations. The road D81 is superb with lots of twisties until we reach the T30 which heads to Calvi. A few miles into the main road and the views open up and it’s time for a sweet coffee stop with ecstatic views of the coast and of the crystal clear waters. Lunch will be in Calvi. The fit ones can venture around the citadelle perched on a cliff, whilst the lazy ones can just sit around the marina and prepare for lunch. The afternoon is spent along the coastal west road all the way to Porto. Yet another small harbour town embedded in red rocks, prelude to the Calanches de piana which we shall view in the morning as we leave Porto.

Day 4: We head south to Bonifacio. Immediately we ride along the road of the Calanches (pic. in the header) then by pass Ajaccio, the busy capital of Corsica.    Another half hour ride and we reach Filitosa, the most significant pre-historic archaeological site in Corsica. A short visit is very interesting. It’s like entering Jurassic park without the T Rex, very peaceful surroundings with ancient dwellings in the stone and Menhirs. Once we are done in Filitosa we head to Bonifacio for our last night in Corsica. We have a wonderful dinner in the citadelle in one of the taverns along its narrow streets.

Day 5: Our riding in Corsica is not finished yet. We run a loop up to the Col de la Bevela and back to Bonifacio before sailing back to Sardinia with the last afternoon crossing. The ride runs up in the mountains among pinewoods, lakes and incredible rock formations. You could also decide to take the day off and explore more of Bonifacio before catching the ferry. Once we lan in Santa teresa di Gallura a 20km ride then separates us from our overnight stay in Palau for the next two nights.

Day 6: Palau is a great location on the tip of the Emerald Coast. Time to take a rest from riding and enjoy a different kind of day. Out of Palau it is possible to take boat trips around the archipelago of La Maddalena and experience this amazing coastline from a sailing boat. We have been doing this in all of our trips and have found a great crew that will take us around the best places according to the wind conditions, serve us wine and food, let us swim where we want and relax. 

Day 7: From Palau we head west and will be riding across the northern part of Sardinia, known as Gallura, to reach the wonderful town of Alghero and its Catalan cultural heritage. They call Alghero “little Barcelona”. Our stay is in the heart of town. A walk along the bastions at sunset to reach our favourite aperitif stop before a delicious Sardinian meal tops the first of many amazing rides.

Day 8: We say arrivederci to Alghero and head south along the magnificent Alghero-Bosa. The road offers a great ride along the coast and wonderful scenery. Once in Bosa we have coffee and admire the multi pastel coloured town. We then turn east and cut the rugged centre of Sardinia. We encounter an impressive Nuraghe by Abbasanta then cross the river Tirso and join the SS388. We go over two passes, Passo Tascusi and Passo Correboi before reaching our next double overnight stop by the sea in Arbatax.

Day 9: Perhaps the best ride of the tour, the SS125 from Arbatax to Cala Gonone and back. Superb scenery, perfect tarmac, curves of all kinds makes for an incredible ride. Of course, should you be tired you can always relax on the beach of the hotel.

Day 10: We ride some more incredible twisty roads in the Sardinian interior heading south to Cagliari. First the SS198 then we cut across the Flumendosa Valley to reach the SS125 and reach Cagliari

Day 11: We head west and run swiftly to Guspini and here start one of the best roads in Sardinia, the SS126 from Guspini to Iglesias. 50km of motorcycling nirvana. We reach Iglesias and then explore the coastal beaches of the west. Here is where Sardinia is hit hardest by the coastal winds sweeping into the island all the way from Spain. This means white sandy beaches but also some incredible cliffs and abandoned Zinc mines. We then return to Cagliari in good time to catch our overnight ferry back to Civitavecchia. Our farewell dinner will be at the “a la carte restaurant” on board. 

Day 12: We land in Civitavecchia at 11am in good time to return the bikes before lunch. You are then free to reach your chosen hotel in Rome.

We have deliberately not included a hotel in Rome for this tour.  As we don’t need an early start or late finish of our tour You are free to chose your own accommodation in the eternal city. Rome offers everything from a B&B to a 5 star luxury hotel. So the choice is yours and the cost is not included in the tour.