Nice to Corsica by ferry, round Cap Corse to Bastia or into the Balagne

Along the way

1. Nice
2. 1

   departure, Nice commercial port, Terminal 1

   Leaving Port Lympia

   The ferries leave from the old harbour that the Sardinian monarchy began in 1749. At the head of the basin stands Notre-Dame du Port, with the arcaded buildings around Place de l'Île-de-Beauté, protected as a historic monument since 1991. As the ship turns out of the harbour mouth, Nice and the Riviera fall away astern.

3. 2

   the open-sea hours in the middle of the crossing

   The Ligurian Sea, a sanctuary for whales

   The whole Ligurian Sea is part of the Pelagos Sanctuary, 87,500 km² of protected water set up by France, Italy and Monaco in 1999. Eight species of whales and dolphins live in it regularly, including the fin whale, the only baleen whale found regularly in the Mediterranean, and the sperm whale, which dives to 2,000 m.

4. 3

   boats to Bastia, the northern tip of Cap Corse

   Rounding the Giraglia

   The Bastia boats round the top of Cap Corse, past the islet of the Giraglia. Its square Genoese watchtower, one of the few square ones, was finished in 1584; beside it the 26 m lighthouse, one of the first five built in Corsica, was first lit in 1848. Here the ship enters the Parc naturel marin du cap Corse et de l'Agriate, 6,830 km², created in 2016, which runs from north of Bastia round the cape to Belgudè in the Balagne.

5. 4

   boats to Bastia, the last hour

   Down the east coast of Cap Corse

   After the Giraglia the ship turns south and runs down the eastern side of the cape towards Bastia, with the ridge of Cap Corse close on the right. The same ridge shapes Bastia's weather: Météo-France says the libeccio, the south-westerly, blows very violent there and relatively warm, warmed as it comes down over the mountains of the cape.

6. 5

   arrival, Bastia ferry port

   Into Bastia, under Terra Nova

   Bastia grew from a fortress, the Bastia, that the Genoese governor Leonello Lomellini built here in 1380. The ramparts of Terra Nova, the citadel quarter on its rock above the Vieux-Port, were finished in 1480 and the Governors' Palace in 1530. The ferries berth at the maritime station, a short walk from the old port.

7. 6

   boats to L'Île-Rousse, arrival

   The red rocks of L'Île-Rousse

   L'Île-Rousse is named for the red porphyry rocks of the Île de la Pietra, joined to the town by a dike, with a 19th-century lighthouse on its highest point that is open in summer. Pasquale Paoli built the port and ramparts here to compete for the sea trade between Genoa and Calvi. Calvi and its citadel are 40 minutes along the coast on the little Balagne train, which stops at the beaches on the way.

8. Bastia

Ways to do it

• Day crossing to L'Île-Rousse

  From€33 one way for a foot passenger on 13 and 27 August 2027, €68 to €71 on 1 and 2 August 2027 (read 19 October 2026); €26 on 24 October 2026

  The quickest way onto the island from Nice and the most frequent in high summer: 15 sailings in July 2026 and 22 in August, typically leaving Nice at 08:00 or 08:30 and arriving 13:45 to 14:30, or leaving between 14:45 and 16:45 and arriving 20:00 to 22:30. Most take 5 to 6 hours. From the port, Calvi is 40 minutes away by the Balagne train (€6).

• Day crossing to Bastia

  From€36 one way for a foot passenger on 12 and 13 August 2027, €66 on 1 August 2027; €119 with a car on 12 August 2027

  Round Cap Corse by daylight. In the 2026 plan the day boats left Nice between 08:30 and 16:45 and took 5 hours 45 to 8 hours 30, the quickest leaving at 14:45. Bastia sailings, by day or night, ran about three times a week in July and August, and most weeks in spring and September.

• Overnight to Bastia

  From€26 a foot passenger and €86 with a car on 27 October 2026, or €91 for one adult with a cabin; €52, €172 with a car or €271 with a cabin on 2 August 2027

  Board in the evening or late at night, sleep, and wake in Bastia between 06:30 and 09:00. Evening sailings at 17:00 to 20:00 are slow, 10 to 14½ hours, and the late ones at 22:45 to 23:45 take 7 to 10. Night cabins are sold whole, all with shower, toilet, sheets and towels; inside cabins have 2 or 4 beds, outside cabins a porthole, and Luxury cabins a double bed and TV. This is how most winter boats run.

• Ajaccio, Propriano or Porto-Vecchio

  From€43 one way for a foot passenger to Porto-Vecchio on 27 August 2027

  Rare from Nice. In the 2026 plan the Ajaccio boat sailed on three Saturdays in August, 15:15 to 22:45, Propriano on two August Saturdays and once in September, and Porto-Vecchio once in August and once in September, overnight. The 2027 timetable so far has Ajaccio on 31 July and Propriano on 14 and 21 August. For the south of the island, Toulon has sailings to Ajaccio nearly every night of the year.

When to go

• Winter

  Usually one boat a week, on Saturdays, with extra sailings around Christmas and New Year. From January to March 2026 most weeks had one sailing each way between Nice and Bastia, mostly on Saturdays; in November 2026 the boat leaves Nice on Saturdays at 23:45 and reaches Bastia at 09:00, with no sailings back to Nice that month, while December has a few in each direction. Toulon runs to Bastia and Ajaccio nearly every night.

• Spring

  The Bastia boat picks up in April and May (10 and 13 sailings from Nice in the 2026 plan), with the first L'Île-Rousse sailing in May. June 2026 was thinner, about two a week. Météo-France says the mistral is often strongest in winter and spring, and can blow for days, so keep a day spare.

• SummerAt its best

  The full timetable runs in July and August. Corsica Ferries' 2026 plan had about nine boats a week from Nice to Corsica in August: L'Île-Rousse most days, Bastia three times a week, Ajaccio on three Saturdays. On fares read on 19 October 2026, 1 and 2 August 2027 cost about twice as much as 12, 13 or 27 August. By that date the 2027 Nice sailings on sale ran from 26 July to 5 September; earlier summer dates were not yet published.

• AutumnAt its best

  September 2026 still had about four sailings a week from Nice in the plan, most of them to Bastia. Late October 2026 has three or four a week, with fares from €26 on foot, and from November it is down to one a week. Toulon keeps boats to Bastia and Ajaccio nearly every night.