Calvi · Balagne · Girolata
Calvi’s citadel, beach days and shopping for dinner aboard. Girolata offers another possible stay, with its village and the surrounding green hills.
Two–three weeks in a few places.
Seven–ten days around Calvi can make a whole holiday.
Calvi and the west coast
Calvi and Balagne offer many days ashore from the same base. Girolata is a separate stretch of coast, with Scandola nearby.
Gold: Calvi. Blue: excursions ashore. Open circles: stays to be confirmed. Red diamond: Scandola. Place markers are approximate.
Revellata is marked at the lighthouse to identify the headland. The Algajola marker groups the village and Aregno beach. The Galéria marker on the overview groups the town and the Fango excursion; none of the markers identifies a landing place or railway station.
Stay a few days
A walk through the citadel’s streets can be combined with shopping for lunch and a swim at the long beach. The cafés offer a break between outings.
Revellata offers a different view from the town. Walking parts of the paths can be combined with a meal back in Calvi. The full circuit is no short, shaded stroll; heat, fire risk and access on the day determine what is possible.
A berth with easy access to town gives freedom for short outings ashore. Calvi Bay is not a confirmed fallback if the harbour is full.
New regulations for Calvi in 2026, including AP 137 and 146, require checking the maps and current rules for a stay in the bay or a cove.
Current maritime regulations ↗Days ashore
The coastal train provides access to beaches, the market and small towns from a base in Calvi.
Algajola / Aregno
The beach at Algajola leaves room for a day with few plans. Bring a picnic or find food in the village. Swimming depends on conditions and the beach flags.
The CFC timetable checked is valid from 31 August to 1 November 2026. It connects Calvi, Algajola/Aregno and L’Île-Rousse. These are excursions from Calvi, not suggestions for new berths.
CFC: current timetables ↗Algajola beach ↗
L’Île-Rousse
The market hall and the streets around Place Paoli offer a morning walk, a café break and the chance to shop for supper.
Places to stroll between in town ↗A smaller place
In Girolata you can buy bread, eat by the water and walk from the village. Access is on foot or by sea.
The harbour offers a boat shuttle; the last return and landing by your own tender must be arranged. The shop and restaurants open seasonally.
Swimming takes place in designated zones. In a heavy southwesterly swell, the harbour offers limited shelter.
The harbour lists both April–October and 1 May–30 September. The booking page has 2026 information alongside an older notice from 2022. Dates, terms and the actual berth must be confirmed. A stay on a buoy and a night at a pontoon are different arrangements.
Girolata: booking information ↗Shop and restaurants ↗Harbour rules, including swimming ↗
Scandola
Scandola’s volcanic rock formations can be seen from the boat. Visits are regulated: no overnight anchoring or going ashore in the reserve. Village walks in Girolata are another possibility.
Anchoring is prohibited at night in the reserve and both day and night in the strictly protected part, including the Gargalu strait. Any daytime visit requires checking the current zones, seabed and rules. We do not suggest fishing, scuba diving or hiking in the reserve.
The nesting regulation AP 107/2026 was replaced by AP 283/2026 on 20 July, with an end date of 31 July. The first scheme’s 16 zones are not an unchanged September prohibition. Year-round rules still apply. The latest regulations and maps must be checked before a specific visit.
PNRC: the reserve and its rules ↗OEC: Scandula ↗Maritime regulations ↗
Porto / Piana · optional
Piana’s streets and the red rocky landscape above the Gulf of Porto can have a day of their own. The excursion requires land transport from a suitable berth. Seeing the cliffs from the sea is different from reaching the village above.
Porto is not a confirmed boat base. The 1.5-metre draught information concerns fuel access, not the whole harbour. Berthing, any landing and land transport need separate clarification. Ajaccio and the coast further south belong to another area.
Outings around Girolata and Piana also require current local notices and warnings for Corse-du-Sud. Haute-Corse warnings alone do not cover these places.
Piana and its surroundings ↗Corse-du-Sud: local warnings ↗Room to stay
Calvi and Balagne: beach, train and town life.
A few selected stays, with time for Girolata when weather and arrangements allow. Galéria and Piana are choices along the way.
Late spring and September are possibilities. Wind, swell, opening hours and demand vary.
Getting to the boat
Flying to Calvi and taking a taxi to an agreed place by the harbour is one possible arrival option.
The airport’s 2026 timetable lists Paris Orly, Marseille and Nice as year-round routes; CDG is seasonal. A taxi covers the final leg from airport to harbour.
The ferry from Marseille goes to L’Île-Rousse, not Calvi. A separate transfer with luggage is needed from there. The train timetable does not guarantee a through connection with the ferry.
Calvi airport: connections ↗Taxi from the airport ↗Corsica Linea: routes and times ↗Calvi can be a holiday base even if lifting, storage and supervision are arranged elsewhere. Port Napoléon is a separate option on the mainland.
A regional listing mentions a 100-tonne boat lift. A local provider offers storage and supervision but highlights motorboats. This does not confirm suitability for a sailing boat, mast, keel, slings and cradle. Insurance, supervision, access and launching must be arranged separately.
Local storage and supervision services ↗Port Napoléon: a separate stationA small glimpse
A short travel film offers another view of the town. It shows the citadel and the surrounding town.
The photographer, date, original source and licence are given beside each image. The photographs show the places on the date taken, not today’s harbour arrangements.
The coast is based on Natural Earth 1:10m, v5.1.1, in the public domain. Place locations were checked against Commons geographic information and Girolata’s operator. No waterway rules, reserve boundaries or sailing tracks are drawn.
Natural Earth: data terms ↗Map design: Sophie · CC BY 4.0 ↗