Corsica & Sardinia with Wilderness Travel

Don't know anything about "Wilderness Travel" (we travel independently) but have been to both Sardinia and Corsica - and loved them both.

I'm not sure what exactly you are asking. As for getting to/from then, it's not particularly complicated: they are secondary (or tertiary) destinations (this is a feature, not a bug) so you won't find flights between the US and either island. You'll be connecting somewhere in Europe. Both islands are popular destinations in the summer - mostly they get French, Italian and other European tourists, and the vast majority of them come in the traditional summer months (mostly July and August). In April I would expect no crowds at all, and many tourist things will be closed for the season and not ready to open up yet. Although there are many flight options for connecting to both islands, you will find that service is highly seasonal - some flights have minimal service (or none at all) outside peak season - so be careful making assumptions about your flights if you're looking at flight schedules right now. Check flights for your actual trip dates (this may be challenging because many of the flights are on low-cost airlines, and some of those don't release their schedules far in advance). But you should have options.

Both islands are lovely - some of our favorite places in Europe.

David, thank you! And reassuringly positive. Since I presume you started from Seattle, did you fly through Paris before connecting to a regional flight? From New Mexico, there are no shortcuts! I did see that there are ferries from France to the city on Corsica we need to get to, so that could be fun since we have time. Maybe we'd take the train from Paris through France and then connect to a ferry. Happy to hear any thoughts on that.

Karen, first...Sardinia & Corsica are big, diverse, and full of great stuff to see and do. These places are worthy of a dedicated trip of their own, with either one (not both) as the primary destination. We spent 18 days on Sardinia, about two weeks on Corsica (separate trips); we rented a car each time and drove all the way around both. We travel a lot, and these were two of our most favorite destinations in the world. We were gobsmacked and delighted every day, and we just barely scratched the surface of each of them, and had to blow through (and past) large areas where we could easily see it was worth spending some time.

Ideally, I'd recommend anyone allocate an absolute minimum of 3 weeks for a trip to Sardinia, 2.5 weeks for Corsica. Longer if you can. So...

I did see that there are ferries from France to the city on Corsica we need to get to, so that could be fun since we have time. Maybe we'd take the train from Paris through France and then connect to a ferry

Unless you have unlimited time, I would urge you to resist those temptations. I'd rather spend extra days in Corsica and Sardinia than on any ferry or train.

Few Americans know anything about them and most people who post questions here are trying to do one or the other (or both) in literally just a few days, as a side-trip from a trip to France or Italy (a tragic mistake, IMHO). These are among the most beautiful places we've been, in the same "wow" class as any other country in Europe (but largely without the crowds, especially outside of July-August). So I would simply urge you to give them as much time as you can, because there is way, way more to see there than you think there will be.

OK, that said....getting to/from there...

Yes, we live in Seattle, and in both cases we had to get ourselves from home to there and back. The exact way we went would not make sense for others, so I would not suggest you replicate our flight strategy - we do flights VERY differently than most people. (We also do all our long-distance flights using miles and points, in business class - I've crossed my last ocean trying to get any sleep in a cramped, uncomfortable coach seat, so this means we often make some unconventional choices and creative routings...most folks would think we are crazy, but it's how we roll.)

For Sardinia, we flew Seattle to to Amsterdam (on Delta), spent a night there, then flew to Olbia (on Transavia, a low-cost airline). After spending almost 3 weeks there, to get home, we flew from Olbia to Prague (yeah, I know...) on "Smartwings" another low-cost carrier, spent a few days there in Prague, then flew home from Prague to Seattle (on United).

For Corsica, we flew from Seattle to Frankfurt (on United), then flew to Bastia (on Lufthansa). After driving all around Corsica, to get home, we flew from Calvi to Strasbourg on Volotea (another low-cost carrier). My wife had never been to Alsace and had asked me to get her to Colmar sometime, so we chose Strasbourg as our way off the island, to position ourselves for the flight home. We spent a few days in Strasbourg and Colmar, then we hopped a train to Zurich, where we spent the night before flying home. Flight home was Zurich to Istanbul to Seattle, on Turkish Airlines (yeah, I know...). Don't try this at home.

This will require a little research on your part but it's not difficult. The most difficult part is that flights to/from these places are highly "seasonal" - which means many/most flights only go during high season (generally June - September, with the vast majority only going July -August). You will need to sort through the options that you will find to fly right now (end of June = high season). You may also find that schedules for flights next April/May on small (obscure-to-you) airlines may not even be published yet - some smaller airlines with seasonal flights only publish their schedules a few months ahead.

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OK so here’s how I would suggest you proceed for flights…

The most important point I would stress is: stop trying to find a flight from Santa Fe to Ajaccio, or from Olbia to Santa Fe. Your European destinations are not on the mass-tourism circuit (this is a good thing!) and you will not easily find a flight from SAF to AJA or from Olbia (OLB) to SAF. Here's how I approach getting to somewhere that all my friends have never heard of (something I do often):

You will be getting SEPARATE TICKETS - probably a handful of them. One ticket from home to “Europe”. A separate ticket from “Europe” to Corsica. Another separate ticket from Olbia back to “Europe”. And finally, one more separate ticket from “Europe” to home. You will be using small, possibly obscure-to-you airlines for the short hops between “Europe” and Corsica and back from Sardinia to “Europe.” You MIGHT be using the same airline (and even the same ticket) to get you from home to Europe and back from Europe to home, but for the flights to/from Corsica/Sardinia, you will be going off the over-tourism trail and on an adventure - savor it!

Research your inbound/outbound destinations - I think Ajaccio (AJA) and Olbia (OLB). Start by looking at all the cities in Europe that have direct flights to AJA and direct flights from OLB. You may be surprised to see how many there are.

Look, here and here.

You have lots of options - though not all of them will be reasonable ones (for you).

1. Find flights that work for you. That means, first, filtering out all the “summer only” flights (April? Most flights won’t be going, because few people go to these places in April). But some flights go year-round, and “high season” everywhere is expanding as tourism overwhelms the whole world. Your return flight, presumably in May? from Olbia will have more options - Olbia is a “bigger” destination that Ajaccio with more flights. Look at the places that can connect you to AJA and OLB. Some of those are smaller cities, skip most of those and look at the bigger ones. Investigate your options for flying to those bigger, well-served cities to/from Santa Fe. Filter out all the options that are effectively “dead ends” to you - small cities around Europe that are “at the end of the line” and are not easily reachable from North America.

2. Your task is to pick a connecting city (eg Paris, Nice, Rome, Frankfurt, any place that you can get to from Santa Fe). That’s where you fly to/from from SAF. Probably will be different cities going outbound and returning home - Ajaccio is not served by many airlines, and it’s unlikely there will be a major European hub and a single airline that has flights to Ajaccio AND Olbia AND Santa Fe. Expect to make a connection or two on the continent.

3. Important: You will be buying SEPARATE tickets, one ticket for each long-distance flght, eg SAF to Paris for example, and another SEPARATE ticket for the short hop from Paris to Ajaccio; same for the return flights, one ticket OLB to Rome, a separate ticket from Rome to home. Amost certainly on separate airlines too. This requires being organized and tracking lots of details, but is easy enough to do. There is one critical thing to be aware of when booking tickets and thorughout your trip…

4. You will have separate tickets, and if you miss a connection, it will throw a wrench (a potentially expensive, very inconvenient one) into your plans. So allow PLENTY of time making your “connection” between separate tickets. Like hours, maybe many hours, probably longer than you’re used to. This is critically important. Sometimes you may need an overnight in this connecting city (not necessarily a bad thing, but it can eat time if your trip is short). You really, REALLY do not want to miss your “connection”, especially to your flight home to Santa Fe.

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  5. So find a city that you can connect in. Check all your options for both the long-haul flight (to/from SAF) and for the short hop to/from AJA/OLB). Check dates, times, connection times and other details carefully - the details are critical. Allow plenty of time in case flight schedules shift a little or more-than-a-little (they might). You will also need to monitor ALL the flights you book to make sure a critical detail has not changed so much it’ll wreck your plan (when you do the reaearch, take good notes, keep all your notes for later in case you need to switch to a Plan B or C next February…).

When you’re done, you will have a plan that looks something like this:

1. Fly outbound from SAF to (someplace) on one ticket. Long layover there.
2. Fly from (there) to Ajaccio on another ticket. Start your trip, have fun.
3. Fly the return fro OLB to (someplace else) on another ticket. Long layover there,
4. Fly home from (that place) to SAF on another ticket. Welcome home, do laundry, sleep in.

The trick is picking the connecting cities, and the connection logistics. Start by filtering out small places. You should find enough options that some will look better than others (ticket costs, routings, inconveniences, etc.). For flights to Ajaccio, look first at Paris and Nice, as they have the most options - but don’t completely dismiss smaller cities which may be served by tiny/obscure low-cost airlines (for us, Strasbourg was the critical keystone that got us off Corsica and put us in a place where we could access our actual flight home, which was of all places, Zurich and Istanbul...but that’s another long story).

Do be careful about the specific dates you need for flights (most flights to/from Corsica/Sardinia do not go every day, maybe once or twice a week, outside of high season). Double check all critical details before you click the “buy ticket” button (because those cheap flights are probably non-refundable).

Some random reminders:

• Flying on low-cost airlines is a no-frills experience (you can pay extra from any frills you want that they offer - and you might want to - eg checked bags, food, choosing a seat, etc.). Know their rules and follow them to a "T" (they tend to be strict).
• These flights are short hops - usually an hour or not much more - so don't fuss too much over minor inconveniences like cramped seats, etc.
• Flights booked far in advance often have schedule changes. usually those are just small "jiggles" of a few minutes, but more significant changes can and do occur sometimes. To some extent you can make your flights more bullet-proof (well, bullet-resistant...) by allowing long layovers between separate tickets. Just monitor your flights once they're booked and be ready to pivot to a Plan B if needed.
• Corsica and Sardinia: islands currently owned by France and Italy. Surrounded by the Mediterranean. One of them is even named after a kind of fish. Should be no surprise...Expect good food.
• Corsica and Sardinia have some similarities but each is distinct and has its own charms. Both are worth seeing. They're also bigger than most people expect (and getting around them takes longer than they expect, too). Having your own car on each is ideal.
• The places you are going are not well-know to most Americans, but they are super-popular with Europeans (IME this is a sign you've found someplace worth going to - in the shoulder season...).

Both Corsica and Sardinia are magical and make wonderful destinations. A few photos here from a recent trip to Corsica last September for inspiration.

I hope some of this helps. Good luck and have fun!

We spent a week in Sardinia a few months ago. Its generally rocky scrubby Mediterranean area with gorgeous beaches in the north and east mainly. We drove around the entire island and the scenery inside was good but not amazing. There are amazing places like Castelsardo and Cala Gonone. We found it a little underwhelming, except Cagliari which we loved - kind of a small, cleaner Naples with excellent food. In general its kind of Italy-light except for Cagliari and remote beach areas. Some even felt it was slightly boring.

One thing you should consider is that as much as Sardinia has a reputation for long lifespans and rural magic - it also has a number of closed military zones where NATO used for bombing practice, and there is an area known for extremely high cancer rates and early deaths from some locals due to chemicals left behind by the military operations. You can research this. I would definitely not go off reservation. And the area in the center of the island where all the long-lived people live, is also an area famous for crime decades ago.

In terms of transport, there are ferries to and from Sardinia to Genoa, Naples, Barcelona, and Corsica. You would probably fly to Milan or Rome, and take another flight to Cagliari or Olbia.