Sardinia and Corsica - advice, please!

[tenlittlecygnets]

Thinking about going in the summer hols - train to ?Nice then ferry.

What’s the ferry like from Nice to Corsica? What is the island like? Are things more expensive because island?

Beaches look fab - what’s the snorkelling like?

And Sardinia - is the food Italian?

Any recommendations for villas? Car hire? Places to stay?

Thank you!

Corsica is a wild, mountainous, beautiful place but with the sophistication of many French resorts. A trip to Corsica is like a trip to any island, the prices are higher than on the mainland. It is definitely not a mass-market destination and there are fewer flights, which also keeps prices high. But that is really some of its appeal.
It’s very good for snorkelling all over the island. However the big sandy beaches on the east coast will be a bit boring if you like rocky inlets, deepish water and plenty of marine life.
Depending on where you are staying, I'd try Arinella near Calvi, Campomoro near Propriano and any of the little beaches between Porto Vecchio and Bonifacio. But there are thousands of beaches all over the island where you can snorkel.
You should also try some of the larger pools in the rivers of the interior. I have seen trout, eels and freshwater blennies whilst snorkelling in the Fango and other Corsican rivers.

It is twenty years since I went to Corsica but my memories are that it was beautiful and unspoiled. It feels a different world to the built up coastline in south east France. The drawback was that some of the roads were very windy so I didn’t enjoy driving around the island just south of Ajaccio much. Driving easier further down in south eastern part of the island. We went by plane but if going again I would drive to south of France and take the ferry. Your plan to go by rail sounds great. Have done the train as far as Nice before and very straightforward.

I've been to Sardinia twice - Cagliari & Alghero.

In both places we stayed in hotels, & used local buses to get around, so I can't help with villas & car hire.
Alghero is very touristy - including Italians from the mainland. I preferred Cagliari as there was more to see & do.
The food is Italian, but different from the mainland with local specialities.

Corsica is beautiful, mountainous and quite wild. It’s also pretty expensive to eat out, but supermarkets are fairly reasonable.

Lots of the locals do not speak English, so some French is necessary. Though my very questionable french got us by.

The beaches are amazing and the snorkelling is fantastic. We got the speed boat taxi from saint-florent to plage lotu, it was just beautiful and there were so many fish.

Wild swimming in a river in the mountains was also pretty cool, however the drive to get there was a bit on the scary side!

Ooh, it looks gorgeous!! Thank you