Corsica - advice please

[Mines]

Just daydreaming about holidays...Corsica in September looks great for many reasons. Windsurfing, riding, good walking, good food, interesting towns, nice climate, yum.

I know some of you guys have been out there and wanted to get some first hand advice on a few questions:

Can anyone recommend good hotel or villa near Calvi? Ideally somewhere where we can get occasional babysitting?

Is there anywhere else with good windsurfing beaches? And what's the weather like in September?

What's the local attitude to toddlers? Is DS likely to be popular in restaurants etc?

Really grateful for any tips re interesting places to go and good people to go with, too.

Thanks

Weather is gorgeous in September (Med at its warmest apparently) and Calvi is an excellent base for a family - nice beaches, pretty, compact town with doctors/clinic, shops and facilities close by (lots of Corsica is remote with hair-raising roads).
We've never been to C as a family but spent our honeymoon in Calvi and up in the mountains in central Corsica...I would say that the Corsicans combine the best of France and Italy and seem very child-friendly. There are plenty of open-air eating opportunities in Calvi, an atmospheric citadel to explore, an ancient tram-train that goes up to L'Ile Rousse (stopping at what look like sensational beaches en route).
We booked with Corsican Places and would recommend them unreservedly. They have a good selection of hotels and villas in and around Calvi. Corsican Places
I dream of going back there some day.

We stayed near Calvi in October - it was just a tad too cold for the beach, so September should be very comfortable. Interestingly we also went with Corsican Places - stayed in a small town up in the mountains about 30 mins from Calvi, which was beautiful.
Its a fantastic place - great food, stunning scenery. We mainly walked in the mountains so can't advise about windsurfing. Enjoy!

We've been to the Golfe de Valinco around Propriano for the past two summers. Simply Corsica have a very nice villa complex with watersports, a creche, and a more or less private beach, though it's a bit of a Brit ghetto. Last year we got a villa with Corsican Places and it was a bit more French.
Along the Gulf a bit, the watersports centre at Porto Pollo looks well organised and the beach there is very child friendly and will be less busy in September.
Restaurants view toddlers as a normal part of a family going out to eat, and do delicious children's menus of proper food. And the flight's not too long, so you don't arrive in a state of advanced parental despair.

Mines, I can't help with your Calvi query, but can let you know more about that Simply Corsica villa complex near Propriano that Dannie mentions.

We have stayed there twice, once late august-early september and once mid to late september. The watersports facitlies are good and the weather was definitely warm enough for the beach. However there was certainly more daytime cloud and more of a chill at night by late September, though still plenty of sunshine and the water was warm. I know you can't really judge on just two visits, but the weather did get progressively less 'summery mediterranean' as we went into late September with more showers of rain, too. Over a two week holiday, we had spats of warmish cloudy or wet weather on about 5 of the 14 days. It didn't cramp our style. And the late september time slot cost a lot less than the early september one!

As for the simply corsica set up - the creche and playclub are fantastic for toddlers and preschoolers - imo over sixes might be a bit bored . The cottages are very basic so if you want to spash out, the nearby villas could be a better bet. Dannie is right when she says it feels like an English enclave - lots of families with babies and toddlers in september - few school aged children once term has started. There are also plenty of experienced babysitters on hand so you can go out in the evening.

We all loved the scenery, food and general ambiance of the area we stayed in. Lots to recommend it.

Went last year in September. Weather was mild but it did rain quite a bit. Restaurant eating with toddlers (22mo and 16mo and 5mo in our group) was no problem although they dont seem to do high chairs. Bad weather days were tricky as there really was v little to do with children in mind, except go to the beach. Couldnt find playgrounds or "days out" type things to do. Wine tasting was popular with the grown ups though. V rugged terrain made getting anywhere slow, twisty and turny, not good if you or your children suffer form car/travel sickness. Dont windsurf so cant help there I'm afraid.

Should also say that we had a great holiday none the less.... but maybe not good enough to go back with smalls. Would love to as "adults only" and do a bit more exploring.

We spent a couple of weeks in September near Propriano and found the mosquitoes at night were absolutely hellish. Would still love to go again though.

Still haven't booked a holiday for September. Have a 19 month old Dd. Would love to go somewhere warm in the Med, resort or villa with amenities (and possibly babysitting/crèche option), options to go to beach, but be able to do a couple of day trips out of resort to see things or be in reach of nice town. Do-able?