Booking for the GR20
Has anybody tried to book the refuges for the gr20? I am planning to start on June 1st and so far have been unable to get (1) an answer on the phone from the parc office in Ajaccio, (2) a reply to emails and finally (3) to discover how you can book online from May!!!
Would really appreciate any advice, comments etc
Posted: Tue, May 12, 2009, 9:34
Posted: Wed, May 13, 2009, 14:21
Posted: Thu, May 14, 2009, 6:08
Posted: Thu, May 14, 2009, 16:35
Posted: Fri, May 15, 2009, 7:56
Posted: Mon, May 18, 2009, 11:20
Posted: Wed, May 20, 2009, 7:49
I've tried a couple of times since the 15th May. They said:
"We have big computer problems which will not allow us to take online réservations on our site. We offer you to send a fax to Mrs. Arrighi Muriel : 04.95.21.88.17 who will take your reservations manually. It’s necessary to address us your complete coordinates and your definite course on the track with days (dates) and accommodations chosen (refuges or camps).".
I said to them I didn't have a fax and I think they replied saying email - nfos@parc-naturel-corse.com (it was a confusing reply).
I'm going to the Pyrenees instead as the thought of planning a route in such fine detail defeats the whole purpose of trekking and takes no account of weather, fitness, injury and being a free spirit! Whatever next!!!
Posted: Wed, May 20, 2009, 13:27
Posted: Fri, May 22, 2009, 15:21
Well ive taken the plunge and booked my flights to arrive into Calvi on May 31st and intend to start the gr20 on June 1st ... still having no joy in booking refuges ... it really is a shambles! Will try to book them in the gite in Calenzana but it will be a Sunday so who knows what will happen. Have hiked in Corsica plenty of times but this really is taking the fun out of it. Has anybody managed to book????
Posted: Sun, May 24, 2009, 18:39
Posted: Mon, May 25, 2009, 16:35
Posted: Wed, May 27, 2009, 18:10
I'm flying in on sunday from bristol to Bastia to start walking north - south on monday- i should be able to access the internet if i have any reception on my phone so i will post an update on what happens with the booking situation - i really hope they are going to be flexible as i am going to double up 4 stages and would rather decide which stages those will be depending on how i feel on the day (rather than deciding in Calenzana at the Parc information center )
(Not that this will be of any use to you Rayzor as you will probably be somewhere nearby.)
Posted: Sat, May 30, 2009, 17:29
Posted: Fri, Jun 5, 2009, 10:17
I was able to book by faxing on the number given above and then clarifying process through email correspondence (Agnes writes in English which is better than me using Google Translate!!). Still haven't received a permit, though, just emailed confirmation. It is very difficult for a foreign visitor to book as they don't accept credit cards. I had to get family in Australia to transfer fees to French bank (expensive and time-consuming). I really wish you didn't have to book, too,as now I feel locked in. Not so good.
BTW you can't book Calinzana, Vizzavona or Conca as they are not Parc gites.
Posted: Thu, Jun 11, 2009, 20:11
i have just finished a week of the gr. There is currently no booking system being enforced apart from the old one. . . Turn up and pay the guardian. (or put your money in the refuge money box)there was no mention of this changing but based on what i experienced i dont think the booking system will work properly until next reason at the earliest.
Posted: Thu, Jun 11, 2009, 20:26
Posted: Fri, Jun 12, 2009, 12:06
Posted: Fri, Jun 12, 2009, 19:40
Hi pedro555,
Can you please post the link of the booking system?
http://www.parc-corse.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=6&Itemid=137 does not work. Neither does http://www.parc-corse.org/.
Actually I can fully understand that they plan to establish a booking system. If the GR20 becomes a highway, it will be bad for the enviroment. I read several times that camping grounds along the GR20 are messed up with rubbish. Why can people not treat nature respectfully? This is a shame; so we need rules (eg the booking system).
Best regards,
Michael
Posted: Fri, Jun 12, 2009, 21:10
Michael
Your link is correct. The system has crashed due to heavy usage.
As implied above, there is no problem with a booking system if practical. This is not possible on the GR20 due to enforced delays due to bad weather, injuries etc. It would have been more sensible just to limit the number of park passes. This would keep numbers down and allow flexibility in the system. The way it has been introduced will encourage people to go beyond their limits when playing schedule catch up. And what happens if you turn up late without a reservation. It would be fool hardy to turn you away and could lead to legal action if there is a resultant accident. The only good thing about the system, as you will see if it ever comes up again, is that there is no need to pay in advance, so you are not financially penalised for non-appearance.
Posted: Sat, Jun 13, 2009, 8:08
Hi Pedro,
thank you for your answer. So have you been able to book your huts (or camping sites) successfully? ("Booking system is up and running. Taking bookings from July 1st.")
Obviously I now have to try several times a day the link...
I think the park rangers wont have any problems if somebody cannot keep up with the planned schedule. As you mentioned already, on a hiking trail there are too many uncertainties. They understand this too. The important thing is to reduce the number of hikers; they can be controlled by a booking system where people have to register.
Now I worry that I am too late for booking my trip which should start on 29/06... (south -> north)...
Thanks a lot,
Michael
Posted: Mon, Jun 15, 2009, 13:47
Yes I managed to make some bookings. I must have done it soon after it came up and before the big wide world knew. At first I found it hard to use and it kept on freezing on me. I resolved this by sticking to the version in french thus ignoring the continual translation. The huts you have to book individually and at first I thought it was going to take me hours but then realized that all the personal information was being carried forward from one booking to the next and it all speeded up. One booking I put in the wrong date and sent an email to the published link. Within 5 minutes I had a response saying that particular entry they had deleted on my behalf. My biggest worry was having to pay money up front but this was not required.
I am starting on the 25th June S to N so cutting out stays in June and private hostels in July I ended up only having to book 5 huts. My schedule has 2 nights in both Vizzavona and Asco so if I am delayed I should be able to catch up.
Posted: Thu, Jun 18, 2009, 21:07
Posted: Mon, Jun 22, 2009, 13:13
I have just come back home from GR 20 (1 june – 16 june) so here you have the latest news:
- no one ever mentioned or ask anybody about having a reservation or permit of any kind, so I totally forgotten the issue. Never even tried to make a booking before.
- Park rangers? Where are they?
- The trail is already pretty busy, I think I met ca 50 other hikers daily walking the trail.
- As a camper, you have no right to enter the refuge and to use its facilities. No problem: there are separate gas stoves outside the refuges, especially for campers. You don’t need to carry your own gas stove.
- There have been some rumours about two deadly drop offs from the rock wall somewhere in the cirque last week, so it is closed for tourist right now, the rumour says.
Posted: Tue, Jun 23, 2009, 20:53
Hi all,
Have also recently come down from the GR20 (2-14 june, south to north) and was asked by some 'refuge guardiens' to inform the following to this summer's expected trekkers:
- the new booking system is a mess in their opinion. Political issue, new management, etc
- they have no or few means of communication between each other, let alone the valley/PNRC office, so info on delays, no-shows, earlies, etc cannot be transferred efficiently
- in some cases they had a list of reservations, sent to them somehow, stating only how many reservations were made in a certain category. No names! So how should they verify?
- they said that they intend to apply the "first-come-first-served" rule regardless (n.b. in protest maybe?)
The trail was beautiful with some nevés still lurking, especially on the Brèche de Capitellu and the Cirque de Solitude. These should have however have dispersed by now I think. No need for any crampons, ropes or ice-axe. However, be careful of some small snow-bridges over streams/melting snow in connection with these nevés: your legs might get caught/twist...:-(
Other important facts this season: Pitch a tent at refuge site is €5/person, sleep in refuge abt €10/person, a Pietra beer 50cl €6, a single meal abt €8-9, a menu abt €17-19...
When we descended down to Calenzana, sunday june 14, we met 84 trekkers on their way up to Petra Piobbu... and it was really hot! Sounds like a lot of people to me. But the guardiens say that June has become more and more popular now on behalf of july/aug since people assume "it's less crowded and cooler".
Haven't heard anything about any fatalities this year as "karakan" mentioned. Any details on this?
Cheers & Good luck all!
Posted: Wed, Jun 24, 2009, 17:50
Hey,
finally their website is online, but where to book?
There is just the hint that
"From May 2009, hikers will have to book their overnight stay (refuge and bivouac) before taking the GR20.
You only have two ways of buying the tickets:
- Online on the web site of the Nature Park: www.parc-corse.org
- Or in the information centres (maisons d’informations) of the Regional Nature Park of :
Calenzana (House of the GR 20 at the rest house)
Corte
Conca
Ajaccio "
So, where can I book online on www.parc-corse.org???
Thank you for your reports from GR20, this is very helpful.
Michael
Posted: Mon, Jun 29, 2009, 15:46
Hi
Just got back from the GR20 and found the following;
1 - booking was a pain and required pretty much relentless calling to Parc Corse to confirm the places in the huts. You'll need a native French speaker for this!
2 - most of the huts had our booking (8 people) and we didn't have to pay additionally. However, at Corruzzo after a day of rain those campers who arrived early quickly took our beds and we were left to sleep on the floor. LESSON; in fine weather during mid/low season the booking system may work but the guardians are unlikely to refuse a bed in anticipation of the arrival of a large number of pre-booked hikers. So take a mat as you might be sleeping in the dining room!
3 - until the booking system is up and running as it is in Germany/Austria/Italy, there remains a 'wacky races' mentality of getting up incredibly early (5am) to reach the next hut before everyone else. This is a shame because (a) the huts aren't very nice places to just hang out and (b) half the pleasure of hiking is being able to take time out to climb a peak, or take a dip in a stream. On being the last group to reach Cirque De Solitud, it was particularly upsetting to see it filled with about 200 fellow hikers ahead of us! And everyone reached Tighjetta by 1130.
An efficient booking system should eliminate this 'bunching' and the stress of wondering where you'll be sleeping that night, but I wouldn't count on the Corsicans getting their act together this year.
In summary, the GR20 is a beautiful route which could be much improved by learning from the efficiency of huts elsewhere in Europe. I certainly won't return until it is. I would imagine that in high season it will go back to a free-for-all so anyone going this July and August should take a tent and be prepared to get up early.
Posted: Tue, Jun 30, 2009, 16:21
This booking thing is really becoming a big headache isn't it?
I need some advice: I'm planning to start the walk in the second or third week of september, going solo and therefore determined to carry as little as possible- ie definitely no tent.
My french is not fluent enough for making long-winded reservations on the phone...
I'm fine with sleeping on the floor but don't relish the idea of being woken up at 5 am by the above mentioned 'whacky racers' breakfasting around me, then probably accepting I may as well get up and go at their pace rather than my own;
So, has anyone walked the route in the last couple of years in September? How crowded were the trails/huts? I'd been told before it was pretty quiet by this time?
I figured if they hadn't got internet booking sorted by then I'd just go for it without booking; Do you recommend taking a bivvy bag 'just in case', and hope I don't have to use it?!? (of course this means taking a warmer, heavier mat and sleeping bag, too...)
I'm getting tempted to go to the Alps instead and come back to the GR20 when they've got their heads together and sorted out a proper booking system! I want the whole thing to be enjoyable, not stressful and sleepless!
Cheers
Posted: Wed, Jul 15, 2009, 21:00
Just an update to all,
Advance booking for the GR20 this year does not seem to be mandatory anymore. The web site (www.parc-corse.org) says that "Booking is only accepted using credit cards. Payment WITHOUT RESERVATIONS will be possible at the refuges." So there it is, they finally saw that their system could not work (at least for this year). You can book in advannce if you really want to be certain you have a spot to sleep, or you can just go the good old first come first served way. Me, I'll be carying a tent just in case, no reservations, when I go mid-August.
Good luck to all!
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Posted: Mon, May 11, 2009, 18:34