Corsica.forHikers.com - Corsica trip planning for hikers

Flights from Geneva to Ajaccio

Marek Prokop — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:12:06 +0100

Low-cost airline easyJet announced a new route between Geneve (Switzerland) and Ajaccio. According to the announcement (in French) 6 flights a week will be available since June 29, 2008 till September 14, 2008 for prices of a one-way flight starting at 39.95 CHF (ca. 25 Euros).

For more direct and indirect flights to Corsica check out an updated page Getting to Corsica by air.

New flights from Gatwick to Corsica

Marek Prokop — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 23:00:27 +0100

Low-cost operator easyJet offers new flights from London-Gatwick to Ajaccio and Bastia since May 2008. Flights are scheduled on Sundays with fares from £39.99 to about £100 incl. taxes and charges. For more direct and indirect flights to Corsica check out updated page Getting to Corsica by air.

GR20 in 5 days

Marek Prokop — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 14:07:18 +0100

Even though the GR 20 trail normally takes 15 days, a Scottish runner Chris Upson has made it in five days. Exactly he needed only 31 hours and 46 minutes to get from Calenzana in the north west to Conca in the south east. To learn more, read his report.

Chris ran along the trail with 12 other runners (only 5 of them managed to complete the route in its entirety) from 12th to 16th September 2007. The record for running the GR20 non-stop is 36h53m by Pierre Santucci, with the previous record being 37h07m by Jean-Francois Luciani.

Interview with Sally Kelly on the GR20

Marek Prokop — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:10:25 +0200

Sally Kelly, a keen walker from England, did the GR 20 trek with her friend Geoff in June 2007 and started to post an interesting travel report on her blog Sally in Norfolk. I've asked Sally a couple of questions about her trek and she was so kind to share her Corsican experience with you.

Q: I know from your blog, that it was your friend Geoff, who convinced you to do the GR20. However, who or what did attract you to the long-distance walking in general?

I started walking as a way to get out the house into the fresh air, the more miles I walked the more miles I wanted to walk and I often wondered how it would feel to walk for days and weeks. I read alot about people doing long distance walks and my dream was to do one.

Q: Can you compare the GR20 to any other experience from your rambling history?

The GR20 was my first long distance walk and compares to nothing I have ever done before. Even giving birth to both my sons was easier, but I enjoyed every second of it and the feeling of achievement at the end was fantastic.

Q: What place on the GR20 did you like most?

I really liked all the rock pools along the GR20, they were great for having a dip in, far better than the cold showers at the refuges that you had to que for. I also enjoyed the stage 14 walk the alpine variant over to the village de Bavella.

Q: What part of the GR20 was the most difficult one for you and why?

Stage 4 and the Cirque de la Solitude was the hardest day for me both mentally and physically. It was very scary as I had never experienced anything like it... it was like climbing with out the safety of a rope... and at times I did feel that one false move and I would have fallen.

Q: What would you do differently either in preparation of your journey or on the trail now, after you are back to home?

I did a lot of training before I went but wish I had done a little more to strengthen my arms because they ached alot from using them to pull myself up the rocks. I also wish I had more experience on walking downhill over all the boulders as I lacked the confidence to go fast.

Q: What do you consider to be the most important advice for people planning the GR20 trek?

Keep the weight of your rucksack as light as possible, make sure your of reasonable fitness but most of all go with the right frame of mind. If I can do it as my first long distance walk, with most of my walking done on the flat, then anyone can do this walk. Also go to enjoy it and don't rush it.

Corsica discussion forum launched

Marek Prokop — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 12:21:46 +0200

I've just launched a discussion board on Corsica.forHikers.com. There are two forums available for the time being:

GR 20 forum for any questions and topics related to the GR 20 trail. I've moved there most Q/A comments from the GR 20 page, so the forum already offers a fair amount of knowledge about this popular trek.
General Corsica forum for any other topics related to Corsica Island. It's almost empty for now and I hope you'll help me to fill it with questions and answers, your personal reviews etc.

I can add more forums later, if they prove to be useful.

Along with the discussion forums I've enabled a user registration. You need not be registered and logged in to post into the forums, but if you prefer to see your name (or nickname) at your posts instead of just an "anonymous visitor", please register.

Happy chatting!

Weekend breaks to Corsica

Marek Prokop — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 12:02:35 +0200

Although Corsica is a large island and I personally recommend to spend at least two weeks there, a lot of people prefer short weekend breaks. Huh, getting to Corsica and back in two days and still enjoy its beauty? Is this possible? Yes, weekending in Corsica is easy, but only if you know how, says Tania Cagnoni in the article No time? No yacht? No problem that appeared in Telegraph.co.uk on July 7, 2007.

The article is primarily written for travellers from UK, but I'm sure that anyone from about 40 European cities, where cheap flights to Marseille, Nice or Toulon are available, will find it useful.

Mare e Monti Nord and Mare a Mare Sud updated

Marek Prokop — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 14:04:56 +0200

Recently I've updated the pages about the two most popular long-distance trails in Corsica after the GR 20 -- Mare e Monti Nord and Mare a Mare Sud. Maps of the routes are much more detailed and precious now (try to increase its scale) and include all variants. GPS files for download (GPX and KML) are not available yet, but I'll complete them soon.

In addition to the maps update I've published contact information of all gites (rest houses) along the trails.

Geoportail.fr with new design

Marek Prokop — Wed, 6 Jun 2007 19:55:07 +0200

My favorite source of Corsica's on-line maps -- Geoportail.fr -- launched new design a couple of days ago. Its look and feel is neater and more modern now, functionality slightly better and the maps -- well, they are the same, at least the ones of Corsica.

It's easier to combine more different layers (IGN maps, aerial maps etc.) now, even though I haven't been using this feature very often. Most of the time I work with the plain IGN maps layer in the scales of 1:20000 or 1:10000, which show all "official" hiking trails. See the example of Calvi in 1:10000 below.

Géoportail.fr - basic mode with an IGN map of Calvi

The next screen shot shows an example of the aerial maps in full-screen mode. It's the centre of Corte with its famous citadel. As you can see, the resolution is higher than in Google Maps, but the image is somewhat blurred.

Géoportail.fr - full-screen mode with an aerial map of Corte

Mountains and the sea killed 3 hikers in Corsica

Marek Prokop — Tue, 29 May 2007 23:09:40 +0200

A French couple in their 30s were surprised by a snow storm on the GR20 above Vivario last night. While the woman managed to reach the Onda refuge, frozen body of his husband was found by units of the High Mountain Police from Corte this morning just 40 minutes walk from the refuge.

Another victim of the return to winter in Corsica was a 55 year old woman who was hiking above Asco. Her husband, injured and suffering from hypothermia, reached the village and alert the rescue services, but it was already too late for his wife, whose body was found today around noon.

The last victim was a 19 year old Swiss tourist who was carried away by a 3-metre wave while walking on a storm-lashed beach in the north of Corsica on Monday.

Violent winds, freezing fog and rain are expected to continue lashing the island until at least Wednesday. A spokesman for the PGHM (High Mountain Police) called on hikers not to go into the Corsican mountains for the next 48 hours.

Sources

Two dead in French snow storms (Ski and Snowboard News of PisteHors.com)
Weather kills three on French island of Corsica (France24.com/AFP)
Weather kills three on French island of Corsica (Expatica.com/AFP)

Flights to Corsica from Switzerland

Marek Prokop — Fri, 25 May 2007 15:36:40 +0200

Swiss airline Flybaboo announced new summer flights to Corsica. From 16 June, they will offer three flights a week to Figari (Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday) and one flight a week (Saturday) to Ajaccio departing from Geneva. I've already updated the list of all flights to Corsica and neighbouring French harbours.