Car Hire Porto Vecchio
Mini guide to Porto Vecchio
Located 25kms from the impressive Bonifacio, the city of Porto Vecchio is a wonderfully preserved, natural seaside resort. Porto Vecchio was isolated before modern development made it Corsica’s third-largest city, and it now attracts hordes of tourists to its many geographical wonders.
The vast majority of visitors flock here for the pristine outlying beaches, which include spectacular stretches of shoreline to the south. Palombaggia is the most popular beach, with Golfe de Santa Giulia coming in at a close second. Additionally, to the north, the deep inlet of the Golfe de Porto Vecchio boasts some fine pine-backed strands.
For scuba diving enthusiasts, Corsica is a haven. It features a remarkably well preserved underwater kingdom and clear waters that are unprecedented in Europe. There is an abundance of dive sites to choose from, including almost a dozen easily accessible wrecks.
Porto Vecchio in particular boasts the best of Corsica’s scuba diving opportunities and also has some of the best beaches for swimming. However, if you are more suited to snorkelling, then Îles Lavezzi is the place to go.
Around the centre of town, there's not really much to see apart from the fortress and the intertwining ancient streets that join the main place de la République. However, east of the square, you’ll come across the Porte Génoise, which opens up to the sea and salt pans. This is also the fastest way down to the modern marina, which is littered with cafés and hotels.
The nightlife in Porto Vecchio can be quite frenetic in the high season, and the main square in the old town is where you’ll find the crowds clustered in lively bars and restaurants. An upbeat option is Pub de Bastion, which serves three hundred varieties of beer from its location at the opposite end of the old town near Le Tajine.
Corsica is not on any of the major air routes, so you need to get to continental Europe and then make your way across to the island. Most air travellers will pass through a French connecting airport, with Nice being the closest. By sea, you can travel from Nice-Calvi/Île Rousse, which is the fastest and cheapest route, with car ferries taking nine hours. Ferries also leave the mainland from Marseille and Toulon, docking in Bastia and Ajaccio. From here, you can travel overland to Porto Vecchio.
