Almost
every village has a mini-market and many
towns have a vegetable
market.
ENTRY FORMALITIES and HEALTH MATTERS: Top of page |
UK passport-holders may visit both France and Italy without a visa, and drive for up to 6 months with a standard UK-EU driving licence. Carry your passport at all times as identification. For current Foreign and Commonwealth Office official advice on travelling to France/Corsica and to Italy/Sardinia, consult the FCO web site:
France
- Corsica
You
should obtain a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) before
leaving the UK, and carry your EHIC with you at all times in case of emergency. The EHIC is not a substitute for medical
and travel insurance, and only entitles you to emergency
medical treatment on the same terms as French and Italian nationals. It does not cover you for medical repatriation, on-going
medical treatment or treatment of a non-urgent nature. It is
essential therefore to have comprehensive
travel insurance. |
CAMPSITES in SARDINIA and CORSICA:
|
Campsites on both islands
are plentiful, particularly around the coasts, but bearing in mind Sardinia and
Corsica's touristy
nature, many are ultra luxurious with every form of facility and distraction; if
like us, you resent paying silly prices for unnecessary frippery, when all you need is a tap, toilet, shower and, of course, peace and quiet
to enjoy the sounds of natural surroundings, then avoid anything that is rated
more than two stars. Also avoid travelling in the peak summer months of July~August when the
holiday-making crowds and noise-levels would be utterly insufferable. Sardinian and Corsican Campsites Review
Websites
listing Sardinian and Corsican campsites: there is no single
organisation or web site listing all campsites to help with pre-trip planning;
the Dutch camping organisation ACSI web site selectively lists its favoured sites,
and it does includes the Google mapping facility as a helpful means of
pinning down a campsite's location. The most useful web sites we found, none of them complete and
missing essential details of opening and closing dates,
were:
SARDINIA: ACSI -
Sardinia CORSICA: ACSI - Corsica
Web sites listing Sardinian Aree di Sosta
and Corsican Aires: with acknowledgement to Don Madge
Sardinian sostas and wild camps
Campsite opening
dates: the camping season is quite short with
campsites opening from April/May to September; outside these
times, it is still possible to find a few open sites.
Campsite prices: with the current £/€ exchange rate, prices charged varied
enormously and generally reflected the greed of the owners
rather than the standards offered. The most reasonable prices, albeit still
comparatively expensive, are campsites graded at 2 stars or less. In our
Campsites Review,
we give the nightly charge we paid; prices
may include a local tourist tax.
The Italian Discount culture: in seemingly
all Italian commercial dealings, the favourite word is
SCONTO, translated as DISCOUNT. Shops for
example vie with one another to offer the biggest sconto;
you will even see them promoting themselves as
scontissimo. So it is with campsite prices: never
accept the initial price proposed and always ask for a sconto (it will be expected). The most useful expression in
your Italian repertoire should be "Mi può fare uno
sconto?" ("Can you offer me a discount?"); if you feel you are being asked too
high a price, try basing your request for a sconto on such pretexts as using a
Camping Card International, facilities inadequate or limited early/late season,
over-60s, intrusive work taking place on the site
Wild-camping: in the more remote coasts and hill areas, with awareness of potential
security issues and basic common sense and courtesy,
wild-camping is certainly practicable. |
CAMPING CARD
INTERNATIONAL (CCI):
ACSI CARD:
|
The Camping Card
International (CCI - Camping Carnet) is a worthwhile small
investment; it only costs £4.75, lasts for a year
and can be bought
through Camping Organisations eg
Camping and Caravan Club It gives a
degree of camping insurance, and since it also carries passport
details, you can offer it to campsites in place of your passport
during your stay. But on leaving, always ensure you
have been given back the right card. More importantly, many Sardinian campsites were prepared to offer a 10% sconto (discount) on production of a CCI The Dutch Camping Organisation ACSI have negotiated a discount scheme with some 1,600 continental camp sites, rather similar to the French Camping Cheques scheme but better value and with wider choice of participating sites. The ACSI Card costs £10.50 and entitles you to stay at those sites included in the scheme (not all ACSI approved sites) for €11, €13 or €15 per night which includes camper, two adults, electricity and showers. ACSI Card camping sites in Sardinia You can buy the ACSI Card via the web site of Vicarious Books which is also an invaluable source of many other publications. |
CAMPING GAZ
IN SARDINIA and CORSICA: |
We
found virtually no opportunities to exchange Camping
Gaz 907 cylinders in Sardinia; the one exception was in Alghero near to Camping
La Mariposa: Maxigas, a hardware shop selling all makes of gas in containers -
at corner of Via Don Minzoni and Via delle Baleari, GPS 40.57643 8.320266 In Corsica as in the rest of France, Camping Gaz exchange was readily available in supermarkets and at larger campsites |
INTERNET IN
SARDINIA and CORSICA: Top of page |
Very few campsites on either island yet have wi-fi internet hotspots and the few that did were very expensive. But there is a ready availability of relatively cheap internet cafés in every town and city; it's a good test of the local Tourist Office if they know of internet café whereabouts |
MAPS FOR SARDINIA and CORSICA:
|
For the
soundest advice and supply of maps for Sardinia and Corsica, as always we
recommend consulting The Map Shop, Upton upon Severn, Worcs: For planning and 'big picture' general use, the most useful overall maps are: Sardinia: 1:200k scale,
published by the Touring Club Italiano (sheet 15)
Corsica: 1:150k scale, published by Michelin (sheet 345) Details on The Map Shop web site. Walking maps: for 1:50k and 1;25k walking maps, see index sheets on the Map Shop web site
Northern
Sardinia These detailed maps are however expensive, and if following walks given in the Sunflower Guides, the maps in these books are sufficiently detailed. Local tourist information offices can supply town and city plans, as well as generally useless glossy brochures by the forest load. |
DRIVING IN SARDINIA and CORSICA:
|
Road standards:
Driving standards: despite the Italian reputation for machismo driving standards, we found generally that Sardinian driving was not unduly stressful. Corsica however was an entirely different story: aggressive speeding and tail-gating is the norm, as is total disregard for other road users; it is not uncommon on narrow, unprotected mountain roads to be faced with a Corsican car coming round blind bends on the wrong side of the road. Fuel:
fuel is readily available throughout both islands and
credit cards are accepted at garages; fuel prices are slightly more expensive
than mainland Europe. |
SUPER-MARKETS and SHOPS: CREDIT CARDS: Top of page |
Both islands have a ready availability of supermarkets and there is good range
of choice for food stuffs. The intrinsic cost of living in all Italian and French
territories however is now horrendously high, not simply due to the pound~euro
exchange rate; this was the most expensive trip ever, costing us twice what
we have spent for the same period in Central Europe.
Be warned: supermarket shopping, particularly in Corsica is a
severe shock to the wallet.
Almost
every village has a mini-market and many
towns have a vegetable
market. |
WINES and BEERS of SARDINIA and CORSICA: Top of page |
Sardinian
and Corsican wines: both islands have a long-established tradition of
vine-growing and wine production, with quality greatly improved over recent
years from a number of distinctive indigenous grape varieties. You should
certainly try the lusty rich Sardinian red wine from the Cannonau grape; one of
the best producers to visit for tasting and buying Cannonau wine is the
Cantina Oliena near to Nuoro. Both islands produce an excellent crisply dry
white wine from the Vermentino grape, particularly as grown in the Gallura
region of Sardinia; good producers are the Sella e Mosca Estate just north of
Alghero in Sardinia, and the Domaine Compe Abbatucci just off the D757 along the
Taravo valley north of Propriano in Corsica. Unlikely as it sounds, both islands have in recent years developed a range of distinctive, quality beers; most are available in cans or bottles or on draught. Sardinian beer: the beer par excellence to be drunk all across Sardinia is Ichnusa Corsican beer: for a thirst-quenching, light and sharply hoppy draught beer try Serena, but for something a little heavier with a toasted, nutty taste, order a Pietra which is brewed using Corsican chestnut flour. Two other distinctive beers which are said to embody the tang of the Corsican maquis are Torra and Colomba; they may not suit everyone's palate but they certainly have a distinctive taste. From our experience, there is simply nothing to compare with relaxing after a long hot day's exploration with a chilled Ichnusa or Pietra. |