Luxury holidays in Corsica

When to go

Active types will find the fresher spring and autumn air more conducive to hiking and biking, but September is sunny, blissfully crowd-free and even more affordable than July or August. If you can, do.

Getting there

• Planes

  Corsica has four international airports, of which two can be reached directly from the UK with easyJet. Fly to Bastia (in the north) from Manchester or Gatwick, or to Ajaccio (in the south-west) from Gatwick.

• Boats

  There are boats from the French mainland from various ports, including Marseilles, Toulon and Nice. Several of the ferries from France carry cars, as does the ferry from Savona on the Italian mainland. Check www.corsica-ferries.co.uk for details.

• Trains

  Take the Eurostar to Paris or Lille, catch an onward TGV to Nice and then take a ferry to one of four ports (www.corsica-ferries.co.uk). You can book the full train journey with Rail Europe (www.raileurope.co.uk). You may need to take a breather in Nice. On the island itself, there's a limited but scenic train service that's worth making a day trip for.

• Automobiles

  If you want to explore this mountainous island, a hire car is your best bet; most of the major rental companies are represented at the airport.