Corsica is stunning. There are 600 miles of coastline, much of it unspoilt and uncrowded, with old- fashioned ports and long stretches of sand and rocky coves. The mountains are breathtaking: soaring peaks, deep ravines, rivers, waterfalls and pools. The island has managed to escape the brutal hotel construction that has characterised so much of the Med, and although there is plenty of tourist accommodation, most of it is fairly small, family-run businesses. It's how the south of France must have been 80 years ago, and long may it remain so.
When to go
Early summer is best - not too hot, glorious sunshine, little rain and a freshness to the air which has evaporated by the school holidays. Spring and autumn can also be lovely, though the weather is more varied, and the evenings can be chilly. July and August are hot but not unbearable, more crowded but never absolutely heaving with people.
Where to go
Calvi in the north is a stunning port, where practically every waterside building is a restaurant with tables spreading across the wide pavements.
The coastline along to Ile Rousse has many long sandy beaches, which have attracted a fair amount of tourist development. Ile Rousse is a busy port with a huge tree-lined square fringed by cafés.
St Florent has masses of restaurants, shops, and boats. Even in August, it isn't too crowded, and it's a good starting point for Cap Corse, the finger of land projecting northwards with many delightful small towns and coves.
Bastia is a huge town by Corsican standards, and best avoided in the height of the season. Traffic is awful, and the town itself seems to spread for miles towards the airport.
Bonifacio is spectacular, if hard on the feet. The coastline between there and Ajaccio is dotted with unspoilt fishing villages and many of the best coves and beaches. Ajaccio is the island's capital, the birthplace of Napoleon and probably the closest Corsica comes to sophistication.
In the hills, there are count less remote villages and sights you won't forget. Solenzara has a brilliant roadside restaurant and a truly magnificent mountain pool.
One word of warning: driving in Corsica is not for the fainthearted. I have held my breath and shut my eyes (while a passenger, not a driver) innumerable times while winding round narrow mountain roads, fearing a minor misjudgment would send us crashing down a sheer drop.
What to do
Walking is one of the best attractions - the best parts of both the interior and the coast are only accessible on foot. Some tour operators offer walking holidays with specialist guides and picnic lunches provided, or you can go on a half-day or full-day guided walk - or, of course, you can set off on your own with a map.
Horse-riding is another option: you can either go on a riding holiday, or make use of the many riding stables for a day or half-day.
Corsica is classic, if strenuous, cycling country. Saddle Skedaddle (0115 9721123, info@ www.skedaddle.co.uk, organises eight-day tours for £650 full board, plus approx £250 flight, £100 bike hire and £25 insurance.
Watersports are abundant, and paragliding, canyoning and rock-climbing are all available. Boats can be hired in all the ports.
Where to stay
There are three main types of accommodation - hotels, rented houses, or "residences" - clusters of small houses or apartments around a pool, usually with other facilities.
There are a few big houses with their own pools available to rent through tour operators. These are great if you want to team up with another family or two, but they tend to get booked up very early for the school summer holidays. The tour operators all offer a good variety of hotels, but you need to book in advance during July and August.
There are plenty of cheap camp sites.
What to eat
Lots is the only answer. Seafood in abundance. Heavy Italian influences: delicious pizzas and plenty of pasta. Corsican specialties include wild boar, pancakes stuffed with brocciu (the local cheese), stuffed and baked aubergine, figatelli (smoked liver sausage) and fiadone (a rich lemony cheesecake). You will not go hungry, and you won't go broke: lunch for nine last August, with plenty to drink, cost less than a tenner a head; dinner for three in October was a little more. Corsica produces its own wine; the best is from Patrimonio at the foot of Cap Corse.
How to get there
From May to mid-October, there are weekly charter flights to Calvi, Bastia, Ajaccio and Figari. If you want to travel outside this period, or don't want to be restricted to a particular day of the week, there are regular internal French flights from Paris, Nice or Marseille.
Car hire - essential if you want to see the island - is usually included in packages. Otherwise, the main car-hire firms operate from all the airports.
If you want to take your own car, you can drive to the south of France and take a ferry from Marseille, Toulon or Nice, which takes about eight hours.
What it costs
For a family of four during the summer holidays, expect to pay £700-800pp for a fortnight in an apartment or house, including flights and car hire, with a reduction for under-12s. Prices for a couple for a week in June or September would be £400-£600pp.
What to read
Granite Island, A Portrait of Corsica by Dorothy Carrington (Penguin); Landscapes of Corsica by Noel Rochford (Sunflower Books); Corsica: A Traveller's Guide by John Lowe (John Murray); Blue Guide to Corsica (A & C Black); The Rough Guide to Corsica (Rough Guides).
Best tour operators
Corsican Places 01424 460046/ www.corsicanplaces.com; Simply Corsica 020-8541 2205/ www.simply-travel.com Voyages Ilena 020-7924 4440/ www.voyagesilena.co.uk
