Travelling with dogs 1 - Corsica - France - L´Ile de la Beauté

<Traveling with Dogs> <1> Corsica island - La Corse - France

Barbra and Winkka, my dog

If you’re thinking of traveling with dogs, Corsica is one of the most pet friendly travel destinations in Europe. Corsica welcomes pets in most hotels, campsites, beaches, cafes, hiking trails and even boat rides so traveling with dogs on this island is not that difficult. The tricky part is transporting a pet to Corsica by ferry since pet travel policy differs among operators.

Air France and their partner airlines are pet friendly and passengers carrying small pets can even bring them (in their carriers) inside the passenger cabin.

For those traveling by ferry, I recommend choosing an operator like Corsica Ferries. Below is their official pet travel policy, as of this writing:

" Pets are allowed on board our ferries. Cats and other small animals have to be kept in a suitable cage during the trip. There is no fee. You have to buy a ticket for dogs (19 €). Dogs on board have to be on a lead and wear a muzzle. You can walk freely on board with your dog except for the restaurants" .

Pet Friendly Accommodations

Thanks to a new online service, www.officialpethotels.com  now you can easily search for pet friendly accommodations in Corsica and worldwide. They are partnered with booking.com and offer the same rates as the ones listed in booking.com.

When searching online for other types of accommodations such as holiday residences and campsites, look for a pets welcome logo or specify “pets allowed” in your search criteria.

Once you Arrive

Some Corsicans seem to view their dogs as a regular member of their family run business. In many areas of the island, it is not uncommon to find medium to large sized dogs, walking freely through stores, cafes and even hotel lobbies.

These “working” dogs are used to mingling with tourists and are usually well behaved, however one never knows if a small yapping dog or a child may startle them. For this reason, if you bring a small dog with you, try to keep it on a leash or inside a carrying case, at least until you know the larger dog poses no threat to your pet, or to your child.

Areas were Dogs are not Permitted

Dogs are not allowed in any of the mountain refuges of the Natural Park and in most museums. Animals are not allowed in the Lavezzi islands either since they are a part of a nature reserve

Travel time from Italy to Corsica in ferry

• From Livorno to Bastia – 2 hours
• From Sardinia to Bonifacio – 1 hour
• From Genoa to Bastia – 6 ½ hours

Travel time from mainland France to Corsica

• From Marseille to Bastia or Ajaccio – 11 to 12 hours.
• From Nice to Calvi or Bastia – on the high speed NGV 3 to 4 hours on a regular boat 7 hours
• From Toulon to Ajaccio – 6 hours

Booking

Corsica Ferries web site: http://www.corsica-ferries.es

Official Pet hotels web site: http://www.officialpethotels.com