Bonifacio Cliffs
Route · 7 days · round-tripYacht charter route · Corsica

Ajaccio via Bonifacio & Iles Lavezzi.

Sail south from Ajaccio to Bonifacio and the Lavezzi islands: seven days through the Gulf of Valinco, granite towers and cliff-top harbours.

The route

Day-by-day route

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Ajaccio
Day 1

Ajaccio → Porto Pollo

Slip out of Napoleon's home port, round Capo di Muro, and drop the hook in the sandy coves of Porto Pollo.

Distance

13 NM

Sailing

~2.6h at 5 kn

At a glance

Route at a glance

Best season

May – October

Duration

7 days

Departure

Ajaccio

Sailing area

Corsica

Route summary

Click any day to jump back to the map and see its photos, narrative and mooring tip.

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The full story

Day-by-day journey

Named anchorages, mooring notes and things to do for every leg of the week — the map follows along as you scroll.

Day 1 / 7
Ajaccio
1
Day 1

Ajaccio → Porto Pollo

Provisioning in Ajaccio is easy, so most crews load up at the covered market before casting off. Once clear of the gulf the coast turns wilder as you work south past Capo di Muro, roughly twenty miles of open water with the afternoon thermal usually filling in behind you. Porto Pollo sits at the mouth of the Gulf of Valinco, a low-key spot with a sandy bottom that holds an anchor well. The harbour office is genuinely helpful and answers the radio, which counts for a lot when you arrive late. Swim off the back before dinner; the water here is calm and shallow enough for a first night. We usually leave Ajaccio by mid-morning to reach the anchorage with light to spare and time for a proper shakedown of the boat.

Things to do

Shop Ajaccio's covered market before casting off

Snorkel the shallows off Porto Pollo

Rent a windsurfer in Porto Pollo bay

Sundowner at a Porto Pollo beach bar

Mooring tip

Porto Pollo has good holding on sand in 3-5 metres; anchor off the beach rather than crowding the small jetty, and hail the harbour office on VHF if you want a lazy line or a berth in July.

Bonifacio Cliffs
2
Day 2

Porto Pollo → Campomoro

This is one of the shorter legs of the week, barely two hours if the breeze cooperates, so there's no rush to leave. Campomoro closes off the southern side of the Gulf of Valinco, a village of granite houses that has kept its fishing-hamlet feel. The star-shaped tower on the headland is the biggest in Corsica and worth the twenty-minute walk up for the view back over the gulf. Anchoring is straightforward in settled weather, with good sand off the beach. Keep an eye on the forecast, though: the bay opens to the southwest, and a libeccio will send swell straight in. Snorkelling along the rocks at the northern end turns up plenty of fish. Ashore, a handful of small restaurants serve the day's catch a few steps from the water.

Things to do

Climb to the star-shaped Campomoro tower

Snorkel the rocks at the bay's north end

Follow the coastal path past the tower

Fresh catch at a beachfront restaurant

Mooring tip

Anchor on sand off the beach in 4-6 metres, but treat Campomoro as fair-weather only. If a southwesterly libeccio is forecast overnight the bay gets rolly, and Porto Pollo or Propriano make safer boltholes.

Ajaccio
3
Day 3

Campomoro → Tizzano

South of Campomoro the coast grows remote, backed by the maquis of the Senetosa reserve with its twin lighthouses. Tizzano appears as a narrow inlet, easy to miss until you're almost on it. The port itself takes boats under ten metres; anything larger anchors off the pier in the cove, where the water runs clear over sand and weed. It's a small place, a scatter of houses, a grocery for topping up, and a couple of restaurants that lean hard on the local catch and Sartene wine. Not much happens here, which is rather the point after a couple of busy harbours. We often time this leg for late morning so the afternoon sun is on the anchorage. Take the dinghy ashore for an early dinner and watch the fishing boats come in.

Things to do

Anchor and swim in Tizzano's clear cove

Fresh fish dinner at the port

Pair supper with a Sartene red

Top up at the Tizzano grocery

Mooring tip

The tiny port only suits boats under about 10 m; larger yachts anchor off the jetty in 3-5 m on sand. Set the hook well and check your swing, as the cove is snug and fills with local moorings in season.

Bonifacio
4
Day 4

Tizzano → Bonifacio

Today's leg carries the most exposure of the trip, rounding the southwest corner where the Strait of Bonifacio funnels wind between Corsica and Sardinia. A libeccio or mistral can pipe up past thirty knots, so we always check the forecast the night before and leave early to beat the afternoon build. The reward is the approach. From seaward the entrance is a plain slit in white limestone cliffs, invisible until you're close, then the calanque doglegs right and the harbour opens beneath the old town. Bonifacio clings to the clifftop above, all tall houses and Genoese ramparts. The marina fills fast in July and August, so book ahead. Once tied up, climb the stairs into the haute ville for a drink on the ramparts and the walk out to the Bosco cemetery at sunset.

Things to do

Walk the ramparts of the haute ville

Descend the King of Aragon staircase

Sunset at the Bosco clifftop cemetery

Aperitif on a Bonifacio marina terrace

Mooring tip

Book the Bonifacio marina ahead for July and August; it's a stern-to berth on the quay with lazy lines and a harbour team on the pontoons. If it's full, the Calanque de la Catena buoys just outside cost around 25 euros for a monohull.

Iles Lavezzi
5
Day 5

Bonifacio → Iles Lavezzi

The Lavezzi archipelago lies just a few miles east of Bonifacio, close enough that timing is all about wind rather than distance. These are low granite islands, weathered into rounded boulders, and the whole group sits inside the Bocche di Bonifacio nature reserve. Cala di Greco on the north side is the usual anchorage, with a sandy patch to drop into and buoys nearby that are reserved for the tripper boats running out from Bonifacio, so leave those clear. The snorkelling around Cala Lazarina and Cala di u Grecu is the best of the week, granite gullies alive with fish in gin-clear shallows. Watch the marked no-anchor zones, fenced off with yellow buoys to protect the seagrass. This is a daytime stop; the anchorage is open, so most crews move back to shelter before nightfall.

Things to do

Snorkel the granite gullies at Cala Lazarina

Anchor and swim off Cala di Greco

Walk the trail to the Lavezzi memorials

Watch for fish in Cala di u Grecu

Mooring tip

Anchor on the sand patches at Cala di Greco in 3-6 m and stay well off the yellow-buoyed protection zones. It's a fair-weather day anchorage only, exposed to swell, so plan to be back in Bonifacio or heading north before evening.

Propriano
6
Day 6

Iles Lavezzi → Propriano

Here's the big mile-eater of the week, a long beat or reach north from the strait back into the Gulf of Valinco. Get away early. With the prevailing southwesterly you may carry a decent sailing angle much of the way, but the leg is exposed and best done in the morning's lighter air rather than the afternoon thermal at full strength. Propriano waits at the top of the gulf, a proper resort town with a big marina, cafes and restaurants lining the quay, and a harbour master who takes you onto the pontoon. After the wild anchorages of the south it feels almost busy. Reprovision here, do the laundry, and eat ashore; the seafront restaurants do good grilled fish and there's real choice. It's a comfortable, sheltered berth to regroup before the final run home.

Things to do

Reprovision along the Propriano quay

Grilled fish at a seafront restaurant

Evening stroll the marina promenade

Swim at Propriano's Plage du Lido

Mooring tip

Call Propriano's capitainerie on approach for a berth; the harbour team meets you on the pontoon, with water and power laid on. It's a well-sheltered marina, a good place to sit out any libeccio brewing offshore.

Ajaccio
7
Day 7

Propriano → Ajaccio

The run home retraces the exposed headland at Capo di Muro before the coast eases into the Gulf of Ajaccio. It's around thirty miles, so leave in good time, especially if you have a fixed hand-back slot; charter bases usually want the boat back by evening or the following morning. If the timing is kind there's a case for one last swim stop in a cove short of the city, Portigliolo or the beaches below Coti-Chiavari, before the marina bustle. Ajaccio itself deserves an afternoon if you have it. The old town and Napoleon's birthplace, the citadel, and a last dinner ashore round the week off well. We tend to fuel up and settle the boat the evening before hand-back so the final morning is unhurried and nobody's chasing the clock.

Things to do

Last swim at Portigliolo beach

Tour Napoleon's birthplace, Maison Bonaparte

Wander Ajaccio's old town and citadel

Farewell dinner on the Ajaccio quay

Mooring tip

Refuel before returning to the Ajaccio charter berth, and confirm your hand-back time and pontoon with the base. Aim to be alongside with daylight to spare; the marina gets busy at turnaround and manoeuvring room is tight.

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