Corsica Adventure Finale – The Ride to Bastia and Back to France | Motorcycle Wanderer
[Music] Coming up in this episode, the sun comes out again
in the mountains, illuminating some beautiful mountain villages, and we board the ferry back
to mainland France. Hello everyone on YouTube, and welcome back to the channel. You find me in
Venaco in northern Corsica up in the mountains. Stayed at this lovely hotel overnight,
heated pool – the full ‘ish’! Not that I tried out the heated pool, but it’s
got one anyway. Beautiful spot. Really nice, hotel E Cassini. Hotel and spa E Cassini,
really nice, highly recommend it. Just getting the bike loaded up, ready to go.
It’s about 9:00 in the morning and we’ll be on the road soon. Not too much of a plan today, need
to be at Bastia for the ferry by about 5:30 p.m., but apart from that, we’re just
going to check out some mountain roads and see what we can find. So, come
along with me, let’s get on the road. So, we’re on the road leaving Venaco, so we’ve
decided we’re going to head – eastwards towards the coast – had to think about that
then. Head eastwards towards the coast, where we’re going to pick up a slightly more
major road in a minute and then we’re going to look for a left onto a very minor road
and just see what that looks like and see if we feel like doing a few of those today. So
basically we’re going to explore the roads to the west of Venaco and we’re going to end
up the day in Bastia to get on the ferry back to the French mainland. So last full
day in Corsica, so come with us and enjoy! [Music]
[Music] Beautiful view of the mountains with the
clouds sitting on top this morning. It’s a really pleasant morning, we’re at uh
approx 19° centigrade. Sunny as you can see and we’re just climbing into the the
foothills of the mountains. Beautiful. [Music] [Music] Wow. This really is perched on the the side of the mountain. What a beautiful
spot to live – to ride through. [Music] So, this is the continuation
of the road through Altiani, not really sure where we’re heading, but it’s
worth it just for this view. And of course the sunlight sets it off, makes it even better.
What a beautiful way to start the morning. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] Holy hell. I mean, if you want twisty,
we’ve got twisty. This is definitely – not a lot of straight going on there, is there? [Music]
[Music] [Music]
[Music] So, we’re tracking north on the
D16, ah, well not completely north, are we? Actually, no, we’re
tracking northwest on the D16 [Music] and we’ve gone through Tox. So, we’ve got
Campi just in front of us and then Moita. We’re going to do a couple of switchbacks,
wiggle through the roads, and we’ll end up tracking across to Ponte thingy. The name I
can’t remember. Oh, hello. Hello. Ponte Leccia. [Music] [Music] Hello piggies. Happy piggies. Lots of piggies. Oh. Ah. Bumpy. Bumpy. Ah.
More cows. Few more cows. Very agile cows. [Music] Whilst these roads are great fun, great
scenery, you do have to watch out for the varying quality of the surface. There’s
quite a lot of subsidance knocking around, so you do have to keep your wits
about you. But they are great fun to ride, [Music] interspersed with very
pretty villages clinging to the hillside. [Music] So, just on the final bit of the
climb up the up to Col de Prato We have one kilometer to go. So, not particularly high Col. So, we’re only
at 888 m. I think the highest we saw yesterday was 1311. Although, I haven’t checked
the altitude of every Col we’ve been on. As you can see, the road is
still quite deformed in places. [Music] [Music] So that was Col de Prato, a little bit
underwhelming. Possibly a good viewpoint if we’d stopped and gone back, but we’ve seen so many
good views while we’ve been riding through these mountains that I’m sure there’ll be another
one around the corner – like like this one! [Music]
[Music] [Music] This again is very typical
of a lot of roads in Corsica, the surface is pretty good on this one. This
is the D71 [Music] tracking northwest up to Ponte Leccia, we’re about 7 km outside Ponte
Leccia I would say. This is a cracking road, cracking views – gives your brakes and your tyres
a bit of a workout, but really enjoyable to ride and the weather is uh is still good.
So yeah, cracking road – recommended. [Music] So that was lunch in Ponte
Leccia, and very nice it was too. So I wanted to have a good lunch
today, so that on the ferry later we’re not needing to source a big meal.
We’re just going to grab a sandwich, take it on with us just to keep
things simple, get an early night because it’s quite an early disembarkcation
tomorrow morning, so sleep can be limited. And now we’re sort of heading
north up towards the north coast where we branch east towards San Florent.
And then we’re going to do a little detour south and east to Biguglia and then up to
Bastia, and we should be there somewhere around 5:00 p.m. – 5:30 in time to check
in for the ferry. So, talk to you then. [Music] [Music] [Music]
[Music] [Music] [Music]
[Music] Are you ready? [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] That was Corsica a good four days and
it was fantastic. Real variety of roads, animals on the road, variety of weather, real
weather, bit of rain, great accommodation, great food, just really really enjoyed it.
Yeah, really nice 4 days. I think we probably did about about 100 miles a day on average
or just over, which doesn’t sound a lot, but on these roads, it’s quite a lot.
So, you know, if you come here, don’t expect to to be doing huge mileage, but you don’t
need to ’cause 100 miles feels like 200 miles, you know, it’s constant turns, which is great.
It’s not monotonous in any way, it’s quite tiring, but wow, you know, it’s really good.
Road surfaces can be variable, so you have to be attentive, you know
there could be anything around the corner, wild animals, holes in the road, good surface to
bad surface, etc., but yeah, really recommend it. If you’re thinking of coming to Corsica, come
to Corsica. Try it out. 4 days, I would say, is probably about right. You could you could
probably do a day longer if you wanted, you know, we’ve done most of the roads we wanted to do.
So yeah, it’s great – Recommended. And Corsica ferries, yeah, pretty good,
a lot less chaotic on the way back. So, I think on the way there, we hit Friday
night out of out of France – absolute chaos, you know, quite stressful, but this one we’re
leaving on a Tuesday night, much better. The motorcycle parking is sort of individual in
a bay at the side instead. I’ll try and video that tomorrow morning when we go down to get the
bike. But yeah, a lot better, very happy with it. So that’s a quick sort of recap
of Corsica. I’ve loved it. We sail overnight. We arrive in France 6:30 in
the morning, Toulon, and then we have 3 days to traverse back through France. I’ll film
that. I’ll put it up because it’s still worth it. I still love France anyway and traversing
through there. So I’ll film that. I’ll put it up. So stay with me, come back, watch the rest
of this trip and as always, please like and subscribe. You know, it helps the channel so
much, and it helps me grow and it, you know, encourages me to do more things and film them
for you. So yeah, please show your appreciation if you liked it and stay with me and yeah, I’ve
been the motorcycle wanderer. See you in France. So, good morning. Back to France.
Good morning. Welcome to Toulon. So, that’s the four days in Corsica done. Fantastic.
Gave a bit of a recap last night on that, and now we’ve got three days ahead of us
to traverse the length of France and and then finally back to the UK. So stick with us. The
weather’s looking good so far. That may not last. [Music] So this is how we end up. Shades of blue
and gray. [Music] I feel just like an empty bottle. My dreams are on delay. I just want to
climb on top of a hill and throw it all away. Take me far away before my mind spins off
and I am all derailed. Derailed. [Music] Just all the way to the rainbow. Just we’ll never turn our backs again. [Music] [Music] So this is how we end up. The game is
up to play. Every day remains the same. Now, now one decision we obey. I just want to
climb on top of a hill and throw it all away. Take me far away before my mind spins
off. And I am all derailed. Derailed. Just all the way to the rainbow sand. Just never turn. [Music] [Music] [Music] Just drive. Drive. [Music] Heat. [Music] Heat. [Music] [Music] Thank you so much for watching. Please
hit the like and subscribe to support the channel and I’ll see you next time.
I’ve been the motorcycle wanderer. [Music]
Welcome to Episode 7, the final chapter of my Corsica motorcycle adventure. After days of riding through rain, mist, and mountain passes, the sun finally returns — illuminating Corsica’s rugged interior in all its beauty. This episode takes us from Venaco, high in the mountains, through picturesque hilltop villages and twisting roads, before we head north to Bastia to catch the ferry back to mainland France.
Our day begins at Hotel E Caselle, a beautiful riverside spa hotel near Venaco. After a great night’s rest, we load the bikes and set off for a relaxed day of exploring before the evening ferry. The goal: enjoy one last ride through Corsica’s incredible mountain landscape.
Leaving Venaco, we climb into the hills under blue skies, with the temperature hovering around 19°C — perfect riding conditions. The mountain scenery unfolds in front of us, with clouds hanging over the peaks and sunlight glinting off stone villages clinging to the slopes. Riding east toward the coast and then looping north on the D16, we pass through small Corsican villages like Altiani, Tox, Campi, and Moïta — all perched high above dramatic valleys.
The roads are everything you could wish for in a motorcycle adventure: tight switchbacks, flowing curves, and constant elevation changes. The D71 towards Ponte Leccia delivers some of the most enjoyable riding of the whole trip — smooth tarmac in places, challenging subsidence in others, and spectacular views around every corner. This is classic Corsican riding: technical, rewarding, and endlessly scenic.
Along the way, we encounter more of the island’s famous free-roaming animals — pigs and cows wandering across the road, adding another reminder that in Corsica, nature always has the right of way. The climb up to Col de Prato (888 m) offers panoramic views of the valleys below, while the descent brings us through more sunlit villages framed by chestnut trees and rugged cliffs.
Lunch in Ponte Leccia gives us time to reflect on the trip and fuel up for the final run north. From there, we track towards Saint-Florent, loop past Biguglia, and finally arrive in Bastia to catch the ferry back to Toulon on mainland France.
The ferry loading is a breeze compared to the chaos of the outbound journey — a relaxed end to four incredible days of riding across Corsica. As the sun sets over the Mediterranean, it’s time to look back on a trip filled with challenging roads, dramatic weather, wild encounters, and unforgettable views.
Over the past four days, we’ve covered around 400 miles of some of the best motorcycle routes in Europe — from the dramatic coastline of Porto and Bonifacio to the misty mountain passes of Col de Verde, Col de Sorba, and Col de Prato. Corsica has proven itself to be a true rider’s paradise: compact, scenic, and endlessly rewarding.
If you’re planning your own Corsica motorcycle trip, allow at least four or five days to explore. The distances may be short, but the roads are demanding and every mile deserves to be savoured. You’ll find incredible riding, warm hospitality, and landscapes that change around every bend.
Thanks so much for following this journey across Corsica. I hope this series has inspired you to plan your own adventure on two wheels. From ferry chaos to misty mountain passes, from coastal curves to sunny highland villages, Corsica truly delivers everything a rider could hope for.
Next stop: mainland France, where we’ll spend a few more days crossing the country before returning home to the UK. Stay tuned for that continuation of the adventure.
If you’ve enjoyed the Corsica Motorcycle Adventure Series, please like, comment, and subscribe — it helps support the channel and keeps the adventures rolling.
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