Posted by How I took the Kurviger avoidance functions deeper into my heart:
In spring 2024, my wife and I were looking for sunshine. Anyone who looked at a weather map at that time will know what a task it was. It’s really amazing how consistently the general weather conditions in Switzerland, France, southern Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and Italy were rainy. Of course, there were some good riding days here and there, but we are traveling with a tent and therefore really try to stay dry for many days in a row so that we don’t drive around with our wet clothes.
That left us with the option of central Spain or jumping on a ferry to the Mediterranean. We ended up in Corsica and I can tell you: man oh man was it worth it!
The ferry departs from Livorno in Italy, which is near Pisa.
Here we got a crossing to Bastia at short notice. You can book the ferry online or by phone with several different companies. If you are flexible between Savona, Genoa and Livorno, you should always get something early. I would definitely recommend a night ferry, so you don’t lose a day on the crossing.
Please note: If there are several motorcycles for several people in the same cabin, you must make separate bookings! The first person books a cabin and their motorcycle, the other people book themselves and their motorcycle without a cabin and then you report by e-mail or WhatsApp that the bookings belong together so that you have enough bed linen and towels in the cabin.
When we arrived in Corsica, we were greeted immediately with a very clear statement: you’ve come to the right place, it’s all going to be super awesome. My head went straight into vacation mode.
As we were already in the north of the island, we went straight to Cap Corse. Be careful with the duration given in this article: We stop very often, for example when we see a pretty café, and also like to linger for an extended break at a viewpoint.
Day 1
Distance: approx. 180km
Duration: approx. 8h
The tour was sensational, but the very first day revealed a characteristic of the island that was to become a major theme of this tour: small roads of category 3 (light yellow on the Kurviger standard map) or lower can be a real struggle in Corsica. Between shaping point 5 and 6 on the route above, the road is really small and narrow. The asphalt also deteriorates badly in places, which means sweating on the bike at around 25°.
I didn’t take any action yet, but we’ll come back to this topic later… After finding an absolute dream campsite, we fell into our camping chairs, tired and happy, and then decided to go on rally trips from there for the next few days.
So the second day of driving took us along the west coast across a beautiful bay called “Golfe de Porto” and then back inland.
Day 2
Distance: approx. 240km
Duration: approx. 7h
Time estimate, of course, with plenty of photo breaks and a great pizzeria in the mountains.
We were very impressed by the west coast. The roads really are just as great as they look on the map: Plenty of bends and great views down the cliffs, mixed with lots of differences in altitude and therefore lots of different aspects of nature.
But wait a minute. Perhaps you’re wondering why I’m standing so awkwardly in a small bay on the side? Because the tourist bus is struggling along the cliff behind us.
As you can see, it was a real experience. The rest of the tour was also highly recommended, from the wide winding mountain pass roads to the ice cream parlor on the market square in the mountain village. As a stand-alone day tour, it’s probably the one I’ll remember most fondly from this vacation. One jump over the mountains later, we were back at the campsite. Incidentally, these often have a swimming pool in Corsica.
The next day was another round trip, this time down to the east coast.
Day 3
Distance: approx. 180km
Duration: approx. 6h
And on this day it finally became clear that the roads can sometimes be too small and too winding. At least for our driving style and taste. This day (especially the outward journey to the beach) was a big struggle for us, the road surface was often very poor and hardly a bend was visible. With free-roaming dogs, pigs, cows and goats on Corsica, definitely not a good combination. Of course, this may look different for other riders with other bikes, and I myself really like fighting my way up a narrow road when you have to throw the bike sometimes, use the brakes a bit harder and so on. And of course, you also get to see romantic mountain villages and deserted forests that others never get to experience. But on this day, it was just a bit too much of a good thing.
And of course, I could have planned and prepared the route better myself, but then I had a thought. Let’s take a look at a function of Kurviger.de that I had never really used before, but which I really got to know and love this vacation. Take a look at what Kurviger does with the route if you turn on “Avoid the smallest roads.
In hindsight, I would have preferred to take this route, I have to say. Interestingly, we at Kurviger often recommend users to set as few avoidances as possible, as this can confuse the algorithm when finding routes. But to be honest: “Avoid the smallest roads” is perfect for Corsica and I’m going to point this out a bit more for the next few days of driving. I can wholeheartedly recommend that you play with it a little if you ever set off for the beautiful French pearl in the Mediterranean.
Right, but now back to the day’s cruising, or rather, first to the non-alcoholic cocktails in the beach bar at the marina.
The short break right by the sea showed us once again how different vacations can be, and how nice it is to have all kinds of vacations in Corsica. We personally felt very comfortable at 26-28°C in the shade, and the east coast has some beautiful sandy beaches. So we decided to switch to a beach vacation the next day. But first we headed back to the mountains.
After another very winding route with various stops for small cheese platter snacks and coffees, we fell exhausted into our tent, good night.
Day 4
Distance: approx. 120km
Duration: approx. 3h
So on day 4, a little hop down to the beach. I have to give an absolute recommendation here for the Col de Sorba, which was great fun for us and has great bends and quaint snack stops on both flanks. Towards the end of the route, it gets a bit strenuous again with lots of 30 km/h speed restriction speed bumps, but maybe you have better suspension than our 17 and 19 year old bikes.
The beach certainly rewarded us for our efforts, we quickly found a campsite right on the shore and spent two lovely days on the Côte des Nacres.
But you certainly want to read more about motorcycling. So let’s jump a bit into the future and come to what is probably the most exhilarating part of Corsica for motorcyclists: the area around Bavella and Zonza.
(Driving) day 5 + 6
Distance: approx. 230km
Duration combined: approx. 6h
I can warmly recommend this route to every reader of this article. Every meter is an absolute dream. In Bavella, an Alpine-style mountain village awaits you, with plenty of hiking/rest stop options and great hairpin bends that can be ridden in a sporty manner on really good asphalt. Zonza is the central hub from where you can ride in all directions on great roads – there’s no wrong decision here. Porto Vecchio has a romantic pedestrian zone that has nothing to hide from the most picturesque Italian towns. In Bonifacio, you will find an almost incomprehensible fortress carved into the rock, into which you can drive so deep with the best view of the sea and old town that your jaw will drop when you arrive at the free moto-parking.
And with the exception of the connection from Porto Vecchio to Bonifacio, you won’t be riding on the central reservation of your tires for a single minute. An absolute dream. I could post dozens of photos here and make a few more recommendations (well, I have one more: if you want to be a bit sporty, try canyoning in Bavella, you can find several providers on Google), but I’ll try to limit myself to the best ones.
Here, too, I found the route with “avoid the smallest roads” really excellent. The “dark yellow” roads in this area are really first class and the best choice for tourers, sports tourers and athletes.
We finally ended up in the Sartène area, where the character of the island changes again. The valleys become a little wider, the slopes less dramatic, the number of farms increases and the population density rises slightly. We thought it was almost a bit like Provence. There are some great tourist spots to visit here too, such as the lively beach promenade in Propiano.
(Driving) day 7 + 8
Distance: approx. 240km
Duration combined: approx. 8h
For motorcyclists, the tour around Mont Sant Petru is a must. Here, the rock suddenly turns bright red. Combined with the light-colored asphalt and the expansive view (you are once again above the tree line), this creates an indescribable contrast. The sharp, but often visible bends invite you to drive fast.
Finding these routes in the planning had become child’s play at this point. I haven’t even touched my Kurviger settings for the last few days. “Avoid the smallest roads” on 2, “Avoid unpaved roads” on 4, then a stopover on a high point (I usually looked for a place beforehand from which it was easy to hike), a maximum of one or two shaping points where it looked good, and off we went.
And so the end of this route also marked the end of our stay in Corsica. In Ajaccio we were able to catch a ferry to Genoa. Again, an overnight crossing, and again highly recommended. From Genoa, you can quickly get onto the highway or head west towards more mountains and curves. Despite the risk of bad weather, we couldn’t resist taking on the San Bernardino Pass on the way home. And with this very emotional moment for me, I say goodbye and hope that you enjoyed reading this.
If you have any questions, you can find me in the Kurviger forum 😊
