Best driving route

After reading a few previous posts on driving I%26#39;m getting in a bit of a flap about the narrow mountain and coast roads. Could anyone advise me if following a clockwise route (Bastia - Corte - Evisa -Porto - Calvi - St Florent (hugging the inside of the road most of the way?) is a better option than doing it anti-clockwise?

I%26#39;m assuming they drive on the right out there?

Any comments would be appreciated, I head off there on tuesday

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Bastia- Corte - A main road, generally easy going, wide and some guards at the roadside. Good scenery after the Bastia suburbs.

Corte-Evisa Never done it and would not do it. Just take a look at pictures of the Scala de Santa Regina and you%26#39;ll see why!

Porto-Calvi - Plenty of warnings about this stretch of road on this site.

Calvi-St Florent - About average for roads on Corsica with no real problems, although quite narrow in places and some unguarded drops.

They do drive on the right!

In some areas, particularly Cap Corse, petrol stations are few and far between. Keep your tank topped up!

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We drove clockwise, but the two really great drives were the drive thru the Col de bavella, and Cap Corse north from St Florent.

Better to have as compact a car as possible. Have Fun !!!

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Thanks for the replys guys.

I%26#39;m off there tomorrow can%26#39;t wait. Being the passanger I will keep my eyes on the scenery and not the cliff edges!

I believe (i hope) the D81 up the west coast is marked into lanes so that%26#39;ll be better as we%26#39;ll be driving north.

: )

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Have a great Time. Keep to the RIGHT !!!!

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1) The Scala Santa Regina really isn%26#39;t that bad - I have driven it a number of times and although narrow with overhangs - so not great for campers - has plenty of barriers, so not scary, just slow.

2) the coast road from Porto to Galeria is vastly improved since the road works, although still not quite finished. It now presents no problems whatsoever, though you have to go slowly on one stretch because the surface isn%26#39;t finished off (loose chippings).

One of our neighbours in Corsica, who we just discovered is into rally driving, is very disappointed because this road (which used to take him 45 minutes from Porto to Calvi!!! ) is no longer a challenge. We did Porto-Algajola last week in about 1hr 45 mins, as compared with a previous time of around 2 hours 15 mins.

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That is brilliant news about the Porto to Galeria road. I might even attempt it next time. I have never been in that area entirely because of the notoriety of the roads.

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Balanina - how many kilometers roughly of roadworks/loose chippings are there still on the Galeria to Porto road now, I am still trying to persuade my husband that I will drive it in September and he is not convinced. I reckon there were about 15 kilometers of roadworks when we last drove it in 2005 and 3 cars with punctures. Any info appreciated.

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From Col de la Croix going north maybe about 10k? I didn%26#39;t really notice, because it%26#39;s perfectly driveable - speed limit 50kph which I kept nearly exceeding. There was virtually no traffic - this was last Thursday - we passed maybe 10 cars going the other way and caught up with /were overtaken by NO-ONE the entire way from Porto to the Fango. But as the road is now amply 2 lanes wide this isn%26#39;t really such an issue any more anyway

There was very little heavy-duty roadworks going on (a few diggers moving rocks about desultorily in one or two places). There are obviously one or two corners where they still need to do a bit of blasting, and then finish the whole lot off with some asphalt (you wouldn%26#39;t want to get caught up in that phase, it%26#39;s true), but I imagine it%26#39;ll be finished well before September

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Hello White-Family

If you do drive the road, would you do a report on it, please? I have read your reports before and they are very helpful. I would love to visit that area, but I am very nervous on the roads. I have looked at the road on googleearth (which is exceptionally clear on that part of the island) and, well , ohmigod. I won%26#39;t be in Corsica this summer, but may be later in the year so I can wait to hear from you.

Thanks

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Balanina - thanks for that info. Hopefully others will drive this road during the summer and report back.

Irish Rover - I am pretty sure we will drive it as I want to stay over at Les Roches Rouges if they have a room and see a bit more of the coastline, Calanches etc. Will file a report when I get back.

I think the memory of seeing those poor people trying to put their spare wheels on in the most awful swirling dust and grit and heat in 2005 has etched itself on my husband%26#39;s memory. We were driving a very small Renault more suited to meandering around town...