Car hire in Bastia
1 office in Bastia · airport pick-up · France
Bastia is Corsica's most commercial and most authentic city: an old Genoese port with peeling façades, the Terra Nova citadel and a local life that doesn't depend on tourism. Its Poretta airport is the main entry point to the north of the island, opening up Cap Corse, the Nebbio and the beaches of the Désert des Agriates.
Without a car, northern Corsica shrinks to very little: the railway only covers the Bastia–Corte–Ajaccio axis and part of the east coast, and Cap Corse buses are all but symbolic. Collecting your vehicle at the airport itself, some twenty minutes south of the city, puts you straight on the road.
Search cars in BastiaWhy hire a car in Bastia
- The loop around Cap Corse — 110 km of Genoese towers, marinas and vineyards — is a one-day route that only exists by car.
- Beaches such as Saleccia and Ostriconi, in the Désert des Agriates, have no public transport access; you reach them by track or from Saint-Florent.
- Poretta airport is ~20 min from the centre, and without a car you depend on a single shuttle with limited timetables.
Day trips near Bastia
- Cap Corse — The island's northern finger: Erbalunga, Nonza with its grey-sand beach, and Centuri with its lobster; a full loop takes about 3 hours.
- Saint-Florent and the Nebbio — An elegant harbour amid heritage-listed vineyards, with boats to Saleccia beach, about 40 minutes over the Col de Teghime.
- Corte — Corsica's former capital, tucked among the mountains and the gateway to the Restonica gorges, about 1 hr 10 min inland.
- Désert des Agriates — Empty scrubland and the wild beaches of Ostriconi and Ghignu along the D81, about 1 hour from Poretta airport.
Where to pick up your car
- Aeropuerto de Bastia
Final prices in euros · book without paying · free cancellation up to 72 h before.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bastia a good base, or should I move around the island?
It works very well as a base for Cap Corse, the Nebbio and Corte, all under an hour and a quarter away. For the south (Bonifacio, Porto-Vecchio) it's worth changing accommodation: Corsican distances are deceptive because of the bends.
Can I drive to Saleccia beach?
Only via a long, demanding dirt track that many hire contracts exclude. The usual approach is to leave the car in Saint-Florent and take the boat shuttle, or walk the coastal path.
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