Romantics like to believe a holiday god sprinkled three sun-drenched, sparkling island jewels across the Mediterranean’s azure waters now lapping their beaches.
Realists will tell you they have been honed by the geological whims of millennia: volcanic eruptions, gigantic earth movements, the sea, and even African desert winds.
Impossibly beautiful Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily are inhabited by warm-hearted, welcoming people who are proud of their culture, wine, history and cooking blended by invaders forming a melting pot of glorious humanity.
Our road trip to these jewels begins with LeShuttle to Calais and a swift drive to Nice (879 miles) to stay at the wonderfully wacky Le Windsor Jungle Art Hotel where a glider-winged pink elephant and bat-winged wine bottles hover over the bar. Bonkers but amusing.
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Luckily, we are in Nice for Sunday’s flower market where fragrances of mimosa, bougainvillea and hibiscus lead to stalls of delicious confectioneries and early-season fruits, next to African traders carving wooden elephants to soulful accordion music.
At La Storia an alfresco lunch of fish soup, Nicoise salad, calamari and artichokes is served as Brazilian street acrobats perform.
For dinner at Chez Acchiardo, culture and cuisine is on the menu where owner Raffael cooks in memory of his shepherdess great-grandmother who came down from the mountains to make Provencal dishes. Undoubtedly, she would be proud of her great-grandson.
Nice’s attractions range from mini cruises to Cap Ferrat’s sumptuous villas and beautiful gardens, to snorkelling excursions at Villefranche-sur-Mer and the art museums of Matisse and Chagall.
A perfect restaurant prelude to our Italian travels is Sentimi. Sardinian wine perfectly compliments Ligurian focaccia pizza with anchovies, olives and mozzarella and the tenderest octopus on a bed of lettuce, zucchini and tomatoes.
It is hard to leave the Cote d’Azur but we have a Corsica Ferries overnight sailing to the 14th century fortified port of Bastia. In the main square a marble monument of Corsica’s most famous son, Napoleon Bonaparte, is waiting to welcome us before a short drive to Hotel Pietracap, a tropical garden sanctuary near Cap Corse, dotted with pretty fishing villages in unspoiled coves where the chill factor (as in relaxed) is very high.
Driving south to Bonifacio between sea and snow-capped mountains we don’t need to swerve a single pothole. Amazing, considering the UK’s million-plus pothole epidemic.
En route is Aleria, the ancient capital where archaeologists have unearthed swords and daggers, gold, bronze and stone jewellery, ceramics, cooking pots, and beautifully painted dishes from 1,000-year-old Etruscan tombs.
By now we’ve decided Katherine is the best navigator. She doesn’t doze off while looking at Google Maps. I’m demoted to driving only. Without any U-turns or fruity French language from carved-up locals we make it to Bonifacio’s luxurious Hotel Spa Le Genovese. It is within the citadel walls but still has a large outdoor pool surrounded by ramparts with magnificent city views.
Steps – more akin to very steep ladders – are a theme in the citadel, leading to front doors of buildings squashed together on serpentinestreets. Fortunately, restaurants are at street level and we dine at one of the best – Aria Nova – for its delicious traditional dishes of wild boar and taglioni with cuttlefish and vongole.
To get a view of Bonifacio’s ancient walls from the sea, ebullient Captain Stephan, from Corse Nautical Escape, drops anchor in a cove for swimming just as the red sun drops into the sea, setting the sky on fire. Wonderful.
Corsica’s mountains, valleys and coastline are famous for trekking and guide Christophe, from A Muvrella Randonnees, leads the way along 300ft cliffs pointing across the Strait of Bonifacio to our next destination, the Mediterranean’s second biggest island – Sardinia.
It takes an hour to land at Santa Teresa (13 miles) for an easy drive to Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda where Karim Aga Khan invested stupendously on Porto Cervo, for stinking-rich holidaymakers like Beyoncé, Elton John, Lindsay Lohan and Cristiano Ronaldo. You can be their neighbours at Hotel La Bisaccia in Baia Sardinia where overnighting is kinder to the pocket and seafood tagliolini with rose wine goes down well on the terrace above the beach.
Heading west we discover the lavish Is Arenas Resort where time doesn’t just stand still, it evaporates in the protected pine forest where a trail leads to the resort beach bar. Rooms are huge and opulent. It is smart to go half-board because the food is delicious and enjoyed on a terrace in the trees.
Is Arenas is perfectly placed for quartz sand beaches at Is Arutas and Maimoni. At Tharros there are remains from a Roman-Phoenician port abandoned 1,000 years ago, and a Spanish watchtower has 360-degree views of myriad shades of blue sea.
Next is Isola di Sant’Antioco’s very friendly and great value Lu’ Hotel. Its restaurant overlooks Maladroxia’s sandy bay where foreign tourists are rarer than the flocks of pink flamingos flying into the sunset near Cagliari on our way to catch a Grimaldi Lines overnighter to Sicily. At the crack of dawn the ship disembarks in Palermo, capital of the Med’s biggest island. Two hours driving and Trapani rises up from the coast with its winding streets and awe-inspiring old buildings (1,660 miles).
After a week we freewheel through enchanting countryside to the Grand Palladium resort where children enjoy kids’ club as parents swim in the warm sea, play tennis and work out to shed pounds gained in the impressive a la carte restaurants: El Dorado for steaks, Portofino Italian cuisine and Asian fusion Chang Tai.
From Palermo an overnight GNV ferry lands us in Civitavecchia on the road to the 14th century Certosa Di Maggiano, a former monastery in the rolling Tuscan hills where cypress trees stand guard like soldiers just outside Siena.
Today Certosa is a hotel and a history lesson in itself with an original altar from 1314 where locals still celebrate Sunday mass, and a graceful 800-year-old magnolia tree predating the monastery.
Certosa director Cristiano Brizzi has an eye for detail. Wicker baskets under arched cloisters contain pool towels and straw sun hats. In the enchanting dining room we enjoy picci short pasta with wild boar, chianti wine and delectable desserts. Breakfast is under a pergola of jasmine, vines, wisteria and roses within olive grove-picking distance.
Conveniently a free bus goes to Siena, famous for art galleries, museums, cuisine and horse races through the medieval city. Our favourite place is Santa Maria della Scala museum which is dedicated to its fascinating hospital past for the sick, the starving, abandoned babies and pilgrims.
A drive through hills with pretty villages on both sides ends at the beach town of Levanto (2,471miles), the gateway to Cinque Terre’s world-renowned ports of Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore.
Hotel Park Argento with its pool, spa and picture-window restaurant is a splendid place to stay, thanks to general manager Carlo Lazzeri who has worked in nearby Portofino and in London looking after film director Michael Winner and Princess Diana. Chef Michael Nicora’s creations include octopus stewed with potatoes and slowly cooked pig cheek. Fried ravioli filled with Ligurian herbs is a delightful surprise.
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The hotel’s shuttle goes to Levanto’s train station which is the best way to visit the Cinque Terre. Avoiding crowds by taking side streets we happen upon a tiny square with an arch framing a magnificent sea view. And then it’s time to head home through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, into France’s Jura mountains and on to Calais for our sixth and final sea crossing to Folkestone (3,409 road miles, 800 sea miles, no potholes).
Book the holiday
- South of France – Hotel Windsor hotelwindsornice.com.
- Corsica – Hôtel Pietracap pietracap.com/en, Hotel Genovese
hotel-genovese.com. - Sardinia – hotels booked through sardinia360.it. Hotel La Bisaccia hotellabisaccia.it, Is Arenas Resort isarenashotel.it, Lu Hotel luhotel-maladroxia.it.
- Sicily – Grand Palladium Sicilia Resort & Spa palladiumhotelgroup.com.
- Tuscany – Hotel Certosa Di Maggiano lacertosadimaggiano.com, Hotel Garden gardenhotel.it/en.
- Liguria – Park Hotel Argento Levanto parkhotelargento.com.
- Ferries – GNV gnv.it/en, Corsica Ferries corsica-ferries.co.uk, Grimaldi Lines
- grimaldi-lines.com/en.
- More info: Italy – italia.it/en, toscanapromozione.it, visitsienaofficial.it/en, lamialiguria.it/en. France – france.fr/en, explorenicecotedazur.com, visit-corsica.com, bonifacio.co.uk