FAQ

Under no circumstances can access to self-catering properties be given before 4pm, and all villas must be vacated no later than 10am, irrespective of flight departure times. This also applies to clients arriving earlier and waiting, and departing clients who may pack and stay at the property. This causes distress to owners and maids who need time to prepare the accommodation for arriving guests without being compromised by clients being there. It also contravenes our contractual agreements with owners, some of whom may apply extra charges. Clients arriving independently must ensure they comply with these times, taking into account driving time to/from airports. 

On the very rare occasion where the property is ready before 4pm, your airport representative will advise you on arrival.

Bed linen, bath and hand towels are provided on a weekly basis. Beach towels are only provided in our Premium villas. Therefore you are required to take beach towels for all other villas/apartments, as bath towels are not permitted for beach or pool use. In most properties, guests can expect beds to be made up on arrival. Please note that when clean linen is supplied once every week, a new set will be handed over and beds will not be made up again. Cot linen is not provided.

Due to the stringent regulations for pilots flying in and out of Corsica it has been known for flights to be altered in which instance we will contact you as soon as we are advised. Airlines and flight times given can be subject to change, which is unfortunately beyond our control.

Arrival instructions, which include directions to the property and GPS co-ordinates, are sent out with your travel documentation two weeks prior to your travel date.

Our representatives will endeavour to meet you on arrival at the airport, provided they are aware of your flight details. If you have chosen to have a representative visit you whilst you are on holiday,  a note giving the proposed date and time will be awaiting your arrival at your accommodation.

As well as directions to the property, arrival instructions contain essential information on how to access your accommodation and representative's contact details. Please ensure that you do not travel without this document.

As a result of UK Government legislation, we are required to collect Advance Passenger (passport) Information from all customers (including infants) travelling to and from the UK by air. If we do not receive this information, tickets cannot be processed.

When did it start?

• It applies to all flight travel from 1st November 2009.

What information is needed per passenger?

• Full name, as per your passport including any middle names.
• Your date of birth.
• The travel document 'type' eg: passport.
• Your nationality.
• Passport Country of Issue.
• Passport number and expiry date.

When is the information required by

• Either at the time of booking or at least 7 days before travel in order for your tickets to be processed in time. Failure to do so will prevent tickets from being issued. Any API details received within 7 days of departure will result in a Ticket on Departure being arranged, for which you maybe charged.

How can I provide this information?

• Please visit our API page on our website where you can input the information. Alternatively you can call Administration on 0845 330 2047.

What if I book late?

• Our website will not confirm a booking within 7 days of travel, unless you input your API details, so please have them to hand.
• Ticket on Departure information will not be provided until we have your API details.

Foldable highchairs and travel cots are provided free of charge in our self-catering properties if requested at time of booking. For hygiene reasons, cots are not supplied with linen so do remember to take your own. Cots and highchairs can also be requested for hotel bookings, for which a small supplement may apply. Please contact Administration if you have not requested these items at the time of booking.

If you have any requests for your holiday accommodation or flights, please ensure they are requested at time of booking. Where an extra item or service to that advertised is provided at your request, please note that we have not inspected these facilities. As always, a request is never guaranteed and for some flight requests you may need to contact the airline direct. Please contact Administration if you wish to add a request after the booking has been made.

If there is anything at all about your holiday or property, which you feel unhappy about it is important that you inform your representative as soon as possible, so they are able to take any action locally that may be necessary. Your representative's phone number can be located on your arrival instructions sent out with your ticket package. Your representative should always be called in the first instance rather than the UK Office.

These can be expected 2 weeks prior to your date of travel and will include elements such as an information booklet, arrival instructions, accommodation and flight tickets (where applicable).

Your car hire package includes two name drivers per car.

You will need to let Administration know as soon as possible, preferably by telephone. Fees may apply depending on the nature of the change/cancellation and the time before the date of travel. This is in addition to any carriers' alterations or cancellation fees. We also advise that you let your holiday insurance company know as soon as possible.

Debit cards (no handling charge)

• Switch/Maestro
• Visa Electron (through our call centre)
• Solo
• Delta

Credit cards (will incur a 2% handling charge)

• Visa
• MasterCard

Unfortunately we are not able to accept American Express cards.

Cheques made payable to Corsican Places and your holiday reference added to the reverse of the cheque along with your name and address.

Bank transfers

• Account number: 06019129
• Sort code: 60-18-46

Please quote your booking reference number on all bank transfer transactions. 

Most of our self-catering properties are provided with a free welcome hamper including basic provisions, such as tea, coffee, sugar, and milk to provide you with light refreshments on your arrival.

The standard international practice is to let hotel rooms from midday to midday, however times do vary. Check in times are usually between 2pm and 3 pm, with check out times between 11 am and 12 noon on the day of departure.

Seats must be requested at the time of booking. All baby and child seats are provided for babies requiring front facing seats (from approx 6-9 months), and are charged at a supplement of £20 each, however we recommend taking your own car seat. For babies requiring a rear facing seat, these cannot be provided by the car hire company and must be taken by yourself.

Holiday insurance is a must. We feel it is so important that we insist you either take our special holiday insurance or arrange a policy yourself at the time of booking which must provide cover equal to our own standard policy.

This depends on the property you are staying at. Please contact us for information and prices.

Our properties are cleaned for your arrival and bed linen, bath and hand towels are provided at the beginning of your stay, with extra linen left for each week of your stay. Cot linen is not provided. We provide each of our properties with general cleaning products and a sponge, washing up liquid and a stock of bin liners, and we ask our guests to do a minimal clean to include cleaning of surfaces, clean barbeque, clear perishable food away and dispose of all rubbish, leave all crockery washed up and put away and leave bathrooms clean before they vacate their property. Should guests not do a minimal clean before departure or in the event of extra cleaning being required, cleaning in Corsica is costly and guests will be charged.

To assist us to improve our service and ensure standards are maintained, we will be most grateful if you would take the time to complete our questionnaire in resort and return it to our resort staff prior to your departure.

If a property has a barbecue we note this in the accommodation facilities. As the heat of the summer months often provokes fires, barbecues should be used sensibly and are actually officially prohibited, though tolerated, due to the heightened fire risk in the drier summer months.

Driving is the best way of getting around, as public transport is limited on the island with the exception of the train service from Bastia to Ajaccio and a branch line that runs along the coast to Calvi. The scenery is beautiful, and as some of the minor roads can be narrow and winding, this can mean 50km takes up to an hour, however the main roads are much easier.  Random police or breathalyser checks are common therefore do have your documentation to hand (driving licence or ID, car hire contract, vehicle insurance documents), wear your seatbelt and never drink and drive (0.05% blood alcohol concentration is the legal limit with fines up to €3000).  It is also against the law in France to use your mobile phone whilst driving and you could incur a hefty on the spot fine.

Where air-conditioning or heating is available it is included in our prices and shown in our property descriptions, however a few properties require payment for air-conditioning locally and this will be advised in our brochure or on your booking confirmation. As part of the Sustainable Tourism code we ask that air-conditioning should be used sensibly: the windows and doors should be kept closed when air-conditioning is on. The units should be turned off when guests leave their property and shutters and windows should be closed during the hottest part of the day to increase efficiency.

If your chosen accommodation has satellite television and subscription channels are available, you can normally expect to receive at least one English speaking News channel. However progammes on terrestrial and non-subscription satellite television will generally all be in French.

The tap water in Corsica is perfectly safe to drink (unless otherwise indicated) but can have a different mineral content from that you are used to in the UK. Bottled water is inexpensive and readily available in all supermarkets and many other shops and it is important to drink lots of water to prevent dehydration. Although local water resources are usually sufficient, if the weather has been exceptionally hot and dry supplies can become short so, especially during high season, it is always a good idea to be economical with water.

Hotels in Corsica are graded under the French star rating system. Breakfasts are mostly continental with croissants, bread, jam and coffee served.  Buffet breakfasts are not the norm. Half board menus are often set with less choice than a restaurant. Tea and coffee making facilities are not generally available. Hotels welcome children but will charge for a cot or extra bed in a parent’s room. Babysitting and baby-listening services are not widely available.

Each of our properties includes a minimum inventory to include such essentials as a kettle, iron and toaster. All larger electrical equipment for each property e.g. television, washing machine etc is noted in the individual description.  Please do advise one of our representatives if you find something faulty or broken to enable us to arrange a solution.

Only guests named on your confirmation are entitled to occupy the accommodation. Any guests not appearing on the invoice we have sent to you will be charged locally.

Swimming pool details such as sizes, shape and depth (where known) are detailed in our facilities section for each accommodation. Please refer to each property or call our team if you require further information and we will check with the owner. All pools have a security system in place, alarm, fence or cover, as is required by French law but children should be supervised at all times. Pools are generally unheated in Corsica and are maintained and cleaned during your stay. Weather permitting all pools are open from the start of May to beginning of October and at times of bad weather debris can appear in an otherwise clean pool.

Most properties have someone responsible for tending to the grounds and pool. We ask guests to allow them reasonable access to the property and grounds so these can be kept in good order for our clients. 

Rooms in our individual properties all differ and guests should note that no rooms are the same in terms of decor, style, size and position. Master bedrooms are considered superior to other bedrooms, when choosing a property for a group of friends make sure you agree who will have the master suite before arrival!

The majority of self -catering properties do not have Internet access as few have telephones and, for those few that do, the connection is invariably slow. There are Internet cafes in the main resorts and a number of hotels have this facility.

Outside July and August, the traditional holiday season for the French and Italians, Corsica’s beaches are less crowded. In the height of the holiday season even the smaller beaches can be busy. It is worth remembering that due to the sheer number of beaches in Corsica, many of the more secluded beaches are unsupervised. Visit our beaches page for more information

In respect for our guests and our properties, we have a no smoking policy in our accommodation. Just as in the UK, a smoking ban in all public areas is now in place across France.

Tourism can bring a wealth of benefits to destinations, however we mustn’t forget that at the same time tourism can adversely affect the nature and environment of a destination if it is not looked after. We at Corsican Places have been awarded 2 star Sustainable Tourism status by the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO). To ensure tourism benefits the people of Corsica we strive to work positively towards protecting the natural beauty, wildlife and culture of Corsica so that future generations can continue to enjoy residing in and visiting the country. As a specialist tour operator with an AITO 2 star status, we felt that a carbon-offset scheme was the next step for us and initially set up Opt in & Offset, for our sister product The Gambia Experience. On the success of this we have now expanded the scheme to Corsican Places. Primarily monies collected will fund our two projects in The Gambia but we are looking at other opportunities in Corsica for the future. We have committed to working with Tourism Industry Carbon Offset Service (TICOS) offering you the chance to help offset some of the damage these emissions will cause and have done so primarily by setting up two projects in The Gambia; community tree planting and the introduction of solar power. So far we have planted 10,000 trees. For more information about these projects and how you can help please go to www.corsica.co.uk/carbonoffset Details of our Sustainable Tourism policy can be found on our website at www.corsica.co.uk/rt

The welfare of our customers is our prime consideration and we are committed to raising the standards of health and safety in our properties and to continue to identify areas where safety can be improved. General safety regulations do vary from country to country and are often less stringent than those that we have come to expect in the UK. It is therefore important to be safety conscious and we suggest that on your arrival you familiarise yourself with your surroundings and read the information file provided, speaking to your representative if you have any specific concerns. We hope that by taking these simple steps, this will help to ensure that everybody in your party has a safe and enjoyable holiday.

Voltage is the same as in the UK but cuts are more common. In Corsica you may find supply to be less powerful and at times intermittent especially during or after storms and in periods of high winds.

When our guests are on holiday, the local population will be going about their daily business. Rural or village properties may have farming activities nearby, hunting and festivals, over which we have no control. In villages and more rural areas you there may be dogs and cats that wander around apparently wild, guests are encouraged not to feed them as this will attract them to return to the property.

Corsica is a very natural and undeveloped island, and especially in properties in the countryside, animals, birds and insects may be present around the house and occasionally living in inaccessible areas such as eaves and roof spaces. Mice, other field animals and small lizards may occasionally come into houses, especially in very dry periods. Mosquitoes, ants and other insects are quite common in the warmer climates and we strongly advise our guests not leave any food uncovered, so as not to attract insects, rodents and animals.