Barcaggio is a tiny fishing old village, located in front of the rock of Giraglia. In Barcaggio, two are the keywords: sun and silence. You won't find shops, bars, discos, pubs, crowd, loud music; nothing at all. Just a few private houses and a little hotel. You feel dropped in an almost unreal environment, dominated by a rare peace and a rough nature. Under a hot sun, you can travel back in time visiting the ruins of grand ancient towers that Genoeses built in the XVI century to fight the Saracens, or just lose yourself in endless landscapes, enveloped in a magnificent soundtrack: the surf of the waves, the breeze and the sound of cicadas. And this paradise is only four hours ferry from Nice, in France, or Leghorn or La Spezia, in Italy. If staying ashore, an interesting thing to do is to follow the "Sentier du douanier" ("trail of the custom officer"), a 8 hours hiking that takes you along the whole coast of the Cap Corse, from East to West, alternating beaches and sheer cliffs. Great panoramas. Some practical tips: Barcaggio is 1,5 hour driving North from Bastia. Drive and tow carefully: some roads are damaged and Corse people drive like they were at Silverstone or Monza! Barcaggio is quite isolated. To me, this is an advantage indeed, but could be a problem for those who need to stay in touch: no TV, newspapers, internet or e-mail are available; there's only a public phone at the harbour and a fax machine at the hotel. You can solve the issue with a palmtop and a cellphone, but if you just want to get acquainted of what's happening in the world, an ordinary FM/AM radio is a good thing to bring along. There ain't no stores at all in Barcaggio: a van brings bread on a daily basis and vegetables, fruits and other basic foods twice a week. The harbour provides fresh water but not electricity and petrol. A weather forecast is daily exhibited by the harbour master. The only sleeping accomodation available in Barcaggio is a little hotel (bed & breakfast). As to eating, there are two small bar & restaurants (one at the harbour, one on the beach). In principle, to have a car in Barcaggio is preferrable (even just to reach other restaurants in the near villages!

The closest are Centuri and Macinaggio, 20 min driving for both). I stayed 17 days at the hotel, with family (kids included), with car and boat moored in the harbour: it was perfect. For those who prefer to get in Barcaggio by sailing, Macinaggio is a good and well organized base to start from: is about 8 miles coastal sailing from Barcaggio and offers a big marina and all boatyard facilities, assistance, services you may need, as well as supermarkets, restaurants, hotels, post office. A stay in Barcaggio could happily be part of a tour around Corsica. This land is marvellous. I use to say that Corsica is a whole continent within a small island: from the white sandy beaches and lively, ancient towns of the coast, by driving a little bit, you can reach forests, canyons, torrents, lakes and even "Alpine looking" snow-peaked mountains!