Lavezzi Boat Trip

Bonifacio sits at the southern tip of Corsica, and its harbour is the departure point for one of the island's signature days out: a Lavezzi boat trip across the straits to the Îles Lavezzi. The islands sit inside the Bouches de Bonifacio nature reserve, managed by the OEC, and the crossing also takes in the limestone cliffs the town stands on, with Sardinia close enough that a separate ferry link runs from Santa Teresa Gallura to Bonifacio in about 50 to 60 minutes. This guide lays out the boat options this site carries, what a day combining Bonifacio and the Lavezzi islands looks like, how swimming works there, and how the season shapes the trip.

What Is A Lavezzi Boat Trip From Bonifacio In Corsica?

A Lavezzi boat trip is a boat excursion that leaves Bonifacio harbour, runs along the town's cliffs and out across the Strait of Bonifacio to the Îles Lavezzi, a small archipelago inside the Bouches de Bonifacio nature reserve, and usually includes a swimming or snorkelling stop before returning. The reserve is managed by the Office de l'Environnement de la Corse, and the islands are the protected heart of the crossing.

The format varies by boat. Some trips stay on a motor cruiser with an audio commentary on the cliffs; others transfer to smaller craft among the islands; the catamaran options run with snorkelling stops built into the itinerary. What every version shares is the geography: Bonifacio's harbour sits below the town, the cliffs rise directly above it, and the Lavezzi islands lie in the strait to the south, inside the reserve boundary.

The strait itself is a working waterway. Santa Teresa Gallura in Sardinia is connected to Bonifacio by a ferry operated by Moby and Ichnusa Lines, a route kept after Sardinia found no rival operator, per a report of 9 October 2026. The crossing is about 50 to 60 minutes. On a Lavezzi cruise you are crossing the same body of water, close to Sardinia's coast, which is why the combination trips that add La Maddalena exist at all.

For the full picture of the archipelago itself, see the site's Îles Lavezzi attraction guide, and for the wider picture of combining the two islands in one holiday, read can you visit Corsica and Sardinia in one trip.

Which Boats Run To The Îles Lavezzi From Bonifacio?

Four main options run from Bonifacio: a motor cruise of the cliffs and the Lavezzi islands, a catamaran with a snorkelling stop, a small-group guided snorkelling cruise with a guide in the water, and a small-group La Maddalena and Lavezzi day trip that also crosses to the Sardinian archipelago. A full-day catamaran from Porto-Vecchio and a Bonifacio sunset aperitif boat round out the table.

The shortest version is the cruise of the cliffs and the Lavezzi islands, which covers both halves of the strait in a compact outing. The catamaran option pairs the crossing with a snorkelling stop, with the boat itself as part of the draw. The guided snorkelling cruise is the small-group version, with a guide in the water. The La Maddalena and Lavezzi day trip is the longest day, crossing to the Sardinian archipelago as well, and it runs as a small-group trip.

One option in the table is not based in Bonifacio: the full-day catamaran departs from Porto-Vecchio, roughly up the east coast, and suits travellers staying there rather than in the far south. The sunset aperitif boat stays on the Bonifacio side of the strait and works as an evening complement to a daytime islands trip rather than a replacement for one.

For the west-coast equivalent of this kind of day, the site's Scandola and Girolata boat trip guide covers the Gulf of Porto.

How Much Does A Lavezzi Boat Trip Cost?

The only local euro figures that belong to the day itself are the Bonifacio sight entries, of which the Escalier du Roi d'Aragon is the main one, at about EUR 5 reported, with monthly hours that also need confirming before you go.

That distinction matters for budgeting. The boat fare is one item and comes from the live operator data, which also carries the rating and review figures, and those change with demand and season. The land-side items are fixed published prices. If the day includes the Escalier du Roi d'Aragon, the fee is about EUR 5, and the site's own listing asks visitors to confirm before travelling because hours shift by month.

Tipping is not a budget line in France the way it is elsewhere: menus must state "prix service compris" with the service percentage included, and any extra tip is optional, per the DGCCRF. That rule applies in Bonifacio's restaurants as across France.

For a fuller budget frame for the island as a whole, including ferries and car hire, the site's cost coverage sits inside the Corsica Travel Guide root pages and its Corsica road trip itinerary, which lays out where the far south fits in a wider route.

What Does A Bonifacio And Lavezzi Day Look Like On The Ground?

A workable day runs like this: an early look at Bonifacio's clifftop town, the 189 steps of the Escalier du Roi d'Aragon cut down the cliff, a midday or afternoon boat from the harbour out to the Îles Lavezzi with a swimming stop, and the evening back in the old town; the Escalier gives a 180-degree view over the cliffs toward Sardinia, and children get a diploma at the top.

The Escalier du Roi d'Aragon is the fixed land-side anchor of the day. It has 189 steps cut down the cliff, with the 180-degree view over the cliffs to Sardinia at the bottom of the descent. Closed-toe flat shoes are required, and the entry price of about EUR 5 plus the monthly hours are reported items to confirm before travelling. With a diploma handed to children at the top of the climb back up, it works for families as well as for adults on a short schedule.

The boat half of the day starts at the harbour below the town. The cliffs run is part of nearly every Lavezzi itinerary: the cruise of the cliffs and the Lavezzi islands, the catamaran with snorkelling, and the guided snorkel all cover the stretch of coast before heading out into the strait. Bonifacio's own citadel and cliffs have their own guide on this site covering the sea approach in detail.

If the day starts from elsewhere on the island, the logistics change. From Porto-Vecchio the town is reachable for a day trip, and the site's Bonifacio day trip from Porto-Vecchio guide covers that version, including the Porto-Vecchio-based catamaran that reaches the Lavezzi islands from the east coast.

Can You Swim At The Îles Lavezzi?

Yes, swimming is part of the standard Lavezzi trip: the catamaran cruise runs with a snorkelling stop among the islands and the guided cruise puts a guide in the water with a small group, inside the Bouches de Bonifacio nature reserve; the islands sit in protected water managed by the OEC, so the swimming happens under the reserve's rules rather than at a lifeguarded beach.

The swimming stop is the reason several of these products exist. Snorkelling is built into the catamaran option and is the core of the guided cruise. The site's dedicated answer page, can you swim at the Lavezzi islands, goes into the swimming question directly.

On the Corsican mainland side, supervised swimming is a seasonal, posted affair. Ajaccio ran seven lifeguard posts on its main beaches through July and August, and in Haute-Corse the supervised beaches are staffed by volunteer firefighters from about 1 July to 31 August. The reserve islands are a different setting: no lifeguard scheme is stated for them, and the boat crew is the safety presence on a cruise.

The practical reading is simple: swim where and when the crew directs, treat the reserve rules as the governing framework, and check the flagged answer page for the islands specifically before promising small children a beach day there.

How Do You Get To Bonifacio For The Trip?

Bonifacio is reached by road from the rest of Corsica, by ferry from Santa Teresa Gallura in Sardinia on the Moby and Ichnusa Lines route of about 50 to 60 minutes, and by air via Figari Sud Corse airport, one of the island's four airports along with Ajaccio, Bastia and Calvi; the town's harbour is where the Lavezzi boats leave from.

The Sardinia link is the one distinctive to the far south. Moby and Ichnusa Lines kept the Santa Teresa Gallura to Bonifacio route after Sardinia found no rival operator, per the report of 9 October 2026, and the crossing runs about 50 to 60 minutes. That makes the strait a commuter waterway as well as a cruise destination, and it is why some travellers build a two-island itinerary around it, covered in the site's Sardinia day trip from Bonifacio guide.

From within Corsica, the road network reaches the town along the southern coast, and live road conditions for the island's main passes are published by Inforoutes Corse, which matters for mountain routes elsewhere on the island more than for the far-south coast road. The four airports are Ajaccio Napoléon Bonaparte, Bastia Poretta, Figari Sud Corse and Calvi Sainte-Catherine, and Figari is the one that serves the far south.

What Combines Well With A Lavezzi Day Trip In The South Of Corsica?

The strongest combinations are the Escalier du Roi d'Aragon and the old town in Bonifacio itself, a Sardinia day trip from Bonifacio using the Santa Teresa Gallura ferry, the beaches and boat trips out of Porto-Vecchio, and inland alternatives such as the Bavella needles or the Restonica valley for a contrasting mountain day; each pairs a sea day with either a second coast or the interior.

The one-day La Maddalena and Lavezzi trip is the most complete single-product combination, crossing to the Sardinian archipelago as well as the Corsican one.

The contrast principle is worth stating plainly. Corsica is a sea-surrounded island with a mountainous interior, and the far south is where the two sit closest together: the strait and its islands on one side, the Bavella massif behind. A week that pairs a Lavezzi boat trip with a Bavella day trip or a Restonica and Corte day covers both halves of what the island is.

When Is The Best Season For A Lavezzi Boat Trip In Corsica?

No month is named here as the best, but the pattern is clear from the Météo-France station normals for 1991 to 2020: July averages 8.6 mm of rain at Ajaccio and 13.8 mm at Bastia against highs of 28.6 and 29.4 °C, while October and November carry the most rain, 85.7 and 111.8 mm at Ajaccio, and boat trips and lifeguard schemes concentrate in the July to August window.

The station normals describe the two anchor towns, and the far south follows the same island pattern of a hot dry summer and a mild wet winter, with snow only on the high mountains. The table below gives the months that matter for planning a strait crossing.

Two seasonal frameworks sit on top of the climate. The supervised beach season runs about 1 July to 31 August, reported for Haute-Corse, and the wildfire rules run 15 June to 30 September, when fires and smoking are forbidden in forests, maquis and massifs. The second matters less for a sea day than for the inland halves of a combined trip: on high-risk days access to some massifs can be restricted, with the fire-risk map updated at 18:00 for the next day.

The practical planning move is to keep the Lavezzi day flexible within the week: the crossing depends on conditions in the strait, the operator decides on the day, and a town-and-Escalier day is the natural swap if a sailing is called off.

What Should You Know Before Booking A Lavezzi Boat Trip?

Book through the operator's live listing, treat the reserve rules as the governing framework around the islands, wear closed-toe flat shoes for the Escalier du Roi d'Aragon, and keep the emergency numbers to hand: 112 as the EU number, 15 medical, 17 police, 18 fire, 196 sea rescue, and the PGHM mountain rescue line at Ajaccio on 04 95 24 24 00 for anything inland.

The safety numbers are worth repeating for a trip that straddles sea and cliff. At sea the reference is 196, reached by VHF channel 16, alongside 112. On land, the Escalier's closed-shoe rule is reported alongside its about-EUR 5 fee and monthly hours, so confirm those on the day. The UK FCDO notes a high wildfire risk in France from April to October, and the US State Department lists France at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution; both apply to Corsica as part of France.

The one thing worth doing early in a short stay is fixing the sea day, because it is the item most exposed to weather, and leaving the town and Escalier as the flexible half.

For other boat days on the island, the site carries the Sanguinaires boat trip from Ajaccio, the Calanques de Piana day trip on the west coast, and the Calvi to Girolata and Scandola day in the north-west.

Common Questions About Lavezzi Boat Trips In Corsica