FlashFerryBook the cabin early
Inside cabins sell out first on summer sailings. Without one you spend twelve hours in a reclining seat, which works but makes for a poor night. Outside cabins cost more and are usually worth it.
Route · Mediterranean · Corsica Linea & La Méridionale
The classic overnight crossing to Corsica: Corsica Linea and La Méridionale sail from Marseille in the early evening and berth in Ajaccio around twelve hours later, at first light. You sleep in a cabin, your vehicle stays on the car deck, and the holiday starts right at the port of the Corsican capital.
Corsica Linea and La Méridionale run the route all year, but not daily, and the pattern changes with the season.
| Departure | Arrival | Duration | Operator | Ship |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:15 | 07:00 (+1) | 765 min | La Meridionale | Piana |
From Marseille the ship passes the Frioul islands and crosses the western Mediterranean to the Gulf of Ajaccio on the west coast of Corsica. The port sits at the entrance to the town, opposite the railway station.
The calculator adds a vehicle surcharge to the live passenger fare. The surcharges are derived from published fares for this route (as of August 2026) and are for orientation – the price in the booking flow is the binding one.
How the total price adds up
Two operators, several ships, one idea: board in the evening, wake up in Corsica.
The red ships are the face of the Corsica routes and sail roughly every other day year-round. Depending on the date the Paglia Orba, Pascal Paoli or Capu Rossu covers Marseille–Ajaccio. Since 5 January 2026 a carbon contribution of €5 per person and €8 per vehicle per crossing applies.
The second Marseille operator belongs to the CMA CGM group and runs the Piana and the Girolata. Its ships carry a lot of freight alongside passengers, which usually means quiet cabins and competitive fares.
Flying takes just over an hour, but leaves you needing a hire car in Corsica. Bringing your own car, camper or motorbike saves the rental and lets you load luggage without a weight limit.
What separates a restful night at sea from a long one.
Inside cabins sell out first on summer sailings. Without one you spend twelve hours in a reclining seat, which works but makes for a poor night. Outside cabins cost more and are usually worth it.
Corsica Linea asks foot passengers to arrive around 90 minutes before departure, and earlier with a vehicle. Access to the northern terminals is busy on summer evenings, so add half an hour of slack.
The cruise car parks at Cap Janet are explicitly not open to passengers on Corsica and Maghreb ferries. Port car parks run at roughly €12–20 per day, which adds up over a fortnight. Note that many rental agreements do not allow the car to leave mainland France by sea.
Both operators carry pets, but they must be declared when booking. Corsica is part of France and the EU, so EU pet passport rules apply for animals coming from within the Union; travellers arriving from outside the EU should check the entry rules for France before booking.
Taking your own vehicle to Corsica
Corsica is mountainous, its roads are narrow and rail coverage is thin. Seeing the island properly needs a vehicle, and over several weeks your own is nearly always cheaper than a peak-season rental.
Around twelve hours. Across the August 2026 sailings we sampled, crossing times ranged from 11 to 14 hours; overnight ships sail deliberately slowly so that arrival falls in the morning.
The standard departure is 18:15, arriving between 06:45 and 08:00 depending on the ship. A few daytime sailings leave in the morning and take about eleven hours. The route is not daily – check the live timetable above.
Corsica Linea and La Méridionale, both year-round. Corsica Linea runs the Paglia Orba, Pascal Paoli and Capu Rossu; La Méridionale the Piana and the Girolata.
Fares depend heavily on season, cabin and vehicle. In our August 2026 sample, foot passenger fares started around €45 per person; with a car and a cabin a one-way ticket in high season is considerably more. Live prices are shown in the timetable above.
It is not compulsory – reclining seats are available. On a twelve-hour night crossing a cabin makes a real difference, and the cheaper grades sell out early in summer.
Corsica Ferries sails to Corsica from Toulon and Nice, sometimes with shorter crossings. Marseille offers more Corsican destinations and a more direct approach from the north on the A7. The practical difference is mostly timetable and availability rather than journey time.
All Corsica Linea and La Méridionale sailings between Marseille and Ajaccio compared – booking direct with the operator, at no extra cost.
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