The best beaches in Bonifacio
Apart from the coves along the narrow harbour inlet, Bonifacio’s beaches lie outside the town. Piantarella and the two Sperone beaches are on the south-eastern tip, facing Piana island and the Lavezzi; Rondinara opens halfway to Porto-Vecchio. You need a car for each of them, then a walk of five to twenty-five minutes.
The beaches on the map
The beaches one by one
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Rondinara Beach
Fine white sand · About 5 minutes on foot
See the beach guide →An almost round bay, closed off by two headlands, where the water stays calm and shallow: with children, it is the easiest of the four. The sand is fine and white, and the car park at the end of the road is five minutes away on foot. Allow half an hour from Bonifacio harbour, along the T10 then the D158 through Suartone. In summer, the car park fills up early. A path leads to Rondinara point in less than an hour.
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Piantarella Beach
Sand and Posidonia banks, no white sand · About 5 min on foot from the small harbour
See the beach guide →A narrow strip of sand beside a shallow lagoon, with Piana island five hundred metres away. There is no white sand here: instead, banks of protected Posidonia, and a smell of seaweed in high summer. People come for the wind. The tourist office calls it the sportiest beach in Bonifacio, with a sailing school, windsurfing and wing foiling. It is also where you park to walk to the two Sperone beaches.
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Petit Sperone beach
Fine white sand · About 10 min from Piantarella
See the beach guide →About a hundred metres of fine white sand facing east towards Piana island, some ten minutes on foot from Piantarella along the shore. It is the smallest of the four and very busy in July and August: come before 10am or after 5pm. It borders the Bouches de Bonifacio nature reserve, smoking is not allowed, and the path is not suitable for wheelchairs.
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Grand Sperone Beach
Very fine white sand · About 25 min on foot from Piantarella
See the beach guide →The larger of the two Sperone beaches: a curve of very fine white sand about 200 m long, facing due south, with Sardinia and the Lavezzi on the horizon. No road goes down to it. You leave the car at Piantarella and walk for about 25 minutes, past Petit Sperone and then along an earth path beside the golf course. The shade of the pines stops at the path: bring your own for the sand. In an easterly wind, choose another beach.
Where to stay near the Bonifacio beaches
For Piantarella and the two Sperone beaches, the closest area is the Santa Manza road, east of the town. For Rondinara, look around Suartone. Our page on Bonifacio describes each area and where to stay in it. For the rest of your trip, from Porto-Vecchio to Ajaccio, our guide to south Corsica lists the best bases to explore from, with driving times.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best beach in Bonifacio?
It depends on what you are looking for. Rondinara has the calmest water and a car park five minutes from the sand. Grand Sperone takes a 25-minute walk, but it has more space and a view of the Lavezzi. Piantarella is better for sailing than for swimming.
Which Bonifacio beaches can you reach by car?
Rondinara and Piantarella have a car park at the end of the road, about five minutes’ walk from the sand. For the two Sperone beaches, you park at Piantarella and walk for 10 or 25 minutes. We found no bus route to these beaches.
Which beach is best between Bonifacio and Porto-Vecchio?
Rondinara, halfway between the two: about half an hour’s drive from Bonifacio harbour or from Porto-Vecchio, along the T10 then the D158. Further north, Palombaggia is the main beach at Porto-Vecchio.