Cheap ferry to Corsica: what really lowers the price

The month outweighs everything else

In our readings of 17 August 2026, the calendar is the leading price factor — but how much it weighs depends on the route. For a foot passenger in a reclining seat on Marseille–Ajaccio, the fare climbs to an average of €60.47 in August 2026 and falls back to around €35.82 on average in January 2027. Marseille–Bastia follows the same slope: €78.64 in August 2026 against €55.37 in January 2027. Toulon–Ajaccio stays far flatter: €33.51 on average in November 2026 against €43.71 in August 2026.

On the Marseille routes, the gap plays out between deep winter and the summer peak — months separate the top from the trough, not weeks. On Toulon–Ajaccio, the swing stays clearly narrower than on either Marseille route.

Two adults, two children and a car with a cabin on Marseille–Bastia start at €208.47 in August 2026 — the month averages €429.40 — and at €239.47 in January 2027.

The day of the week: a quieter lever

The day matters, without ever rivalling the month. On Marseille–Ajaccio, Tuesday comes out cheapest on average for the foot passenger, at €38.48, against €43.48 on Friday. Marseille–Bastia has its trough on

(€56.23 on average) and its peak on

(€66.04). Toulon–Ajaccio is almost flat: €37.13 on average on Wednesday, €41.05 on Saturday. On that route, picking your day shifts the average by only a few euros.

The departure port changes everything for the same island

For the same island, the port you board at weighs as much as the date. Here is what entry costs on each destination, port by port, for a foot passenger in a reclining seat.

The ranking by minimum is not the ranking by average: the cheapest port to get in is not necessarily the one holding the lowest prices across the whole window.

For Bastia the range is wider, and the floor is Italian. Worth noting: Marseille and Genoa close the list — the only ports on this destination served by a company other than Corsica Ferries.

The company matters, even on the same ship

Marseille–Ajaccio is the only one of the three routes served by two companies, La Méridionale and Corsica Linea, which share the line under a public service delegation and sell each other's crossings by allocation. For the foot passenger in a reclining seat, La Méridionale shows €34.92 at the minimum and €38.41 on average, and signs the large majority of the cheapest dates; Corsica Linea starts at €48.78 for €61.48 on average. On that exact profile, the gap between the two companies for one and the same crossing has reached €48.96.

The gap widens on heavier profiles. Still on that shared route, for the crossing of 30 August 2026 with two adults, two children, a car and a cabin, La Méridionale was showing €284.19 against €410.06 at Corsica Linea — €125.87 apart, one-way. Toulon–Ajaccio (Corsica Ferries alone) and Marseille–Bastia (Corsica Linea alone) offer no such comparison.

Among departures still ahead, the lowest foot-passenger fare across our three routes remains Toulon–Ajaccio at €27.50 on 28 October 2026 with Corsica Ferries; on Marseille–Ajaccio, the recorded floor is €34.92 on 23 August 2026 with La Méridionale.

These levers only matter, of course, if the ferry is the right mode for your trip. The full calculation — car taken along, rental avoided, carbon footprint — is set out in getting to Corsica by ferry.

One last lever, often the heaviest: almost nobody travels in one direction only. On a return trip, the reclining seat, the cabin and the car are all paid twice — we have set out what that changes, route by route, in what a return trip costs.