Marseille–Ajaccio: what our readings show
Two companies operate on the Marseille–Ajaccio route: La Méridionale and Corsica Linea. They share the route under a public service delegation and each sells its own allocation of places, with its own fares and its own availability. Our readings of 14 September 2026 cover departures from September to December 2026, then dates in January 2027. The entry price of the window belongs to the foot passenger with a reclining seat: €35.82 one way, with La Méridionale, for a departure on 11 October 2026 — a level our readings meet again on several other autumn and early-winter dates.
La Méridionale holds every average, but not every floor
For the foot passenger with a reclining seat, La Méridionale starts from €35.82 and shows €43.47 on average; Corsica Linea starts from €57.78 for €57.78 on average. On the packages with a vehicle, the ranking splits in two. On the average, La Méridionale stays ahead on all three: €137.91 against €143.88 for one adult with a car and a cabin, €170.73 against €188.99 for two adults, €223.54 against €258.32 for two adults and two children.
At the floor, the best price changes hands. For one adult with a car and a cabin it goes to Corsica Linea, €128.06 against €130.19; for two adults the gap at the floor comes down to almost nothing, €159.01 against €172.84. Once two children are added, the floor goes back to La Méridionale: €206.65 against €251.40. Reading the entry fare or the average therefore does not point to the same company on this route.
The two companies sometimes sell places on the same ship. On the Marseille–Ajaccio crossing of 18 October 2026, operated by the Pascal Paoli, the two adults, two children, car and cabin package was recorded at €266.40 with Corsica Linea and at €466.65 with La Méridionale, a gap of €200.25 one way. The split covers the ship and the allocation of places: neither the departure time offered nor the type of cabin sold is measured by our readings.
September 2026 at the peak, January 2027 at the floor
For the foot passenger with a reclining seat, the average peaks in September 2026 at €45.29, a month whose minimum nonetheless touches the floor of the window, €35.82 on 22 September 2026. After that the level settles down: €43.46 on average in October 2026, €42.32 in November 2026, €42.76 in December 2026, then €42.50 in January 2027. November 2026 and January 2027 close the window at the bottom, level with each other: over those two months minimum and average coincide, and no recorded departure moves off the floor.
With a car and a cabin, the spread is of another order. One adult alone pays €153.54 on average in September 2026 against €134.99 in January 2027. Two adults move from €193.53 in September 2026 to €169.84 in January 2027. For four, two adults and two children, the average falls from €252.58 in September 2026 to €223.62 in January 2027.
Wednesday rather than Sunday
Across the week, Tuesday is the cheapest day for a foot passenger with a reclining seat, at €42.53 on average; Saturday is the dearest, at €45.84. Thursday (€43.03) and Tuesday (€42.53) follow close behind, while Friday (€45.51) and Saturday (€45.84) sit in the upper half.
The eight best dates recorded are all at the same price, €35.82, and all with La Méridionale: Sunday 11 October 2026, Sunday 6 December 2026, Thursday 26 November 2026, Tuesday 22 December 2026, Tuesday 5 January 2027, Monday 19 October 2026, Friday 1 January 2027 and Thursday 24 December 2026. From October to December 2026 the foot-passenger entry fare therefore does not move: on this profile the date does not make the floor price, it makes the monthly average.
Leaving from another port for Ajaccio
From Marseille, the crossing to Ajaccio starts from €35.82 with La Méridionale, for €44.00 on average. Two mainland ports go below that floor: Toulon, at €27.26 for a departure on 1 January 2027 with Corsica Ferries (€42.73 on average), and Nice, at €35.00 for a departure on 29 September 2026 with Corsica Ferries (€38.50 on average). Sète stays just above Marseille, at €41.00 for a departure on 27 September 2026 (€41.00 on average). On the average the order is reshuffled: Nice comes first (€41.00), Marseille takes second (€44.00) ahead of Sète (€38.50), and Toulon closes the ranking (€42.73) after opening the one for minimums. The port with the lowest entry fare is therefore not the one with the best average: Toulon opens the ranking of minimums, Nice that of averages.
From €67.96 to €200.25 of gap depending on the package
The widest gap recorded between the two companies on a single crossing grows with the package. It reaches €67.96 for a foot passenger with a reclining seat, €127.13 for one adult with a car and a cabin, €160.17 for two adults, and €200.25 for two adults and two children. On the foot passenger profile, taking the cheaper of the two companies represents 26.9% in average savings; on the package for one adult with a car and a cabin, 9.2%.
A foot passenger return trip assembled from two departures actually recorded comes to €72.77: €35.82 outbound on 22 September 2026 and €36.95 back on 6 October 2026, with La Méridionale in both directions. The return direction, Ajaccio–Marseille, is the subject of separate readings.