On Localrent, Corsica means Bastia: it is the only Corsican town in the pick-up list for France (checked on 6 October 2026). A Renault Clio is listed there at €32 a day for a week in October 2026 and €42 a day for a week in July 2027, with a €1,500 deposit even on the fullest insurance, at €18 a day. The number one trap: tracks such as the 12 km of rough ground to Saleccia are excluded from the contract. Here is what to book, when, and what to check before you pay.
The essentials before you book (checked 6 October 2026)
You do not cover ground quickly on this island of 183 km by 83: no motorway at all, just two short expressway sections near Ajaccio and Bastia (Wikipedia). The figures to know:
- From €31 a day: manual Renault Clio, pick-up at Bastia-Poretta airport, 14 days from 9 to 23 October 2026 for €434. A week in July 2027: €42 a day, or €294.
- One Corsican pick-up point: Localrent’s list for France has 19 towns, and only Bastia is on the island.
- €1,500 deposit (refundable) on the Clio offer we read, the same under all three insurance levels.
- €18 a day for the fullest level: €252 over 14 days, €686 in total.
- 15% advance online (€65.10 of €434), the balance when you collect the keys.
These figures come from pages read on 6 October 2026. Prices move: read them as a dated snapshot, not as an offer.
Where to collect the car: Bastia at Localrent, other airports elsewhere
Localrent is not a rental company: it is a platform that shows offers from small local firms. Its pick-up list for France has 19 towns, only one of them in Corsica: Bastia. There is no Ajaccio, Figari or Calvi page. If your flight lands there, you are left with the airport rental desks: the ADAC comparison lists stations in five towns and at the four airports.
| Option | What we read |
|---|---|
| Localrent, pick-up in Bastia | Four offers for 9–23 October 2026, from €31 a day; unlimited mileage |
| Big brands (ADAC comparison) | Small car from €42.76 a day (no dates given); credit card with PIN |
| Your own car on the ferry | Nice–Ajaccio 6 h 45, Marseille–Bastia 11 h 30; with a car and four adults, up to €700 in summer (Corsica Lovers blog, 19 May 2026) |
To start from Bastia, open the Localrent France page, which compares local rental firms, choose “Bastia” in the “Pick-up” list and set your dates.
The prices: October 2026 against July 2027
Localrent shows the price for the whole rental period. The same four cars appeared on the Bastia page on 6 October 2026 for two weeks of seven days:
| Car | 9–16 October 2026 | 10–17 July 2027 |
|---|---|---|
| Manual Renault Clio (cheapest offer) | €224 (€32 a day) | €294 (€42 a day) |
| Renault Clio (two other offers) | €273 (€39 a day) | €322 (€46 a day) |
| Automatic Citroën C3 Aircross | €385 (€55 a day) | €595 (€85 a day) |
The cheapest Clio costs €70 more in July (€294 against €224, +31%), over the same duration. That says nothing about other months: we only read these two weeks. For 14 days in October the offer showed €31 a day (€434); Localrent writes that the longer the rental, the better the daily rate. ADAC showed the same day a small car from €42.76, a compact from €49.47 and an SUV from €49.90 a day, with no dates: headline prices, not an offer.
Fuel comes on top. Euro 95 averaged €2.213 a litre in France (European Commission, week of 28 September 2026; a national average, not a Corsican price). Bastia–Ajaccio (148 km), at an assumed 6 litres per 100 km: 148 × 0.06 = 8.88 litres × €2.213 = about €20. The 6 litres is an assumption. The car goes back with the same fuel level as at pick-up; any surplus is not refunded. The full-trip sum is in the one-week Corsica budget.
Deposit and insurance: three levels, one deposit
On the cheapest offer (the Clio at €31 a day) the page describes three levels. Under each one sits the same amount: a €1,500 deposit, refundable.
| Level | Price | What the page ticks |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum | free | Third-party liability (TPL); no collision damage, no glass and tyres |
| Basic | €3 a day | Limited collision cover (CDW) and TPL; no glass or tyres |
| Full Coverage (“we recommend”) | €18 a day | “SuperCDW” and TPL |
For 14 days: €18 × 14 = €252, so €434 + €252 = €686, €49 a day on average and 58% more than the bare rental. The 15% advance rises to €102.90 and €583.10 is left at pick-up.
Two things stand out. Insurance does not lower the deposit on this offer: €1,500 is blocked in all three cases, so check your card limit. And the “Full Coverage” level shows two ticked lines and no exclusion, whereas Localrent’s terms say standard insurance does not cover damage to wheels, undercarriage, windscreen and interior: ask in writing.
For the deposit the page names Visa and Mastercard (debit or credit) and American Express (debit); under the terms, a physical credit card in the main driver’s name may be required for some offers. Localrent says half the vehicles on its platform ask for less than €300; the Bastia offer showed €1,500. At the desk, the European Consumer Centre Germany warns of insurance added without consent and scratches billed after return: photograph the car at pick-up and at return.
The roads: real distances, animals and tracks
Distances calculated on 6 October 2026 with the OSRM route calculator (OpenStreetMap data), without stops or traffic:
| Route | Distance | Calculated driving time |
|---|---|---|
| Bastia-Poretta airport → Calvi | 97 km | 1 h 43 |
| Bastia → Ajaccio | 148 km | 2 h 23 |
| Bastia → Porto-Vecchio | 145 km | 2 h 38 |
| Bastia → Centuri (Cap Corse) | 55 km | 1 h 04 |
| Ajaccio → Bonifacio | 130 km | 2 h 07 |
That is an average of 51 to 62 km/h. A local site (bestincorsica.fr) gives 2 h 40 for the same 148 km: read our times as a floor.
Animals. The Corsica Lovers blog names cows, pigs, goats and donkeys on the carriageway as the main danger, and advises against a very wide car or the smallest engine. On the west coast of Cap Corse it mentions narrow sections where you can only just pass a large bus, and suggests driving them early in the morning.
Tracks. Localrent’s terms allow rental cars only on paved public roads. The track to Saleccia beach in the Agriate is not one of them: Corsica Lovers describes “12 km of bumpy track” from Casta and advises against it without a 4×4. The alternative is the boat from Saint-Florent (25 minutes to Saleccia according to Corsica Lovers; in bad weather the boats do not run).
The Chemins de fer de la Corse train serves only a few lines: Bastia–Corte–Ajaccio (3 h 25 according to Wikipedia, four return trips) and Calvi (one return trip from Bastia, 2 h 44); timetables on cf-corse.corsica. To choose a region, read where to stay in Corsica: north or south; the south is covered in one week in southern Corsica.
Your own car on the ferry, or a car on the spot
Two questions get mixed up: bringing your own car, and boarding the hire car.
The hire car. ADAC says using ferries with a rental car from Corsica is neither allowed nor insured, and Carigami (17 September 2026) that many rental companies ban boarding a ferry to Corsica. Localrent’s terms only ask you to tell the rental company before travelling abroad: get the permission in writing.
Your own car. We could not read live ferry fares on the shipping companies’ sites. Ask for the price for your dates (car, passengers, cabin) and set it against a rental quote. Our budget article concludes that for two people over a week, a flight plus a rental is almost always simpler; for a family with a lot of luggage over two weeks, the ferry becomes competitive again.
Booking: steps, the 24-hour rule, cancellation
According to Localrent’s guide, the list is sorted by price, delivery costs included; the “?” icon shows the deposit; the advance is paid by bank card; the voucher arrives by e-mail and is shown at pick-up. For an airport pick-up, give your flight number.
The 24 hours. If the return time is later than the pick-up time, one day is added: pick-up on Saturday at 13:00, return a week later at 17:00 means eight days, about €42 more at the July rate.
Cancellation is free until 7 days before (30 days for luxury cars and convertibles), or 24 hours before with the “Free cancellation” option. 6% of the amount paid stays: €3.91 on €65.10. A cancellation made in time is refunded within 14 days; later, Localrent keeps the advance.
Documents. Passport, licence and bank card. The offer we opened states 21 to 75 years and one year of driving experience; copies and electronic licences are refused; the phone number given must stay reachable during the rental and the day before pick-up.
Can you trust the platform? On Trustpilot, Localrent shows 4.6 out of 5 and more than 5,300 reviews on 6 October 2026, 86% with five stars and 5% with one; the company replies to 97% of negative reviews, usually within 24 hours. The one- and two-star reviews from August and September 2026 that we looked through mostly concern other countries (Turkey, Montenegro, Portugal); none that names a place mentions Corsica. They describe cars cancelled or swapped shortly before pick-up, insurance refused after damage, sums asked for at the desk. Under the terms, if the rental company cannot supply the booked car, it must supply one of the same or a higher class at the same price.
The traps and how to avoid them
- The pick-up point: only Bastia is in the list; check before buying your flight.
- Tracks: the terms allow paved public roads only; for Saleccia, take the boat.
- Fuel: same level as at pick-up, any surplus is lost.
- The deposit: €1,500 is blocked at every level.
- Damage: tell the rental company at once and get a police report, otherwise the insurance is cancelled.
Before you pay: the checklist
- Is the pick-up point Bastia, and does it fit your flight?
- What is the deposit, on which card, and when is it returned?
- What does your level say about glass, tyres and undercarriage? Ask in writing.
- Is the return time no later than the pick-up time?
- Do you have the original licence, and the age and experience the offer requires?
- Is a number with WhatsApp reachable, and do you have a plan B at the airport?
If those lines are right, you can open the offer for your dates and pay only the 15% advance today. The balance is paid when you collect the keys in Bastia.
