The Campu Rumanilu trail, which is also known as the Bonifacio Cliff Walk, is possibly the best walk in Bonifacio, Corsica. By doing this walk, you’ll enjoy excellent views of the town of Bonifacio as well as the spectacular white sandstone cliffs that surround it.
Personally, Beck and I extended the walk to Capo Pertusato. By doing so, we visited the Lighthouse of Pertusato and enjoyed stunning views of Saint Antoine Beach.
Below, we’ll run through all of the necessary details you need to know to do the Campu Rumanilu trail. We’ll also cover details about extending the walk to Capo Pertusato.
Table of Contents
Campu Rumanilu: Walk Overview
The Bonifacio Cliffs are one of the most epic natural attractions in Corsica. The iconic white sandstone cliffs that overlook the incredibly turquoise sea are what Bonifacio is known for.
By doing the Campu Rumanilu trail, you’ll get to walk along a long stretch of the magnificent Bonifacio Cliffs. This gives you the best opportunity to get up close and personal with these majestic cliffs.
The trail meanders along the coastline, revealing unique views and angles of the cliffs. You’ll definitely want your camera at the ready during this walk.
Below, we’ll look at the trail specs for Campu Rumanilu.
Trail Specs
- Type: Out & Back
- Distance: 3.5km
- Time: 1–1.5 hours
- Accumulated elevation gain: 130m
- Difficulty: Easy
- Trailhead: Col Saint Roch (Google Maps)
The Campu Rumanilu trail is a reasonably short and easy walk. The trail gently undulates along the coast on an easy-to-follow track.
Campu Rumanilu Map
Despite Campu Rumanilu being a straightforward route to follow, we still recommend using a map. That’s because the trail isn’t very well signposted. For that reason, we recommend using a map (such as this AllTrails map) to help with navigation, just in case.
How to Get to Bonifacio
If you’re staying in Bonifacio, you can simply walk to the trailhead from your accommodation. But, if you’re visiting Bonifacio for the day, the easiest way to get there is by driving. Unfortunately, reaching Bonifacio by public transport isn’t straightforward or time-efficient.
Car Hire
If you don’t have your own car, you should hire one using Discover Cars. Personally, we use Discover Cars and highly recommend them for finding your ideal car hire at an affordable price. Booking online is super easy and the free cancellation policy is great.
To find out more about renting a car with Discover Cars, read our Discover Cars review and Discover Cars Insurance review.
Campu Rumanilu Parking
Unfortunately, there is no free parking in Bonifacio. Even worse, all car parks in Bonifacio charge extortionate fees for parking.
Personally, Beck and I stayed just north of Bonifacio in Bancarello, so we were able to walk to Bonifacio from our accommodation to start the walk.
Having visited Bonifacio, we believe the best places to park are around Bonifacio Marina (Capitainerie du Port de Bonifacio), such as Parking P1 Marine. By parking in this area, you’ll avoid the drive into Haute Ville (the Upper Town), where most parking options are much further away from the trailhead.
From Parking P1 Marine, it’s around a 700 metre walk to the trailhead of Campu Rumanilu.
Trail Highlights
As mentioned, we recommend using a map to help you find your way along Campu Rumanilu. To that end, we don’t see the point in providing a tedious step-by-step trail description. Instead, we’ll give a brief overview of the walk, highlighting the main points of interest.
Trailhead: Col Saint Roch
Campu Rumanilu starts from Col Saint Roch in Bonifacio. This viewpoint is located next to Saint Roch Chapel, situated between Haute Ville and the marina, offering splendid views of the Bonifacio Cliffs.
From this viewpoint, you’ll steeply ascend a paved path, walking away from Bonifacio. At the end of this path, with the elevation that you’ve gained, you’ll enjoy one of the best views of Haute Ville.
Beyond this path, you’ll soon enter the Bouches de Bonifacio Nature Reserve, where you’ll follow more natural trails amongst increased greenery. Soon enough, along the walk, you’ll catch more glimpses of the sensational Bonifacio Cliffs.
Bonifacio Cliffs
The Bonifacio Cliffs (AKA the White Cliffs of Bonifacio) are one of the most outstanding features of the Bouches de Bonifacio, which translates in English to the Strait of Bonifacio. This strait is a narrow body of water that separates Corsica and Sardinia. It’s also where the Tyrrhenian and western Mediterranean Seas meet.
By walking along Campu Rumanilu, not only will you enjoy splendid views of the Bonifacio Cliffs, but you’ll also have great views of Sardinia and Haute Ville.
As mentioned, Campu Rumanilu is a relatively short out and back walk. If you want to extend the walk to explore more of the Bonifacio Cliffs and the Straight of Bonifacio, we highly recommend extending the walk to Capo Pertusato.
Extending the Walk to Capo Pertusato
By extending the walk to Capo Pertusato, you’ll walk an extra 5km or so, adding around 1–1.5 hours to the walk. If you like to be prepared (like I do), feel free to use this Wikiloc map to aid navigation from Bonifacio to Capo Pertusato.
Beck and I adored the stunning Bonifacio Cliffs, and so we were more than happy to extend the walk. That way, we enjoyed even more great vantage points and views of the cliffs. Eventually, you’ll reach Capo Pertusato, where you’ll reach the Lighthouse of Pertusato.
Lighthouse of Pertusato
Dating back to the 19th Century, the Lighthouse of Pertusato is undoubtedly one of the most exquisite lighthouses in Corsica. From the lighthouse, you’ll enjoy mega views over towards Bonifacio and in the opposite direction to Sardinia.
FYI – it’s also possible to drive to the Lighthouse of Pertusato by parking here.
Plage de Saint Antoine (Saint Antoine Beach)
From the Lighthouse of Pertusato, you’re only a short distance from an epic lookout that overlooks Saint Antoine Beach. This viewpoint is one of the most underrated in Corsica. The views of the beach from the lookout are truly breathtaking.
Beck and I sat at the lookout for some time, admiring the views. We also flew our beloved drone here. If you want to see some aerial footage of Saint Antoine Beach, the Bonifacio Cliffs and Campu Rumanilu, feel free to watch our Corsica Walks YouTube video (coming soon).
DJI Air 2S
Capture breathtaking aerial photography and videography with the DJI Air 2S. The DJI Air 2S Fly More Combo comes with all of the necessary accessories such as the remote controller, spare batteries and battery charger.
Once you have soaked in the views from the lookout, you have two options. You can either simply retrace your steps back to Bonifacio via Campu Rumanilu. The other option is to head to Saint Antoine Beach before returning to Bonifacio.
There is a steep trail from the lighthouse to the beach, but it’s a bit sketchy. The safer option is accessing a trail to the beach from here.
Personally, Beck and I were already buggered after doing Strada Vecia Madonetta in the morning and exploring Haute Ville and Escalier du Roi d’Aragon around midday. So, we decided not to head onto the beach, retracing our steps back to Bonifacio.
Other Walks In Bonifacio
In addition to the Campu Rumanilu trail, there are several other great walks in Bonifacio. Below, we’ll show you a few other popular walks in Bonifacio that we personally did.
Escalier du Roi d’Aragon
Escalier du Roi d’Aragon (King of Aragon’s Staircase) is a nifty set of steep steps and a prevailing trail carved into the cliffside of Bonifacio. Exploring the 45-degree angled staircase, featuring 187 (or 189, depending on what you read) steps, is a memorable experience.
It’s only a short distance trail from Haute Ville, but as you can imagine, the steps are very, very steep. So it’s a brief but physically demanding adventure!
Strada Vecia Madonetta
As mentioned, Beck and I completed Strada Vecia Madonetta in the morning before doing the Campu Rumanilu trail. Strada Vecia Madonetta explores beautiful hidden beaches and a stunning lighthouse, while also offering great views of Bonifacio.
Read more: Strada Vecia Madonetta – An Excellent Coastal Walk in Bonifacio
Capo di Feno Walk
Unlike Campu Rumanilu, Escalier du Roi d’Aragon and Strada Vecia Madonetta, the Capo di Feno Walk doesn’t start in the town of Bonifacio. The trailhead of the walk is an approx. 5–10 minute drive west of the town.
On this well-marked trail, you’ll explore a serene cape, featuring lovely wildflowers, rugged coastline and another noteworthy lighthouse.
Read more: Capo di Feno Bonifacio Walk (guide coming soon)
Where to Stay in Bonifacio
Bonifacio is one of the most beautiful places in Corsica, making it a popular place to stay. By staying in Bonifacio, you can simply walk to the trailhead of Campu Rumanilu. Below, we’ve highlighted the best accommodation options in Bonifacio.
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