ENG Camping Resort Riva Bella (Corsica)

Choice of place for naturist vacation

After years of summer holidays spent on the mountains, in Italy or abroad, in places where it is always possible to find nearby a spa or a wellness center with sauna, this year we decide for a naturist holiday at the sea. Surfing on the internet in search of official sites, given the extreme national shortage, we direct our preferences to France, a country very different by ours in terms of culture and naturist legislation. In fact, typing "French naturism" on Google's search bar, many and many suggestions comes out . We discard everything that with naturism has nothing to do (see Cap d'Adge) and we access the "France 4 Naturisme", a site translated also into Italian (https://it.france4naturisme.com) that brings together and promotes eight French naturist villages and campings, among which the most interesting, and even closer to us, is the Riva Bella Thalasso & Spa Resort, a village on the east coast of Corsica, more or less halfway between Bastia and Porto Vecchio.

Accomodation

We have never been to Corsica and neither in a naturist village. Which better opportunity to bridge both gaps? Continuing to surf, we find that in Corsica there are three similar structures on the east coast: the Corsicana Club and Bagheera, a few kilometers further north of Riva Bella, and La Chiappa, in the Porto Vecchio area. However, we remain oriented to the first choice, the Riva Bella, especially considering the presence of Thalassotherapy and Spa center and a free seaside sauna available to customers. We book from August 15th to 25th a masonry bungalow of the type "Oriente" consisting of a double bedroom and a bedroom with two bunk beds, bathroom with shower (of course without bidet) and kitchen on the veranda. The building is not directly on the beach but stands in the second row, on the large dune that divides the beach from the Terenzana pond. Overall we pay 1400 euros, price a bit expensive but, considering the high season period and the utilities included (bedding, light, water, gas, waste disposal, final cleaning, etc.), at the end we evaluate that it is quite reasonable. Our endowment also includes the use of two sun loungers. We will find them on the beach appropriately marked with the same number as the one of the bungalow assigned to us.

Arrival

The Moby Ferry we booked leaves at 8pm from Livorno Harbor. To reach Livorno from our home, we have to ride the Cisa Pass. Taking it easy and driving calmly, it takes about three hours. Considering that, in order to better carry out the embarkation, the company asks to be present at least an hour and a half in advance, we need to wake up one more time in the middle of the night. In fact we leave from home at three o'clock and, as expected, arrive at the harbor few minutes past six . Being August 15th, an Italian National Holiday, the ferry is not very crowded, there are many people and cars, but certainly it is not overfull. The boarding therefore completes quite quickly and we leave at eight o'clock perfectly on time. The sea crossing takes place in tranquility, calm sea, sunny, slightly ventilated, total duration of five hours, including exit and entrances from ports. We land at Bastia around 13.20 and we drivw in direction of Porto Vecchio. After some forced tours and a couple of directional errors due to bad signal interpretation, we finally get to the Bastia-Porto Vecchio highway, the T11 (Route Territoriale 11), which up to the airport is a large four-way roads, two for each direction. Passing the airport the road becomes two lanes and changes name to T10.

We drive for about fifty chilometrs until we see a big sign indicating Riva Bella Thalasso Spa Resort - Plage Naturist FKK. We turn for the small left road that winds for two kilometers between the dunes and the Mediterranean bush, so we get to the bar at the reception.

The lady who welcomes us is very kind, he speaks Italian so we do not have any problems getting the main instructions and so to get into the bungalow we rented, the bungalow number 60.

The village

The camping / village develops essentially around the pond of Terenzana, "a salt pond, which is why it does not attract the mosquito colonies, on the contrary, the presence of geckos and numerous amphibians that feed them has the effect that the pond, which communicates with the sea in some places, is a major habitat for wild species, which has remained a natural area protected by the high pollution, and the vegetation and fauna that inhabit it recall the natural landscapes of the ' was premodern ". On the main dune separating the pond from the beach there are several bungalows of various types: Alba and Onda (in the map respectively in pink and green) are those immediately built close to the beach, while the others (Oriente, Paradisu, Costa Serena, etc .) are in the second and third row, on the dune in the middle of the trees and shrubs of the Mediterranean scrub. The camping area is mainly located north of the pond, but there are still many other areas, to the west and south, where we saw caravans and camper tents. At Riva Bella there is a lot of space.

At the friendly reception desk some employees speak Italian (among them there is an Italian girl who probably makes the working season over there), they are available from 8am to 8pm to support our stay and life in the village, as well as to provide information on request, including the tourist info. Complete the category of services an "essential" mini market where in the morning you can buy classic baguettes and croissants for breakfast, a laundromat, an accettable restaurant, outdoor fitness equipment area and a playground for children smaller. There is no animation, but every night at the restaurant there is always some initiative: group aperitif, disco (very soft), traditional music running. Or it is the management of the village that organizes activities for tourists such as morning gymnastics. One evening, inside the village we also had the show of a small circus, the circus Francesco.

It also deserves a mention aside from the presence in the village of Thalasso Spa, a seaside wellness center where you can spend some time on body care (paid treatments), and a free sauna on the beach every day from 16 to 20.

Many French tourists, but also many Germans and Italians.

Nudism

The beach and the village are completely naturist, nudism is almost obligatory on the beach and encouraged in all the remaining areas of the village. Exceptions are the restaurant and the mini market to access which is required to cover at least with shorts or a pareo. The dress code of the village also indicates that it is given the faculty to cover the teens of both sexes who, given the particular age, might still have some shame in completely undressing.

The naturist beach belonging to the Riva Bella domain is over one kilometer long, walking north, past a small promontory with some rocks, you can still stay naked given that beach is free and there are no buildings for several kilometers. We did not get there but we imagine that walking for another 3-4 kilometers beyond the rocks we could have reached the naturist village Bagheera. Towards south instead, two to three hundred meters after thalassotherapy, a sign indicates the end of the naturist beach. Here we come to the beach of Tallone, who is not naturist. Although not crowded, nudists are required to cover themselves if they are walking around. This beach "allows those who live the first holiday naturist experience to integrate progressively."