We want to spend about five days in Corsica and wonder if there's one particular city we could base in to travel out for sights. Can anyone suggest the best base location for our first trip?

Remember corsica is a big island and the roads can be quite slow. If you are into mountains go to Corte which is a pretty town in the centre surrounded by mountains.
Calvi is very historic and has wonderful beaches but doesnt allow easy access to the rest of the island.
Try porte Veccio area if you want flatter white sandy beaches

www.corsicaguides.co.uk

Visiting Corsica this summer arriving in Ajaccio - is it worth staying in the townand any reccomendations about where to stay?

Also can anyone let me know what the mountain roads are like. I am planning to hire a car but I am a nervous driver.

By boat
From France, the simplest and fastest solution is the NGV (High Speed Boat, Navire à Grande Vitesse): it takes 2:45 to 3:30 to go from Nice to Calvi, l'Ile-Rousse, Ajaccio and Bastia, and you can enjoy the view of the Corsican seashore and arrive practically downtown. It is also possible to take regular ferries from Marseille, Nice and Toulon. You can also get to Corsica from Italy, leaving Genoa, Livorno, Savona or Sardinia.

By plane
There are four airports on the island: Ajaccio, Bastia, Calvi and Figari (next to Porto-Vecchio). There is unfortunately not much available for getting into the big cities from the airport, other than renting a car or hitching, though Bastia airport has an almost-every hour bus service to town for €8, except in the evening where the interval is bigger. The last bus leaves at 2245. British Airways fly to Corsica from England and Scotland.

source: http://wikitravel.org/en/Corsica

Hello to every body,

Taking this opportunity to introduce a destination way out in South east asia call "Bario highlands"
in the most interior part in the wild rainforest of Borneo.We organise a number of activities such as jungle trekking in the wild rainforest,boat ride,wild life watching in the wild of Borneo,Fishing,hunting and visits to native tribes' longhouse and experience their culture.

Bastia, Ajaccioa, Porto Vecchio, Calve, Corte, Bonifacio, Ile Rousse are really worth visiting. I can't give you any help of which from within those you should see, they're all great.

And the island is full of country places and smaller towns really, really worth finding. Corsica is a really, really super place.

I have mostly gone by bus and train, sometimes car, when I have visited. As Optional suggest, it does take quite a few hours to get between cities, for example from Bastia to Ajaccioa and from Ajaccio to Porto Vecchio by bus and train. The train journey from Bastia to Corte has lovely scenery.

Regarding getting to cities from airports, which the poster above mentions, I think there are buses or trains from each airport.

I used to get a bus and a train from Ajaccio airport to the city though in recent years I have only visited the island by boat.

You can send a message to Corsica Tourist Information if you require from the page:
http://www.corsica.net/corsica/uk/infos/index.htm

Every time I have checked in recent years also, there has been public transport by bus or train from each airport to the nearest city, though the last time was a few years ago.