GR 20 | ACCOMMODATION
Here you’ll find information about the accommodation options along the GR20, together with pictures of some of the huts we stayed at.
You can find more details about the accommodations we chose before and after the hike in the post OUR TRIP.
The Huts on the GR20
Along the GR20, there are huts offering accommodation. Most of them are refuges run by the PNRC (Parc Naturel Régional de Corse) and private bergeries, providing basic lodging options and services in a rustic environment.
BOOKING
The GR20 gets very crowded during the peak summer season, ranging from June to September.
If you are planning to hike the trail without carrying your own tent, we advise to book well in advance all the accommodations. This will make you lose flexibility on your hike, but at least you will be sure to have a place to sleep at night, either in a dorm bed or inside a hired tent. Refuges can be booked and paid online on the PNRC website, while calls or emails have to be made for reserving a place to sleep at private bergeries.
However, if you are bringing your own tent for camping on the GR20, reservations are not a must. You just have to decide what is more important to you, sparing some money or being more flexible along the trail. When booking a camping (bivouac) spot at the refuges online, it is indeed cheaper than showing up and paying directly on site. Upon reservation, you will anyway not secure yourself the best tent spot on the camping ground, since refuges follow the “first come, first served“ rule. Moreover, you will lose flexibility, which we think is very important along the GR20, in case of bad weather or injuries of any type that might force you to re-adapt your hiking schedule.
Even if we brought our own tent, we initially feared the overcrowded conditions along the trail, so we booked in advance a camping (bivouac) spot at the refuges for the first 3 stages. However, we soon realized that reservations were not necessary at all, since we always found a place to pitch our tent. We therefore stopped worrying and enjoyed the freedom that came by not knowing for sure where we were heading to sleep the next day.
The prices for sleeping at the refuges when booking online are:
Dorm Bed: 15 € per person
Hired Tent: 11 € for the tent, plus 7 € per person
Camping (bivouac) with own tent: 7 € per person (12 € without reservation)
DORM BEDS
All the refuges offer very basic dormitory style beds, equipped with mattresses only. You therefore need to bring your own sleeping bag. However, we strongly advise not to choose this accommodation option, as bed bugs are present everywhere along the GR20, and you definitely don’t want to risk getting bitten by those fuckers.
HIRED TENTS
We found that this was the most popular accommodation option chosen by hikers along the GR20, as it allows to drastically reduce the backpack weight, to avoid the struggles of pitching and packing up the tent every day, and to decrease the risk of meeting the infamous bed bugs.
The available tents are usually Quenchua pop-up shelters for two people, and are equipped with sleeping pads. However, booking in advance does not allow you to choose the best tent in terms of location and flatter ground, as the refuges follow the “first come, first served“ principle.
CAMPING (BIVOUAC)
This cheapest (and most hygienic) option is the one that allows you to have freedom and flexibility along the GR20, as it does not require booking in advance, but it comes with the cost of a havier backpack. Hikers can pitch their own tent and camp outside the refuges and bergeries, while still being allowed to use all the provided services and facilities. The camping spots vary in terms of location, views and ground level, so make sure to arrive in time for securing yourself a decent spot.
SERVICES AND FACILITIES
All the huts provide the following services and facilities:
SHOWERS AND TOILETS: these are always mixed gender and vary in terms of quality between the huts. Although also proper toilets and warm showers are present in some refuges, we mostly found dry or squatting toilets and cold showers, that we started appreciating after long days under the burning sun. It is important to note that you must have your own toilet paper and that most of the time it is allowed to dispose of it in trash bins only. Make sure you always have some backup toilet paper in your backpack, as it is not sold at all the huts.
ELECTRICITY: a shared socket can be found almost at every hut, for charging electronic devices. However, make sure to bring with you a power bank, in case that a charging station is not available.
SHOP: every hut on the GR20 has a shop, where it is possible to buy refreshing sodas, snacks, food (mostly can food), sausages and cheese. At times, they also sell bread and general toiletries, like tissues and toilet paper, tape, plasters, sunscreen and insect repellent.
WATER: every hut along the GR20 has a clean water source, where drinkable water can be collected for the next day.
FOOD: there is always a shared cooking area, where fuel is also provided. All the refuges offer a dinner and breakfast for an additional charge, and some of them even offer a picknick for the next stage, to be picked up in the evening. You will have the chance to reserve all these extra meals once you show up at the hut. Most of the times, the refuges offer breakfast early in the morning, at 06:00-06:30, and serve dinner at 18:30 in the evening.
Wildcamping
Wild camping is forbidden along the GR20. However, hikers can pitch their own tent near all the refuges on trail for a fee, and are therefore allowed to use all the provided services and facilities.
Leave No Trace Principle
I couldn’t help but notice how much trash was laying around on the trail. Please, make sure to respect the nature you are visiting by picking up and carrying your own trash, including dirty toilet papers, and to dispose of it at the next refuge.