French Atlantic islands?

I'm nearly certain there was something positive posted about Brehat relatively recently, but I sure can't find it. Maybe you're a better Googler than I am.

I've been to the British Channel Islands of Jersey and Guernsey and found them very worthwhile. I haven't yet visited any of the French islands you mentioned.

I believe that Jersey and/or Guernsey get cruise ships - and judging from photos I've seen, rather large ones. Did you find that problematic?

I haven't been to Guernsey since the huge upsurge in European tourism, so I have no useful information about it. I went to Jersey just last year, spending 4-1/2 days on the island in late July/early August. I didn't notice any monster cruise ships, though the ferry I took was rather large itself. I was outside central St. Helier most of the time, visiting various points of interest, so there could have been some tourist groups that I simply did not see. I'm pretty sure most of the tourists in the Channel Islands are from the UK, and such visitors would have been pretty much indistinguishable from locals to me.

If you're considering visiting the British Channel Islands, you might post a question specifically about them in the England Forum (somewhat inaccurate though that will be). We have quite a few posters who reside in the UK, and I'm not sure all of them will notice this post in the France Forum.

Edited to add: I wouldn't be surprised if the vast majority of summer visitors to the British Channel Islands are there for the beaches, because they are more likely to get sunny days there than at points north. I don't do beaches, so I would be oblivious to the presence of those tourists. I hardly saw any other tourists during my time on Jersey.

I have been to Noirmoutier, Re and Oleron of those you have noted.

In France, anything before the end of the first week in July is “off” season, so you needn’t go as early as May to escape the crowds. Mid June would give you hopefully warmer weather.

Noirmoutier is an upmarket beach holiday destination, with most houses costing well in excess of €1m.

Ditto Re. There is a good network of cycle paths here and some pretty villages.

I preferred Oleron to Re. It’s more a proper place, rather than just a holiday home island. There’s a castle and some interesting places to explore both on and off the island. There are many cycle paths, but they weren’t in as good a condition as those on Re. Oysters are grown here in their millions.

Among islands in Brittany you have quite a wide choice. But among the ones you mentioned, you are right, some of them are only rocks, some even reachable on foot at low tide (Cezembre, Petit and Grand Bé in St Malo), or anyway not places to stay on (île Vierge, Bono). All the others you mentioned are good places to stay, depending on what you expect : for rather wild and sometimes obscure landscapes, Ouessant, Molène or Sein are very beautiful islands. If you expect a larger island or a bit more people around, Belle-Ile or Bréhat are better choices. You may also consider islands in the gulf of Morbihan (Arz, île aux Moines).
Further south, île d'Yeu has quite much in common with Breton islands.

When I read you title I thought you meant St Pierre and Miquelon! Didnt know I lived in the Atlantic!
But cruise boats, Guernsey gets a lot more than Jersey, because we have deep water anchorage, this season we have had about 100, which is pretty average. But there is never more than 2, probably maximum of 7,000 people on a rare day, the largest boats we get in are about 4,500, which are not the super huge ones. But you can check in the new year for the 2019 cruise boat schedule.
http://www.harbours.gg/article/153967/Schedule

So did I, Caro!

The deep-water port in Guernsey explains why I wasn't aware of large cruise ships in Jersey.

One thing I'll warn about: I like islands, so I've been to quite a few of them in Europe. Looking back, some of them--though perfectly pleasant--simply were not worth (to me) the time it took to get to them. Very often I had to first get myself to a coastal town I hadn't otherwise planned to visit (sometimes changing hotels in the process), then I had to go to the port well in advance to buy a ferry ticket, then there was the time on the ferry itself.

A lot of the gushing online reviews (TripAdvisor, I mean) of islands seem to be based on the presence of decent-to-beautiful beaches that are a lot less crowded than those on the mainland. This is understandable when you consider the massive overcrowding on many European beaches, but I am not interested in beaches, so that's not what I'm looking for when I go to an island in Europe.

Unless you are seeking a nice beach day, I suggest that you dig a little deeper about what there is to do on the various islands, and pay a lot of attention to what the folks here say when they offer opinions about the ones most recommended. Also consider what mainland destinations you are giving up in order to spend (probably) an entire day getting to and from a single island.

Acraven, it was probably my post(s) about Ile de Brehat that you saw because I have posted about it on a couple of threads about Brittany. I loved my visit to this island. Took the ferry from Paimpol and spent the day there. It can be pretty touristy but not overrun. The ferry I took circled the island like a sightseeing cruise before landing us on the island so you could see whole island from the water, which was nice. There's some nice places to hike on the island or you can rent bikes to get around. I saw what I wanted to see on foot - both lighthouses, the St Michel chapel, the old mill, etc. Got a bite to eat in the town and just enjoyed the atmosphere. There are several hotels and b&b's if you're interested in staying the night on the island. It's a beautiful island and the gardens should be beautiful in May.

It was probably your most recent post, Nancy. I'm going to be reading back through the last couple of years of the French forum in prep for next year's trip. I know I'll re-encounter that post in the process. I have to finish planning Scotland first, though, since I need to book lodgings there ASAP.