St. Michel

Mont St. Michel. We made the choice to stay on land, but I'd probably stay on the Mont if I had it to do over. https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2014/01/21/mont-st-michel-is-that-a-real-place/
You do want to get night and day pictures from a distance. If you are driving then you can easily do both and at night, just walk down and across the causeway and then take some night pictures back at the Mont. My favorite picture is the one at the head of my photo journal above with the goats grazing and this magical Mont in the background. I think this sight of the Mont at a distance is the best thing about visiting MSM.

Always better to spend at least one night on the mont.. its so much nicer AFTER the day hordes have left.. you can relax and wander around and get some great shots then too.

I stayed on the Mont and was very glad that I did. I was there in mid-July and the place was mobbed with day-trippers, but after 7 pm, it was much quieter. You can go back and forth to the mainland on the free shuttle (I think it runs until about 1 am) for photo ops, and the entire place is small enough that you can cover a lot of ground getting photos at various times of day and night.

I've read that the hotels on the Mont are pretty indifferent, knowing, as they do, that they have a captive clientele who are willing to really "rough it" in exchange for the experience. I stayed at La Vielle Auberge and I'd say this about summed up my experience, but it was absolutely fine--just not enough especially comfortable. I ate dinner at Hotel du Guesclin (which I believe is recommended is the RS France guidebook). The food was delicious and the view amazing.

Hope this helps,
Caroline

I'd say stay on Mont St Michel.
We've taken many pictures of the island and on the island. You can get wonderful shots from afar by staying on land in the first place or by walking or taking the tram back away from the island to gain perspective. But there's nothing like being on the island after the crowds leave and then again before they arrive the next morning. We enjoy the experience of staying on the island but also love the photos of the street, buildings. staircases, passageways and different elevations in the morning and late afternoon light. Not to mention the Abbey itself. It's great fun to scramble around on the island if you can do stairs. It's a town of ups and downs.
The hotels are not world class but they're not bad, either. They're overpriced in one sense, but they have the advantage of being on Mont St Michel - no small cachet in my opinion. We had an adorable little attic room at Mouton Blanc last time with a sleeping loft for our granddaughters.

Thank you so much everyone. On everyone's advice we are staying in Mont St Michel at Le Mouton Blanc. Where do you park?

well, a contrary vote here to staying on Mont St Michel. I stayed in the town right across the bridge. Parking right in the hotel lot. The shuttle runs frequently across the bridge and there are 2 stops right where the hotels are. Easy to go visit a few times (I went in the later afternoon when I arrived, then again that nite, and the next morning before leaving).

ecfoley01, you park in a lot reserved for overnight guests. Your hotel should advise you of the passcode you'll need. The parking attendants we interacted with were very helpful and spoke English. From the parking lot you'll walk a short way to catch the shuttle bus, which takes you to the island. I believe you can also walk along the causeway to the island if you wish. It's pretty far so I wouldn't advise it, but I believe it's an option (it was last time we were there 2 years ago).
Once you get off the shuttle, you have to walk through the gates and up a crowded winding cobblestone street to get to Le Mouton Blanc. Some people complain about this. I don't think it's so bad, especially if you come forewarned. The hotel/restaurant Mouton Blanc is on the right. You'll see the sign. The hotel clerks, like the parking lot attendants, were helpful and spoke English. You'll have to walk up stairs to get to your room (no elevators).
Once all that is done, go scramble around the island. This is when the really good part starts. Of course you'll walk along the ramparts. Everyone does, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it. But then go exploring. It's great fun to see where this stairway or that passage comes out.
We went to the evening spectacle (lights and music) at the Abbey on our last visit and it was well worth it. It's not put together the same this year as it was 2 years ago, but we'll be trying it again this summer because it was so good last time.
I hope you'll enjoy Mont St Michel as much as we do.

What Bill G said. If you stay in the area just across the causeway, you can DRIVE YOUR CAR TO YOUR HOTEL. No baggage hassles, and the shuttle stops right at the hotel door. We visited the island several times in our overnight stay.

To each his/her own. It all depends on what you want to experience and what you want to avoid. For me the hotels on the mainland don't begin to compare to the experience of staying on Mont St Michel. If you are physically limited, have a ton of luggage or just don't like that kind of thing, then walking up the street to your Mont St Michel hotel should be avoided. But for me, the convenience of driving your car up to your hotel pales in comparison to the joy of going to sleep on the Mont and waking up there as well. Both at night and in the morning, there's no extra shuttle trips involved. You're already there.
It's not an only-one-right-choice, no-brainer scenario. It depends on what ecfoley01 wants to experience and what she/he wants to avoid.

ecfoley01: We stayed on MSM at the Hotel du Guesclin. We made reservations for that evening in the restaurant and had a wonderful meal. I had specifically asked for a window seat and we had the best seats in the house at sunset. Regarding the bag drag game: since we were only staying one night, we cross-loaded the necessary essentials into a small backpack and left our luggage in the trunk of our rental car. We had a wonderful afternoon and evening at MSM. You will have plenty of opportunities to indulge your inner photographer on the approach to and departing from MSM. And, you should find plenty of great shots walking the winding path to the Abbey. The RS tour book has a map that shows an additional path to take if there are a lot of tourists. Since you are staying the night, you might consider taking one route up and the other down. The only cautionary note I would add is that if you are planning an early departure from MSM the next morning, you should ask your hotel receptionist to call the shuttle folks to alert them. I seem to recall that the first shuttle of the day departed MSM around 0800 or 0830. Also, I recall seeing a posted notice on the shuttle that provided a phone number to call if you needed shuttle service before or after the scheduled times. It has been a while, so I would check with the hotel if this applies to you.