I am planning a trip in May via rail and bus. I will be departing Bayeux to go to Mont St -Michel where I stay overnight, and then Mont St. Michel to St. Malo. I have read and reread Rick Steves, but he doesn't exactly tell you how to get to Mont St. Michel. He mentions Pontorson Station for the train, but I can't seem to find it on line when I research trains in France. There are also no shuttles listed from Bayeux to Mont St-Michel that aren't tours. Once off the Mont, I want to go to St. Malo by bus or train. Does anyone have information on how this might actually work? I don't really want to wait until I get to Bayeux to figure it out. Thank you!!!
Posted by
Washington DC
27110 posts
The rail schedule for Bayeux to Pontorson shows up readily on the SNCF website. If you're using RailEurope, you should switch to SNCF. I see four trains a day on weekdays: 7:28 AM, 1:28 PM, 5:28 PM and 7:53 PM. All are direct. It could be much, much worse; at least you don't have to travel to Paris and back.
Note: There are rail strikes scheduled in France off and on. Is it possible that you're planning to travel on one of the strike days?
Rome2Rio.com suggests that there is frequent bus service between Caen and Avranches, which is not terribly far from Pontorson, but I'm not sure that would help you, and the Ouibus website is currently not working for me; it won't allow me to choose a date of travel so I can see the actual schedule.
There is rail service from Pontorson to Dol de Bretagne, where you can switch to a Saint-Malo train.
You can get from Saint-Malo to Pontorson (and vice versa) by bus.
Sorry not to be able to give more complete information. I have not been to Mont-Saint-Michel.
Posted by
Stuttgart, Germany
3049 posts
In 2011 there was a once-daily bus from St. Malo to Mont St. Michel and back. I presume something similar is still running.
I suggest using Google Translate to try to search for information in French. If you're using Google Chrome as your browser, foreign-language websites will usually automatically transfer.
Honestly, after having first traveled to this area by train and using bus to get around, I'd rent a car to explore this area if at all possible. It's not really convenient without one.
Posted by
Grand Rapids, MI
768 posts
Hotel Churchill in Bayeux runs a shuttle each morning to Mt. St. Michel. You don't have to stay there to use it and they will store your luggage at the hotel. It is around 65 euros. They bring folks there, give them about 3 hrs and then drive them back to Bayeux. If you wanted to stay there I think that could be worked out. Here's the link:
Posted by
OP
10 posts
Thank you all for your responses. The day I was to travel to Mont St. Michel there was, indeed, a train strike. I was able to book a one way trip to MSM through Bayeux Shuttle which also included a ticket to the Abbey. It worked great.
Posted by
OP
10 posts
By way of further response, I meant also to say that I didn't need a car in the area. I went to the D day beaches with Bayeux shuttle and they did a great job. I really enjoyed all the information that I would not have gotten had I driven around myself.
I then booked a Flix bus from Mont St. Michel to St. Malo. St. Malo was easy to get around in and I really would not have had a good place to park a car at my hotel.
Had I stayed longer in the area, I would have likely wanted a car to get to more of the small towns in the area.