Full day trip idea : Bay of Mont Saint-Michel by bike
One of the good ways to visit our beautiful region is to get on your bike and explore the landscapes that make the Bay of Mont Saint-Michel so famous. EDD Hostel Team will explain you here the differant options available. The bay of Mont Saint-Michel by bike is a unique experience that you can live while visiting France.
Mont Saint-Michel’s Bay by the cycling route “Voie verte”
The Vélomaritime® is a large Franco-Brittish cycling loop of 1200 kilometers. It runs along the Brittany coastline where exceptional sites as “Granit Rose” coast, “Penthièvre” coast, Emerald coast and, last but not least, Mont Saint-Michel’s Bay follow each other. The route, staked in both directions, can be done in its entirety (for the most daring !) or by stages for a week end or a full day trip.
To reach this route from the hostel, it’s very simple by bike: I advise you to follow the Guyoult circuit (description below) which will also allow you to discover the village of Mont Dol.
You will arrive at Le Vivier-sur-Mer and here, an hard choice has to be made. You can take the direction of Mont Saint-Michel and visit its famous abbey or take the direction of Saint-Malo with its corsair town. But it is ok : both options are equally promising!
Going to Mont Saint-Michel (it will take between 2 and 3 hours), you can only see the importance of fishing activities in this region. Oyster and mussel parks, fisheries and many shore fishermen follow one another. Then the landscape changes little by little to give way to the polders. If they are out, you will see the well-known black-headed “pre-salted” sheep on your way. Keep going on to Moidrey cove and go along the Couesnon river which will lead you to the Mount.
Off to Saint-Malo !
Going to Saint-Malo, take the direction of Hirel. The wind is also important in this region and has favored the installation of windmills and sports activities such as land sailing. Continue towards Cancale, famous for its oysters. This route climbs a little but tell yourself that the view will be all the more pretty!
In Saint Coulomb, you can visit a corsair home, called “malouinère”. In Rothéneuf, visit the Sculpted Rocks, a work of sculptures carved from the rock. It was created by Abbé Fouré at the end of the XIX century, retracing the legend of the Rothéneuf family of corsairs, pirates and nobles.
Then, until Saint Malo, a succession of beaches offering you the opportunity to take a well-deserved break ! Once arrived in Saint-Malo, go visit the historical tow center and its ramparts. After all of that, you have the possibility to take the train if you don’t want to get more tired. The regional trains are equipped to accommodate your bike. Then come and tell us all your Eddventures 😉
The other cycling tours
For those who like cycling less or simply have less time, there are also many bike tours to do in the bay of Mont Saint-Michel by bike on a half-day. I have selected some of my favorite cycling routes here:
Polders route
In less than 2 hours, this bike loop will make you discover the “polders”, those farmlands gained on the sea. Set off from Roz-sur-Couesnon, take the opportunity to admire the landscape that awaits you on the balcony of the Bay. On a clear day you can see Mont Saint-Michel ! Try not to get lost in these fields following one another. You will reach Saint Marcan where you can see one of the last telegraphs in Brittany. Keep on your way until Saint Broladre. I advise you to get ther at the end of the day. The sunset on this little chapel, isn’t it poetic?
Guyoult river route and fishermen route
This circuit makes you discover the Bay along the Guyoult river. Starting from EDD Hostel, you go north. Discover the must-see village of Mont Dol with its breathtaking view of the Mont Saint-Michel’s Bay. On your way, you have the opportunity to observe the flora and fauna of the Dol marsh.
Finally you arrive at Vivier sur Mer, a charming fishing village. Reward yourself for this great effort by tasting the famous “bouchot” mussels. After gaining strength, continue on the cycling route, towards Mont Saint-Michel. Along the Bay, you can observe the shore fishermen, the mussel parks, the fisheries on one side.
On the other side, by getting closer to Cherrueix, we will see four windmills facing the Bay, one behind the other, where buckwheat flour was once made. The last one, the “Moulin de la Saline”, has been restored. If you arrive at the right time, you may have the opportunity to see it spin !
To come back, you take the cycing road Cherrueix-Dol. It takes 1h to do it through the path number 6.
Dol is the ideal starting point for your getaways and can also be a perfect intermediate stop on longer routes. And if you are still hesitating to get back on your bike saddle, just know that, at EDD Hostel, we have a bicycle storage and equipment for small sores on your bike 😉
Useful links
To know everything about the cycling route “Voie verte”, it is here
Bike tours here
If you are curious and want to find more circuits it is here
And for those who want to go to Mont Saint-Michel without cycling and without a car, the EDD Hostel Team explains everything here .
Tags: Activities, Bike, Bretagne, Outdoor, TripIn: Full day trip