Coach Rental Across France

Mont-Saint-Michel by Coach, with a Driver

No coach drives to the Mont. It parks on the mainland, and the group finishes the journey by shuttle or on foot. Plan the whole day around that.

Parking at La Caserne

Coaches stop on the mainland, at La Caserne in Beauvoir, in car park P7, about 2.5 km away from the Mont itself. The car parks never close.

Red Days (Jours Rouges) are the busiest dates. On those, a coach must book its parking in advance, arriving either before 10:00 or after 15:00, nothing in between. On a normal day any time can be booked. School coaches need a booking one month out, and Red Days are closed to them.

Setra 49-seat touring coach, exterior
Setra 49-seat touring coach, exterior

From the coach to the ramparts

Le Passeur is the free shuttle. Its departure point, the place des navettes, is by the tourist information centre, and it calls at Route du Mont and Barrage, some 350 m from the ramparts. Expect to wait as long as 12 minutes or so, by season.

Walking takes about 45 minutes over the 2.2 km footbridge. The abbey reckons on 45 to 60 minutes between car park and abbey door, then many steps. The Maringotes, the horse-drawn shuttles, have stopped.

Airports for groups arriving in Mont-Saint-Michel

Coach day trips from Mont-Saint-Michel

  • Avranches — about 21 km, about 25 min
  • Cancale — about 48 km, about 50 min
  • Granville — about 48 km, about 50 min
  • Fougères — about 51 km, about 45 min
  • Saint-Malo — about 55 km, about 50 min
  • Dinan — about 58 km, about 50 min
  • Rennes — about 90 km, about 1 h 10 min
  • Bayeux and the D-Day beaches — about 122 km, about 1 h 35 min

Rules for coaches in Mont-Saint-Michel

  • Coaches do not drive to the Mont. They use the mainland car parks run by the Établissement public du Mont-Saint-Michel at La Caserne (Beauvoir), about 2.5 km from the rock; coaches use car park P7. The car parks are open 24 hours a day.
  • From the car parks, visitors take the free shuttle "le Passeur" or walk. Le Passeur leaves from the "place des navettes" beside the tourist information centre and stops at "Route du Mont" and "Barrage", about 350 m from the ramparts; the wait is up to about 12 minutes depending on the season.
  • Le Passeur runs from 08:30 to 22:00 from November to February, from 07:30 to 23:00 from March to June and in September and October, and from 07:00 to 01:00 in July and August, with an on-demand service outside those hours.
  • On foot, the Mont is about 45 minutes from the shuttle departure point over a 2.2 km footbridge (pont-passerelle); the abbey advises 45 minutes to an hour from the car parks to the abbey entrance. Plan for a long walk and many steps.
  • The horse-drawn shuttles (Maringotes) are no longer in use.
  • On "Red Days" (Jours Rouges, the busiest days) coach parking must be booked in advance, and only for arrival slots before 10:00 or after 15:00, according to the official site. On other days coaches can book for any time. School coaches book one month ahead, and not on Red Days.
  • Abbey groups: booking a visit time slot is compulsory for adult groups (the abbey's pages give a threshold of 10 or 20 people) and for all youth groups under 25; tourism professionals must book whatever the group size. Groups that arrive without a booking or outside their slot can be refused. The abbey asks groups to book at least one month ahead.
  • Abbey opening hours: 09:00 to 19:00 from 1 May to 31 August, 09:30 to 18:00 from 1 September to 30 April; last entry one hour before closing.
  • The nearest station is Pontorson – Mont-Saint-Michel, 9 km away, with TER trains from Caen, Rennes and Granville and a daily bus (line 2) to the Mont.
  • Aéroport de Rennes is about 97 km by road from the car parks (about 1 h 15 min) and Caen Carpiquet about 115 km (about 1 h 15 min); Nantes Atlantique (NTE) is about 207 km (about 2 h 30 min).
  • Road access: from Paris by the A13 to Caen or by the A11 and A81, which are toll motorways (autoroutes à péage), then the A84 (Route des Estuaires), which is toll-free along its whole length.

Booking the abbey

Groups must book a visit time slot. Tourism professionals book whatever the group size, and so do all youth groups under 25. The abbey asks for at least a month's notice. A group with no booking, or arriving outside its slot, risks being turned away.

Summer hours, 1 May to 31 August: 09:00–19:00. The rest of the year: 09:30–18:00. Last admission is an hour before closing, and the abbey is shut on 25 December, 1 January and 1 May. Set the coach arrival from the slot, allowing for the shuttle and the climb.

Roads and onward runs

From Paris, it is the A11 then the A81, or the A13 via Caen; both routes are tolled. After that, the A84 (Route des Estuaires) has no tolls at all. Rennes airport is about 97 km from the car parks and Caen Carpiquet about 115 km, each about 1 h 15 by car.

Saint-Malo and Dinan are about 50 minutes away, Bayeux and the D-Day beaches about 1 h 35. Hotels at La Caserne, Pontorson or Avranches put the group close for an early slot.

Organisers ask

Can the group walk across the bay?

Only with a professional guide, never alone. On the biggest tides the rock is cut off as an island for around an hour.

Is there a station nearby?

Yes: Pontorson – Mont-Saint-Michel, 9 km away. Regional TER trains come in from Caen, Rennes and Granville, and the daily line 2 bus runs on to the Mont.

What hours does le Passeur run?

July–August: 07:00 until 01:00. March–June, September and October: 07:30 until 23:00. November–February: 08:30 until 22:00. Outside these hours it runs on demand.

Other group trips we book

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