Mont Saint Michel Day Trip with Abbey Entrance from Paris

Mont St Michel

The tour was fine. We were given an audio guide part of which was to be followed as you drove to Mont St Michel. This was great. It gave some insight into the Normandy region. The shuttle bus system was poorly organised and there was a long wait for them at the end of the day. The air con on the bus didn’t work so we roasted for 4 hours on the way home! Also, given that it was a 8 hour day, USB plugs on the bus would have been appreciated.

Great place to visit but Bus and Guide issue

An amazing time not to be missed! The views and experience was great. Mont Ste Michel is absolutely amazing!! The bus and the guide was the issue. Metal sticking up between the back row seats ripped our friend's jeans and cut my ankle. The guide said nothing the entire bus ride, except for recommending we see the Eiffel tower five minutes before we returned to the hotel.

Just transportation

Very little information shared. Still waiting for a refund on a cancellation of one persons ticket price due to cancel according to the policy.

Wonderful full day trip

Really great trip: fantastic must-see city but 4 hours each way from Paris. Incredible Good organization

Mont Saint Michelle

Best trip ever!! The place was fantastic and the guide Cesare was excellent, shene about an hour delay on the return , but couldn't be helped!!

Nightmare service, beautiful location

For starters, Le Mont St-Michel is gorgeous, just not worth visiting with this company. Our bus broke down on the way back to Paris, which caused a nearly five hour wait without bathrooms, food, or water as we watched the guide and drivers do nothing to help the situation, avoiding passengers when they demanded questions. I understand accidents happen, but to watch the tour leaders show absolutely no initiative to help was infuriating…especially as ultimately my 70 yr old mother, my 10 yr old daughter, and I were forced to wander Paris at 2 am to find a taxi as the the tour leaders dispersed immediately after arrival, with no attempt to help passengers with small children find travel back to their hotels, as the metro had closed. As I speak French, I tried myself to help the others find a safe way, but it was inexcusable that the tour leaders left people stranded in the early morning hours…would give 0 stars for service if possible.

Think twice before you book this tour

We paid close to $260 AUD per person for essentially an 11 hour bus ride and spent about an hour in Mont St Michele. I’d give it 0 stars if that was an option. The tour organiser is charging you for little more than a bus ticket. Here’s a breakdown. We left Paris at 7:35 (20 minutes late despite them telling you to be 30 min early for the pick up). Stopped at a service station mid morning (left 20 minutes late again), arrived at Mont St Michele at 1:30pm (meant to arrive at 12:15). We were then told that we’d need to be back on the bus by 4:30 pm but given the crowds, we need to exit the site to catch the shuttle by 3:30. Waiting for the shuttle and the journey meant we got into Mont St Michele at 2:30. Followed by a half hour wait to get into the abbey itself. We nearly had to run through the site to see it and then saw nothing of the small village around it and had no time for even a drink let alone lunch. Managed to get out of Mont St Michele by 3:30 as instructed and to rush back to the meeting point by 4:15 only for our tour guide and bus driver to turn up to the meeting point 20 minutes late! We arrived back in Paris at 10pm. It was a 11 hour bus journey for 1 hour at the site! They promise you 4 hours there but that’s completely laughable. We went in early May, not even peak season yet. They know it’s going to be busy and that you still need additional time to catch a shuttle and back but sell you a false idea of a 4 hour visit time anyway. As for our tour guide, I’ve never had a worse one. He spoke about 4 sentences the entire 12 hour day, once as a hello, twice to announce our arrival at the service stations, once in goodbye (during which he asked for tips). He didn’t even bother to tell us where the pick point was in the afternoon to meet the bus. We had to ask repeatedly and all his multilingual talents could say was “over there” while he gestured with his half eaten ham sandwich. And the audioguide, it’s just a scanned QR code and a laminated map that made no sense. Good luck to you with that one. Look, there is a lot out of their control like traffic and tourist crowds but read the other reviews on here, we’re not the first to have this experience. Think twice before you spend your money and a whole travel day on this glorified bus ticket. Will it get you to the site and back, yep. Will you get to enjoy it? Doubtful.

Worthwhile trip outside of Paris

What a wonderful and unique place to visit. My St Michele isn’t widely advertised but it is a gem and worth while to make a visit outside of Paris to walk the Abby and experience the ocean surrounding the building.

Great experience

Everything was great - the guide and the driver were very good. There was a tire problem on the way back but the driver was very responsible and got the tire replaced in a garage - we were late coming back but we were kept informed by the driver and the guide.

Incredible experience

The abbey is incredible and truly remarkable. Glad we took the opportunity to add to our visit to Paris. The bus ride was very long.

Don't book this! Total reap off.

Don't book this. We booked this trip twice and never got to go. The first time they had a mixed-up with the meet-up location with the tour agent and the second time the tour agent said we didn't have a booking, asked us to pay them in cash again! We didn't for obvious reasons and got reimbursed both time, fortunately but this is a super sketchy experience. We weren't the only one stranded as well....15 to 20 people the first trip, 3-5 the second were told the same thing....Total reap off!

Long but enjoyable trip

It was a long 4 hours trip each way. Organized well and everything was on time. We were little bit nervous about making a long bus ride trip, but enjoying a beautiful country site makes this trip like breeze.

Beautiful

The abbey was incredible. The town itself was fun. Absolutely gorgeous views from both above and below.

Great place to go

Although it was mostly audio guide, the guide was friendly and professional along the way and back. This place is a must to go when you are in France.

St Michel, amazing, the tour guide, not so much.

It was a very long bus ride, would have helped to have a tour guide who actually was a decent guy, instead we got a surly guy who told us to go to sleep and turned off the lights, didn't actually do anything but count us to make sure got off an on, nothing about the 4 hours of surrounding country side we went through, just be quiet and sleep. Also the two stops don't actually include food that you could eat as a meal, it's all snacks, so bring your breakfast and dinner with you. Good thing Saint Michel is so amazing, otherwise this would have no stars.

With reservation - would recommend - need to know about 2 issues

The site is incredible! We loved that. Guide was very sweet and gave some info. Travel time is long, but we expected that - so was OK. Very comfortable bus so slept on way up. 2 main complaints - 1. The audioguide is actually a download on the phone - no wifi provided - so if you do not have data you are OUT OF LUCK and without notice, did not have blue tooth ear phones - hard to listen in abby due to the need to be quiet - wish we would have been notified prior. 2. Material said restroom was on the bus - but they claimed it was "broken" - sure they just really did not want to clean. Complained to company via the comments - but have yet to have a response. Would try and find a different vendor if possible!

Enjoyable Trip

The tour was enjoyable, the trip from Paris to Normandy was long but we all enjoyed the tour in the Abbey of Mont Saint Michel! Highly recommended tour.

Worth the time!

We loved seeing Mont St. Michel! The trip is time consuming but well worth it. We were able to sleep both ways so we were not tired at all!!

Would recommend booking with them

The guide was wonderful and driver was also very good. We started the trip right on time and stops were also spaced out correctly

Mont Saint Michel on a stormy day

The guide was very helpful, knowledgeable, courteous, informative and professional. She was fantastic. Despite the incredible storm that seemed to hit as soon as we arrived I would highly recommend this trip !

Beautiful day

Beautiful day, beautiful place. The bus driver and guide took great care of us! Loved Mt st Michele ❤️

Mont St Michel

A little expensive but totally worth it! I appreciated it was pretty timely. The drive was a bit longer than I predicted but the French countryside is lovely to view- prepare that it takes up your entire day!

Be prepared for Crowds

It is a long day. Am glad i saw the Mont, but wont rush back to see it. Be parared for the crowds, 100s of people in the one street made walking and enjoying it near impossible. If you time it to avoid the crowds it is a great place. All paris day trippers must arrive at the same time. Queue for free shuttle to island from coach parking (30 to 50min walk pending pace, mostly flat even surface). Slow walk to the abbey. Queue to get Into the abbey. This walk involves uneven and slope with stairs alot of stairs, leave the buggy/pram most ended up carrying the child and pram. The abbey is lovely. Large to explore. Can do quickly in about 30min or take your take and spend an hour there. We had about 3 hours on the island this included to/from the coach parking. Not too many eateries but can easily grab a sandwich.

As amazing as we expected!

It’s a long day, but so worth it. I’d love to stay closer to the Abbey and then spend an entire day exploring, but that wasn’t feasible for us, so this was a great option.

Awe-inspiring

Such a beautiful experience! A long drive, and a long hike to the top, but well worth the time! A dream realized!

Great place to visit.....

Seeing Mont St Michel on the board walk approach. So impressive. Great photo ops from all over the site. The village was an added treat, tho I felt that it was very commercialised and I kept wondering when I would come upon Macca's or a Starbucks. Wandering thru the Abbey felt like a visit to Ikea......nearly impossible to get out and when we finally did, it was thru the Gift Shop. Oh, and beware the steps. Lots of 'em. Few handrails. And often poorly lit.

Bucket List Item Crossed Off

It was a bucket list item to go to Mont Saint Michel with my best friend. It exceeded our expectations and was such a lovely experience. The trip was easy and relaxing.

It is a long walk but it is worth it, it is a so beautiful and unique place !!!!

It is a long walk but it is worth it, it is a so beautiful and unique place!! Is incredible how the infrastructure of the place looks embedded in a rock.

Deceitful price gouging, poor buss drivers

The trip to Saint Michaels from Paris initially said 117 when I went to check out it changed somehow to 166. Also, the four hour bus ride to Saint Michaels the driver was very bad, weaving in and out for lanes and slamming on the brakes not smooth. Also, they kept shutting off the air conditioning on the bus.

Not worth it

It was nice with everything but we only had 2 hours at Mt St Michel. It was really a rush trip, it took 5h for getting to the destination and 5h to come back. The last trip we had a new bus driver and she took a wrong route and we didn’t even had time to grab lunch or tour around, the waiting line for taking shuttle bus was way too long. We didn’t even ate proper meal for the whole day. They didn’t allowed you to take anything on bus (normally). So just take SNCF and buy another bus ticket (it’s much more convenient) even if your are tourist. I thought going with tour guide would be better but it was totally different from my imagination. I don’t think we could even asked to get refund for only having 2h at Mt St Michel. So be wise!

more service station stops needed

the travel took 4 hours one way and only 1 stop at the service station was offered. it would be good if 1 or more service station stops would be provided.

Worst trip ever

It was a terrible. The bus left at 715 and we arrived at 145 and then were told we had to leave at 430. We had to rush through the entire castle in order to see everything to get back on time to the bus. It was not an enjoyable experience at all.

To long a ride for the time to spend at the mont

It was too long of a ride for the time to stay at the Mont st Michel it’s not enough time to explore and see the gorgeous face of the mont . Our guide Eve was exceptional she’s the best and we also had her at giverny I’d give her 10 stars if I could !!! Thank you clara Borges

Done take a chance

Beware of this tour, it takes 5 hours to get there and 5 hours to get back. You are supposed to have 4 hours there but anything can derail your time there. My trip was disrupted by the visit of Jill Biden and Bridget Macron. I spent 10 hours on a bus and lost a full day of my trip to France and never got into the Abbey I was promised. Waited in the long line for at least an hour and a half. Walked 5 miles to get there and back because shuttle service was suspended due to the VIP visit. When I asked for a refund I was told that what was promised was provided. I understand that this was not a expected disruption but I won’t likely be back to see it so the least they can do is reimburse me. I’m writing this because the reply I received was so cold and uncaring. Others should be aware.

Upgrade bus accommodations

A lot of walking uphill but worth it They need more buses to/fro parking lot No complaints just a lot of people This a complaint Need to unlock bathroom door on bus Yes we make a pit stop but sometimes you need another one The bus was full they are making enough money to unlock the doors and clean it afterwards

Loved the place but not...

Loved the place but not the tour wasn’t worth it. It’s pretty much just paying for the bus ride there and back.

Terrific site

Mont saint Michel was incredible. This was a convenient way to get there. Beware they don't give you as much time as advertised. You really only get about 2 3/4 hours.

Amazing day at Mont St. Michel

This was the perfect day trip from Paris. An early morning (and late return), but the chance to be driven through the Normandy countryside on a warm sunny day made the long day worth it. Our guide was fabulous, giving us a bit of French/Normandy history as we travelled to the Abbey. Approaching Mont St. Michel gives you a jaw dropping vision of the abbey on top of the hill. We arrived at low tide. The bus parks at a large lot and from there, one takes a shuttle to the foot of the town. Our tour had the choice of a live tour of the abbey with our guide, or an audio, self guided tour. I chose the former, and was so glad I did. Our guide was able to give us tidbits of lore, answer questions and take a short cut to get past the crowds of people on the island that day. Afterwards, we had time to shop and eat lunch (mussels and local beer - so delicious!). I don't know how the town does it, hosting so many day trippers, but all the people I encountered were kind and friendly. Definitely worth the time and money!

Too little time

It’s a beautiful place to visit but definitely need more time than the time given. The tour felt rushed and it was not sufficient time to see and explore.

Nice one day excursion

Bus directly from Paris to Mont Saint Michel. The guide was kind! 3 hours at Mont Saint Michel was enough time for us. Highly recommend!

Good for solo travel

Very cool experience. Bus ride was very comfortable. Christal was excellent tour guide. Enough time to explore with good options for a tour or solo.

Mont St Michel.

Mont Saint Michel is beautiful-love it! However, I would not give the tour company a good rating: no introduction, nothing about the tour. The leader just gave out the tape and map and we were on our own. Bus driver, not very friendly and was a little late in picking us up. Bus-not very clean and there were no bathrooms on it. Not very convenient for a trip this long. Poor Wi-Fi-only when it was available. Made one stop in each direction. I’ve traveled a lot and I do not feel this company did a very good job.

Tour to one of the true fairy tale sites in Europe

Good tour to one of the true fairy tale sites in Europe. Good pick up/ location, very accessable by metro. Nice bus, good break places going and returning. Would be nice to have USB charging capability on bus for such a long trip.

Worth the bus ride

It’s a very long day but well worth it. The Abbey itself wasn’t the highlight for me - it was the gorgeous medieval buildings of the town I loved.

No guide, lacked organization

The place is fantastic, bus service was good but the audio tour equipment did not work, nor was a guide providing any information

Average

This trip was a glorified bus ride. It gets you to and from Paris very easily, but the guides are not super involved or really apart of it at all. It is a bit over priced, and if you are able to get there on your own, I recommend doing so. They had very easy pickups and drop-offs which was nice.

pthtttttt

Yanni and bus driver were the superstars. Due to a French holiday and unexpected traffic we were unable to enjoy any of the Abbey or fortress. A lot of $$ was spent for a 10+hour bus trip. Compensation would be nice. Mont St Michel beautiful, but what we experienced was not what we received🥺

Bad incident after another

Everything started great except once we got to mint at michel there was way too many cars and we lost almost an hour of sightseeing because of parking then we had to walk to get to the shuttle because it would’ve taken even longer waiting to park the bus. My didn’t get to see inside the Abby because of the limited time. Even with the delay the schedule never adapted to allow more time. Then once back on the bus the entire window my wife was sitting next to fell completely out of the bus. She could’ve been seriously injured.

Long trip but worth it

The tripto the abbey is 4 hrs going and 4 hrs back . But wort the time spent . 3 hrs is not enough to enjoy the place , wish had more time .

Well worth the price and trip!

The coach was very comfortable and the guide was very professional and knowledgeable. The time at Mont St Michel was perfect.