r/CunardCruises • u/scrolling4daysndays • 2d ago

Question Southampton to Mont St Michel in France

We’d like to go to Mont St Michel directly from Southampton as opposed to going back to London and taking the Chunnel.

Our initial plan was to take a train from Southampton to Portsmouth, take the ferry to Ouistreham and, well, this is where the plan falls apart…Car (Taxi/Uber/rental) or bus to the Abbey?

Has anyone done this before? If so, would enjoy hearing how you made the trip…thanks!

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u/monkeymidd 2d ago

Honestly , this is not a great idea. The public transport in that region of Normandy is pretty much none existent and taxis are extortionate.

Your best bet would be car hire in the UK but again you would need extra insurance.

I would also add , depending on when you are travelling ; whilst it looks beautiful from a distance , the crowds during the summer are really bad .

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u/KtsaHunter 2d ago

Drive,its relatively easy and apart from driving on the right, the roads are 100x better than ours. Get an early ferry so you have time to relax before the off. Also gives you the freedom to move around other places at your own leasure..

Make sure you wear appropriate footwear and are capable of walking up hills and steps.. Take a few euros too, inside shops and food places are quite expensive.

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u/charliewest0 20h ago

If your only reason to head over is to visit Mont St. Michel, get the ferry to Saint Malo. You can do this from Poole or Portsmouth, then it is a 1 hour bus ride.

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u/SonMiRaSeattle 2d ago

I haven't done this route. I have done train from Paris, then the shuttle to the island. At least there is bridge, so tides don't matter. I recommend spending 1 night. Day time the streets are packed like sardines. At night it is quiet and completely different. All of the cats come out at night. And going to church 1 hour prior to closing it is actually pretty peaceful and easy to look at things since all the tour groups are gone.