We met early morning. The bus leaves at 7am.
I would strongly recommend coming early to the Trocadero meeting point if that’s where you are meeting. That’s where our tour met. Looking at the TripAdvisor details, it seems like that one departs from the Hyatt. Our tour was operated by the same CityWonders company. We booked directly from the CityWonders website and paid less using a discount promo code from their website.
If meeting at Trocadéro, try to arrive by 6:30am. Great place and time to take photos of the Eiffel Tower. Amazing vantage point for viewing the Eiffel Tower. Beautiful lighting and the plaza is empty at that hour.
The tour bus is modern, clean and comfortable. Seats recline so you can sleep on the way to Mont St Michel.
The bus also has wifi and phone charging stations.
First two hours are a quiet drive (catch up on sleep) until arriving at a gas station market stop for bathroom break and breakfast. The stop is only 20 minutes so you gotta order your food and coffee quickly.
We had two tour guides (Ash and Iffy). Both were great and enthusiastic. They let you sleep for the first two hours, then provide interesting history about France and Mont St. Michel.
Upon arrival, the guides led us up the climb up to the abbey. It’s a little strenuous but a trek filled with breathtaking views and also a walk back in time as you stroll through quaint medieval roads within the castle.
We start at the abbey with a self tour using the video/audio tour with a tablet and headphones they provide you. This gives you the luxury of exploring at your own pace. The cost of the CityWonders tour included admission tickets into the abbey along with the tablet and headphones. The abbey is definitely the highlight of the tour. An amazing historical site. This self guided tour will last between 60-90 minutes.
I would advise not taking too long because you only have a little less than 3.5 hours at Mont St. Michel.
Once finished with the abbey, you will want to walk around the periphery of the small island and enjoy more stunning views and take lots of photos. You will also want enough time to eat at one of the many restaurants within the island.
With this tour you will probably feel like you wished you had more time there, but it’s enough time to fully enjoy the experience.
We departed from Mont St. Michel at 3:30pm and got back to Paris around 8pm. Back in time to have a nice dinner in Paris.
Prior to booking this excursion with CityWonders, I explored many other options for doing this day trip to Mont St Michel, including taking trains, buses, renting a car and other tours. I am so happy I went with this option.
The train option was way too complicated. The bus was way too slow. Renting a car would’ve resulted in a miserable 8 hours of driving and trying to learn French traffic laws. The other tours were more expensive.
This tour gave me everything I needed.
Some of the reviews I read gave me concern, but our experience for myself and family of five was perfect. 5/5 for sure and very good money spent. I highly recommend.