Day Trip from Paris to Mont St. Michel via Public Transport?

Hello! My wife and I will be visiting Paris for the first time in late January 2010, and are eager to take a day trip to Mont St. Michel. However, we will be on a tight budget and need help with figuring out the least expensive way to get there.

After researching tours online, we found they are quite expensive (between $250-$500 per person...ouch!), so, if you have been there and done that, please share your feedback regarding the following questions. Thanks in advance!

1. Is taking public transportation to Mont St. Michel for a day trip (from Paris) feasible in terms of saving $ (as opposed to a tour)? (We do not want to rent a car).

2. Which train/bus/metro/RER routes need to be taken to get there? I have researched this to death and can%26#39;t seem to find step by step instructions. Is it %26quot;easy-enough%26quot; to get there?

3. About how much does it cost per person for transportation each way or round trip?

4. Are there any must-see stops along the way that you would recommend visiting that would still leave enough time to explore Mont St. Michel and return to Paris on the same day?

Thanks a million!

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I have not take a tour bus to Mont St. Michel nor would I even consider doing so. I have visited on more than one occasion but it is simply too far from Paris to be enjoyed in a single day%26#39;s journey. Keep in mind that January in France means it%26#39;s dark at 5pm and you%26#39;ll see very little of what there is between Paris and MSM. Additionally, the weather can be rainy and cold, Paris always has plenty to offer regardless of inclement weather: shopping, museums, restaurants, concerts, and nightlife.

If money is really tight this trip, why not give this idea a miss and travel to Chartres or Versailles instead, somewhere within easy reach of Paris?

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You can do it via train but it won%26#39;t make sense for a day trip. The website is voyages-sncf.com. I just checked the site, using January 26 as a date, and there is a 7:35am train with a stop in Rennes (for about 56E) and travel time of 3hrs. 45 min. The last train seems to be at 16:10 (75E) with 2 stops before getting into Paris 4 hours later. The website is in French but easy enough to figure out if you don%26#39;t read French. This is not realistic for a day trip. Overnight, is a different story.

I was just in Normandy earlier this month and went to Bayeux, which was about 2 hours on the train, non-stop. I went there to go on a Battlebus Tour (battlebus.fr) called %26quot;Band of Brothers.%26quot; I spent a full month in Paris and this side-trip was the best day of my entire month. I can%26#39;t recommend it highly enough. But, I did stay overnight.

Hope this helps.

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Thanks so much for the replies! It makes a lot of sense..so I think we are going to leave MSM for a future trip, and just focus on enjoying as much of what Paris has to offer that we can enjoy over our week stay! Very good advice, and very appreciated!