Hiking
Hiking
Group stays on Belle-Ile-en-Mer
Walking
Belle-Ile-en-Mer offers one of the most beautiful long-distance hiking trails. The GR 34 was voted France’s favourite GR (Grande Randonnée footpath) in 2021.
It is 82.5 km long and allows you to walk around the island in 4 to 5 days. On this trail, you will discover all the natural heritage of Belle-Ile: its 58 beaches and coves, its wild coasts, the protected ecosystem of its heaths, dunes composed of a great diversity of plants, and remarkable fauna, such as the red-billed choughs.
Belle-Ile-en-Mer has been classified as a landscape of national interest since 1976. It is therefore forbidden to camp in these natural areas.
Below, you will find an example of a route to tour the island in 4 days. If you prefer to take your time, it is also possible to do it in 5, 6 or 7 days. A bus network can easily take you from Camping de l’Océan to your starting points and take you back to the campsite in the evening.
The tour of Belle-Ile-en-Mer on foot in 4 days:
- Day 1 : Le Palais – Sauzon – Les Poulain
- Distance : 23,5 km
- Difficulty: Average
- Highlights :
- The 19th century fort of Port Fouquet, now transformed into a residence
- The stunning view at Kerzo point
- The cove of Port Blanc and the remains of a 17th-century battery, a former lifeboat shelter.
- Lunch break at the superb port of Sauzon
- Pointe des Poulain and its lighthouse erected in 1868 having a range of 23 miles
- Sarah Bernhardt’s museum home and its benches for admiring the breathtaking view.
- Day 2 : Les Poulain – Bangor
- Distance : 18 km Difficulté : Moyenne
- Highlights :
- The Apothicairerie cave, where access is restricted due to the dangerous nature of the site.
- The impressive Port of Borderune, a walled cove from the 17th century.
- The beach of Donner, where surfers revel in its impressive waves
- The charming, nestled beach of Vazen, with less waves and more suitable for swimming.
- The geological curiosity of the trou de Vazen and the Baguenères islands
- The majestic needles of Port Coton, immortalised by Claude Monet.
- Day 3 : Bangor – Locmaria (possibility of splitting the stage in two, stopping after 12.8 km at Herlin)
- Distance : 23 km Difficulty: Athletic
- Highlights :
- The beautiful beach of Herlin and that of Baluden
- The ancient Celtic oppidum: Pointe de Pouldon
- The place where the “Prince of Conti” sank: Port Lost Kastel
- The superb panorama of the Pointe du Skeul
- Port Maria, a pretty cove of fine sand.
- Day 4 : Locmaria – Le Palais
- Distance : 17,3 km Difficulty: Easy
- Highlights :
- The beautiful beach of Port Andro
- The long beach of Les Grands-Sables
- The fortified complex of La Ferrière located along the beach of Les Grands-Sables built between the 18th and the 19th century
- La belle Fontaine, also known as L’aiguade de Vauban (Vauban’s fountain), because it was built under his authority in 1703 and was once used to supply ships with fresh water