Loop around Île aux Moines

Hike on Île aux Moines, the largest of the islands in the Gulf of Morbihan. Beautiful beaches, lush vegetation, stunning views and archaeological monuments will ensure you have a wonderful day.

Details

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  • Walking
    Activity: Walking
  • ↔
    Distance: 11.76 km
  • ◔
    Average duration: 3h 35 
  • ▲
    Difficulty: Moderate

  • ⚐
    Back to start: Yes
  • ↗
    Ascent: + 74 m
  • ↘
    Descent: - 71 m

  • ▲
    Highest point: 31 m
  • ▼
    Lowest point: 1 m

Photos

Description of the walk

Go to Port Blanc in the Gulf of Morbihan. From there, take the shuttle bus to Île aux Moines. The crossing takes 5 minutes.

(S/E) Once on the island, follow the port to the end and continue straight ahead on Rue Neuve until you reach a square.
At the end of this street, turn left onto Rue Yvon Cadet and continue for 70 metres.

(1) Turn right onto Rue du Presbytère. Continue straight ahead for 420 m and turn left onto Rue du Naudeux. Just after the small buildings (on your left), take the path on the right to reach the sea.

(2) Follow the coastal path. At PenHap, pass in front of the Guip shipyard.

(3) Continue straight ahead on Route de Carlez. When you reach a jetty, take the coastal path to the right.

(4) Follow it for 450 m, leaving the sea towards the end of the cove, to rejoin the Kerbozec road nearby.

(5). Turn left and follow this road for about 170 m. The road then turns at a right angle (to the left). At this point, leave the road and take the path on the right.

(*)An alternative is to continue along this road to the end of the island and see the dolmens. If you choose this option, return along the same road and at the second bend, rejoin the path mentioned above (*).

Assuming you are on this path, you will then reach the sea on the other side of the island. Follow the coastal path, passing Rudel. Continue along the coastal path until you come to the beautiful little beach of Le Goret. Go around it and follow the path that veers slightly away from the sea.
Continue for 300 m and at a house on your left (there is also a house just a little higher up on the right), turn left to rejoin the coastal path. When you reach the sea, continue to the right and walk for about 300 m.

(6) When you reach a small point, you will come to the Route du Greignon, which you follow for 250 m, away from the sea.
At the Y-junction, take Rue du Gazolden (the left-hand road) and follow it until it turns at a right angle. Continue and a little further on (about 70 m), turn left into Rue de Rinville.
You will reach Rue du Dolmen; turn left and continue along this road. When you reach a small square, turn left and continue along the road.

(7) Continue straight ahead to rejoin the coastal path. Further on, cross the beautiful Lerio Beach (with its beach huts) and stay along the sea on the coastal path (be careful, there are a few tricky sections). Continuing in this direction, you will return to the port (S/E).

Take the same boat back to Port Blanc.

Waypoints

  1. S/E : km 0 - alt. 3 m - Port of Île aux Moines
  2. 1 : km 0.9 - alt. 14 m - Rue du Presbytère
  3. 2 : km 1.89 - alt. 3 m - Coastal trail.
  4. 3 : km 4.77 - alt. 18 m - Guip shipyard.
  5. 4 : km 5.18 - alt. 6 m - Coastal trail.
  6. 5 : km 5.69 - alt. 13 m - Route de Kerbozec.
  7. 6 : km 9.59 - alt. 6 m - Pointe Kergonan
  8. 7 : km 10.74 - alt. 6 m - Coastal path...
  9. S/E : km 11.76 - alt. 3 m - Port of Île aux Moines

Notes

The village has a small shop and restaurants.
See the island andtown hall websites for all the information you need.
Bicycles can be rented on site.
Hiking sticks with pointed tips are prohibited on Île aux Moines.

Worth a visit

A short detour to Pointe d'Arradon is a must.
For keen island hikers, don't miss the tour of Île d'Arz.

A little further on, you will find the port of Larmor-Baden and Berder Island, which is accessible on foot at low tide. From the port of Larmor-Baden, you can visit the Gavrinis cairn, an important archaeological site.
This hike is available on

Reviews and comments

4.5 / 5
Based on 66 reviews

Reliability of the description
4.5 / 5
Ease of following the route
4.4 / 5
Route interest
4.7 / 5
sisi30
sisi30

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 09, 2025
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

a very pleasant route without any great difficulty, along paths by the sea

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Amielle
Amielle

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 18, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Very nice hike.....but unfortunately it wasn't properly explained or signposted... and like everyone else, we made a mistake. We walked 2 km too far before turning back after meeting a local who put us back on the right path. Start on the side indicated on the map and you'll end up on the best side.

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ap75rb17
ap75rb17

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 16, 2024
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A must for nature lovers, with views over the Gulf.

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Cc.306068
Cc.306068

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Sep 25, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Using the coastal path is the best solution, as the route is often thwarted by paths that don't exist (thanks to GPS), but otherwise it's no big deal - it's a great walk.

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rtaji
rtaji
• Edited:

Very nice walk on a magnificent island, I highly recommend it.

A few errors on the route (1 to 3 paths indicated on the map are not there), but don't worry, follow the "Coastal Path" markings, you can't go wrong.

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JLMT76
JLMT76

Overall rating : 3.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 10, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

a few route errors (the route is off the mark or not where it should be on the map)

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lairault
lairault

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : May 12, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very pleasant group hike with no difficulties and magnificent scenery. Good signposting.
To be recommended

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caouec
caouec

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

some interesting variations on the route
instead of crossing the village between 1 and 2, go as far as the church then go down to port locmiquel through the narrow streets
then continue along a pleasant path towards chateau du guenc then pointe de kostell
if you are in good shape to go from point 3 to 4, take the pointe de brannec.
ditto from point 5 to pointe du nioul
2 beautiful beaches on the west side, shame the path is between fences most of the time because of the house
we preferred the wilder side
nice walk all the same

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caouec
caouec
• Edited:

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : May 16, 2023
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : No

some interesting variations on the route
instead of crossing the village between 1 and 2, go as far as the church then go down to port locmiquel through the narrow streets
then continue along a pleasant path towards chateau du guenc then pointe de kostell
if you need to go from point 3 to point 4, take the pointe de brannec.
ditto from point 5 to pointe du nioul
2 beautiful beaches on the west side, but it's a shame that the path is between fences most of the time because of property.
we preferred the wilder east side
nice walk all the same

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Christine 14
Christine 14

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Nov 14, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

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Avel45
Avel45

Overall rating : 3.7 / 5

Date of your route : Oct 31, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★☆☆ Average
Ease of following the route : ★★★☆☆ Average
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

The whole part of the route to the south of the island is wrong. We had to follow the coastal path all the way to the Pointe du Niouls, which made for a good bit of extra time. But that's not a problem, because it's very beautiful. The southern part of the route needs to be updated.

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patrouchkabol
patrouchkabol

Overall rating : 4 / 5

Date of your route : Aug 27, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★☆ Good
Very busy route : Yes

This easy route provides a good introduction to Ile aux Moines. In August, it is very busy at the start, but after about 2 kilometres, it becomes much less so.

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Archimede
Archimede

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Jul 23, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

Suggestion: instead of taking the shuttle bus from Port Blanc to the island, take the "short" cruise (around 1 hour 15 minutes) which leaves Port Blanc at around 11am, takes you around several islands and drops you off on Île aux Moines at around 12.30pm. You then have plenty of time to walk around, as you can take any of the shuttle buses back to the island.

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Jac56ques
Jac56ques

Overall rating : 4.3 / 5

Date of your route : Jun 23, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★☆ Good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★☆ Good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : Yes

A very nice walk, but I've added the Pointe du Trec'h (superb panorama over the Gulf) and the Pointe de Nioul (now accessible by a new path).

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tybydy
tybydy

Overall rating : 5 / 5

Date of your route : Feb 28, 2022
Reliability of the description : ★★★★★ Very good
Ease of following the route : ★★★★★ Very good
Route interest : ★★★★★ Very good
Very busy route : No

magnificent easy route

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