Can St. Malo and Dinard be done in the same day?

[Iamthesea]

Taking a cruse on Oceania with a port stop in St. Malo.  Looking at cruiseline excursion options versus DIY.  My husband and I are very good at DIY, but we also have some excursion credit.  We have been to Mont St. Michel before, so not seeing it on this cruise, at least not from the St. Malo port.

 

If we try a DIY, I guess we would see about getting a driver/and or guide.  But would like to know if we can do two or even three towns in the roughly 9 hours we will have.  The ship is actually in port 10.5 hours.  Besides Dinan, we are also interested in Dinard (which I believe is a shorter distance from St. Malo.  Which would you choose if only two towns could be done?

 

 

[rhiannon84]

Dinard is literally across the bay from St Malo, and is a seaside town with a slightly Victorian feel (think promenade, grand hotels, casino) whereas Dinan is a medieval town on a river (think castles, Beauty & The Beast). Both Dinard and St Malo have great markets, and are nice for wandering around. You can take the ferry across the bay, so no need for a car https://compagniecorsaire.com 

 

Dinan is smaller and more touristy, so if you’re looking into getting a driver anyway I would suggest getting there fairly early. You can also do small riverboat tours from there (at least you could 10 years ago). On the way back I would go to Restaurant La Cale on the river, and have a short wander around La Richardais which is a pretty village.
 

I think time of year would sway me - height of summer, Dinard so there’s beach time, off season, Dinan as it would be quieter (and rain doesn’t matter). Enjoy either way!