The Bay of Somme is the estuary of the river Somme, between Le Crotoy in the north and Saint-Valery in the south, on the coast of the Hauts-de-France. It is a landscape that changes twice a day: at low tide the bay empties for kilometres and turns into a desert of sand and salt meadows, at high tide it becomes a sea again. Almost everything you do here depends on that clock.
The bay lies in the Somme department, about two hours from Paris and an hour and a half from Lille. The seaside villages follow one another along the coast: Fort-Mahon, Quend-Plage and Le Crotoy north of the bay, Saint-Valery-sur-Somme and Cayeux-sur-Mer to the south. These are small communes, not concrete resorts: out of season most of them count a few thousand inhabitants.
The bay is home to a colony of harbour seals and grey seals. You watch them at low tide, when they rest on the sandbanks: from the pointe du Hourdel on the southern side, or on a guided outing. Binoculars make all the difference, and keeping your distance matters: approaching a colony sends it into the water and separates pups from their mothers. Guided walks exist for exactly that reason.
The Marquenterre park, in the commune of Saint-Quentin-en-Tourmont, is a bird reserve on the edge of the bay: marked trails, hides and guides on site. The bay is a stop on the migration route between northern Europe and Africa, which makes spring and autumn the best moments to come. Allow half a day for the long trail.
The beaches north of the bay, at Quend and Fort-Mahon, are vast and flat. At low tide the sea pulls back hundreds of metres and leaves an expanse of hard sand, ideal for walking, for sand yachting and for gathering shellfish. They are backed by dunes and a pine forest, which gives shelter from the wind, and wind there is. Swimming is supervised in summer on the main beaches.
July and August are the warmest and busiest months, and the only ones when everything is open without exception. May, June and September are what we recommend: long days, a quiet bay and migration in full swing. Autumn and winter have their following too, for the spring tides and the huge skies, as long as you accept the wind and bring something warm. The bay does not close out of season, but some restaurants and attractions cut their opening hours.
This is the advice we give every guest. Crossing the bay, watching the seals and gathering shellfish all happen at low tide; the tidal bore and the boats at Saint-Valery, at high tide. The times shift by roughly fifty minutes a day and are published by the French hydrographic office and posted in every tourist office. Never cross the bay alone: the channels fill quickly and there is quicksand in places. Guides exist for this, and it is not a tourist formality.
By car via the A16, exit at Rue or Abbeville depending on which side of the bay you want. By train, the stations of Rue and Noyelles-sur-Mer are on the Paris to Boulogne line; from there a car is still useful, as the sites are spread out and public transport is thin. The Bay of Somme steam railway links Le Crotoy to Saint-Valery in season: that is an attraction, not a way of getting around.
All year round, at low tide, when the seals rest on the sandbanks. The best viewing point from land is the pointe du Hourdel. Bring binoculars and keep your distance: a disturbed colony goes back into the water.
Yes, and it is one of the easiest destinations with young children: flat beaches with no dangerous currents at low tide, shellfish gathering, the birds at the Marquenterre, the steam train and sand yachting from about ten years old. Everything is a short drive away.
A weekend covers the bay itself: Le Crotoy, Saint-Valery and the seals. Allow a week to add the Marquenterre, the northern beaches, Valloires abbey and a day at Nausicaá or inland. The weather turns quickly here, and several days give you the choice.
Yes, but only with a qualified guide. The channels fill quickly on a rising tide and some sandbanks are unstable. Guided crossings leave from Saint-Valery or Le Crotoy and last a few hours, depending on the tides.
The north of the bay, around Quend-Plage and Fort-Mahon, is the most practical with a family: the widest beaches and the Marquenterre a few kilometres away. That is where we rent out our house Le Rosa, sleeping eight, direct and without commission.
