Has anyone cycled from Santander to St-Malo. If so is there a “Route” you could recommend.? I won’t be Camping,just wondering what accommodations this time of the year are like.? I shall be using a E-bike. It’s got a 100+ Range.Any information would be very much appreciated.Many Thanks.If anyone interested in tagging along,your more than welcome.
I’ve done roscof to santander like many here and I’ve done st mallo to points south and points south to st malo. Obviously my route would be reversed!
I don’t have a copy of the route anymore but if you plot into cycle.travel I did a similar route until the Pyrenees. There’s a real pinch point in Nantes(the bridge and I believe that there is a bus that carries cycles over it in the summer), La Rochelle is lovely , the Atlantic coast gorgeous. We went inland towards Dax and crossed the Pyrenees at the Roncevalles pass then passed close to Pamplona through Rioja (Haro) and Logrono. The coast around Santander is flipping hilly (and I live in a very hilly part of Devon). I camped I for that trip. Have never found it difficult picking up modest priced hotels in French towns though.
I have rode to and from Santander a few times but never through St Malo, I have used either Caen or Cherbourg.
When cycling on my own or with a cycling buddy we have always camped and there is no shortage of campsites if that is the way you choose to go.
When cycling with my wife down to Gibraltar we found accommodation as we went along using either hotels, chambre d'hotes and some hostals in Spain. These are not like our hostals you get a private room.
On our 7 countries of Europe tour 4 years ago each night we worked out our itinerary for the next day and booked ahead using Booking.com. Using this method we found some really good and reasonably price accommodation and for anyone who is unsure about cycle touring I would advocate this way of finding places to stay.
As for your tour, take your pick. Each time I rode I took a different route through France but the shortest was down through Rocehfort (use transporter bridge to cross the river) Royan for ferry crossing to cross the Gironde and Hendaye for the Spanish border crossing. Keep out of tunnels at the border use the coast or shoulder of the old dual carriageway before San Sebastian. After there follow the coast using the transporter bridge to avoid Bilbao city centre and use small ferry from Somo to Santander harbour to avoid city centre.
There is your way. There is my way. But there is no "the way".
2009 I rode from Bilbao to St Malo.
There are main roads along the coast and a bit inland, with a minor road route between the two, at least from Bilbao. It was unseasonably hot that June, and the gradients were making life hard, so it took me 2 and a bit days to clear Spain. I found a hotel in Elgiobar (I asked in the police station who directed me to the only hotel in town), then a hostel (not youth hostel) in Leitza (directed there by English local), and finally a campsite at Sunbilla which is ideally placed for an easy climb over the end of the Pyrenees towards Espelette. A good surface, steady gradient and a peak of only about 600 metres. This kept me clear of the busy coast.
Once in France, my first night was in a hotel in Hasparren. A short day from Sunbilla because of heavy rain. After that, normal service was resumed with nightly camping and I went up through Les Landes to cross the Gironde on the ferry to Royan then meandered my way northwards. I had been heading for an event in the Vendee, so did not go direct.
I don't know if you have done much touring, so there is a danger of me "teaching granny", nonetheless.......
The first thing to decide is what sort of route do YOU want. Basically, you could do it almost all up the Atlantic coast, or you could take an inland route. If up the coast, then after that little bit of Spain, there is Eurovelo 1 to follow. Some people have said this can get a bit tedious with lots of sand dunes and pine forests. Also, more chance of things being closed in the tourist areas, but should be OK in bigger towns.
In 2019, I rode from Bordeaux to Caen. After deciding on the ride, I found out about a new long distance cycle route - La Velo Franconcette. You can get details online and there is a cheap guidebook. The route links up with one that heads out to Brittany.
Personally, I am no fan of these long distance paths as they sometimes make crazy detours, or put you on bad tracks to avoid things I am perfectly happy with (bigger roads, towns, etc). In the end I followed a bit of Francette, but more often made up my own 'more sensible' route.
Booking.com (or similar) is very useful, not just for booking, but for planning. Yesterday I was looking to see what sort of availability there was along a planned route in October. To do this, search for accomodation in a town at the start of the route, then look at the map view. As you expand the map, hotels, etc are shown in the opened up area. Follow your route this way and you can see what is available along the way for your dates.
Once cycling, do as said before and book hotels previous night or in the morning before you leave. You can risk just turning up, but I like to have a booking - even if it is only to make sure they keep the hotel open. Booking online often gets a better price in chain hotels, but not always in smaller places.
I use Google maps to plan my routes and navigate, because I like to hand craft them and it is loaded on my phone. If this isn't your style, have a look at cycle travel website - it'll do it all for you, including accom options. Sorry, I don't do point by point navigation.
Given your bike's range, I would say that you shouldn't have any problems making it to somewhere with a hotel each night.
Interestingly, it is being reported that the traffic light system for re-entry to the UK is being scrapped in October. Let's hope this makes travel easier. Go and enjoy.
If so is there a “Route” you could recommend.? I won’t be Camping,just wondering what accommodations this time of the year are like.? I shall be using a E-bike. 
