Overview
An eight-day, self-guided walking holiday along the iconic Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB), hiking the highlights and waking up to its wonders. The TMB circumnavigates one of our greatest massifs taking you through France, Switzerland and Italy. Starting in Les Contamines and finishing in Chamonix, trek the traditional anti-clockwise route, staying in hotels and lodges, with one night in a mountain hut, so you can enjoy being part of the TMB community. Luggage is transferred and, in order to complete the Tour du Mont Blanc in comfort in six days, we’ve added some public transport and cable car transfers.
If you prefer to spend most nights in mountain huts, take a look at our Tour du Mont Blanc Highlights holiday.
- Iconic Mont Blanc towns of Chamonix, Champex and Courmayeur
- Trient Glacier
- Grand Col Ferret and Val Ferret
- Lac Blanc
- Fenêtre d’Arpette (2,750m).
Click to view map
Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival to Les Contamines
Welcome to the charming, traditional village of Les Contamines. A short warm-up walk is possible, depending on your arrival time.
- Accommodation: Hôtel La Gélinotte, 2-star (or similar), half-board
Day 2: Les Contamines – Les Chapieux | 6-7h
A short car transfer to Notre Dame de la Gorge. Trek over Col du Bonhomme and Col de la Croix du Bonhomme leading to Chapieux Valley, with incredible views of Aiguille des Glaciers.
- Walking for the day: 6-7h (15.25km) ↑1,200m ↓900m
- Accommodation: Mountain lodge Auberge La Nova (private room), half-board
*If accommodation in Les Chapieux is unavailable, we will accommodate you at a hotel in Bourg-Saint-Maurice instead. Depending on availability, the hotel would be either a 2-star with dinner included, or a 3-star with breakfast only. You will need to take the bus from Les Chapieux to Bourg-Saint-Maurice and return in the morning (approx. €4-6 fare). Please not: If arriving before 25 June and after 27 August, private transfers will be required as the shuttle bus doesn’t run in low season. Supplement will be €190 in total for both transfers on days 2 and 3.
Day 3: Les Chapieux – Courmayeur | 6h
Walk over Col de la Seigne to the Italian side of the border. Descend into Val Ferret and take the bus from La Cantine de la Visaille to Courmayeur. One of today’s highlights are the memorable views over Grandes Jorasses mountain.
- Walking for the day: 6h (15.3km) ↑700m ↓1,000m
- Accommodation: Hotel Bouton d’Or, 3-star (or similar) in Courmayeur, breakfast
Day 4: Courmayeur – Champex (Val d’Arpette) | 6-7h
Cross Grand Col Ferret to reach the beautifully traditional village of La Fouly in Switzerland, with views of Combins Massif. Short transfer by postal bus to Champex, a Swiss village famous for being coiled around an exquisite alpine lake. Your walk takes you for another 45mins to the lodge-hotel in Val D’Arpette.
- Walking for the day: 6-7h (16.8km) ↑850m ↓1,000m
- Accommodation: Le Relais Arpette, private room, half-board
Day 5: Champex (Val d’Arpette) – La Forclaz (or Trient) | 8-9h
Today you reach the highest point of your holiday, trekking over Fenêtre d’Arpette (2,750m), followed by an equally stunning descent of the Trient Glacier. There is an alternative, shorter itinerary via the Col de Bovine Pass, in the event of inclement weather.
- Walking for the day: 8-9h (13.8km) ↑1,050m ↓1,385m, or 5-6h (13.7km) ↑800m ↓1,135m (shorter option)
- Accommodation: Mountain hut La Forclaz (or similar), private room, half-board
Day 6: La Forclaz (or Trient) – Argentière | 6-7h
Walking over the Col de la Balme and back to France with fantastic views of the Mont Blanc and Aiguille Verte, you will have the option of two alternative routes for the descent to the village of Argentière.
- Walking for the day: 6-7h (15.5km) ↑1,000m ↓1,050m
- Accommodation: Hotel Le Dahu, 2-star (or similar) in Argentières, breakfast
Day 7: Argentière – Chamonix | 6h
Enjoy the wonderful Balcon des Aiguilles Rouges, before an ascent to Lac Blanc. The landscapes that await on a grand finale day include Aiguille Verte, Les Drus, La Mer de Glace, Aiguilles de Chamonix, Mont Blanc du Tacul, Aiguille du Goûter and, last but not least, Mont Blanc itself. Descend to Chamonix via the village of Le Praz. You can also opt to take the cable car at La Flégère or even by bus (transfers not included in the price).
- Walking for the day: Choice of 21, 16 or 8km with ↑900, ↑ 500 or ↑400m elevation gains
- Accommodation: Hotel du Clocher, 3-star (or similar), breakfast
Day 8: Departure or onward travel
Chamonix is a great base to spend a couple of days, and we would recommend that you add some extra nights here. Other natural highlights to enjoy include walking in Aiguilles Rouges National Nature Reserve, taking the cable car to Aiguille du Midi at 3,795m or enjoying a ride on theThe Montenvers Railway to the Hotel de Montenvers station, at the Mer de Glace, at an altitude of 1,913m.
What to expect
Accommodation
Accommodation is in lodges (3 nights) and 2 and 3-star hotels (4 nights) in private rooms, most of them with en-suite facilities when possible. We have carefully hand-picked all places and regularly monitor their quality. They have been carefully selected based on a variety of criteria including their location, warm hospitality, fine local food or commitment to responsible tourism. All rooms have en-suite or private bathrooms.
Click to view default hotels
- Hôtel La Gélinotte 2*
- Mountain hut La Forclaz, Hotel du Clocher 3*
- Le Relais Arpette, Hotel Bouton d’Or 3*
- Mountain lodge Auberge La Nova, Hotel Le Dahu 2*
Hotels are subject to availability. In the event of a particular accommodation being fully booked for your chosen dates, we will replace it with a hotel of equal value and quality level. We will provide exact accommodation details to you upon booking confirmation. As Mont Blanc tours are very popular, and accommodation options are quite limited, we may need to book you into alternative options to those mentioned above and, when necessary, this may incur an additional cost. We do, therefore, recommend that you book as early as possible.
Meals
Breakfast is included on 7 days and dinner is included on 5 days. When no restaurant location is available on route, lunches and snacks should either be bought from local shops, or packed lunch can be pre-ordered from your accommodation the night before.
Difficulty and terrain
This holiday is appropriate for experienced walkers (no high mountain experience required) and requires a very good level of fitness (read more about difficulty grades). We strongly advise you to follow only marked trails and never shorten the path through the unknown and unmarked terrain. We will provide you with detailed road notes and maps, and you can call our 24/7 local assistance phone number anytime. More detailed info on route navigation will be included in your holiday information pack.
When to go
This trip is available on any date from 15 June till 15 September (last starting date). Regularly updated weather forecasts for the area are available here and here. Detailed month-by-month climate info is available here. The flexibility of self-guided holidays means that there are no fixed dates and you can start your trip on any date in the season – so please indicate desired beginning date when booking. Please note that availability may be limited during big events such as the Marathon du Mont-Blanc at the end of June and the UTMB trail running event at the end of August.
Getting there
FCO up-to-date travel advice on Switzerland, France and Italy.
Click to view travel options
By plane
Our recommended airport for this holiday is Geneva (GVA).
By train or bus
- By own/rental car: Please note that there is free parking in Les Contamines, but it is not secured. At the end of the tour, to go from Chamonix to Les Contamines, take the Bus SAT Mont Blanc or Taxi Besson.
- By train: to Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le-Fayet station and then by taxi or bus to Les Contamines. Please let us know if you would like us to book you a taxi or need latest bus timetables.
- By Bus: SAT Mont Blanc (+33 (0) 4 50 78 05 33) – about 35mins. Taxi Besson (+33 (04) 50 93 61 47) (Minibuses with eight or six seats are also available), approximately €135 for between 1-3 people (Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le-Fayet to Contamines or Chamonix to Contamines).
- Return via Chamonix Mont Blanc railway station. From Chamonix to Saint-Gervais-les-Bains-Le-Fayet : by train, approx. 40mins.
- By taxi: From Geneva airport to Les Contamines about €330 one-way on weekdays and before 18.00. Taxi for two to four people.
Inclusions
Included
- 4 nights in 2/3-star hotels in private en-suite rooms and 3 nights in lodges, most of them with en-suite facilities (please note that this cannot always be guaranteed for the three overnights in the mountain lodges)
- 7 breakfasts
- 4 dinners
- Luggage transfers from hotel to hotel on all walking days
- Private transfer on day 2
- Detailed holiday information pack including GPS-checked and regularly updated route descriptions and road notes; maps with daily routes and optional hikes marked (provided only digitally as access to our Navigation app; printed documents available at extra cost)
- 24/7 phone assistance by our local office/representative
Excluded
- Airfare and connecting land transfers
- All lunches, and dinners not mentioned as included, drinks and snacks
- The bus transfer on day 3 La Nova – Seloge
- Eventual bus transfers and cable cars to shorten the walks (Courmayeur, Champex, Chamonix)
- Travel insurance (required – get a quote online)
- Personal expenses
- Local tourist taxes and entry fees (payable on-site)
- Any items not explicitly listed as included
- If staying in Bourg-Saint-Maurice on day 2 before 25 June and after 27 August, private return transfer will be required , as the bus shuttle doesn’t run outside peak season, with a supplement of €190 in total.
Options, extras and supplements
- If you’re travelling in a group, a supplement applies to group members who would like to have a room of their own. Please note that individual rooms are not available on days 2 and 4
- We regret that this holiday is not available for solo travellers
- Upgrade to 3* hotel in Les Contamines and 4* hotel in Chamonix is possible on request
- Extra nights in Les Contamines or Chamonix
- Luggage transfers opt-out: if you prefer to carry all your luggage rather than have it transferred by us, this will reduce your price. Please note this option has to be selected for all travellers in the booking
- Printed pre-departure materials
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