We offer Tour du Mont Blanc routes that not only take you along the whole TMB, but also shorter versions of its highlights. As with all our self-guided walking holidays, we provide luggage transfers and accommodation along the way. The traditional route is anti-clockwise, starting in the Chamonix Valley, and we currently have six different Tour du Mont Blanc holidays, with a range of accommodation styles, routes, starting points and trek durations.
The most important criteria for most people, when it comes to choosing, is their fitness level, budget and the amount of time they can spend. Our holiday style is about taking your time and enjoying the views, not pushing yourself to extremes, and our itineraries are carefully crafted with that in mind. Whether you stay in mountain huts or hotels, camp it or chalet it, the TMB is always a natural adventure extraordinaire.
Here are our current Tour du Mont Blanc routes:
Tour du Mont Blanc circuit in 12 days
This is the traditional 12 day, anti-clockwise route starting in the villages of either Chamonix or Les Houches. The alpine arcadia that lies ahead hits you as soon as you arrive, and your walking holiday gets off to a gentle start, taking a cable car up to higher elevations to join the TMB path. For the next 10 days, you walk between 11 and 18km per day, with some strenuous stretches but all sublimely beautiful ones, with a few options to transfer by bus or by cable car if you want an exciting short cut.
You can do this route from either Chamonix or nearby Les Houches, both bookable between June and September:
Tour du Mont Blanc from Les Houches on a budget
On this holiday you stay in a mix of mountain huts (refuges or refugi), and small mountain hotels. In the mountain huts, you sleep in mixed-gender dormitories with shared bathroom facilities, joining the camaraderie of the TMB in traditional style. Luggage is transferred for you on all days except one, when you are required to carry your overnight luggage from hut to hut and you need a sleeping bag and liner for the huts.
Highlights along the way include crossing Col de la Seigne from France into Italy, reaching the tour’s highest point at Fenêtre d’Arpette (2,665m) followed by a descent alongside the Trient Glacier. The day you climb to Lac Blanc at 2,352m with reflections of Mont Blanc waiting to greet you is a special one, as is crossing Grand Col Ferret at 2,537m, another of the highest points on the TMB, into the highs of Switzerland’s Valais.
Tour du Mont Blanc from Chamonix in comfort
This Tour du Mont Blanc hike is very similar to the one above, with a little more luxury between the hiking sections as you stay in small mountain hotels rather than refuges. Starting and finishing in one of the oldest resorts in France, Chamonix, this is a way to hike the classic with a bit more fluffiness around the edges.
Tour du Mont Blanc from Martigny in 12 days
This version of the Tour du Mont Blanc starts and ends in Martigny in Switzerland, and so if you want to top and tail your TMB with visits to Geneva, Zermatt or Lucerne, to name but a few sublime Swiss spots, this is a good way to tackle the Tour. It is also a quieter starting point, with most walkers starting their odyssey at Les Houches or Chamonix. However, you still complete the circuit and experience the same natural nirvanas en route, as mentioned above. However, there is no budget alternative on the more swish Swiss route on our holidays. Accommodation is in 3-star hotels and guesthouses, in double or twin private en-suite rooms.
It’s worth noting that Martigny is also the terminus station for one of Europe’s most spectacular train rides, known as the Mont Blanc Express. Not fast at all in fact, it’s a sublimely slow journey on a metre-gauge railway which clings to the north side of Mont Blanc, ascending from Martigny with views over the Trient Valley, cliffs, gorges and the Argentière glacier. It only takes 90mins and runs every hour, so you could treat yourself to a more restful view of the places you have walked at the end of your holiday.
Tour du Mont Blanc highlights in eight or nine days
Similar to the whole circuit, this route takes you in an anti-clockwise direction through all three countries, but skips some of the more tedious less scenic sections. It also only takes eight or nine days, depending on the itinerary, so it’s perfect if you don’t have much time to spare. This is no walk in the park, however, as you are still walking for six consecutive days, between five to nine hours a day, depending on the trekking terrain. Think of it as getting all the best chocolates in the selection box, leaving the slightly less flavoursome ones for someone else.
Starting in Les Contamines or Saint-Gervais and finishing in Chamonix, you still experience all the main highs, including crossing Col de la Seigne from France into Italy, ascending to the tour’s highest point at Fenêtre d’Arpette (2,665m) followed by a descent alongside the Trient Glacier. The day you cross Grand Col Ferret at 2,537m, another one of the highest points on the TMB is a special one with magnificent views of Pré-de-Bar glacier, Ferret valley, Col de la Seigne, and the border between Italy and Switzerland.
You can do the Tour du Mont Blanc Highlights in four ways, choosing between self-guided or guided:
Tour du Mont Blanc highlights on a budget
Walking over eight days, this tour starts in Les Houches and finishes in Chamonix, and although it’s on a budget, you will never be short changed on scenery on the Tour du Mont Blanc highlights itinerary. But you can make some savings by staying in a mixture of budget mountain accommodation, from local lodges to mountain huts, both with mixed-gender dorms and shared bathroom facilities. The exceptions are when staying in hotels in Les Houches, Les Contamines and Chamonix.
It’s worth noting that one of the nights in Rifugio Elena in Italy, is one of our favourite mountain huts. It’s located on the lower section of the Grand Col Ferret at 2,061m, with views of Glacier de Pré de Bar. That’s one exquisite espresso the morning you wake up to. It has also been recently renovated and is big and buzzy, with beds for 127 people, and they do great food, specialising in Valle D’Aosta goodies such as pizza with fontina cheese and various venison dishes. As well as an excellent selection of local wines.
Tour du Mont Blanc Highlights in comfort
This tour follows a similar itinerary as the Tour du Mont Blanc highlights on a budget tour, but because you stay in more hotels, it has a few diversions to lovely beds. For example, it starts in Les Contamines or Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, (depending on accommodation availability) but it still finishes in Chamonix. It’s also eight days long and, although you don’t get Elena on this tour, you do get a night in Italy’s Courmayeur instead, one of the finest towns to kiss the feet of Mont Blanc. Because, as well as Monte Bianco, as it’s called in Italy, Courmayeur looks out at 14 other peaks, making it look like it just fell straight out of a National Geographic photo shoot. You also have quality time in Bourg-Saint-Maurice and Martigny on this route.
Small group, guided Tour du Mont Blanc highlights tour
We have one new guided version of the Tour du Mont Blanc, which starts in Saint-Gervais-les-Bains and finishes in Chamonix, over eight days. This is perfect for solo travellers who can join a group, and expert mountain leader, to trek between the top spots on the TMB, including the Aiguille du Midi, Grand Col Ferret, Mer de Glace and so much more. They don’t cover the complete circuit, and use transfers to take short cuts, but you won’t be short of hiking highlights. Nor a good bed for the night, as this itinerary takes you to hotels at the end of each day. As this is a small group tour, with maximum 12 people, there are set dates that you can sign up for.
Classic Tour du Mont Blanc (Centre-based)
This eight day walking tour takes on sections of the TMB circuit in and around two of its gorgeous gateway towns, Chamonix in France and Courmayeur in Italy. It’s a centre-based holiday, dividing your time between three-star hotels in both towns, with plenty of time to take on hiking highlights such as Grand Balcon Sud, Val Veny and Val Ferret. A perfect way to have quality time on some of the Tour du Mont Blanc’s trails but also enjoy some town downtime in Chamonix and Courmayeur. This is the only version of the TMB that’s categorised as moderate, rather than moderate to strenuous.
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