Tour Du Mont Blanc Classic Guided
Duration: 7 days, 6 nights
Region: France/ Italy/ Switzerland
Cost per person in EUR: from $ 975 (6-14 pax)
Tour Code: GAEUR-TDMB-G7
7 Days Guided tour – Carry only your small bag with daily things & picnic
France/ Italy/ Switzerland
Level: Intermediate
Season: End May to End September
Discover the Tour du Mont Blanc with this guided hike to discover the most beautiful glaciers and peaks in the Alps!
Faithful to its myth, the Mont Blanc is an unmissable massif of the Alps. During this trek, which will take you from France to Italy, then to Switzerland, you will admire Mont Blanc from all angles, under all its lights!
Seven valleys, 71 glaciers, 400 peaks … the Mont-Blanc massif fascinates …
To go around, is to discover an incomparable universe, that of the high mountain, impressive and magical, and the spectacle of the nearby glaciers descending from peaks to the mountain pastures.
From Courmayeur to the Chamonix valley, from the Arpette window to the wild Val Ferret, along the Swiss, Italian and French slopes, the paths venture between pastures, glaciers and peaks, crossing passes and valleys.
The astonishing theater of nature comes out the big game. The forests follow one another on the slopes, beeches, spruces, larches, pine trees, then fade, replaced by juniper trees, mosses and lichens. On the lawn, the flowers blossom: gentians, carnations of the Alps, rhododendrons, sulfur anemones …
A chance meeting with some marmots players, a fearful chamois or an ibex with golden eyes is still possible.
A domain of untamed nature, the massif is also the territory of the women and men who live here. Going around Mont Blanc is also discover through villages and hamlets, a familiar and warm mountain, full of tradition.
A complete trekking trip, with all the pleasure of the light bag, in shelters or in hotels, for an unmissable classic of the mountain trek.
Some Info
1. LEVEL
For good walker. 5 to 7 hours of walking a day, +/- 900 m of altitude difference on average per day. Accessible to children who are good walkers and motivated from the age of 12 (with their parents). Being able to easily walk 12 km (in plain) in 2 hours maximum. If this is not the case, within three weeks before departure we advise you to undertake a little training (2 to 3 times a week): 4 to 5 km of jogging or 2 to 3 hours hiking or biking. Your physical preparation will facilitate your stay and allow you to appreciate it even more.
2. LUGGAGE TRANSFER
You only carry a backpack for the day with the necessary for your hike and the picnic lunch. Your luggage will be transferred by vehicle until the morning of day 7 and kept at the place of dispersion at the parking lot of the Bellevue cable car in Les Houches (shower possible). Max 10 kg per luggage per person.
3. ACCOMMODATION
“Classic” ~ 6 nights in dormitory in a gite and refuge
“Comfort” ~ 4 nights in a gite in a 2-person room (shared bathroom); 1 night in a refuge in a 4-person room (shared bathroom); 1 night in a hotel in double room (private bathroom)
For the comfort version, sheets are provided in each establishment, towels every evening except at the Mottets refuge.
Itinerary
From Col de la Balme – Les Houches
We may have to modify the indicated itinerary: either at the level of the organization (problem of overload of the accommodations, duplication of the groups, modification of the state of the ground, landslides, degraded trails, etc.), or directly because of the guide (weather, group level, etc.). These modifications are always made in your interest, for your safety and for a better comfort!
Day 1
Col de la Balme – Trient / Switzerland (LD O/N Gite/refuge) [5 hrs, +840m, -920m]
[Stage: Balcony of the Posettes]
Meet guide 10:30am at Montroc-le-Planet train station, ascend the balcony of the Posettes, until the Col de Balme (2200 m), Franco-Swiss border. View of the nearby glaciers of Argentière, Le Tour and the north of the Mont-Blanc massif. Descend in the Swiss pastures to the village of Trient.
Day 2
Trient – Champex / Switzerland (BLD O/N Gite/refuge)
Depending on the conditions and the shape of the group, cross the mountain pastures of Bovine by a path in balcony overlooking the Rhone valley, or climb along the Glacier de Trient, to reach the mythical window of Arpette via high pass 2665m
[Bovine route: 6 hrs, +1100m, -750m]
[Arpette route: 6.5hrs; +1300m, -970m]
Day 3
Champex – Elena / Italy (BLD O/N Gite/Refuge) [5 hrs, +840m, -750m]
[Stage: Fouly]
Descend to the village of Champex and bus transfer to the village of Fouly. Ascend to Col Ferret (2537 m), border with Italy. Possible meeting with alpine farmers of the alp of the Peule. Descend into the Italian Val Ferret, under the impressive foothills of the back of Mont Blanc. Continue to Pré de Bar glacier where you will overnight in refuge facing the glacier.
Day 4
Elena – Courmayeur / Italy (BLD O/N Gite/Refuge) [5.5 hrs, +650m, -1200m]
[Stage: Bonatti Refuge]
Ascend to the Bonatti refuge and cross on the balcony of the Saxon mountain, offering an unusual view of Mont Blanc, Mont Dolent, Needle Triolet, Grandes Jorasses … Descend to Courmayeur with short transfer to reach our cottage on the heights of Courmayeur.
Day 5
Courmayeur – Mottets / France (BLD O/N Gite/Refuge) [6 hrs, +850m, -650m]
[Stage: Miage glacier lake, Chécroui pass, Mont Fortin]
Trek to the glacial lake Miage and Seigne, Franco-Italian border. Detour possible by the large south balcony of Mont Blanc through the Chécroui pass and Mont Fortin, revealing unreal Himalayan profiles.
[Main route: 6 hrs, +850m, -650m]
[Chécroui pass route: 8hrs; +450m, -450m]
Day 6
Mottets – Les Contamines Montjoies / France (BLD O/N Gite/Refuge) [6 hrs, +850m, -1500m]
[Stage: Col des Fours (2665 m), Col du Bonhomme (2329 m), Notre Dame de la Gorge]
Trek to Beaufortain and ascend in the mountain pastures between torrents and waterfalls to Col des Fours (2714 m), the highest point of the hike. Descend to via the Col du Bonhomme (2300 m) to Notre Dame de la Gorge, which was once great passage of peddlers. Continue by the old Roman road at the valley bottom and a short transfer to reach our night in Contamines Montjoies.
Day 7
Contamines Montjoies – Les Houches / France (BL) [5 hrs, +750m, -800m]
Ascend to Bioassay Glacier through the village of Champel or the Tricot Pass (2120 m). Enjoy the views of the Chamonix Valley, the domes of Miage and Mont Blanc nearby. Descend to the village of Les Houches.
[Champel Route: 5hrs; +750m, -800m]
[Tricot Pass (2120 m) Route: 6.5hrs; +1100m, -1250m]
LAND Price per person in EUR
Tour Code: GAEUR-TDMB-G7
| Departure Dates (Year 2024) | Classic | Comfort* |
| 26 May – 1 Jun (FULL), 2-8 Jun (FULL) | 975 | 1,095 |
| 9-15 Jun (FULL), 16-22 Jun (FULL), 23-29 Jun (FULL), 30 Jun – 6 July (FULL) | 995 | NA |
| 7-13 July (FULL), 21-27 July (Comfort FULL), 28 July – 3 Aug (FULL), 4-10 Aug (FULL), 11-17 Aug (FULL), 18-24 Aug (FULL), 1-7 Sep (Comfort FULL) | 995 | 1,115 |
| 25-31 Aug (Confirmed), 8-14 Sep (FULL), 15-21 Sep (Confirmed), 22-28 Sep (Confirmed) | 975 | 1,095 |
* Comfort version supplement for a group registration of at least 2 people
– All comfort version is subject to availability
Cost includes
LAND Price includes
- Accommodation
- Meals (Day 1 Lunch till Day 7 Lunch)
- Luggage transfer
- Internal transfer
- Local French guide who may or may not speak English
- Tourist taxes
- Briefing before departure
Cost excludes
Price excludes
- All airfare & taxes
- All transfers except those mentioned in “includes”
- Drinks
- Visits & Entrance fees
- Personal gears
- Expenses of a personal nature like laundry, phone calls, alcohol, beverages, cigarettes
- Travel Insurance
- Any costs arising out of unforeseen circumstances such as bad weather, landslides, road conditions and any other circumstances beyond our control.
- Single supplement
- Visa and Visa application fees
- All those not mentioned in “the price includes”
More Information
FOOD
Breakfast and dinner are served in the accommodation.
Your guide will prepare the picnic lunch which usually consists of various salads and regional products. Please tell us when you register on any food allergy or special diet; we will do our best to adapt your meals.
GUIDE
A local certified mountain guide.
GROUP
6 to 14 people.
START / END
Start: 1030hrs at Montroc-le-Planet train station
End: 1600hrs approximately at the foot of the gondola Prarion aux Houches
CONFIRMATION NOTICE
You will receive about two weeks before your departure, a confirmation notice specifying the time and place of the appointment, the name and contact information of the guide and the address of the first accommodation.
Extend your stay
You can extend your trip before or after the trek to Les Houches or Chamonix on request.
If you book a hotel night in the Chamonix Valley, you can ask your hotelier for a guest card, offering free public transport in the Chamonix Valley.
DATES
At your convenience, from mid June to mid September. Go out with friends or family at the dates that suit you. Customisation possible from 6 people. When you book the tour please give us one or two other departure dates in case your 1st choice is not possible. Price may differ from the above cost.
Getting There & Away
By train: SNCF www.voyages-sncf.com
Montroc-le-Planet train station
- Buses and trains serve all the valley of Chamonix
- Regular connection every hour between Chamonix and Montroc Planet. https://www.chamonix.com/pdf/chambus.pdf
Return by Les Houches railway station.
IF YOU ARRIVE BY PLANE
Geneva Airport (GVA) is the closest one.
- Train : Geneva airport -> Montroc-le-Planet, www.sbb.ch , duration about 3 hrs (not very practical)
- OUIBUS https://www.ouibus.com/
- From Geneva airport to Chamonix ; about 19€ 1- way ; with reservation ; duration 2 hrs then local bus/ train to Montroc-le-Planet
- From Les Houches, Chamonix to Geneva airport direct ; about 19€ 1- way ; with reservation ; duration 2 hrs.
Chamonix bus lines: https://chamonix.montblancbus.com/fr/ligne-de-bus
In Your Luggages
Cancellation Terms
Reviews
- Unforgettable in a good way.
- Martial is an excellent guide. One of the best I’ve met. Totally enjoyed the trek & the company.
- Big thanks to CK for the detailed coordination as always.”
- Best Moments: The wonderful team.
- Least Enjoyed:
- Shivering in one of the supposedly hot but cold shower.
- The blisters from day 1. Would have been good to use anti-blister socks or sock liners.
- Recommendations:
- Must bring slippers for refuge. Not all provide.
- Blister plasters a must
- Finding the Oui bus connection to Chamonix was a mad panic because there were no clear markers or signage. Neither did the bus have the logo printed on it.
Bucket List for Hiking.
The route from Champex to Trient over the Fenetre d’Arpette is quite dangerous at the top. The final climb is over soft snow combs and very loose rocks. Definitely not appropriate for anyone other than expert hikers.
Best Moments: The two days between Trient-Argentiere-Chamonix have the most incredible views.
Least Enjoyed Moments: Final descent into Chamonix. The cable car at Le Flegere was not operating.
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