Most people planning the TMB end up with the same question at some point: which guidebook should I actually buy?

There are three main options, they're all regularly recommended, and they're genuinely different from each other in ways that matter depending on how you hike. This guide covers all three — what each one does well, where it falls short, and how to choose between them.

The Three Main TMB Guidebooks

These are the books that hikers carry. Each covers the full 170 km circuit through France, Italy, and Switzerland, but they approach it differently.

Tour du Mont Blanc — Kingsley Jones (Vertebrate Publishing)

Best for: Most hikers. Especially self-guided, pace-conscious, and fastpacking.

Kingsley Jones is an International Mountain Leader who has guided the TMB more than fifty times and raced it many more. That experience shows in the book's most distinctive feature: the Jones-Ross formula, a personalised timing system that breaks the route into 165 waypoints and 34 timing checkpoints, with calculated times for walkers, trekkers, fastpackers, and trail runners.

This matters more than it sounds. Jones gives you a tool to calibrate to yourself, test your pace on the first day or two, then project forward with confidence for the rest of the circuit.

Other strengths: compact and lightweight, excellent safety section, waterproof companion map sold separately, GPX download included.

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Tour du Mont Blanc — Jim Manthorpe (Trailblazer, 3rd edition)

Best for: Naturalists, detail-oriented planners, and those who want the best trail maps.

Manthorpe's guide is the most map-rich of the three. It includes 50 detailed trail maps drawn specifically for walkers.

The maps are the book's strongest argument.

Beyond maps, Manthorpe covers flora and fauna in more depth than any other TMB guidebook — useful if wildflowers and wildlife are part of why you're going. The comprehensive background information (Alps ecology, mountaineering history, the 1786 first ascent of Mont Blanc) also makes this a richer pre-trip read.

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Trekking the Tour du Mont Blanc — Kev Reynolds (Cicerone, 6th edition)

Best for: Hikers doing the route clockwise, and those who want the most established reference.

Reynolds' guide is the original. For decades, it was the book that every English-speaking hiker on the TMB seemed to be carrying, and for good reason. The sixth edition (published May 2024, updated October 2025) covers both anti-clockwise and clockwise directions in full, in separate sections. This is the only mainstream guidebook that gives equal, detailed treatment to both directions.

If you're considering the clockwise route, which is quieter, especially in the mornings, this is the guide you want. The anti-clockwise direction is standard and covered well by all three books; the clockwise advantage here is unique to Reynolds.

The package includes the guidebook plus a 1:25,000 IGN map booklet, the most detailed scale of the three options, covering the entire route plus urban maps for Chamonix, Courmayeur, Les Contamines, and Champex.

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Choosing Between Them

If you can only buy one: Jones for most hikers, Manthorpe if you want better maps, Reynolds if you're going clockwise.

Maps: Do You Need a Separate One?

The Reynolds book includes the best bundled map (1:25,000). Kingsley Jones sells a waterproof companion map separately, worth considering given it's printed on durable material.

For digital navigation, all three guidebooks reference GPX downloads, and apps like Komoot, Gaia GPS, and the official TMB app are widely used on trail. A physical map remains a sensible backup regardless of what's on your phone.

What You Actually Need on the Trail

One guidebook. Either a physical map or a reliable GPS app (ideally both). That's it.

The TMB is one of the best-marked long-distance routes in Europe. Navigation is rarely the limiting factor for hikers who have done their planning beforehand. What matters more is knowing your pace, having your refuges booked, and understanding the stages well enough to make sensible decisions on variant routes.

If you're still in the planning stage and want to understand the route, the logistics, what to expect at the refuges, and how to decide between self-guided and guided options, our Ultimate Guide to the Tour du Mont Blanc covers all of that in detail.

A good guidebook is most enjoyable when you're not relying on it to solve logistical problems. If you want the refuge bookings, luggage transfer, and itinerary already in place before you arrive, take a look at our self-guided TMB tours.