The Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) is one of the most famous long-distance treks in the world, circuiting the highest peak of Western Europe in about 170 kilometers. Its landscape is some of the most awe-inspiring in Europe, with a stunning and diverse combination of glaciers, alpine meadows, snow-capped peaks, lakes, rivers, and waterfalls, which makes it hugely popular with tourists and hikers alike.
If you're interested in hiking this incredible route yourself, continue reading and learn everything you need to know about hiking and completing the TMB.
Total length: Around 170 km (depending on the number of alternative routes taken)
Total elevation gain: Around 10,000 m
No. of stages: 11
Countries: France, Italy, Switzerland
The name “tour du Mont Blanc” is in French and means literally “around Mont Blanc”. As this name suggests, the trail takes you around Western Europe’s highest mountain peak.
And because that peak is actually just part of a massive mountain range, called the Mont Blanc massif, the trail around it is much more epic than going around a lone mountain.
The scenery along the Tour du Mont Blanc hike is unmatched, ranging from the lunar-like Aiguille Rouges to the valley pastures of Les Contamines. But no matter what, there's always a constant backdrop of the Mont Blanc range.
It leads you around the impenetrable wall of mountains over many mountain passes (called cols), through valleys, and on the sides of the mountains. Sometimes it also takes you along a mountain ridge, but that’s more of an exception than a rule.Its official start is in Les Houches (just south of Chamonix), going through the towns of Les Contamines, Courmayeur, La Fouly, Champex-Lac, Trient, and Argentière. It never actually goes through the town of Chamonix, although many people start their hike just there.
You can play with the map above or read the itinerary of our 11-day Self-guided Tour du Mont Blanc to get more details about each of its 11 stages.
Although the trail follows many ancient shepherd routes, it was walked whole for the first time in 1767 by Horace Benedict de Saussure. He was looking for ways to climb the peak of Mont Blanc, and he even offered a reward for the first ascent.
His exact trail is unknown, but it inspired many other travelers to the region afterward to repeat his feat. When the popularity of hiking went up in the following centuries, the infrastructure improved greatly, allowing even more people to come to enjoy the beauty of the Alps.
With over 170 kilometers in length and over 10,000 meters of vertical gain and loss, Tour du Mont Blanc is definitely not an easygoing vacation. Every hiking tour that takes multiple days to complete is a serious undertaking and should be approached in such a manner.
That means that going straight from the couch is a big nope. If you’re young and reasonably fit, you might be able to do it, but it will not be as enjoyable as it could have been.
That being said, for those who call themselves hikers — meaning that they hike regularly — the hiking tour should not be that much of a problem. Yes, the end of each day will probably be a little hard (especially if long), but you should not be that tired the next morning.
And who can call themselves a hiker? Anyone who hikes regularly, at least once a week. And that means doing a hike with at least 500 meters of elevation each week. If you do that, you have a good fitness base to tackle the Tour du Mont Blanc.
Scroll down below if you want to learn more about how to prepare for it.
The TMB is not technically difficult relative to other hiking routes.
To give you a sense of the scale, the most difficult routes would involve a lot of scrambling, using hands to cross exposed rocky terrain. Those should only be attempted by experienced mountaineers.
The easiest would be a reasonably wide (for at least two persons to comfortably meet) gravel trail, which doesn’t have any routes and rocks on it and is not exposed (exposure is the potential severity of injury if you fall off the trail). These can be done by anyone.
The Tour du Mont Blanc trail is not the easiest, as it goes over uneven ground, often riddled with roots and rocks, so you need to watch your step. There is also the (in)famous ladder section leading toward Lac Blanc.
Besides that, the route is quite easy. It is sometimes a bit exposed and narrow, but you never need to scramble to move forward. So what you most need to watch out for is spraining your ankle.
If you compare it to its neighbor, the Walker’s Haute Route, the TMB is easier in both technical and fitness terms.
If you read all of the above and you got intimidated because you never hiked on such terrain before, then getting a guide is probably your best choice.
You won’t have to worry about anything, except getting to the meeting point. After that, just take in the scenery and follow the guide’s lead.
Now if you don’t want to do all the heavy lifting of tour planning, you can choose to do the Self-guided Tour du Mont Blanc.
You won’t have to worry about booking the accommodations (not as simple as it sounds) and you could get excellent advice from professionals who know the trail and can make it much easier for you.
You’ll still have to hike it on your own though. Don’t worry, navigation on the TMB is not a problem, because the trail is very well-marked with signposts. Compared to going with a guide, you’ll have much more autonomy and independence, and that is what more and more people choose.
If you want to also plan it completely by yourself, start doing it at least a year ahead. With all the logistics, accommodations, route choices, and equipment, it could take even more than that.
The main factors to take into account when trying to predict how much your Tour du Mont Blanc hike would cost are the number of days on the trail and the types of accommodations you’d use.
If you plan to do it all by yourself, it will take around 1000 € per person, depending on the above factors. Be aware that it means MUCH more time spent working on the plan by yourself.
If you choose to buy a self-guided version of TMB, the prices are from 1400 € per person.
But if you want to do it with a guide, the cost rises up towards 2000 € and more.
If you are like most TMB hikers, you will start the hike in Les Houches, just above Chamonix. You can also start the hike in any of the other towns on the way, like Courmayeur, Les Contamines, or Champex.
If you want to get to Chamonix, you can get there by plane, car or by bus.
The closest airport is the Geneva Airport in Switzerland. From there, you can get to the Cham by train, bus or shuttle.
It’s easy to get to Chamonix from anywhere by car, especially if you’re in France, northern Italy or Switzerland.
There is a train station in the center of Chamonix, so you can get there with any international connection. They take much longer than other options but are the most scenic and most environmentally friendly.
Buses are cheaper than trains and usually fewer transfers between different buses. But on the other hand, they take the most time and are the least comfortable.
Planning a trip around the Tour du Mont Blanc takes a lot of time since it's a multi-day hiking tour. And with many days come many options for routes, accommodations, and more.
The main reason you should start very early is that the accommodations tend to get full quite quickly. You should have your list at least half a year in advance.
And for that, you need to start planning soon — a year before.
Let’s see what are the most important steps.
First thing you need to do is determine your itinerary. That starts with choosing if you’re going to do the whole trail or just a section of it.
That depends mostly on the number of days you have. It can go down to 7, depending on how fast and experienced a hiker you are, but to fully experience the route, you should do it in 11 days.
If you don’t have that much time, you can choose to only hike a specific section — for example, the highlights of Tour du Mont Blanc.
The other thing you need to choose is which of the alternative route options will you take, if any. That includes going to the iconic Lac Blanc or taking the ridge route above Rifugio Bertone. Either one you choose, you need to take into account the additional time that would take and plan accordingly.
The hiking season for the Tour du Mont Blanc is open from June to September. The start of the season largely depends on the amount of snow the previous winter.
If there was a lot (or late snowfall), it could still be tricky to hike it in June. Many parts of the trail would be covered in snow, making it dangerous to cross without special equipment (ice axe, crampons) and the skills to use it.
A couple of people each year when setting off on the TMB unprepared for snowy conditions. And even if they are, competence cannot save you from avalanches.
On the other hand, if the winter was less snowy, you could even do it in May or before.
Still, you should be on the safe side and plan to do it somewhere between June and September.
You can avoid the crowds by doing it somewhere between late August and early September. You just have to check which mountain huts close towards the end of that month. The weather will be chillier, but not too cold, so have a bulkier winter jacket with you for the evenings.
The temperatures during the peak season are hot in the valley (sometimes +30°C), and from 20°C to 30°C in the mountains. These can drop to 10°C at night.
What you need to look for is the amount of wind and clouds on the day, because that can make it feel much colder at higher altitudes.
It is not a rare occurrence that a cold front with rain can cause a significant drop in temperature, even bringing some snow on the mountain passes. In that case, it’s best to wait in the safe embrace of the valley until the bad weather passes.
Since the hike is one of the most (if not the most) popular in Europe, there have been many accommodation options springing up across the whole route.
The most popular option for most hikers are the mountain huts (called refuges), usually situated on mountain slopes or cols (mountain passes). They are the best choice if you want to really experience the authentic and romantic vibe of sleeping in the mountains.
But besides the huts, the valleys are full of different types of accommodations — from small family-run inns to boutique hotels. Staying in the valley really provides you with a lot of options to choose from.
Still, you need to book your accommodations early!
The Tour du Mont Blanc will lead you through regions known for their cuisine, where you’ll have the opportunity to try many local dishes and experience unique tastes. Because the trail never takes you too far from civilization, there’ll always be a refuge, a town, or a village on the way where you can have a meal.
There are plenty of good options to choose from in the valley, especially the towns. But what about the refuges?
The breakfasts are not that special, as they are usually pretty bland and small. You get some bread and various spreads to put on, like jam and butter. Depending on the hut, some also have cereal, yogurt, cheese, and fruit.
On the other hand, lunches and dinners are usually 3-course meals with excellent food. What you need to worry about with them is that you eat too much at lunchtime and then cannot continue the hike because of feeling all tired and sluggish.
Use the opportunity when passing towns to buy snacks and energy bars for the way between the accommodations.
Water is readily available in hotels and huts, so you can fill it up at each of the stops. You can also buy bottled water or fill it in some of the creeks you’ll find on the trail.
But if you decide to do the latter, first find the sign that says “eau potable” next to it. If it says “eau non-potable” it means that it is not drinkable.
As we mentioned before, the Tour du Mont Blanc cannot be tackled straight from the couch. Even if you do it very slowly, you’ll still need to be ready for many straight days of hiking with a relatively heavy backpack.
By the time you get on the trail, you need to be someone who can call themselves a hiker. That means you should be able to do a 10+ km hike with 1000 meters of up and down easily. Why? You definitely don’t want to feel tired on the second day of your Tour du Mont Blanc.
So … How do you prepare for this? You need to start training.
We’re not sports experts here. But what we know comes from our experience with long-distance hiking. If you do not do the same types of hikes before starting the big adventure, you’ll suffer more when it gets to it. And that means a less pleasant experience.
Why spend all that time struggling to manage to the next refuge, if you can be happy and enjoy the epic scenery?
You need to start hiking weekly. That doesn’t mean you should jumpstart with very long hikes at first, especially if you haven’t been hiking much before. You should start slow, building up the distance and elevation gain each week.
Towards the end, you should also incorporate some two-day hikes (or more) during the weekend, to get your body used to hike multiple days in a row.
Even if you don’t have hiking trails as long or hills as high close to your home you can do it. Just do multiple circles around your local trail.
When you go on these training hikes, take the backpack you’re going to use on TMB and fill it up. It will help you figure out the right way to pack and get your back used to the weight. Put on your hiking shoes too (especially if you will have boots), so you can wear them before TMB.
And don’t forget! — take the stairs instead of the elevator.
If you want to enjoy your hike, keep your backpack light by packing only the essentials. Every extra pound will feel like dead weight on your shoulders.
You will need a backpack with somewhere between 25 to 40 liters of space. Anything more and you’ll pack too heavy.
The most important thing will definitely be your shoes. Which type you choose depends on your preference and experience with different sorts. TMB can be done in both trail running sneakers (as thousands do so in UTMB race), hiking shoes or hiking boots.
You need to have a lot of experience with mountain terrains to take trail running shoes, so for an average hiker, it’s still best to take hiking shoes. They are sturdy and supportive enough to carry all the extra weight of the backpack, but they’re not as bulky and heavy as boots. All in all, you have to take something you’ll feel comfortable hiking in for many miles a day over steep, rocky terrain.
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The above guide is long and thorough. But that doesn’t have to intimidate you from going on your Tour du Mont Blanc.
Booking a self-guided Tour du Mont Blanc can save you a lot of time, stress, and hassle. And it’s not even that much more expensive than planning the tour all by yourself.
Check out our Tour du Mont Blanc treks, select your favorite, send us an inquiry and start counting the days till your epic adventure.
