For a quick trip to Mont Blanc, the northern half of our TMB is a fantastic hike from Courmayeur to Switzerland to Chamonix, with your own private guide.
Private Guided Best of the Tour du Mont Blanc
Private Guided Best of the Tour du Mont Blanc
For a quick trip to Mont Blanc, the northern half of our TMB is a fantastic hike from Courmayeur to Switzerland to Chamonix, with your own private guide.
- Private Guided,
- Inn-To-Inn,
- Moderate to Challenging,
The Tour du Mont Blanc is one of the finest hiking tours in the world, and this has always been our favorite stretch of the TMB.
If you don’t have time for the full circuit, you at least have time for this… hiking from Courmayeur to Chamonix across the northern half of the tour. You hike through all three countries, visit both Courmayeur and Chamonix, eat great food, meet wonderful people, start with unbelievable views from day one and finish with more great views of Mont Blanc on your last day. And with your own private guide, it’s even better.
Yes, you can express your way through the whole circuit in a week, but that requires prioritizing passes over highlights. This isn’t that. You won’t see the southern half of the TMB on this tour, and you won’t miss it. This trip moves at the right pace and leaves time for the most important sights and best hikes. With 3 countries filled with soaring mountains, lofty passes, and gorgeous trails, this is a wonderful one-week trek filled with scenic highlights.
Itinerary At a Glance
Day 1-2
Italy, Courmayeur
Your tour includes a private shuttle from Geneva to Courmayeur, the sunny Italian side of Mont Blanc. Take some time to explore this beautiful village. After a peaceful night, we’ll stretch our legs on a fabulous day hike to Bonatti hut.
Day 3-5
Switzerland, la Fouly to Trient
Now we hike across the Ferret pass and into Switzerland. Our three days here are filled with great walks, tidy Swiss villages, postcard-perfect lakes and beautiful mountains.
Days 6-7
France, Chamonix
Hiking over the Balme pass, we arrive in France to jaw-dropping views of Mont Blanc, Aiguille Verte and the entire Mont Blanc range. Descend to charming Chamonix for a final night before your shuttle back to Geneva.
Included
Your tour will be led by an experienced Alpinehikers guide, with guided hikes daily. All transfers to and from trailheads are included. You’ll stay 5 nights in village hotels and 1 night in a hiker’s inn, with all breakfasts, picnic lunches, and all dinners included. Luggage transfers to all stops are also part of your tour, as well as private arrival taxi and shared departure shuttle to Geneva.
Full Itinerary
Day 1
Courmayeur
For the Tour du Mont Blanc North, it’s best to fly to Geneva, and we’ll arrange your private transfer to the medieval village of Courmayeur in Italy, where you stay in a pleasant and friendly hotel near the center of town. Courmayeur is just over 2 hrs from Geneva.
There is plenty to do in the village, cable cars take you up to high vantage points, or there are great dayhikes near town. The nearby Pre St Didier spa is also a great way to relax if you arrive early. Courmayeur is a beautiful village, with cobblestoned pedestrian-only alleyways filled with comfortable cafes and stylish shops. Meet your guide and enjoy a wonderful welcome dinner together.
- Dinner
Day 2
Courmayeur
After one of our favorite breakfasts at the Bouton d’Or, you’ll head out on a dayhike high above town. One of the highlights of the TMB is the high traverse of Mont de la Saxe above Courmayeur, with incredible views of Mont Blanc and the towering Grandes Jorasses as you hike to the comfortable Bonatti hut. A more moderate hike follows an undulating traverse just above treeline directly to the hut. After relaxing at the hut, we can return to Chamonix by bus.
If prefer a slower start to your tour, Courmayeur is also great for people-watching and relaxing, perhaps even taking a short trip on your own down to the Pre St. Didier Spa or the Monte Bianco cable car. You’ll again have dinner with your guide in Courmayeur tonight and discuss the following day’s hike into Switzerland.
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
Day 3
La Fouly
Hiking to the back of the Italian Val Ferret, you’ll enjoy more great views while crossing the Grand Col Ferret and into Switzerland. The Grand Col Ferret is a modest pass, with grassy meadows great for savoring views back toward Mont Blanc.
When you’re ready to leave the pass, you’ll descend through tidy green fields with high cliffs and glaciers reaching down from the heights, to the tiny village of la Fouly, a quiet stop along the Tour du Mont Blanc. Stay in a comfortable 3-star hotel.
HIKE: 7-9 hours, 10 miles; Elevation: 3120 ft up, 4520 ft down
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
Day 4
Champex
One of the easier hikes on your Mont Blanc tour takes you on a valley walk through woods and up to the pretty, lakeside village of Champex.
For strong hikers looking for a bigger day, a much more strenuous alternate route leads over a high pass, to a hut perched along the edge of the Orny glacier, before descending to Champex. Stay in a comfortable 3-star village hotel.
HIKE: 6-8 hours, 9.5 miles; Elevation: 1380 ft up, 1790 ft down
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
Day 5
Trient
An undulating trail known as the Bovine route leads through pine forests and alpine pastures (and plenty of cows), with sweeping views of the Rhone valley.
Weather permitting, a more rigorous possibility leads up to the high pass of Fenetre d’Arpette, one of the highest points along the tour and along the Trient glacier. Finish the day at a small hiker’s inn at Forclaz or in nearby Trient.
HIKE: 6-8 hours, 9 miles; Elevation: 2460 ft up, 2260 ft down (Bovine) or 7-9 hours, 9.5 miles; Elevation: 3940 ft up, 3740 ft down (Fenetre d’Arpette)
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
Day 6
Chamonix
On your final hiking day of the tour, cross the Col de Balme into France where you are greeted to sweeping views of Mont Blanc and the Chamonix valley. Absolutely stunning!
If you’re looking for a short day, there is a gondola that can take you down from the pass. Otherwise, we send you on a beautiful side trail through alpenrose and wild blueberries with the brilliant glaciers of Mont Blanc ahead in the distance. Hike down to the village of le Tour where you catch a bus to Chamonix. Enjoy a final celebratory dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in Chamonix.
HIKE: 6-8 hours, 10 miles; Elevation: 2890 ft up, 3120 ft down
- Breakfast
- Lunch
- Dinner
Day 7
depart
Today you say au revoir, and depart for your post-Mont Blanc destinations. Your tour includes a private taxi to Geneva.
- Breakfast