For the Tour du Mont Blanc, fly to Geneva travel independently to Chamonix, the world-famous resort and mountaineering center at the foot of Mont Blanc. There are convenient airport transfers that can bring you right to your hotel for your first night in France.

Enjoy the ambiance of this beautiful village with impressive views of Mont Blanc. Stay in a comfortable 3-star hotel in town. Dinner will be on your own in Chamonix, where there are tons of great choices (we’ll give suggestions).

Arrival: Geneva.  Plan to arrive by the day your tour starts.  You can book a private or shared shuttle from GVA to Chamonix.  The trip takes 1½ hrs.  We recommend booking early with Mountain Dropoffs or Chamonix Valley Transfers.

Leaving Chamonix, your Mont Blanc circuit starts with a cable car above the scenic Voza Pass to the lovely Bionnassay Valley, a quiet, wooded region with impressive glaciers and waterfalls, and capped by blinding peaks.

An optional (but recommended) ascent leads over the higher Tricot Pass to the Miage Valley, before descending to the quaint village of les Contamines.  Stay at the comfortable 4-star Hotel les Chemenaz, a quiet oasis with wonderful meals.

Today the tour du Mont Blanc route leads you on a long ascent across two lofty passes, Col du Bonhomme and Col de la Croix du Bonhomme. This a long day, but taken slow and steady, it’s not unusually hard, and there are many beautiful sights along the way to keep you going.

From the Bonhomme pass, descend to the tiny hamlet of les Chapieux, where you stay in a simple hiker’s inn.  There are just 2 small hotels in Chapieux, private rooms with bathroom down the hall.  If they are full, we’ll arrange a taxi from les Chapieux to a nearby village for the night, and back in the morning.

Note: no single rooms here

After a morning bus to the trail head, a gradual ascent through quiet alp pastures leads to the Col de la Seigne and into Italy. Here you’re greeted by an amazing view into the Veny Valley and the Mont Blanc range. The Aiguille Noire de Peuterey is particularly impressive from this vantage point, and Mont Blanc itself dominates the view ahead of you.

You might stop at the Elisabetta hut for lunch and have your choice of either the long high route to Col Checrouit, or continue down valley to la Visaille, where you can catch a bus to Courmayeur.  You’ll stay in the medieval village of Courmayeur, in a pleasant and friendly 3-star hotel.  Dinner is on your own in town.

Start with a short bus transfer from your hotel to Arnuva, near the top of the Italian Val Ferret, where you start hiking.  You’ll enjoy more great views on your last morning in Italy while crossing the Grand Col Ferret and into Switzerland. You might sense the change to a new country, and a new culture.

Descend through tidy green fields with high cliffs and glaciers reaching down from the heights, to the tiny village of la Fouly, one of the quieter stops along the Tour du Mont Blanc.  Once you reach la Fouly, you’ll have a private taxi to Champex, a beautiful lakeside village seemingly made for postcards. Stay in a hotel in town, or the Arpette inn above Champex.

You have two choices today, the pleasant wooded Bovine route, or the high, rocky Fenetre d’Arpette. For the Bovine, an undulating trail leads through alpine pastures and pine forests, with sweeping views of the Rhone Valley. Stop at the rustic Bovine barn for a drink or snack along the way.

Weather permitting, we’ll also give you a more rigorous possibility leading up to the high pass of Fenetre d’Arpette, one of the highest points along the tour. After climbing, climbing, climbing you’ll reach the narrow Arpette pass – a small notch in a rocky ridge. Descend a steep trail along the Trient Glacier and finish the day at a simple hiker’s inn in Trient.  Private room with bathroom down the hall.

Note: no single rooms here

You’ll hike up to the Col de Balme pass separating Switzerland and France, coming back full circle to sweeping views of Mont Blanc and the Chamonix Valley.  Start the day with the steady hike up to Col de Balme from Trient, with a friendly restaurant perched right a the pass.

If you’d like to finish early, there is a gondola down from here.  A delightful side-trip to the nearby Posettes ridge leads to even greater views, with a meandering trail leading down through blueberries and alpenrose to the valley floor.  Either walk or take a local bus for the short transfer to Argentiere, where you stay in a 2-star hotel.  Dinner will be on your own in Argentiere.

Your final hiking day of the tour is another great one, and a fitting finish to the trip.  One of the classic hikes in the region leads to Lac Blanc. This high-mountain lake sits in the Aiguilles Rouges Nature Preserve, a rugged ridge across the valley from Mont Blanc, and commands one of the greatest mountain views anywhere.

Make good use of local cable cars to enjoy more time hiking near the lake, and keep an eye open for bouquetin – a mountain goat with long curved horns that are frequently sighted in this region.  Spend your last night of the Mont Blanc tour celebrating in Chamonix.

Today you say au revoir, and depart for your post-Mont Blanc destinations.

Departure: Geneva.  Plan departure for the day your tour finishes.  You’ll need to book a private or shared shuttle from Chamonix to GVA, and the trip takes 1½ hrs.