One Week Trekking Holiday in Mont Blanc

The one week trekking holiday in Mont Blanc is THE hike to do in the European Alps. Cross three countries, high mountain passes, incredible scenery, and idyllic valleys as you hike around the highest mountain in Western Europe. The whole Tour du Mont Blanc normally takes around ten days, but with some careful use of buses, a taxi and a cable car we’ll do the route in six full days of guided hiking.

We’re running this trip in early-August, starting and finishing on a Sunday. You’ll be picked up from Geneva airport on arrival and driven to your hotel in Chamonix. We’ll start hiking from Les Houches after breakfast the following morning, making our way to Courmayeur in Italy over three days, with nights in Les Pontets Gite and Les Mottets mountain refuge. In Courmayeur we’ll head out for a group dinner at a restaurant in the town (we’ll dine in the accommodation the other nights). From Courmayeur, three more days will bring us back to the Chamonix valley with Swiss nights in Champex and Trient. We’ll spend the final night in a hotel in Chamonix before your transfer to Geneva aiport on departure day.

The accommodation will be a mixture of hotel rooms and dormitories. We’ll have three nights in hotels in double, twin or triple rooms. If you are booking as two or more people you’ll get your own room(s). If you book on your own you’ll be sharing with people in our group. The remaining four nights will be spent in refuges, gites or auberges with mixed dormitory accommodation. You’ll be sharing the room with other members of the group and possibly other groups as well.

All breakfasts and evening meals are included in the price, but you’ll have to buy lunches, snacks and any additional drinks over the course of the week.

Price from: €1,450.00

Price up to: €1,450.00

Duration: 8 days

Overview

One week trekking holiday in Mont Blanc: 3 countries, 7 valleys, & stunning views of the highest mountains in Western Europe.

Itinerary

One week trekking holiday in Mont Blanc: Itinerary.

Day 1: Arrival day - You'll be met at Geneva Airport and transfer by minibus to your hotel in Chamonix
Accommodation: Hotel

Day 2: Les Houches to Les Contamines - We'll take a local bus to Les Houches, then the Bellevue cable car will give us a good start for the day's hiking. We cross the Col du Tricot before dropping down to the Miage pastures and chalets around lunchtime. Continuing into Les Contamines, we can pick up any snacks we need at the supermarket before hiking for another hour to reach the accommodation.
Distance: 15km
Height gain: 710m
Accommodation: Gite Pontets (dormitory)

Day 3: Les Contamines to Vallée des Glaciers - One of the longer day's hiking, today we'll follow the ancient Roman trading route to the Col de Bonhomme. Leaving the Gite, we climb towards the head of the Montjoie valley. We'll cross a Roman bridge and pass a couple of refuges (which make good coffee and cake stops) before reaching the Col. We'll pass the big refuge of the Croix du Bonhomme then descend to the Ville des Glaciers and the Mottets refuge.
Distance: 18km
Height gain: 1600m
Accommodation: Les Mottets mountain refuge (dormitory)

Day 4: Vallée des Glaciers to Courmayeur - Today we'll hike to the Col de La Seigne and cross the border into Italy. We'll make a tour of the impressive Pyramides Calcaires then descend Val Veny to La Visaille. Here we'll catch the bus to Courmayeur and our hotel.
Distance: 16km
Height Gain: 940m
Accommodation: Hotel

Day 5: We'll take a local bus into Val Ferret where we'll hike towards the Swiss border at the Grand Col Ferret. Leaving the rugged beaty of the Italian Val Ferret behind, we'll enter the Swiss Val Ferret - a land of Alpine pastures and centuries old dairy farms. We'll descend to the road in La Fouly where a taxi will transport us to Champex Lac.
Distance: 18km
Height gain: 900m
Accommodation: Relais d'Arpette mountain refuge (dormitory)

Day 6: Today takes us over the highest and most technical part of the route. The Fenetre d'Arpette at 1665 metres altitude is a high and rocky pass leading into the Trient valley. Despite the overall distance being relatively short, this is a tough day. We'll spend the night in a historic auberge in Trient village.
Distance: 12km
Height gain: 990m
Accommodation: Auberge Grande Ourse (dormitory)

Day 7: Our final day's hiking takes over the Col de Balme, an ancient crossing point between Switzerland and France. Back in the Chamonix Valley, we'll follow the airy Possettes ridge to its peak and then descend to Argentiere. A short bus ride will bring us to Chamonix town and our hotel.
Distance: 16km
Height gain: 1200m
Accommodation: Hotel

Day 8: Departure day. After breakfast in the hotel you'll be picked up for the minibus transfer back to Geneva Airport. The transfer time will depend on your return flight.