Trip Notes

I first heard about the Tour du Mont Blanc from someone who worked with me. He was so enthusiastic about the TMB that he had done it twice. He hiked the selfguided option, but let a company called Distant Journeys make all of the arrangements. He highly recommended Distant Journeys, but in the end we decided to plan the trip entirely on our own.

If I had to do the Tour a second time, I would change our starting point. I believe that the best first day would be to start in Argentiere. There are hotel options in Argentiere (which means you can skip the wretched Auberge la Boerne in Tre-le-Champ). By starting in Argentiere, you would do the ladder section on the first day. Plus, it is only an 8 km day, so it is an easy introduction to trekking. If you don't want to spend the first night in the la Flégère refugio, you can take the cable car down to Chamonix and spend the night there. Riding the cable car down to Chamonix is perhaps the best option, because you are likely to finish the first day of hiking early, even if you do the side hike to Lac Blanc (which I recommend). Also, by starting in Argentiere, it means that you will reach Courmayeur on the sixth day of hiking, which is an ideal point for a rest day. Don't miss the cable car ride up from Courmayeur to Helbronner, and then the gondola ride to Aiguille du Midi - the gondola ride is a DO NOT MISS attraction.

We hiked in the traditional counterclockwise direction, and I recommend following that circuit. The hike up from les Houches to Le Brévent would be an incredible ascent in the clockwise direction. Also, if you go clockwise, you will be descending the ladders between la Flégère and Tre-le-Champ; I think climbing the ladders is easier, you will be traveling in the same direction as most of the other hikers on the trail. Finally, if you hike counterclockwise, you will meet some fellow hikers multiple times along the way, and I find that is a fun way to get to know people.

When planning your trip, make the reservation at Refugio Elisabetta first. You pretty much have to stay at Elisabetta, there aren't any other options unless you want to have one really long hiking day. Once you get the Elisabetta reservation, then email the other lodgings that you have selected. We did our trip in August. I had all of our reservations in May. Don't wait too long to book your rooms.

This is the link of shuttle service between Geneva and Chamonix. The shuttles appear to run frequently, so I don't think an evening transfer would be hard to get. We used the Alpy bus. It worked fine, but I was astonished how many people were not ready for the pickup for the ride from Chamonix back to Geneva. We rode around and around Chamonix picking up the passengers, most of whom were not ready at the appointed time. So Alpy bus would circle around back to the same stops a second time to see if those tardy passengers were finally ready to go. Don't make plans to fly out from Geneva right away - make sure you allow a lot of time for the shuttle service back from Chamonix.

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There are two classic books that give a day by day itinerary for hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc. We bought both books, and I was glad that we had them both. The Trailblazer guide has maps that draw a turn-by-turn picture for every step along the way, including maps for the alternate routes. There are about 40 useful maps in the book. We used the Trailblazer guide especially on days when we were hiking in the villages, even though the TMB is mostly well marked, not all the signs are obvious. However, the Trailblazer guide came out in 2008, and I don't think there has been an update - this means that on the stage from Courmayeur to Refuge Walter Bonatti, the Trailblazer guide is out of date. It still shows the high route, when the official TMB now cuts along the flank of Mont de la Saxe.

Because we had the Cicerone guide (4th edition, which came out in 2015), we knew about the easier route to Refuge Walter Bonatti. The maps in the Cicerone guide are not as detailed as the Trailblazer guide. I don't think hiking with just the Cicerone guide would be a good idea, even though the TMB has many signs pointing the way. If you bring the Cicerone guide, I suggest getting the maps too.

We brought both maps, but used them infrequently. The maps in the guide books are good - except I made a mistake at one point when we were hiking up to Col de Voza. Because we had the maps, I was able to figure out where we were and how to get back onto the TMB without doing any backtracking. This was very valuable, because backtracking would have meant going back down a steep hill and then reclimbing it. The maps are also useful for identifying mountain peaks and glaciers.

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I usually try to include a trip notes page for each of our vacations, so that anyone else planning a similar trip can get useful information of how we did it ourselves. I often include an accounting of expenses, but on this trip the finances are skewed because James and Stephen paid for a lot of the meals and some of the cable car tickets. Also, we used frequent flier miles to get our flights to Switzerland, so for once our plane ticket weren't the dominant cost driver.

Geneva - Holiday Inn Express

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express for two nights in August of 2015. We stayed one night when we arrived in Europe, and again two weeks later when we flew back to the States.

A list of things that I liked about this place:

1) Convenience - Holiday Inn Express is located close to the Geneva airport - it is so close that you can walk to the Holiday Inn from the airport. Indeed, we had to walk back to the Geneva airport because our flight left early and the Holiday Inn shuttle doesn't begin operation until 5:50 A.M. If you walk, follow the bike path and sidewalk around the World Trade Center and parking garage - don't take the most direct path, because the sidewalk disappears at the parking garage and you will find yourself walking out on the busy road.

2) Quiet - If you stand in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn, you can hear (and see) jets taking off from the Geneva airport. But inside our rooms, we could not hear those planes.

3) Breakfast buffet - breakfast is included, and the buffet is a big selection of hearty, tasty foods, enough to power you through all the way to dinner (skip lunch!)

4) Nice rooms - I suppose some people complain that going to Europe and staying in a Holiday Inn misses out on the "character" of the Old World, but on our last night in Europe, it was nice to stay in a clean modern room with up-to-date plumbing and unlimited hot water in the shower.

5) Holiday Inn front desk gave us a free ticket good for riding the train into downtown Geneva. The train stop is just steps away from the Holiday Inn.

What I didn't like about this place:

1) I wish the airport shuttle service would begin earlier so we didn't have to walk back to the airport. During operation hours, the shuttle runs every 20 minutes.

Chamonix - Le Faucigny Hotel

We stay at the Le Faucigny Hotel for two nights in August of 2015. The first night, we paid €120 for our room, on the second night, two weeks later, we paid €175 for our room. I don't know why the price was different, perhaps it was because the second night was on a weekend.

A list of things that I liked about Le Faucigny Hotel:

1) Luggage Storage - we were in Chamonix to hike the Tour du Mont Blanc, a trip that takes 12 days to complete. We asked Le Faucigny Hotel if we could leave behind some luggage containing clothing that we didn't want to carry on our hike, and they were glad to provide that service for us. This meant we had clean clothes waiting for us when we ended our hike, which was very nice.

2) Friendly Staff - the people who work the front desk and kitchen are friendly and helpful in every way. They loaned us umbrellas on a rainy day in Chamonix. When we asked for a glass of ice to take to our room, they provide to big cups of ice (Getting ice in Europe is quite a feat - normally if you ask a European for ice, they will grudgingly place one ice cube in the glass)

3) Afternoon Tea - from 4 to 6 PM each day, Le Faucigny Hotel has "tea", where cakes/cookies/coffee are free to hotel patrons

4) Excellent breakfast buffet - The hotel breakfast has a good selection of hot and cold foods, so I ate an enormous breakfast and was able to skip lunch.

5) Hotel Le Faucigny is a stop for the Alpy bus. Alpy bus is a low cost shuttle service between Geneva and Chamonix. If you stay here, Alpy bus will drop you off at the front door.

6) Easy to find - Chamonix is a big hard to navigate - many hotels and shops and crowded streets. But because Hotel Le Faucigny is near the church steeple, and it is near the Tourist Information center, you can easily find your way back to the hotel (just follow signs pointing to tourist info).

What I didn't like about this place:

1) The bathroom in Room 101 was a bit tight. These are not large rooms.

2) I wish the cost of breakfast was included. Breakfast is €10 extra per person.

Les Houches - Les Campanules Chalet Hotel

In August of 2015, we stayed one night at Les Campanules Chalet Hotel and paid €112. We were hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc, and we used this hotel as our stay for the night in Les Houches.

A list of things that I liked about Les Campanules Chalet Hotel:

1) The WiFi worked, even in our room (not just in the lobby). It turns out many places in Europe will claim to have WiFi, but that doesn't mean they have WORKING WiFi.

2) The breakfast buffet was excellent, with a wide range of tasty foods

3) The room had a nice view looking out at Mont Blanc

What I didn't like about this place:

1) This is not a good hotel for hikers on the Tour du Mont Blanc - it almost 2 km from Les Houches (which is where all the restaurants are). Even worse, Les Campanules Chalet Hotel is on the hillside, to when you walk into Les Houches, you have to go down, cross the river and then back up again. This is very tiring after you have just completed one of the hardest stages hiking on the TMB.

2) Our rooms were on the fifth floor. The elevator only goes to the fourth floor. What kind of goofy design is that?

3) It is hard to find - when hiking down the TMB, there are no signs from the trail or along the roads where to find this hotel - we wasted a tiring half hour trying to locate this hotel, though it is easily spotted from the freeway (if you are driving a car, then reaching this hotel is no problem)

4) They told us there was no possibility of seating us for dinner before 9 P.M., we would have to walk all the way into Les Houches to get dinner. But when we returned to the hotel at about 8 P.M., I could see at least 10 empty tables in their restaurant.

Les Contamines B&B - La Ferme de Bon-Papa

We stayed in La Ferme de Bon-Papa one night while hiking along the Tour du Mont Blanc. La Ferme de Bon-Papa appears to be just 3 rooms on the ground floor of a house. The owner rents out the rooms, so they have a lot of unique character, full of items from the house, like a nice quilt on our bed. This is not a sterile hotel, it feels more like staying in the guest room of a relative.

A list of things that I liked about La Ferme de Bon-Papa:

1) It is a good value, we paid just €78 for our room, and got a large room with nice bathroom. This is a cash only establishment.

2) La Ferme de Bon-Papa is located in the center of les Contamines, so it easy to go out to a restaurant or bakery or market.

3) The owner is friendly and helpful.

4) Breakfast is served early, upstairs in the dining room of the house. Breakfast was good and tasty.

What I didn't like about this place:

1) No WiFi

les Chapieux - Les Chambres du Soleil

We stayed in Les Chambres du Soleil one night in August of 2015 while on our Tour du Mont Blanc hike. It is one of ten buildings in the tiny town of les Chapieux, located right on the TMB trail.

A list of things that I liked about les Chambres du Soleil:

1) Price is a good value, we paid just €88 for one night in a good sized room with a nice bathroom. This is a cash only establishment. Note that we did not choose the dinner option, which increases the price per person by €25 each, but gives you a five course dinner plus a much better breakfast in the morning.

2) They offer a free shuttle, so that next morning you can skip a few kilometers of hiking and about 300 meters of elevation gain. We skipped this shuttle, it wouldn't seem right to say we hiked the TMB if we wimped out and rode a shuttle part way, but the majority of hikers did opt for the shuttle.

What I didn't like about this place:

1) Flies. Flies are everywhere. We found about 20 flies in our room - we shut all the windows and spent about an hour trying to kill all these insects. Yuck.

2) The breakfast is bad. A meager selection of cereal and bread, and one croissant per person. My wife felt queasy all morning after eating the croissant - but part of that issue may have been the fact that flies are all over the breakfast room too, walking on the bread and plates. Les Chambres du Soleil does not put fly nets over the food to protect it from these vermin. It is unappetizing.

3) No WiFi

Refugio Elisabetta

We stayed at Refugio Elisabetta one night while on our Tour du Mont Blanc trek in the August of 2015. Refugio Elisabetta is the lynchpin of reservations on your trek, because there are no other options for lodging for kilometers in either direction - you must stay here one night or else face an extremely long hike. Make Refugio Elisabetta your first reservation.

A list of things that I liked about Refugio Elisabetta:

1) The staff is helpful and friendly. They reply quickly, and in English, to emails requesting reservations. I strongly suggest that you RECONFIRM your reservation a few weeks before you arrive.

2) You are served a four course dinner that is hearty and tasty. You will be seated with fellow hikers and hopefully engage in interesting conversation with trekkers from around the world.

3) The location is awesome - there are two glaciers visible from just outside the refugio. We went outside after the large dinner, and while standing there talking, my wife spotted a ibex up on the slope - it was exciting to see the larged horned animal, even if it was at an extreme distance from us.

What I didn't like about this place:

1) You pay €2 for a shower token - this gives you about 4 minutes of hot water. I suggest turning off the water while soaping up, and then turning it back on to rinse off.

2) We stayed in a four person room - it was quite cramped in there! Two sets of bunk beds.

3) At €56 per person, Refugio Elisabetta is one of the higher priced places we stayed on our Tour du Mont Blanc.

4) No outlet in the room for recharging batteries. No WiFi.

Courmayeur - le Grange

We stayed two nights in le Grange in August of 2015. This hotel is not in Courmayeur, it is further north, in the town of Entreves - it is much too far to walk from here into Courmayeur, you will need to take the bus to visit Courmayeur. However, le Grange is near to the base of the Helbronner cable car, which is a modern new lift that will take you high up on the mountain for some awesome views of Mont Blanc. The staff at le Grange is extremely friendly and helpful. The breakfast buffet doesn't open until 8 A.M., but it is full of excellent and tasty selections, you can eat enough breakfast so that you can skip lunch.

Our room was large and comfortable, with modern bathroom. I thought this was an excellent place to stay.

Lavachey - Refugio Walter Bonatti

We stayed one night in Refugio Walter Bonatti while on our Tour du Mont Blanc hike in August of 2015. This is a privately run refugio, and it is strategically located in a prime spot one hiking-stage east of Courmayeur, so most TMB hikers will stop here.

A list of things that I liked about Refugio Walter Bonatti

1) It is a terrific location, with views to the north of glaciers and peaks and looks down into the valley.

2) It has a heated room with plenty of racks to hold clothing while drying out. There are big sinks that are ideal for washing clothes.

3) Refugio Walter Bonatti serves an excellent four course dinner in the evening. You will be seated with other hikers and hopefully enjoy conversations with people from around the world.

4) The four person room we stayed in was decent sized, plus there were outlets to allow you to plug in your battery chargers.

What I didn't like about this place:

1) It costs €65 per person, so it isn't cheap!

2) You get one token for about 4 minutes of hot water in the shower. Be sure to rinse off before time runs out!

3) After the excellent dinner the evening before, I expected a great breakfast, but it was just an offering of bread, dry cereal, cookies and fruit juice.

La Fouly - Hôtel Edelweiss

We stayed one night in La Fouly on our Tour du Mont Blanc trek, staying one night at Hôtel Edelweiss.

A list of things that I liked about Hôtel Edelweiss:

1) The Hotel is ideally located in the center of the small town of La Fouly, it is right on the TMB, near a super market and the few restaurants in town.

2) Our room had awesome view looking west at a glacier on the mountain peaks. We had a small balcony to sit on - we bought a small carton of ice cream and sat there enjoying the evening. In the morning, the rising sun illuminates this glacier in golden light - have your camera ready.

3) The room was nice, with a good shower and a hairdryer and outlets for charging batteries.

4) I thought the breakfast was pretty good

What I didn't like about this place:

1) The WiFi only works downstairs in the common room.

2) There is a low ceiling on the first floor, near the elevator. I am just under 6'2" tall, and my hair brushed against the ceiling. If I stood half an inch taller, I might have hit my head and gotten a big bruise.

Champex - Gite Bon Abri

We stayed one night in Gite Bon Abri in August of 2015 while on our Tour du Mont Blanc trek. This refugio is actually outside of Champex, it is about 2 km down the road from Champex. It would be a long walk back to town to the restaurants and markets, but we stayed there and ate the dinner they served. However, because Gite Bon Abri is on the TMB trail, it means that your hike on the next stage will be 2 KM shorter.

A list of things that I liked about Gite Bon Apri:

1) Our room, a two person private room, was good sized - with outlets for charging batteries. Upstairs there are cheaper dorms that sleep a dozen people in a room.

2) Outside there are many clothes lines for hanging up your hiking clothes after you wash them in the sink

3) There is also a big awning set up over picnic tables, so you can visit with your fellow hikers while you drink beer and wait for dinner to be served

4) Dinner was a huge hearty feast, even hungry hikers will push back from the table with their bellies full. The bread at breakfast was especially tasty.

What I didn't like about this place:

1) Gite Bon Abri claims to have WiFi, but it is impossible to get a connection

2) The floors and doors all creak, it may wake you up in the middle of the night when someone goes to the restroom

3) They won't let you bring your packs up into your room. You have to unload your pack downstairs in the boot room, and carry an armload of stuff up to your room.

Trient - Auberge Mont-Blanc

We stayed one night in Auberge Mont-Blanc in Trient while on our Tour du Mont Blanc hike in August of 2015.

A list of things that I liked about Auberge Mont-Blanc:

1) Our big comfy room had a nice balcony, we were able to sit out there in the evening and admire the Trient glacier.

2) Our room had a small kitchen in it - a sink and stove - theoretically, you could cook a small meal here

3) We didn't want to wait until 7 P.M. to order the hotel dinner, so we asked the barman for some ham and cheese sandwiches, and he made us a couple giant sandwiches that were quite filling. Thank you, Mr. Barman!

4) Breakfast is served at 6:30 A.M., so TMB hikers can get a nice early start going up over Col de Balme pass.

5) Compared to other places we stayed in Switzerland, Auberge Mont-Blanc seemed like a relative bargain at 118 Swiss Francs for one night.

What I didn't like about this place:

1) The towels are old and used. Although they were clean, they were coarse. My towel even had small holes in it.

2) A busy road goes right by the hotel. The traffic noise is so loud that if you are on the balcony, you can not hear what a person inside the room is saying because of the roaring motor vehicles. Fortunately, between 11 PM and 6 AM, traffic dwindles to almost nothing, so it is quiet enough to sleep.

3) WiFi only works downstairs, not in the rooms

Tre le Champ - Gite Auberge la Boerne

We spent one night in Gite Auberge la Boerne in Tre Le Champ while on our hiking trip around Mont Blanc in August of 2015. Gite Auberge la Boerne is apparently a historic old building that is being used as a refugio today. Unfortunately, staying at Gite Auberge la Boerne is like staying in a place straight out of the Middle Ages. Gite Auberge la Boerne was apparently built when no one was taller than 5'10". If you are 6 feet tall, you will smash your head against door frames and low beams until you finally learn to permanently walk hunched over. I struck my head three times on various different obstacles, fortunately none of these injuries drew blood. None of the staff at Gite Auberge la Boerne will bother to warn you about the low beams, despite the fact that they must see new people every day slam their head against these old beams. The ancient building lacks windows, it is stifling, dark and hot.

We had a "private" two person room - this turned out to be a 10x10 closet inside the building, without any window to the outdoors. The staff of the hotel kept knocking on the door of our "private" room so that they could come in and retrieve items from the storage closet at the back of the room.

WiFi never worked. If you ask the staff about this, they will give you an indifferent shrug and respond: "The WiFi sometimes is broken"

Seating is assigned at dinner (why?) - we were placed at a table where all the other patrons spoke nothing but French, so we had no one to talk with during the course of the LOOONNNGGGG meal. It took an hour and a half to serve the tedious dinner - salad, followed by bread, then the main meal, and then another round of bread, followed by some cheese, and then a disappointing dessert.

The breakfast was also disappointing, just some cereal and bread and rotting bananas. Despite that fact that flies are all over the place, none of the food is placed under fly nets, which is quite unappetizing.

This was by far the worst place we stayed on our TMB hike. The only positive thing I can think to say about Gite Auberge la Boerne is that at least I didn't suffer a concussion slamming my head against the low beams.

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