How much does the Tour du Mont Blanc cost?
If you plan to do this trek, accompanied or by your own means, you are certainly asking yourself this question.
Given the diversity of expenses (travel, accommodation, food, guide, etc.), the answer is not simple. The expenses on a Tour du Mont Blanc on foot are indeed multiple. Moreover, the total price will vary greatly depending on your choices.
Depending on whether you want to do the Tour du Mont Blanc comfortably on foot and sleep in private rooms or whether you want to be close to nature and sleep under the stars, the cost of your trek will be very different!
In this article, let’s try to estimate together the cost of the Tour du Mont Blanc according to :
- its duration: 7 or 11 days
- your accommodation (bivouac or refuge)
Here we go! 🙂
1 – Coming to Chamonix … and leaving
Before doing the Tour du Mont Blanc, you must first go to the start! This one is located in Chamonix (in Les Houches, to be exact). Let’s take the example of someone coming from Paris. You can come there:
- by car: about 100 € (6 hours drive, fuel and tolls included).
- by train: about 150 € (6 – 7 hours of travel).
- by plane + bus: you land in Geneva (1h flight) and you go to Chamonix by bus (1h30). Approximately 130€ for the plane ticket and 40€ for the bus = 170€.
- By bus: about 80 € (14h of travel).
These prices are indicative and can vary greatly depending on the dates of your trips and the period in which you book them.
2 – Where to sleep before and after the Tour du Mont Blanc?
Once you arrive in Chamonix, you will certainly have to spend at least one night there before going on the trek. This is the opportunity to start immersing yourself in the atmosphere and landscapes of our Mont Blanc region!
You will easily find different types of accommodation for all desires and needs.
You can pitch your tent in a campsite for about 10 – 20 € per night.
You can also enjoy the luxury of a 5-star hotel where a night costs €500 or more!
You can also easily find a hostel or a traditional gite. There, count about 60 € / person for a night in half-board.
As you can see, when it comes to accommodation, there is something for everyone in the Mont Blanc region. Here are some of our good addresses:
- Hotel la Croix Blanche in Chamonix – 81 Rue Joseph Vallot, 74400 Chamonix-Mont-Blanc – 04 50 53 00 11
- Gîte le Chamoniard Volant in Chamonix – 45 Route de la Frasse, 74400 Chamonix-Mont-Blanc – 04 50 53 14 09
- Hotel Les Lanchers in Chamonix – 1459 Route des Praz, 74400 Chamonix-Mont-Blanc – 04 50 53 47 19
- Chalet hotel le Castel in Chamonix – 100 Route des Tines, 74400 Chamonix-Mont-Blanc – 04 50 21 12 12
- Gîte le Moulin à Montroc – 32 Chemin du Moulin des Frasserands, 74400 Chamonix-Mont Blanc – 06 82 33 34 54
3 – The price of the refuges on the Tour du Mont Blanc
If you decide to do the TMB by sleeping in refuges, remember to book as early as possible. It is not uncommon that as early as February, some nights in July and August are already full for individuals.
To book your nights in the refuges, you can do so on the refuges’ website or by phone by calling the keeper.
What is the price of the refuges on the Tour du Mont Blanc?
This is not the same for each refuge but you can expect to pay about 50 € for a night on half board / person.
Therefore, for a complete Tour du Mont Blanc (10 nights), expect a “Refuges” budget of 500 € / person.
To do the Tour du Mont Blanc in 7 days (6 nights), count 420 € / person.
This is the biggest expense if you want to do the trek on your own.
4 – The bivouac on the Tour du Mont Blanc, 100% free?
If you plan to do the Tour du Mont Blanc on your own, you should know that there are certain rules for bivouacking on the TMB route.
- In France, the tent can only be set up between 7pm and 7am. Moreover, some refuges refuse to allow camping in their vicinity.
- In Italy, bivouacking is forbidden below 2500 meters of altitude.
- In Switzerland, it is totally prohibited.
Depending on your itinerary, you will certainly have to spend one or more nights in camping or in refuges. We advise you to book at least 50 to 100 € for accommodation with our neighbours.
5 – Food on the Tour du Mont Blanc
If you book your overnight stays in the huts on a half-board basis, you don’t have to worry about breakfast and dinner. For lunch, you can choose to :
- reserve (the day before, when you arrive) a packed lunch for the next day. Count about 10 € per day and per person:
- 100 € / person for a complete Tour du Mont Blanc.
- 70 € / person for a 7 day Tour du Mont Blanc.
- buy food in the grocery stores you will find in the different villages along the route. If you don’t have a stove, this option is not recommended because your bag will be much heavier, the food you will have will probably not be adapted to your effort and the price might be higher than the one of the huts’ lunch baskets!
If you are bivouacking, you will have to buy supplies in the grocery stores. If you have a stove, count 5€ per day:
- 50 € / person on the TMB in 11 days.
- 35 € / person if you do it in one week.
6 – The extras and the little pleasures
When arriving at the refuge or passing through a village, you might want to have a drink or an ice cream to recover from the day’s stage. For this, count about 5 € for a cold drink on average.
Prices vary greatly: a soda will cost 3 € in a village while a craft beer will cost 9 € in a refuge.
So set aside an envelope of 40 – 80 € if you want to refresh yourself after your days walking.
Another little comfort: the shower!
On the Tour du Mont Blanc, several refuges include it in the half-board and others ask for a small supplement varying between 1 € and 5 € depending on the place and the access to hot water.
We therefore advise you to plan a budget of 15 to 30 € for this.
7 – How much does it cost to do a Tour du Mont Blanc with a guide?
To do the Tour du Mont Blanc with a specialist Tour du Mont Blanc guide agency like ours, prices can vary greatly depending on the length of your trek and the quality of the services provided.
The price also changes depending on what is included and what is not included in the total price.
At Trekking Mont Blanc (as in other structures), are included in the price of an organized trek:
- the organization
- support from a qualified and experienced professional
- half-board accommodation
- Luggage transfer (you only carry your bag for the day)
- picnics and home-made snacks prepared by our cook
- showers in the accommodation.
If you compare the different accompaniments offered, you will see that :
- For a 7 day all inclusive Tour du Mont Blanc, count between 700 and 1000 €.
- For an all-inclusive Tour du Mont Blanc, count between 1000 and 1500 €.
Of course, you will find organizations that offer lower rates. In these cases, check what past clients say, what is included in the price and the size of the groups.
You now know a little more about the parameters to consider when evaluating the price of a Tour du Mont Blanc.
In the end, approximately, doing the Tour du Mont Blanc costs :
- about 630 € (travel, accommodation before and after, refuges, food and little extras) if you sleep in refuges and 250 € if you bivouac, over 7 days .
- 840 € with nights in refuges for a full TMB or 330 € if you have the tent on your back.
If you wish to exchange ideas, do not hesitate to contact our trekking agency, we will be delighted to discuss your travel plans with you.
See you soon 🙂