DAY-BY-DAY ITINERARY

DAY 1: Meeting in Chamonix Mont Blanc, France

Arrive in Chamonix and check in at your hotel. Allow time to check your trip pack and equipment, and make final preparations for your Tour du Mont Blanc ahead. Your evening is free to explore the many bars and restaurants in Chamonix.

DAY 2: Above Chamonix to Les Houches

Your trip starts with a cable car ride that takes you up to nearly 2000 meters. Here, above the tree line, begin a stunning high-level walk above the Chamonix valley with exceptional views of Mont Blanc. Your descend to the village Les Houches and a traditional Savoyard hotel for the night. (B+D)

DAY 3: Les Houches to Les Contamines

You walk (or take a cable car) to the top of the ski area in Les Houches. From here, you traverse below the towering Aiguille de Bionnasay and cross the snout of it's glacier on a suspension bridge, before arriving at the Col de Tricot. It's now steeply downhill to the Miage mountain pasture, where a charming mountain hut offer refreshments, before the last stretch down to the charming village Les Contamines. (B+D)

DAY 4: Les Contamines to Vallée des Glaciers

From Les Contamines you climb steadily up an old roman way towards the top of the Contamines valley. A stunning and wild walk takes you over a succession of mountain passes before your descent to the Vallée des Glaciers (the Glaciers Valley) and the final short stretch to a traditional mountain hut. (B+D)

DAY 5: Vallée des Glaciers to Courmayeur, Italy

You leave the hut and ascend to the Seigne mountain pass, where you cross the border into Italy and get the first views of the dramatic Italian side of Mont Blanc. It's a gentle descent into the beautiful Val Veny, where you transfer the last, short, distance into Courmayeur. Your evening is free to explore the many bars and restaurants in Courmayeur. Night in hotel. (B)

DAY 6: Courmayeur to Val Ferret

From the town center of Courmayeur, we start our climb to the Bertone mountain hut and the Mont de la Saxe ridge. You contour the ridge above the Ferret valley, enjoying breathtaking views of the towering peaks that form the Italian side of Mont Blanc. The night is spend at the splendid Bonatti mountain hut. (B+D)

DAY 7: Val Ferret to La Fouly, Switzerland

From the Bonatti hut, you continue traversng above the Ferret valley until you drop down to Arnouva. Here. you start the ascend to Grand Col Ferret, pasing the Elena mountain hut on the way, giving you one last chance of an Italian espresso. You now enter Switzerland and descend into the idyllic Swiss Ferret valley to the village of La Fouly. (B+D)

DAY 8: La Fouly to Champex-Lac

A gentle day today, starting with a walk down the Swiss Ferret valley, along a gushing river and through charming old Swiss farming villages. A relatively short ascent takes you through wood-land to the picturesque lake-side village Champex. (B+D)

DAY 9: Champex-Lac to Trient

Leaving Champex, you have a choice of two routes depending on how you feel. You can cross the notorious Fenêtre d’Arpette - a tiny mountain pass cut into a rugged alpine ridge, or you can opt for the gentler Bovine route, which takes you past an old farm in a high mountain pasture, which serves as a mountain hut and offers superb views of the Rhone valley. Either way, we end the day at a bustling auberge in the small village of Trient. (B+D)

DAY 10: Trient to Argentière, France

From Trient, you hike steadily up to the Balme pass, where you cross the border back into France and the Chamonix valley. You traverse the ridge line of the Aiguilette des Posettes, enjoying breathtaking views in all directions. You descend to the village Argentière for the night. (B+D)

DAY 11: Argentière to Chamonix Mont Blanc

You leave Argentiére for the last leg of your tour, ascending to the Aiguilles Rouges nature reserve. A stunning high level walk delivers some of the finest views in the Alps and provides an extraordinary finale to your trek. All too soon, you commence the final descend to Chamonix and the completion of your tour. (B)

DAY 12: Departure day

Breakfast in the hotel and the official end to your Tour du Mont Blanc trek. (B)