Tour du Mont Blanc
Guided walking holiday

+ Alpine scenery from the grand to the tranquil
+ Characterful huts and family-run hotels
+ Led by our International Mountain Leaders

Latest news January 2012
Please ask about our 2012 season which starts on 1 July. Thank you. For 2012 we are offering 11 scheduled guided trips as well as our private guided trips throughout the season.

The Tour du Mont Blanc leaves the Chamonix valley to make a spectacular circuit of Western Europe's highest mountain, Mont Blanc (4,808m). Trekkers return after 11 days of superb walking having visited Italy and Switzerland en route.

Alpine Exploratory groups walk the full Tour du Mont Blanc route. We don't skip any sections - it's all too good to miss, and we seek the satisfaction of completing the trek in full. We link up the pleasant hamlets and huts that sit along the TMB, as well as stopping in the larger villages and towns of Les Contamines, Courmayeur, Champex and Argentiere.

Trek in the company of a fully qualified International Mountain Leader (IML). Each day the group decides its route based on the weather and energy levels; many stages have alternative trails such as that to Lac Blanc in the Aiguilles Rouges. Two rest days are built in, in Courmayeur and Argentiere, and in both places we can relax or make the most of the local activities.

The group stays mostly in hotels and auberges but with four nights in mountain huts. These huts are spectacularly sited and offer good food and trekking company.

Why Alpine Exploratory for your guided TMB?

We trek the full route, missing nothing
On completing this trek you'll have walked every step of the Mont Blanc circuit. It's definitely something to write home about! Cable cars, buses and trains are available in places, and the group can use them if needed, but the plan is to trek continuously. No part of the TMB is worth cutting out; even the more valley-based sections have huge interest.

Expert knowledge of the route
The same careful research that goes into our self-guided TMBs informs our guided treks too. We keep on top of changes to the route and we place a lot of emphasis on good relations with our hotels and huts. They know us well!

Flexible, personal planning
As per our general ethos, even on our scheduled guided trips we like to be flexible. Single rooms are no problem, except at huts and some auberges where they're unavailable. (The single supplement takes this into account.) If you'd like extra nights in Chamonix before or after the trek, please just ask us.

Small groups expertly led
Alpine Exploratory follows best practice in the mountains. Our leaders are all International Mountain Leaders and we keep to a maximum group size of 8 clients. The aim is a small, tightly knit group with an engaging leader, completing the TMB with safety, proficiency and fun.

About us - more about what makes us tick

Baggage transfer

On all our guided TMBs, everyone can opt for baggage transfer or not, as they choose. The service gives drops at all stops except the huts. It's good to have the choice; some of our trekkers like baggage transfer and others prefer not. There is not too much to carry on this route - please ask us for more info.

Options (for private trips)

If you join us as a private group instead of joining our scheduled treks, then we can adjust your TMB in various ways.

+ Spend more time over the initial stages, to ease in
+ Shorten the trek to 9 or 10 stages, or add rest days
+ Trek just half on our North or South routes of one week each
+ Favour auberges or huts or up the comfort with our best hotels

Of course, on a private trip you can come on the dates that suit you. Except for the composition of the group and the dates, everything else is the same as on our scheduled TMBs.

Tour du Mont Blanc (Self-guided) - look here for all the options