At first glance, the Tour du Mont Blanc might seem physically daunting, but some might find the expense of completing it even more intimidating. Traversing three Western European countries and staying in the many “quaint” (AKA pricey) resort towns along the way? Buying enough food to fuel yourself through day after day of long miles on the trail? Doesn’t seem cheap, does it?
The beautiful thing about the TMB, however, is that it’s pretty much up to you how expensive you want to make it. There are hikers who choose to take guided tours, stay in private rooms at upscale hotels and huts, and buy all of their meals at restaurants along the way. Others take the frugal option, camping as much as possible, cooking their own meals, and minimizing expenses wherever they can.
Below we’ve outlined typical costs along the TMB. We hope that by sharing this information, our fellow hikers will be able to plan and budget more accurately for their own trip.
Everything you need to to plan your TMB trek – all in one place.
Whether you prefer mountain huts or hotels, fastpacking or meandering, luxury, dirtbag or or something in between, we’ve got you covered. Our Guide to the Tour du Mont Blanc is the ultimate tool to help you plan your perfect trip.
When you purchase a guide, you’ll get instant access to all the information you need to plan your trip in our planning portal as well as in a downloadable PDF eGuide.
Your in-depth guide contains resources you won’t find anywhere else, including:
- Instant access to our online trip planning portal
- Downloadable eGuide to the Tour du Mont Blanc
- Complete 9-day, 11-day, and 12-day Tour du Mont Blanc itineraries with video fly throughs
- Accommodation options and booking information
- Detailed maps for every stage
- Custom GPS data for each itinerary
- The ultimate packing list
- Information about getting to and from the trail
- 15-week training plan
- Video tutorials on how to use your GPS files to navigate on the trail.
We truly believe this is the best resource available for planning your TMB. Pick up your guide below and if your not satisfied for any reason we’ll give you a full refund!
Accommodation
We chose to camp as much as possible along the Tour du Mont Blanc and we highly recommend it to others for a number of reasons. First, many of the campgrounds were quite luxurious, with amenities such as hot showers and wifi. We also preferred the privacy of our tent versus the dorm-style sleeping arrangements of the huts. And of course, the price of camping can’t be beat!
Those seeking a real bed will have tons of excellent options, from boutique hotels to remote mountain refuges. Budget travelers will have the most luck in dortoirs and dormitories, which offer lower-priced accommodation in shared rooms. Prices listed for huts and dortoirs include half-board (dinner and breakfast).
- Average Hut Price: €55 (per person)
- Bed in a Gite or Dortoir: €50
- Average Campground Price: €15 (per person)
- Hotel in Chamonix : €120 (per night)
- Hotel in Courmayeur: €150 (per night)
Read more: TMB Accommodation and Refuge Guide
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Transit
- Bus from Geneva to Chamonix: €43 (round trip)
- Bus from Chamonix to Les Houches: €3 (each way)
- Shuttle Bus from Les Chapieux to Refuge Des Mottets: €3
Get The FREE TMB Essentials Handbook
Our free PDF guide covers all the basics – when to hike, accommodation, typical costs, and more!
Flights
We strategically used credit card points and miles in order to fly from Denver to Geneva for nearly free. Read more about how we did it here.
Airline Taxes and Fees: $98.63 + 60,000 United Airlines miles (per person)
Food and Drink
You may be backpacking through rugged mountains, but that doesn’t necessitate spending a small fortune on fancy freeze-dried meals. We preferred to stock up on lightweight, nutritious, and tasty dry goods from the local grocery stores to fuel us along the TMB. These included bread, cheese, peanuts, dried and fresh fruit, and muesli. These foods kept us feeling full throughout long days of hiking, and we found them to be more enjoyable than those space-age style backpacker meals. Plus, they were a fraction of the price!
On average, we spent about €8-€12 per person, per day on our food and drink.
Of course, we allowed ourselves a few treats along the way, too. Here’s what you can expect to pay, on average, for the following common food and drink items:
- Beer: €6
- Bottle of Wine: €10
- Baguette: €2
- Breakfast or Lunch at a Mountain Hut: €15
- Dinner at a Mountain Hut: €25
- Coffee/Tea: €3
- Sandwich: €10
Miscellaneous
- Stove Fuel: €7
- Laundry: €4 for wash and dry
- Maps: (IGN 3630 OT Chamonix and IGN 3531 ET St-Gervais)
As you can see, we happily teetered between dirtbag and deluxe on our TMB holiday. While there’s no escaping the high costs of some essentials, in general one can experience the Tour du Mont Blanc on a modest budget (and enjoy some excellent wine and cheese while doing so).
Obviously, you’ll also want to factor in the cost of hiking gear that you’ll need to purchase prior to setting off on your trek. Check out our packing list to get an idea of what you might need to purchase ahead of time. Also, our Backpacking Gear on a Budget article has some helpful ideas for keeping your costs low when putting together your backpacking kit. Whether you choose to splurge or keep it simple, we feel confident you’ll have the adventure of a lifetime.
What’s Next?
Ready to keep planning your TMB adventure? Be sure to read our entire series on the Tour du Mont Blanc to learn everything you’ll need to know to prepare for this incredible adventure!
- Guide to Camping on the Tour du Mont Blanc
- Tour du Mont Blanc Packing List – Be sure you’ve got everything you need!
- Tour du Mont Blanc Logistics – Don’t forget the small details!
- How to Navigate on the TMB – Turn your smartphone into a GPS!
- How to find all of your campgrounds on the TMB – Know where you are and where you’re going!
- How to train for the TMB – Avoid being the last person to the campground!
- 10 Essentials for the Tour du Mont Blanc- The quick and dirty basics
- TMB Trip Report – Know what to expect!
- Tour du Mont Blanc Photo Galley – Find some inspiration!
- How to hike the TMB for (nearly) free – save BIG on your TMB costs!
- Tour du Mont Blanc Map
- Tour du Mont Blanc Accommodation and Refuge Guide
Get The FREE TMB Essentials Handbook
Our free PDF guide covers all the basics – when to hike, accommodation, typical costs, and more!
My husband and I are looking at camping the TMB this summer (July 2019). This article is a great resource to help us budget our trip! We wondered if you have a list of the campsites you stayed at, and if you had to book them in advance.
Hi Amy,
Yes we do! Start by checking out our Guide to Camping on the Tour du Mont Blanc. From there, our How to Find All of Your Campsites on the TMB will likely be useful, too. Happy trails!
Great! Thank you. Again, amazing website. We are so excited for our trip and glad to be doing it the budget-friendly way.
Hi Emily,
Thanks and congrats for your article. It is really helpful. Could you just clarify if the average hut price (€54) you spend in 2017 was included anything such as dinner, breakfast or it was just related to overnight stay?
Tmb is a dream that I am considering for this year.
Thanks in advance
Hi Gustavo,
Glad you are finding our article useful! The average price of €54 included dinner and breakfast the following morning. A few huts give you the option to not include this, but we would recommend it as the food is really good!
Let us know if you have any other questions.
Emily
Could you please provide some guidance on when to buy food and how much water to carry. I’m starting in Courmayer. I have purchased your guide.
If I stay at the campgrounds you recommend, did you purchase the food you needed for the day in the morning? Did you ever carry food for more than 1 day?
Did you fill up on water for the day in the morning or were there some wild camping nights you needed water for more than one day? What was the maximum water you carried (3L)?
Thanks! A great article!
Hi Allee,
In terms of food, we generally recommend carrying about 2-3 days’ worth of food with you. There are shops in most of the places you’ll pass through (Champex, Les Contamines, Les Chapieux, Trient, La Fouly) where you can restock, but the options and opening hours can be somewhat limited. It also depends on how you prefer to travel. If you want to purchase meals from restaurants and huts along the route, you could carry less food. Many of the campgrounds sell snacks and bread in the mornings, as well. In terms of water, it is pretty abundant on the trail. We never had to carry more than one day’s worth of water, and found that we could refill at huts and in towns at least once a day. We typically carried about 2L of water per person, and we usually refilled 1L at least once per day. So I’d say that 3L is a good maximum to carry. However, we did not wild camp at all along the route, opting instead to stay in huts in the places where camping wasn’t permitted. If you plan on wild camping near a hut, you can fill up using their tap, but if not you may want to bring extra water. Look at the route and see how far until the next town or hut, and plan based on that. Please let us know if you have other questions and have a fabulous hike!
Dear Emily,
Your webpage is really useful and easy to find all necessary information!!! It will be very hard to find this information if not your page. I am so happy I found it. I have a question about the prices of the campsites, so if we are two and we want to carry our tent, we need to pay both Price adult / day and Price tent/day? Do we need to pay price/electricity? I need to accept it is quite costly.
Is it possible to stay for free near the huts?
With kind regards,
Thank you a lot,
Nat
Hi Nat,
We’re so glad you are finding it useful. In terms of pricing for the campsites, they typically charge per person. So for example, you may pay between €7-10 for each of you (€14-20 total), but they won’t also charge you for your tent. When we hiked the TMB, we did not have to pay for electricity at any of the campgrounds we visited. The camping is costly, but it usually includes a hot shower, electricity, and sometimes wifi. It is not possible to stay for free near the huts. None of the huts officially allow camping nearby, although I have heard of others wild camping near Refuge La Felgere. It is also free to camp at Les Chapieux.
Have a great hike!
Emily & Ian