The plan at a glance
The classic anticlockwise TMB, compressed from 11 stages into 7 days. Two big days in the middle (D5 & D6) — both tameable with the toggles below. Click a row to open that day. The km / hours columns update live with your choices.
| Day | Date | Stage | km | Up / Down | Hrs | Sleep at |
|---|
Honest approximations — guidebooks disagree by 1–2 km & 100–200 m per stage.
Amsterdam ⇄ the trail
Be at Gîte Michel Fagot, Les Houches on Thu 6 Aug. You finish in the Chamonix valley early afternoon on Thu 13 Aug.
✈️ Fly via Geneva fastest
- 🛫AMS → GVA ~1 h 40 — KLM & easyJet, several daily. Morning flight = Les Houches by mid-afternoon.
- 🚐Shuttle GVA → Les Houches (1 h 15–30, €25–55): AlpyBus, Mountain Drop-offs or Alpine Fleet. Book ahead; AlpyBus reportedly drops at the gîte's gate.
- 💶Budget: FlixBus / BlaBlaCar GVA → Chamonix Sud (~€10–20), then valley bus or train one stop to Les Houches.
🚆 Train all the way greener
- 1️⃣Eurostar Amsterdam → Paris (~3 h 20), cross to Gare de Lyon.
- 2️⃣TGV Lyria → Geneva + shuttle, or TGV → St-Gervais-le-Fayet + the scenic Mont Blanc Express — stops in Les Houches, 10 min from the gîte. ~10–12 h total.
- 🌙Night option: Nightjet AMS → Zurich, then Zurich → Martigny → Mont Blanc Express. Arrive rested around midday.
🏁 Getting home · 13 Aug finish
- 🚌Le Tour → Chamonix: bus 2 (~30 min). Montroc/Tré-le-Champ: Mont Blanc Express.
- ⏱️Same-evening flight is tight — only with a GVA departure after ~19:30 + a 15:30 shuttle.
- 🍾Nicer: celebration night in Chamonix, home Friday 14 Aug.
- 🧳Michel Fagot has stored guests' spare bags before — confirm on arrival. Les Houches is 20 min from Chamonix.
🛂 Borders · money · phone know before
- 🪪No checks on the trail, but carry your passport — Italian rifugi ask at check-in.
- 💰EUR (FR/IT) + CHF (CH). Huts & alp buvettes often cash-only. ATMs: Les Houches, Les Contamines, Courmayeur, La Fouly, Champex.
- 📵EU roaming covers FR + IT — Switzerland usually not. Check your bundle / buy a day pass / use hut wifi.
Day by day
Make each day yours: the amber bar on every card holds that day's route choice and its 🚠 / 🚌 shortcuts. Toggle them — the stats, the profile and the totals at the top of the page all follow. Then read the route as a step-by-step trail timeline.
Weather playbook
⛈️ The August pattern
- ☀️Mornings clear & cool (5–10 °C up high); valleys hot (25–30 °C); passes normally snow-free.
- ⚡Afternoon thunderstorms build over the massif from midday — the one hazard to plan around.
- ⏰On trail by 7:00–7:30 · over the day's col before ~13:00.
- 🧑🌾Best forecast = the hut guardian at dinner. Apps: Météo-France mountain, MeteoSwiss.
- 🌩️Caught out? Descend; avoid ridgelines, lone trees, cables; wait it out low.
🚦 Your go / no-go points
- 1️⃣Col de Tricot — fair weather only (exposed col + suspension bridge).
- 2️⃣Col des Fours — good visibility, no fresh snow. Else classic via Les Chapieux.
- 3️⃣Mont Favre balcony — no views + mild exposure in cloud: take the valley floor.
- 5️⃣Grand Col Ferret — no low alternative. Go very early; in a truly bad forecast, bus loop via Courmayeur–Aosta–Orsières.
- 6️⃣Fenêtre d'Arpette — perfect stable weather only. Bovine is the all-weather route.
- 7️⃣Bad final morning? Quick descent to Le Tour.
🥵 Heat & water
- 🔥Sun-traps to climb early: Contamines valley (D1), Bertone climb (D4), Swiss Val Ferret (D5).
- 💧2 L capacity; refill at every eau potable fountain and hut. Treat stream water near grazing.
- 🧴SPF50, brimmed hat, sunglasses — alpine sun bites.
- 🐕Patou guard-dogs (sheep, notably above La Balme): stay calm, wide berth, no waving poles.
🆘 If something goes wrong
- 📞112 in all three countries. CH: 144 ambulance · 1414 Rega rescue. FR: PGHM Chamonix +33 4 50 53 16 89.
- 🚁Swiss rescue is pricey — insurance must cover mountain rescue & heli evacuation in CH.
- 🎒Always carry: offline map/GPX, headtorch, whistle, blister kit, space blanket, warm layer + waterproofs — a col can be 20 °C colder than the valley.
Hut life & practical
🛖 Refuge rhythm
- 💤Half board ≈ €60–80 (FR/IT) · CHF 75–95 (CH). Re-confirm if arriving after 18:00.
- 🍲Dinner fixed, 19:00–19:30. Breakfast from ~6:30.
- 🛏️Liner required, blankets provided. Boots in the boot room. Earplugs: yes.
- 🥪Order picnics at dinner (€/CHF 10–18) — your lunch on D2, D3, D5, D7.
- 🥗Vegetarian easy if flagged ahead; vegan / GF needs advance notice at small huts.
🧭 Navigation & apps
- 🪧Waymarking is excellent (TMB signs + the red-white blaze) — still carry offline backup: Outdooractive / Gaia / Organic Maps / AllTrails download, or a TMB GPX.
- 🗺️Paper: IGN 3630 OT & 3531 ET, or one 1:50,000 TMB sheet.
- 🚌Transit: sbb.ch (Swiss), tmrsa.ch (lines 271/272), chamonix.com (valley).
- 📡Conditions: autourdumontblanc.com · your bookings: montourdumontblanc.com.
🎒 Packing — August hut-to-hut tick as you pack
Target 6–8 kg before water. Ticks reset on reload.
Master sources
Day-specific sources sit in each day's Sources tab. These are the cross-trip bookmarks.
- Autour du Mont-Blanc — official TMB siteTrail conditions, accommodation list, official itinerary.
- Mon Tour du Mont Blanc — your booking platformEach hut's page: contacts, access, half-board details.
- TMBtent — transit & shortcuts, stage by stageThe bible for every bus, lift and train on the loop.
- TMB Trail Guide — stages overviewConcise stage descriptions with photos.
- Moon & Honey — detailed stage guidesThe most granular turn-by-turn write-ups (stages 2–8 cover your route).
- Macs Adventure — bail-out transport guideAlternative transport for every stage if you must skip one.
- Adventure Base — 2026 lift & shuttle timesBellevue cable car hours, Chapieux shuttle, valley buses.
- SBB — Swiss journey plannerLa Fouly → Champex buses, Forclaz PostBus, all things Swiss.