The Tour du Mont Blanc is one of Europe's finest hikes - an alpine highlight reel circling 105 miles (170km) around the Mont Blanc massif, and passing through France, Switzerland and Italy on the way. Given that the walk is so long, it requires consecutive days of hiking to complete - but while this is a demanding route, it's also an achievable one for hikers with a good level of fitness. There isn't much technical difficulty, and while there are steep and exposed sections, there's no ropework involved. Serious altitude sickness is also not a concern on the TMB, with the high point of the TMB being the Grand Col Ferret at 2,532m (8,307ft), or the Fenêtre d'Arpette at 2,665m (8,743ft), depending on your route.
There is nothing that can prepare you for it other than doing a 10-day hut-to-hut trek in the Alps.
All of that said, you will be walking for anywhere from five to 10 hours each day on the Tour du Mont Blanc, and doing so back-to-back for over a week, while wearing a heavy backpack. If you're not used to doing that, or you haven't done it before, that will be a real challenge. This is where the difficulty of the TMB lies. It isn’t so much in the terrain, but in the cumulative days spend hiking for long days - and the mental fatigue that you'll rack up while doing that.
Joel Evans is one our partners in Chamonix, organising our group hikes on the TMB. He also guided on the route himself for six years. "We want to categorise it hard enough to be realistic, but also, we don't want to scare people away," he says. "For some people, it would be a breeze - then they'll really enjoy it. They'll find the hiking easy, and they can enjoy the views, enjoy the food and chat to people. But for other people, it might on the upper end of their ability - very difficult - but then they'll get that sense of achievement when they finish. The 10-day walk is tough."
Much Better Adventures
For another perspective, we asked James Leask of Much Better Adventures, who has completed the route multiple times. "For people not used to hiking in the Alps, the scale of mountains and the depth of the valleys is hard to imagine," he says. "It's the vertical change, not the distance, that's the real challenge. But thousands of hikers of all ages and experience levels complete the TMB every summer. For those that enjoy long hikes it's one of the ultimate routes to do."
For a more in-depth look at the hike, see our guide to the Tour du Mont Blanc.
A typical day on the Tour du Mont Blanc
An average day on the Tour du Mont Blanc will see you walking around 5- 10 hours, covering between six miles (9.5km) and 13 miles (21km) - though obviously this is highly variable, and will change as you personalise the itinerary.
Most people walk the route anti-clockwise, "mainly because you have steeper uphills and longer, gradual descends," Joel explains. "I think that's nicer for your legs and for your knees. Every day you're almost going 1,000m (3,280ft) up and 1,000m (3,280ft) down, more or less. And a steeper uphill is easier, and it gets the climb over with, then the gradual descent takes a lot less of a toll."
That's an important note. Each day on the TMB has a lot of ascent and descent, and over the course of the tour, that is likely to impact your body. Going downhill isn't necessarily easy, either. You've still got a heavy backpack, and the trail. The summer heat can compound the difficulty of the hike too - so do stay hydrated.
Speaking more generally about a day on the TMB though, it might look a little like this: you'll wake up early in a refuges or hotel to a beautiful alpine view right out your door. If you’re on a guided trip, you’ll then spend the day out on the trail with your group and guide, walking into mountain views, climbing steeply and gradually descending. You'll have views of high peaks and alpine pastures, and when you reach your next accommodation, stories and socialising awaits.
Can a beginner walk the Tour du Mont Blanc?
Yes, they can (and do), but the key to success is preperation and training.
A lot of the reviews on our Tour du Mont Blanc trips describe the TMB as a first multi-day trek or first alpine hike - and many are initially reluctant to book because of this. Something that often comes up is that people are often worried they'll be holding everyone else up (which rarely turns out to be the case), but the ones who do struggle tend to be those without a base of fitness going into it.
Thousands of hikers of all ages and experience levels complete the TMB every summer.
If you have little or no experience of hiking for back-to-back days - with a heavy backpack - that doesn't rule out the TMB, but it does mean you should be trying to get some hiking experience before booking and certainly before the trek.
If you haven’t done the work to build up the strength and experience to complete such a long, demanding walk, it will be very hard work. Don’t underestimate how different the fatigue of consecutive days of hiking can feel compared to doing a single day hike and returning home to a warm shower and your own bed. Try and get out for consecutive days of hiking beforehand - it can be fun!
Much Better Adventures
Of ourse, if you're new to long-distance hiking, a guided trip is ideal. Your guide will set the pace for your group, you’ll meet like-minded people to chat to, and you don’t have to worry about the navigation. If you want to test the water, the weekend hut-to-hut trip on the TMB is a wonderful introduction to the route.
How fit do you need to be for the Tour du Mont Blanc (and how to train)?
To walk the Tour du Mont Blanc circuit, you should be comfortable walking for between six and 10 hours a day with a heavy backpack, up and down steep hills, for multiple days in a row. Being able to day that for just one day doesn't cut it.
As James Leask of Much Better Adventures puts it: "A hike up to a mountain pass to get into the next valley can be one to three hours of ascending, on switchback rocky trails from the valley floor through alpine forest and to above the tree line - followed immediately by a one or two hour descent down similarly steep trails. The ability to do that repeatedly, day after day, requires stamina, endurance and durability built up over many months of preparation and training. Ideally, aim to have several multi-day hikes in the build up to this trip to get ready."
The back-to-back nature of a multi-day trek is the big thing - particularly if you don’t have a rest day built in, which most people don’t.
The ability to do that repeatedly, day after day, requires stamina, endurance and durability built up over many months of preparation and training.
A short version of a Tour du Mont Blanc training programme could involve building up to doing daily long hikes with proper ascent and descent invovled (not just flat miles) - while wearing your hiking boots and carrying a pack.
Before you go on the TMB, do some days of hiking in this fashion and see how it impacts your body. You’ll likely feel it in your legs, or in your shoulders from carrying the pack, and can train appropriately. In terms of gym training, descent-specific conditioning (quads and knees!) can also be very helpful.
Much Better Adventures
Joel Evans, an expert guide on the TMB, adds: "A lot of our customers are from the UK and shy of doing the West Highland Way, or doing Ben Nevis or Snowdon every day for 10 days, there's nothing that can really prepare you. But to see if you're ready - go out and do two big days on the weekend, and see if at the end, you're thinking 'okay, I could go and do a third, I could go and do a fourth'."
He continues: "It is tough. And for some people, when they know they might struggle - I think that's when luggage transfer really comes into it. Because doing 10 days with 10kg on your back versus 10 days with 4kg on your back is significantly different in terms of the toll on your body. I think it is hard."
Read our guide from an ex-Commando on how to prepare for a multi-day trek.
So what makes the Tour du Mont Blanc hard (and what doesn’t)?
Here's what makes the Tour du Mont Blanc a difficult hike:
- The back-to-back days of ascent and descent, repeated over a week or more.
- The long days of hiking, which regularly exceed six hours of walking.
- The heat of July and August, which can sap your energy.
- The steep, scree-covered descents, which are tough on the knees and require concentration.
- The heavy pack, and having to carry it for so many days on the row.
- And some people don’t sleep as well in the mountain refuges. We'd reccommend packing an eyemask and earplugs to help with this.
Here's what you don't have to worry about on the Tour du Mont Blanc route:
- There is no technical climbing or ropes. It’s hiking, not mountaineering.
- There’s no altitude sickness. The high point is around 2,537m (8,323ft).
- You don’t summit Mont Blanc - you’re hiking around the Mont Blanc massif.
For a day-by-day breakdown, see our guide to the full route, map and itinerary.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the Tour du Mont Blanc difficult? It’s a challenge hike, yes, but it’s not a technical one. The difficulty comes from the length, and the fact that you’ll need to hike for more than six hours a day, on back-to-back days, for more than a week - carrying a big, heavy backpack as you go. There’s a lot of up and a lot of down.
Can a beginner hike the TMB? Yes, if they prepare properly. Many trekkers choose the Tour du Mont Blanc as a first multi-day hike due to the fame of the route (and, of course, the delightful alpine scenery). A guided trip, with a certified guide to set the pace, do the route-finding and support can be game-changing.
Do you need experience or special skills? No technical skills are required to hike the TMB. There’s no climbing or scrambling involved in the core walking route. What matters most here is fitness and experience of hiking long days.
How much ascent is there each day? There's typically around 800m-1,000m (2,600ft-3,300ft) per day, and roughly the same in descent. See the full route and elevation profile for the day-by-day detail.
Inspired? Check out our range of treks on the Tour du Mont Blanc now!