The Tour de Mont Blanc (TMB) should be a bucket list item for anyone who likes to hike surrounded by fantastic scenery, with the option of not having to carry their own food/tent/bedding. The full tour, which goes through France, Italy, and Switzerland, takes approx 11 days (there are 11 official stages) is 112 miles, and has about 32.8k feet of elevation gain. 

This summer my husband John and I and a group of 10 friends traveled to Chamonix, France to hike about half of the TMB over 5 days.  John then went on to finish the whole TMB route with a couple of other friends who joined him when the rest of us departed the trail in Courmayeur, Italy.  

We opted for a self-guided hike where we stayed in a mix of hotels and mountain refuges and we were lucky enough to have perfect weather, no injuries, and a fantastic time. Was it easy? No! Was it epic? Yes! Everyone felt it was one of the best trips we had each taken, full of exercise, scenery, and friendship.

You can read the full recount of our trip here, including how we planned and prepared for the trip, what we packed and what the hiking, lodgings, and day-to-day routes and routines were. Start your planning this fall for an epic trip next summer!