Trekking the Mont Blanc circuit is regarded as one of world's most iconic walking routes and I was beyond excited to be given the chance to experience it first hand in July 2019. I had never been to the Alps before and I admit to having a romantic mental picture of what to expect – blue skies, lush alpine meadows with splashes of colourful flowers, crystal clear rivers winding their way down through the valleys, plenty of fresh air and all with the stunning backdrop of Mont Blanc to complete the picture, a chocolate box scenario if I’m honest…..and happily, it was all of this and more (including the Swiss chocolate)!

I joined our best-selling holiday in France, the Best of The Tour du Mont Blanc. KE were the first to create this holiday, for those who want to experience the circuit in 8 days, and we’ve been running it since 2008. The journey covers the route in its shortest distance – the full route is around 170km (available in our Ultimate and Classic versions), whereas this trip does the loop in 95km, or 60 miles in old money. That said, there is no feeling that you are missing out on any experience doing this shorter option and we still pass through the 3 countries – France, Switzerland and Italy as normal on route.

How have we managed to squeeze this iconic route into one week?

This Tour du Mont Blanc trekking trip starts and ends in the Chamonix Valley. I arrived earlier than most of my group, so had a free afternoon before we all met up with the guide. After a chat with the staff I took their advice and took the cable car to the Aiguille du Midi – a fantastic excursion to the top of the peak at a height of 3842m offering breathtaking views of Mont Blanc and the surrounding landscape! A great way to begin my week-long adventure!

After breakfast our main luggage was set to one side and given “KE” tags for the transfer, before being whisked off to our next nights accommodation – a process that was seamless and worked really well locally. All of our bags were waiting for us after the days walk, either in reception, or in our room.

The daily routine began with breakfast around 7-7.30am and our walk began about 8-8.30am. Once we had all donned our boots, readied our rucksacks (plenty of water and suncream!) and checked our walking poles we set off with the rallying cry of “hikers, let’s hike!” from our excellent guide Ronan.

Our daily distances averaged at 15km over the 6 days and the walking itself was mostly along dedicated paths. There are some steep ascents and descents along the way, but the pace is dictated by the group leader and works really well.

Ronan, our guide for the week, was one of the highlights of the trip and kept everyone entertained and informed with his jokes, singing and knowledge of the local area and its history. 

We would normally arrive, tired but happy, at our accommodation around late afternoon, meaning there was time for a beer and a chat before everyone freshened up for dinner.

How I found the walking

The walking is done on dedicated trails throughout, some of it being easy under foot and some more rocky with a few tree roots to catch the unwary and certainly in my case, I had to stop myself from walking with my head staring at the views and actually keep an eye on what my feet were doing! This is not easy as the views are stunning every day from start to finish and you just want to drink it all in and not miss anything at all. Along with the views, there is plenty of wildlife to look out for – we were lucky to spot eagles, vultures and Marmots thanks to the sharp eyes of our guide Ronan! You can call me to talk about the walking, and on our website, you’ll find the daily GPS stats from my trip on the Map & Itinerary tab of the trip page.

The accommodation is outstanding

The other tempting aspect of this version of this holiday is that accommodation is either hotels or chalets, all being comfortable, welcoming and in fantastic locations – no sharing in crowded dorms and huts! …very civilised thank you very much! They are usually smaller family run establishments, but with all the comforts you need at the end of the day – quiet locations with fabulous views, great food and comfy beds! Due to the nature of the places we stay, single rooms are not possible but this is typical of most Mont Blanc walking circuit holidays.

The food was incredible

Food-wise no one went hungry and in particular, the dinners were fantastic – very tasty and lots of it, so great for hungry walkers at the end of the day. Vegetarians and vegans were also catered for. Breakfast was plentiful with a choice of fruit, yoghurts, cereals, toast, pastries, meats and cheeses. Lunches on the trip were a packed lunch provided by the accommodation and normally a wrap or baguette with a choice of fillings freshly made. This was supplemented with fruit and a snack bar. Dinners were really tasty and normally made up of several courses. Meat, fish, stews and soup among others on the menu, all freshly prepared and enough to fill the hungriest of walkers at the end of the day!

All in all, this was an amazing walking holiday which ticked all of the boxes for me and one that I would very much like to go back and repeat again in the near future. Please feel free to give me a call and I’ll happily spend some time talking you through all the highlights!

My Sketches

Aside from adventure travel, my other passion is art and drawing my surroundings, mostly in pencil & colour pencil – especially pencil portraits. As a personal twist to my travel writings and blogs for KE, I like to include some sketches of where I have been and the things that stand out for me.

Sketch 1 – The view from the trail to Lac Blanc on Day 7. After an hour or so, the low cloud lifted and we were greeted with this sight looking across to Aiguille d’Argentiere.

Sketch 2 – This sketch of a church near Les Contamines, was taken from a photo at the end of our 7 hour walk on Day 1 – a beautiful spot with a stunning backdrop!

Sketch 3 – This drawing was again taken from one of my many photos and was another interesting view on our walk on Day 7 to Lac Blanc.