Behind the TMB Journey

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← Tour du Mont Blanc

The planning and realities behind the Tour du Mont Blanc

We often feel like we experience the journey twice – first at home, then again on the trail.

Getting there

We started our Tour du Mont Blanc in Les Houches, near Chamonix.

We left our car in the free parking area in Les Houches for the entire trek (10 days).
The parking is located here: [parking, Google Maps]

The night before starting the trail, we stayed at Camping Bellevue, conveniently located next to the Bellevue cable car station.

Route Planning & Our Itinerary

The Tour du Mont Blanc is primarily designed around staying in mountain huts and guesthouses. While there are several route variations, many of them do not pass directly by campsites.

Hiking the TMB with a tent often means leaving the main trail to reach a campsite and then climbing back up to the route the next morning. This adds extra distance and elevation gain that many itineraries don’t mention.

Finding campsites was actually one of the most time-consuming parts of planning our trek. We spent quite a lot of time studying maps and adjusting our itinerary.

Here is the exact route we finally followed:

* includes Bellevue lift

Campsites

Since wild camping is generally not allowed on the Tour du Mont Blanc, we stayed at official campsites throughout the trek.

Below is a list of all the campsites we used, together with our ratings and brief reviews.

Day	Village	Campsite	Map
0	Les Houches	camping Bellevue	📍
1	Les Contamines	camping du Pontet	📍
2	Les Chapieux	aire de bivouac des Chapieux	📍
3	Courmayeur	camping Aiguille-Noire	📍
4	Tronchey	camping Tronchey	📍
5	La Fouly	camping des Glaciers	📍
6	Champex-Lac	camping Roccailles	📍
7	Trient	camping Le Peuty	📍
8	Argentière	camping du Glacier D’Argentiere	📍
9	Chamonix	camping Les Arolles	📍

Camping Bellevue ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pros: flat terrain, clean bathrooms, hot showers, close to parking and trail start.

Cons: no kitchen, no picnic tables.

Best for: night before starting the TMB.

Camping du Pontet ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pros: Large campsite, clean facilities, hot showers, washing machines, well-equipped kitchen.

Cons: None that stood out.

Aire de bivouac des Chapieux ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pros: free of charge, large camping area, drinking water, toilets and sinks, beautiful mountain views. Pizza restaurant and small shop nearby.

Cons: no kitchen, no showers.

Best for: a budget-friendly stop with stunning scenery and basic facilities

Camping Aiguille-Noire ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pros: large campsite, excellent facilities, clean bathrooms and showers, on-site shop, restaurant nearby, plenty of space for tents.

Cons: none that stood out

Best for: a comfortable stop near Courmayeur with everything you might need in one place.

Camping Tronchey ⭐

Pros: mountain view.

Cons: very poor sanitary facilities, dirty bathrooms, missing toilet paper, no hot water available.

Best for: only if other nearby campsites are full

Camping des Glaciers ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pros: beautiful location, clean bathrooms and showers, well-equipped kitchen. Close to the village with shops, restaurants and other services.

Cons: none that stood out

Best for: a comfortable stop with good facilities and easy access to resupply.

Camping Roccailles ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pros: clean facilities, hot showers, kitchen and everything needed for a comfortable overnight stay.

Cons: none that stood out

Camping Le Peuty ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pros: small, peaceful and affordable campsite with beautiful mountain views. Small campsite shop on site. Clean facilities and a relaxed atmosphere.

Cons: showers cost extra (2 EUR for 6 minutes).

Fun fact: when the shower time ran out, there was no automatic shut-off, the owner simply knocked on the door.
Human-powered automation at its finest. 😊

Camping du Glacier D’Argentiere ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Pros: Large (actually very large) campsite with beautiful mountain views. Clean facilities, hot showers and a well-equipped kitchen

Cons: none that stood out

Camping Les Arolles ⭐⭐⭐

Pros: Convenient location in Chamonix with easy access to shops, restaurants and other services.

Cons: very crowded. Tents packed closely together and queues for most facilities.

Best for: a practical last night before finishing the TMB..

Food, Water & Resupply

One of the advantages of the TMB is that the route passes through many villages and towns, making food resupply very easy.

We carried freeze-dried meals for several days and restocked whenever we passed through a larger village. For breakfast, we often bought fresh baguettes, local cheese and sausages from village shops. Dinner was sometimes pizza – a well-earned reward after a long day on the trail.

We never had any issues finding water. There are numerous refill points along the route, so carrying large amounts of water was rarely necessary.

Challenges on the Trail

The biggest challenge of the Tour du Mont Blanc was the amount of elevation gain and loss.

Most days involved long climbs followed by equally long descents. None of the sections were technically difficult in summer conditions, but the accumulated elevation and consecutive days on the trail made the trek physically demanding.

Weather & Conditions

We hiked the TMB in the second half of June.

Most days were warm and sunny, with daytime temperatures around 20°C. However, mountain weather changes quickly and the rain made some sections feel surprisingly cold.

Night temperatures stayed above 5°C, but on higher passes there was still snow remaining from winter.

We were very happy to carry microspikes, which proved useful on several snowy traverses and passes.

Budget & Costs

The Tour du Mont Blanc can be affordable when staying at campsites and preparing some of your own meals.

Our total cost for the trek was approximately 1,700 EUR for our group (family of four), including:

• campsites
• groceries
• pizzas along the route

Transport to Les Houches, freeze-dried meals purchased before the trip, and gear costs are not included.

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