As experienced, local guides, we know what a typical TMB day looks like! We have hiked the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) many times, in June, July, August and September. Below you will find a “description of a typical day on the TMB, “day-in-the-life” style description of what a normal day on the TMB looks like. Whether you have already booked your tour, or whether you are just deciding if this is the right multi-day hike for you, we hope you find this information useful. For more information on the exact Tour du Mont Blanc itinerary, consult our main TMB page.

About the Author : Grant is a guide, and has lived in the Chamonix valley for ten years. He has done the TMB route over 20 times!

Mornings on a typical TMB day

A typical TMB day starts with breakfast at around 6.30am – 7am. The breakfast is set out, and you can arrive whenever suits you. Breakfast in a refuge is simple. It’s typically heavy on the bread, and there’s usually cereal, yoghurt and fruit (read this post to learn more about mountain refuges). If you have booked onto a guided tour, your guide will normally breif you on the day during breakfast, or right after. You should have organised your bag the night before, so once you’ve brushed your teeth and checked out, you will set off hiking. On our guided hikes, we normally start hiking at around 8am. Sometimes we start a bit earlier, if the route is long or if thunderstorms are forecast.

A typical TMB Day starts Strenuously!

In general, the mornings on the TMB are more strenuous than the afternoons. This is because the route usually takes you over a mountain pass (also called a “col”), so you’ll climb to the pass in the morning, then descend the other side in the afternoon. Thankfully, the mornings are usually quite chilly, even in late summer.

Lunch on a typical TMB day

At some point on the route, you’ll stop for lunch. Normally this will be around half-way through the day, at around 12 or 1pm. Sometimes you’ll stop earlier or later… the exact time will be determined by that day’s route. If you are hiking with a Happy Tracks guide, they will try to find you the best picnic spot! Of course, if you get hungry before then, you can take some snacks from your bag, and you can stop off at a mountain refuge for drinks and cake. Likewise, if you’re feeling tired, it’s possible to have a short rest before lunch, and there are usually places to use the toilet.

Good News : A Typical TMB day gets easier!

On a typical TMB day, the afternoons are usually a bit easier than the mornings, as in the afternoons you will normally be descending from a mountain pass. The only exception to this rule is on Day 7 (La Fouly – Champex), where you will finish your day by hiking up a steep climb, but this climb follows a very mellow day. For all the other stages of the TMB, It’s important to be below the tree line by about 3pm. This is because there are often showers and thunderstorms in the late afternoon (see this post about TMB weather for more info!). We aim to arrive at the next accommodation with some time to spare before dinner, often around 4 or 5pm. This is a nice time to have a shower, take a nap, or relax on the terrace with a beer! This is also the time that you should prepare your bag for the next day. Pack spare cloths, waterproofs, snacks and sunscreen at the top of your bag, so that they will be assessable. You should also refill your water bottles, so that you’ll be ready to go in the morning.

Evenings on a Typical TMB Day

Dinner is normally served at around 7pm. After dinner, people are usually tired and head to sleep at around 9pm (you will find your bed time gets a few hours earlier when hiking!). The evening meal is usually simple but filling. There are normally 3 courses :  a soup starter, a main course, and a dessert. For more information about dinners in mountain refuges, read this post.

TMB Itinerary & Trail Conditions

An average day on the TMB is between 15-20km, with around 1000 metres of climbing. Most people are out for up to 8 hours, which includes the breaks and lunch. You will experience a variety of landscapes; passing through shady forests, bright alpine meadows, and over rough, rocky passes. Climbing from the valleys to the high altitudes, you’ll experience fluctuating temperatures. For more information on the exact itinerary, including a day-by-day description, consult our main TMB page.

The TMB trails vary in technicality, but in general they are quite easy. Most of the time they are wide, so you can walk together rather than in single-file. That said, it’s good practise to walk in no more than twos, so that other hikers, runners or bikers can get past. Most of the trails are smooth underfoot, but as you get higher up, they become more rocky.

TMB Typical Day Summary

We hope you now have a clearer understanding of what a typical TMB day looks and feels like. We have not gone into too much detail about the weather, as TMB weather changes day-by-day, so we have a specific post dedicated to that large topic here. If you have further questions, or you want to read a day-by-day description of the TMB itinerary, consult our main Tour du Mont Blanc page here.