Because completing the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) is such a mighty feat, it’s wise to have some TMB shortcuts up your sleeve. That’s why we’ve put our heads together to create this shortcuts cheat sheet. As local guides, we know the tricks of the trade and we also know that even the best-prepared sometimes need a helping hand. Bad weather, sickness, injuries, and physical fatigue – these things should all be taken seriously.

So, whether you’re planning in advance or whether you’re on the trail right now, we’re here to help! Below, we’ll walk you through the TMB itinerary, detailing how to shorten each section. We have also written a pist about skipping whole days. This information is designed to help self-guided hikers, but it should also be useful for runners and bikers alike. For more information on TMB logistics, consult our TMB frequently asked questions page.

day-by-day Shortcuts

In this section we’ll run through the standard TMB itinerary, pointing out how to shorten each day. We’ll start in France, then move onto Italy and Switzerland. If you’d like to see a more detailed itinerary, check out this page.

A note on TMB Transport

Many of the shortcuts detailed below rely on public transport, such as shuttles, buses and trains. These local services are excellent, and in general they run every hour / every half hour. The shuttle buses (called “navettes” in French) are free to use, whilst the public buses and trains cost a couple of euros / francs. You can pay as you get on in either cash or by card. Where possible, we’ve listed the relevant timetables, but note that these do change so it’s best to consult the physical timetables at the stations / bus stops.

tmb shortcuts in France: Chamonix & Les Contamines

It’s easy to shorten these first three days of the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB). Here are our go-to solutions :

• Stage 1 (Les Houches – Les Contamines): Take the Bellevue Cable Car up from Les Houches. This is one of the best TMB shortcuts, as it cuts off a gruelling 2-hour slog up tarmac and gravel. You’ll step out of the cable car onto a beautiful trail that heads up to the Bionnassay glacier. However, it’s important to note that this lift does not run in early June or late September. For more information on the best time to hike the TMB, read this article.
  
  
• Stage 2 (Les Contamines – Les Chapieux): Take a shuttle bus from the Tourist Office in the centre of Contamines. These shuttles run every hour and you’ll find this year’s timetable on the tourist office website (here). Ride the shuttle all the way to Notre Dame de la Gorge. We like this TMB shortcut because it whizzes you along the flat section. You’ll shave off 5 kilometres, and you’ll arrive at the real climbing much faster.
  
  
• Stage 3 (Les Chapieux – Val Veny): Take the shuttle bus from the Tourist Office in Les Chapieux to Ville des Glaciers. You can find the timetable here. Again, this is a nice shortcut because it doesn’t take away from the “real” hiking; you’ll shorten your day by 6 kilometres, but you’ll only have missed a section of road walking. Stepping off the bus, you’ll be at the foot of the climb to Col de la Seigne.

TMB shortcuts in Italy: Courmayeur & Val Ferret

In Italy as in France, you can shorten each day by using public transport and cable cars. Here are our favourite TMB shortcuts for Italy :

• Stage 4 (Val Veny – Courmayeur): After the long descent from Rifugio Elisabetta, catch the
  bus at La Visaille and ride it all the way to Courmayeur. The bus runs every hour and the journey takes around twenty minutes. You’ll find the timetable at the bus stop and on the Arriva website. This is one of our favourite TMB shortcuts because it reduces the distance by 9 kilometres, and it comes at the end of a long day.
  
  Alternatively, use the Maison Vieille chairlift (called a “télésiège” locally) and the Dolonne cable car (called a “télécabin”) to descend into Courmayeur. This shortcut bypasses a brutal descent of 1000 metres down steep, dusty forest tracks. Most hikers opt for this route, and your knees will thank you! You can find more information on ticket prices here.
  
  
• Stage 5 (Courmayeur – Val Ferret) : Take the bus from Courmayeur bus station to Val Ferret, getting off at Planpincieux. From there, hike along the road before rejoining trails up towards Rifugio Bonatti. If you’re injured, tired or expecting bad weather, this is a great TMB shortcut because it reduces the distance by almost 10 kilometres, and it saves you around 700 of climbing. What’s more, you’ll rejoin the route in time to enjoy the famous balcony trail, which is one of the most beautiful sections of the whole Tour du Mont Blanc. You’ll find the timetable at the bus station and on the Arriva website.

TMB Shortcuts in Switzerland: Val Ferret & Trient

Welcome to Switzerland! There are TMB shortcuts here too! This is how we’d go about reducing each day :

• Stage 6 (Val Ferret – La Fouly): This is probably the most popular TMB shortcut. Catch a public bus from Ferret to La Fouly and save yourself a few kilometres of low-altitude forest walking. The journey takes around 5 minutes, and you can find a schedule on the local transport website (TMR) here.
  
  
• Stage 7 (La Fouly – Champex): To shorten this day you have two options. Either you can take the bus from La Fouly to Praz de Fort, or you can take the bus from Praz de Fort to Champex. The former will reduce the distance by around 8 kilometres, and the latter will reduce the distance by about 6 kilometres. This day is arguably the easiest day on the TMB, and although it is pleasant to hike through the forest, you will not be missing anything spectacular. The bus journey is short and you can find the timetable on the TMR website, here.
  
  
• Stage 8 (Champex – Trient): Trient lies North-West of Champex, with a number of high mountain ridges and peaks between them. The classic TMB route traverses the Bovine meadows to cut across the mountainside. Because of this, the hiking is far away from any roads and to shorten the day you have to either reduce it considerably, or else skip just the final descent.
  
  To skip this day, take a train from Champex to Martigny, and then take a bus from there to Trient. You’ll find the train timetables on the national railway website (SBB) here.
  
  Alternatively, if you want to just save your knees the final few kilometres, take the bus from Col de la Forclaz to Trient. Check the bus schedule on the TMR website, here.
  

Shortcuts back into France: The Chamonix Valley

• Stage 9 (Trient – Argentière) : If you’re looking to reduce the climbing, unfortunately this isn’t possible unless you’re willing to skip the whole day. However, once you reach Col de Balme, you can then take a series of lifts down to Le Tour village (take the Autannes chairlift, then the Charamillon cable car). This shortcut saves you 700 metres of descent, and you can buy your ticket at the Charamillon cabin. From Le Tour, you can then take a public bus to Argentière village. Find the timetable here, or by checking at the bus stop.
  
  
• Stage 10 (Argentière – Chamonix) : It’s easy to reduce this day, and you can tailor the shortcut to your exact needs because both the trains and the buses have regular stops along the Chamonix valley. If you are hiking just the valley section (aka you are avoiding the ladders and the climb to Lac Blanc), the steepest section is between Argentière and Les Tines. Therefore, if you want to save your knees, take the bus or train to Les Tines and finish the final section on foot.

TMB Shortcuts wrap up

We hope you’ve found this information useful. As you can see, each day of the Tour du Mont Blanc can be shortened, which should reassure you if you’re concerned about running out of time or energy. The uphill is sometimes hard to reduce, such as on stage 9 and 10, so take this into consideration when planning. For example, if you really want to hike up to the Bovine meadows but you’re not sure you’ll have the energy, why not take it easy on day 8 to save your legs? Take the bus all the way to Champex, then enjoy some leisure time by the lake.

It is often possible to skip whole days of the TMB, which you can read more about in this post. If you have any questions or feedback, please leave a comment below. Happy hiking!