The Tour du Mont Blanc is cheaper than people expect and more expensive than a backpacking trip at home. You are sleeping indoors and eating cooked meals every night for eight days, in three of the more expensive countries in Europe.
The honest headline: budget around 100 to 140 euros per person per day walking self guided with half board, before flights.
Where the money goes
Refuge half board is the biggest line and runs roughly 60 to 90 euros per person per night, dormitory bed plus dinner and breakfast. The Swiss nights cost more, and a private room in Courmayeur or Chamonix costs more again.
Packed lunches from the huts run 10 to 15 euros. Buying food in Les Contamines and Courmayeur is cheaper if you would rather carry it.
Drinks and extras add up faster than anything else. A beer on a refuge terrace after a col is one of the pleasures of the route and it is also 6 to 8 euros each time.
The costs people forget
- Geneva airport transfer to Chamonix, around 35 to 50 euros each way by shared shuttle
- Cable cars, most usefully Bellevue on day one, roughly 20 euros
- Valley buses if you shorten a stage, 5 to 15 euros a time
- Swiss francs for three nights, and a bad exchange rate if you pay in euros
- Travel insurance that actually covers mountain walking above 2,500 m
Self guided versus guided
A self guided package, where a company books the refuges and moves your bag, typically runs 1,200 to 2,000 euros per person for the circuit. You are paying mostly for the booking admin, which is genuinely the worst part of planning this trip.
A fully guided group trek is usually 2,400 to 3,500 euros. That buys a guide, the route decisions in bad weather, and someone else dealing with every reservation.
Doing it entirely yourself, the eight nights and food land closer to 800 to 1,100 euros plus transfers. The saving is real, and so is the January morning you spend booking eight refuges across three countries and three booking systems.
Where you can genuinely save
Walk in early September rather than August: the huts are the same price but flights and Chamonix beds are cheaper, and the trail is quieter. Carry your own lunches from the two resupply villages. Skip the luggage transfer, which is 15 to 25 euros a day and only worth it if you are carrying more than you should be.
Our 8 days itinerary: Tour du Mont Blanc: An 8-Day Hut to Hut Itinerary. Day by day, with where to sleep and what to book.
