Hut to hut is the whole design of the Tour du Mont Blanc. There is a refuge, gite or village hotel at the end of every stage, which means no tent, no stove and no food beyond lunch. It is why a route with 10,000 m of ascent is walkable with a day pack.
What a refuge night actually involves
You arrive between three and five in the afternoon. Boots come off at the door and go on a rack; you change into the indoor shoes provided or your own. Someone checks your name against the book and shows you a bunk, usually in a shared dormitory of anywhere from six to forty beds.
Dinner is served at a set time, normally between six and seven, at long shared tables. It is a fixed menu, three courses, and it is generally very good. Breakfast is early, bread and coffee, and packed lunches are ordered the night before.
Lights go out around ten. People are walking again by seven.
Half board, and why you take it
Demi-pension, or half board, means dinner and breakfast included with the bed. Take it every time. There is usually no alternative food within an hour's walk, the price is reasonable, and cooking is not an option because you have no stove.
Tell them about dietary requirements when you book, not when you arrive. The kitchens are small and the menu is fixed.
Booking, and the January problem
This is the part that decides whether your trip happens. Reservations for the summer open in January, and the well-placed refuges are gone within weeks.
Rifugio Bonatti and Rifugio Elisabetta on the Italian side are the two that go first, because they sit exactly where the stages want to end. If you want either, book in January and plan the rest of the route around what you get.
Book the huts before you book the flights. It is the only genuinely scarce part of this trip.
The etiquette nobody tells you
- Boots off at the door, always. This is not optional anywhere on the route.
- Pack your bag the night before if you are leaving early, in the corridor rather than the dorm.
- Headtorch on red or covered after lights out.
- Cash is safest. Several huts still do not take cards and signal is poor.
- Cancel if your plans change. Someone on a waiting list wants that bed.
Refuges, gites and hotels
A refuge is a mountain hut, often high and remote, usually dormitory only. A gite d'étape is in a village, a bit more comfortable, sometimes with small rooms. In Courmayeur, Champex and Chamonix you can simply book a hotel.
Mixing them is normal. Most people take the huts where the route demands it and a proper room where a village makes it possible.
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.
