Tour du Mont Blanc hike

Planet

s part of our Responsible Travel policy, we advise customers to take reusable water bottles with them on tour. Our tour leaders actively do not distribute single-use plastic water bottles and encourage customers to refill their bottles from local springs and drinking fountains throughout the trip. The tap water in hotels and at drinking stations along the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) is completely safe to drink. Another way to reduce unnecessary waste is through advising customers to bring lunch boxes and cutlery for the picnics which we enjoy throughout the trek .

This trek by its very nature has a very low carbon footprint and uses no private vehicles. The airport to hotel transfers between Geneva and Les Houches in the Chamonix Valley are aboard a regular shared shuttle-bus service. The short sections of the Tour Du Mont Blanc where we do not walk, we catch either a local public bus or take a cable car.

The Tour du Mont Blanc is an iconic and popular hiking route that passes through some of the most beautiful Alpine landscapes rich with endemic flora. Our trek leaders brief all customers on best practice to ensure that as a group we walk responsibly, sticking to the proper trail so as to not erode the mountains, taking all our waste with us and observing correct 'bush stop' etiquette.

As a travel company we are continually looking for ways to improve and are proud to be ‘Responsible in everything we do’. Education is key, and so all staff, Tour Leaders and partnering suppliers are trained in responsible and sustainable tourism. At our Head Office, we continually strive towards a sustainable and planet-friendly working environment, including having solar panels installed and a company commitment to reducing our plastic usage.

People

This trip stays in locally-owned accommodation throughout, from the simple Auberge de la Nova in Les Chapieux run by Muriel and Erik to family-run Hotel de la Coronne in Argentiere which has been operating in 1865. Using small family run hotels rather than larger and often chain hotels helps to contribute directly to the economy of these mountain towns and villages .

Enjoying the authentic mountain cuisine of the three countries through which the TMB passes (France, Switzerland and Italy) is an important feature of this vacation. When we are staying in locations where there are there are plenty of options to dine out at we don't include evening meals at our accommodation. Instead our tour leaders make recommendations of dishes to try at locally-run restaurants thus spreading the economic benefit of our visit.

As a company we have valuable and longstanding partnerships with UK charities Toilet Twinning and Send a Cow, plus many smaller initiatives and projects around the world. We’re members of the UK travel industry body AITO because we believe it’s important to share our knowledge and experience, as well as learn from other operators.