The Trail
How to get to the Tour du Mont Blanc trailhead
Geneva is the gateway. Here are the real transfer options to Les Houches, Chamonix and Courmayeur, with current prices and journey times.
Fly to Geneva
To start the Tour du Mont Blanc, the most convenient route is to fly into Geneva Airport, the closest international hub to the trail.
From Geneva, most walkers head to Les Houches, the unofficial starting point for the anticlockwise circuit, which is the standard direction and the one we walk. If you are doing the second half of the tour, you start in Courmayeur in Italy instead. Chamonix is the natural base if you are walking clockwise, and it is worth a night either way.
FlixBus: the budget option
FlixBus runs several services a day from Geneva Airport and is the cheapest way to reach the trail.
To Chamonix: four departures a day, around €21 per person, roughly 1.5 hours.
To Courmayeur: three departures a day, around €26 per person, roughly 3.2 hours.
Book ahead in July and August. The buses fill up, and the last thing you want after a flight is to be standing at the airport waiting for a seat.
Private shuttle: the comfortable option
If you would rather not manage connections with a full pack, Alpin Bus and similar operators run private transfers.
To Chamonix: about 1 hour, around €270 for the vehicle.
To Courmayeur: about 2 hours, around €312 for the vehicle.
That is priced per 8-seater van rather than per person, so split between a group of six it is competitive with the bus and considerably faster. They will drop you directly at your hotel or refuge, including Les Houches, which the public bus does not always do.
Getting from Chamonix to Les Houches
If you arrive in Chamonix and your trip starts at Les Houches, the local bus and the regional train both run the short distance down the valley and take about 15 minutes. It is included in the Chamonix guest card that most accommodations issue on arrival.
A note on Switzerland
Geneva is in Switzerland, and the trail crosses back into Switzerland partway round. That matters for two practical reasons: your mobile plan may not include Swiss roaming even if it covers the EU, and the European Health Insurance Card does not cover Switzerland. Check both before you fly.