Last Day Sale - Book Tour du Mont Blanc & AV1 ASAP

Get 2023 pricing, Today only...

Morning Hikers!

Hey folks, every year I hear from lots of you who are bummed you couldn't book that awesome Tour du Mont Blanc or Alta Via 1 trek.

Today — Nov 14 is the LAST day to get 2023 pricing on a done-for-you self guided hut to hut trekking trip on the popular Tour du Mont Blanc and Alta Via 1 trips.

If you've been dreaming about hiking around Mont Blanc or across the stunning Dolomites, listen up.

These treks are super popular and it's getting harder to reserve spots in the mountain huts and shelters along the way. Plus there's rules against camping outside designated areas.

So if you wanna trek one of these epic routes next summer, you'll wanna book ASAP.

Honestly, it may be too late to get private rooms, but the group rooms are pretty nice (sometimes).

How to Book the TMB or AV1?

There's a couple different ways to handle the accommodations along the route. You can try booking the mountain huts and shelters directly on your own. Not impossible, but can definitely be a pain.

Or you can go the self-guided tour route. Now this is definitely the easier option, even if it costs a bit more. Basically an outfitter handles all the reservations for you - you just show up and hike!

No stressing about availability or payment details at each stop.

Sure it's pricier letting a company take care of all that for you, but totally worth it to save yourself the hassle IMO.

Then you can just focus on enjoying amazing scenery without worrying about logistics. Something to think about!

I’m going with the TMB in 2024 using Alpenventures because I don’t want the hassle this year. Last year I booked my own and it was great, but I was sweating bullets that I had messed up my 3 page spreadsheet.

But for 2024, she sent over my itinerary and is taking care of all the logistics. We’re doing a custom tour, but most people take 10 days and you can try to get private rooms.

Here’s some TMB options. Click on the blue links to learn more.

Tour du Mont Blanc: The Tour du Mont Blanc hiking route is 170 km (105 miles) and typically hiked between 10 and 12 days.

Hike through France, Italy and Switzerland in 10 Days, 8 Days, or 15 days. Only have a long weekend? Hike half the TMB and come back the next year for the rest.

We’ve hiked the AV1 three times, so not going back this year and going to look for something more isolated. Will let you know when we find it. But most people want to at least try the AV1 once.

Here’s some AV1 options. Click on the blue links to learn more.

Alta Via 1 Dolomites: The Alta Via 1 is 120 km (75 miles) and takes around 10 days to complete.

This stunning moonscape meets alpine is one of a kind, hike it in 10 Days, 7 Days, or take your time with 13 days. Only have a long weekend? Hike half the AV1 and come back the next year for the rest. Want more adventure? Hike the AV1 with Via Ferratas!

This is the one I’m thinking about…I’ve got time as this one does not fill up like the traditional AV1.

Tour du Mont Blanc Alternative

Don’t like the crowds? This TMB alternative has the same views with a fraction of the people.

Sometimes it’s hard to plan that far ahead, right?

If you have any questions about these treks, please feel free to reply and I’ll share what I can.

>Want hiking inspiration?

Click here to read about the what it’s like on the Alta Via 1 hut to hut trek with family and kids…

You can find all previous tips here.

If you have a friend who would find this newsletter useful, forward it to them.

Thanks for reading! Talk to you next week!

Less Stress : Less Crowds: More Hiking 👎🏻

Here’s an assortment of self guided treks that don’t require as much planning ahead as the popular Alta Via 1 and Tour du Mont Blanc.

✈️ This is my favorite kind of hiking tour! These are best accessed from Innsbruck, Austria or Munich, Germany.

  • 8 days Culinary Hiking Tour: This hut-to-hut hiking tour in Austria and Switzerland offers mouthwatering food by top chefs, breathtaking scenery, a good calorie burn, and can be customized to meet any fitness and comfort level.

    → Details

  • 6 Days Hut to Hut Tour: This family-friendly hiking tour in a lesser-known area of the Alps offers well-cared for trails, spectacular scenery, no crowds, and easy access from Innsbruck, with options for family-sized rooms in the huts, although it's best to avoid late-June and early September due to snow.
    → Details

  • 3 Days Culinary Hiking Tour: This hut-to-hut hiking tour in one of Austria's premier hiking regions offers mouthwatering food by top chefs, breathtaking scenery, a good calorie burn, and can be customized to meet any fitness and comfort level, although it's best to avoid late-June and early September due to snow.
    → Details

  • 8 Days Bike Tour Across Alps: This beginner-friendly bicycle tour across the Alps follows a historic Roman trading route, offers impressive views, and ends at Lake Garda, with the option to skip uphill passages by taking a shuttle at an additional cost, starting in Garmisch, Germany and passing through Austria and vineyards in Italy, with well-established signage and routing that makes the tour enjoyable for cyclists of all levels.
    → Details

Hiking Traveler Toolkit - The websites & apps I use:

  • Flight search: I check all prices and routes skyscanner first. Then I use Wayaway or Booking.com or direct with the airline.

  • Hotels: I book ALL my hotel nights with booking.com or airbnb. If I can book directly with the hotel over their website, phone or email i’ll skip the OTA to save the provider the fees.

  • A Necessity! Sleeping in huts and planes: I've been living the high life, or should I say, the high-altitude life, for over 7 years now. I take over 2 dozen flights a year and spend my free time sleeping in crowded Dolomites mountain huts. And let me tell you, getting some shut-eye in those cozy little cabins ain't easy. But fear not, my fellow adventurers, for I have discovered the ultimate sleep hack: the Manta Sleep mask. This bad boy blocks out every speck of light and leaves no trace of those pesky sleep lines on your face, even after a night spent snuggled up with strangers in a tiny hut. Plus, you can even hook it up to your phone and play some soothing tunes or meditation apps to help you drift off into dreamland. Check it here.

  • Tours and adventure activities: GetYourGuide is my go-to site for booking tours like paragliding, rafting and occasionally hikes. I also love Manawa because they have more off-the-beaten path destinations. For exclusive self-guided Hut to Hut Hiking Tours I love AlpenventuresUnguided because the owner has done each hike personally and knows how to shape a wonderful experience.

  • Travel Insurance: Insurance depends on your trip so it's best to use a tool like Hey Mondo Travel Insurance to find what works best for you and my readers get 5% discount.

Free Gift

➡️ Want to book a Dolomites hut to hut hiking trip DIY style? You can use my spreadsheets to book your own.

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