Customers holding a passport or valid residence permit of a European Union country or territory, a United States, Canadian, Singaporean or Malaysian passport, or Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan (China) passports may enter France, Italy and Switzerland without a visa: you only need to buy a flight to Geneva Airport (airport code: GVA) to begin your Tour du Mont Blanc trip.

For customers who need to apply for a Schengen visa (for example, holders of a mainland China passport), we strongly recommend applying for the Schengen visa as early as possible (the application can be submitted at the earliest 6 months before the start of the trip) and obtaining a valid Schengen visa more than 75 days before the start of the trip; we particularly recommend applying for a French Schengen visa, to ensure smooth entry.

Once you have signed up and paid in full online, the organiser will provide customers who need to apply for a Schengen visa with an official French-language itinerary and letter of invitation for this trip, to help the visa application go more smoothly.

We sell no insurance and the trip price includes none.

Each traveller must take out their own travel insurance covering the whole trip and meeting at least the minimum legal or regulatory requirements of the destination. For example, for a traveller who needs a Schengen visa: travel medical insurance of at least €30,000, valid throughout the Schengen area, covering repatriation for medical reasons, urgent medical care, emergency hospital treatment and death.

We also recommend cover suited to mountain activities (search and rescue, including helicopter rescue), as well as cancellation, assistance and personal liability insurance.

If you rely on the insurance that comes with your bank card, check with your bank or its insurer that the cover meets these minimum requirements, and note the emergency number.

Please give your insurer, policy number and emergency number in the pre-departure questionnaire, so the guide can help you reach them if needed.

See Article 15 of the General Terms and Conditions of Sale.

This trail has been tried and tested over many years: rescue services, paths, waymarking and facilities are all very well developed. It is of moderate difficulty and suits most people; mountain hiking nevertheless carries inherent risks, so please follow the guide's arrangements.

Complete beginners are advised to consider taking part in the light of their own physical condition. Many past participants who had never done a long-distance trek of this kind followed about 2 to 3 months of regular, moderate-intensity training walks around their home city, challenged themselves and completed the whole route successfully. Building up your fitness in advance is very important: it lets you walk with ease during the trip and also enjoy the uplifting scenery and take photos to remember it by.

Our trips are joined almost exclusively by Chinese participants from all over the world, so you will not find yourself in the situation that arises when walking in a group with European and American hikers, where they are already over the top while we are still halfway up the slope, left far behind.

Our team of guides has more than ten years' experience, knows the trekking routes thoroughly and understands the pace and habits of Chinese participants. Rest stops are scheduled at regular intervals and, safety permitting, the guide will thoughtfully allow reasonable time for photos, so that every participant can enjoy the trek to the full.

Trekking with a full pack sounds cool, but participants need not only very good fitness but also plenty of outdoor experience to deal with all the complicated situations that may arise. It usually means carrying all your gear and supplies, which can be too gruelling for the ordinary hiking enthusiast.

Hiking with a light pack, by contrast, makes a trek far less difficult and suits a much wider range of hikers, beginners in particular. Reducing the weight on your back lessens the impact on the knees and other joints and makes it easier to enjoy the scenery along the way, so that walking and sightseeing go hand in hand.

To let participants enjoy the walking with greater ease, our trips include a dedicated luggage transfer service for your duffel bag. You simply hand over your duffel bag early in the morning, and we take care of delivering it safely to that day's accommodation. On the trail you carry only the essentials, such as the day's lunch and water, which greatly reduces the weight on your back and makes hiking a relaxed and pleasant experience.

While hiking in the Alps, our professional guide will adjust the route and the total walking time as appropriate, according to the participants' physical condition and the weather, while safeguarding the overall itinerary. To ensure safety when hiking in the mountains, all participants must strictly follow the guide's instructions.

When moving as a group, everyone is required to stay together, and no individual member is allowed to go off alone. The team moves at the speed of its slowest member, to ensure the safety and cohesion of the whole group. The guide will pay particular attention to slower members and will have them walk directly behind, the better to guide and help them. The guides will teach effective hiking techniques, such as the use of trekking poles and the adjustment of breathing rhythm uphill and downhill, to improve walking efficiency and ensure that the team advances safely and smoothly.

In special circumstances the guide may adjust the route. If the team is moving more slowly than expected, or meets bad weather such as heavy rain, thick fog or a thunderstorm, the guide will assess the situation as it develops and decide whether to change the route or shorten the itinerary, so that the team reaches the booked accommodation safely and on time. Adjustments are based mainly on an assessment of the team's overall ability and of the environmental conditions.

If an individual member is seriously lacking in fitness and clearly slows the team's progress, or affects the team's itinerary in bad weather, the guide has the right to take measures to safeguard the team's safety and the progress of the trip. In this case the guide may require that member to drop out of part of the itinerary and arrange for them to continue the rest of the trip in the luggage transfer vehicle. Please note in particular that, since a change of this kind is caused by the individual's own condition, the related additional costs (such as vehicle costs) will be borne by that member. This rule is intended to ensure that the team's itinerary is not affected by individual members, and also to remind participants that they are responsible for their own condition.

1. 1Clothing: waterproof hardshell jacket, technical T-shirts, waterproof trousers, fleece / light down jacket, convertible hiking trousers, sports underwear, hiking socks
2. 2Footwear / other: mid- or high-cut hiking boots, slippers, sunglasses, sun hat / warm hat, warm / sun-protection gloves, rain poncho
3. 3Toiletries: quick-dry towel, toothbrush, toothpaste and other toiletries (most hotels do not provide disposable items), lip balm, sun cream
4. 4Personal first-aid kit: the medication you need every day, painkillers, anti-inflammatories, stomach medicine, plasters, blister plasters, elastic bandage, etc.
5. 5Other essentials: rucksack (30L), dry bag, trekking poles, soft duffel bag for the luggage transfer, earplugs, knee supports, universal travel adapter, anti-chafing protection for the feet (such as Compeed), portable kettle

In late September and early October the first snow may fall on the high passes; whether light crampons or other such equipment are needed will be announced in the group chat before departure. Specific advice on buying gear and other such information will be shared in the group chat after you sign up.

Our trips come with a dedicated luggage transfer service for your duffel bag.

Hand over your duffel bag early in the morning and collect it in the afternoon at the hotel where you stay that night; on the trail you only need to carry essentials such as the day's lunch and water.

You need to pack all your belongings into two bags: a hiking rucksack of about 30 litres to carry with you, and a duffel bag for the luggage transfer (either a duffel bag or a large rucksack will do).

We offer a suitcase storage service: we look after your suitcase during the trek and deliver it to your hotel in Chamonix once the trek is over.

On the Golden Week (Hotels) edition, each person may store 1 suitcase free of charge.

Maximum size of a stored suitcase: the sum of its length, width and height must not exceed 158 centimetres or 62 inches, and its weight must not exceed 23kg, in line with the checked-baggage standard for international flights.

All 7 nights, D1 to D7, are in hotel double rooms, with breakfast every day; the actual hotels in Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Courmayeur and Chamonix vary from one departure to another and are as confirmed before departure (or of the same standard).

For lunch, you can order a packed lunch at the hotel where you stay the night before, or enjoy the local food at a mountain hut along the way; dinner is at your own expense, and you can explore the local flavours in town.

Late September and early October is late autumn in the Alps: clear days are good for walking, mornings and evenings are cold, and the high passes occasionally see the first snow; please bring warm clothing and gloves.

At this time of year some mountain huts, cable cars and the Mont-Blanc Express train end their summer season one after another or close for maintenance; for the sections concerned we will arrange a private vehicle or an alternative route, the details being as notified before departure.

The days are shorter than in summer, so the guide will bring the start time forward as appropriate; please keep to the group's rhythm.

Chamonix, Bourg-Saint-Maurice, Courmayeur and Orsières, where you stay each night, all have supermarkets or small shops where you can buy whatever supplies you need.

On some trips, the guide, the UPARIS team or a photographer we appoint may take photos and/or videos along the way.

If a photographer is present, a selection of photos and/or videos is given to participants free of charge after the trip, through a download link or a private gallery, for personal use (private sharing, respecting the rights of others). You can tick the box at booking to receive access by email; otherwise just ask contact@uparis.org.

We use an image in which you can be identified for our communication (website, social media, newsletters, sales material, distribution platforms) only with your prior consent: a checkbox at booking, unticked by default, or a written authorisation. The authorisation is free of charge and valid for 5 years from the end of the trip. Saying no has no effect on your trip.

You can withdraw your consent at any time and ask for content concerning you to be deleted by writing to contact@uparis.org (content already shared by third parties may be beyond our reach). For an identifiable minor, consent is given by their legal representative.

See Article 17 of the General Terms and Conditions of Sale.