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 Mont Blanc trails thoroughly and understands the pace and habits of Chinese participants. Rest stops are scheduled at regular intervals and, safety permitting, the guide will also 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.

Hiking in the Alps is a challenge that calls for self-discipline and team spirit. To ensure safety and a smooth trip, you must observe the following principles:

1. 1Follow the guide's instructions for safe progress: our professional guide will adjust the route and walking pace flexibly according to the participants' physical condition, changes in the weather and the terrain, without affecting the overall itinerary. All participants must strictly follow the guide's arrangements, including the use of equipment, the order of the group and departure times. Where needed, the guide will teach practical techniques such as how to use trekking poles and how to adjust your pace uphill and downhill, helping you to move more efficiently while staying safe.
2. 2Move as a team, no leaving the group alone: on the Tour du Mont Blanc, the safety of the team is the first principle. On the trail, all members must stay together; leaving the group without permission or going off alone is forbidden. The team takes the pace of its slowest member as the pace of the whole group, and the guide will pay particular attention to slower participants and do their best to help every member reach the destination safely.
3. 3Safety decisions and emergency adjustments: when something unexpected arises, such as heavy rain, thick fog, a thunderstorm or the group falling clearly behind schedule, the guide will make a professional assessment based on the situation at the time and has the right to alter or shorten the route in order to protect everyone's safety. If an individual member's lack of fitness seriously affects the itinerary, the guide may require that member to drop out of part of the route for the time being and travel to the next stop with the help of the luggage transfer vehicle; such additional costs are borne by the individual.
4. 4Respect and team spirit: a trek in the Alps is a shared walk between people and nature, and between one person and another. Please treat your fellow participants with respect, tolerance and support, and keep up a good atmosphere in the team. Please understand that the guide's job is to ensure safety and coordination, not to act as a personal assistant or private attendant.
5. 5Physical and mental preparation: before departure, please assess your own physical condition thoroughly and train in advance for endurance and for carrying a load, so as to get used to the rhythm of walking day after day and on slopes. Good fitness and a positive attitude are the key to completing the TMB safely.

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.

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 your accommodation 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 edition of the Complete Tour du Mont Blanc, each person may store 1 suitcase free of charge; it is collected from your accommodation on the morning of Day 2 and delivered to your hotel in Chamonix before 6 pm on Day 10.

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 10 nights are spent in hotels and characterful guesthouses in the small towns along the way (Champex-Lac and Vallorcine are characterful mountain accommodation), with breakfast every day and dinner on the three nights of D6, D7 and D9. The actual accommodation differs on some departures and is as confirmed before departure (or of the same standard); D7 in Champex-Lac and D9 in Vallorcine are in 4-bed rooms, and all the other nights are in double rooms.

Most of the accommodation is in converted traditional buildings and the rooms are relatively compact; in keeping with European environmental principles, disposable toiletries are mostly not provided, so please bring your own.

Sockets are of the European standard, with no Type-C/USB direct-charging ports; we recommend bringing an international travel adapter and an extension lead.

We do not provide lunch for the whole group: you can order a hot local dish at a mountain hut along the way, or buy the food you like on the day, or order a picnic box at your accommodation the evening before and collect it the next day.

Dinner on the three nights of D6, D7 and D9 is provided for the whole group by the accommodation; the other dinners are at your own expense, and you can explore the local flavours in town.

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.

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.