TOUR DU MONT BLANC

1. Luggage Transfers:

You will have access to your main luggage for 10 of the 11 nights (i.e. you will not have access to your luggage on Day 08 at Les Chapieux). On the day you do not have access to your luggage (01 night in total) you will need to carry your overnight gear, which will most likely include spare socks, underwear, T-shirt and basic toiletries. This is light back-packing and we recommend you have a 40 litre rucsac. We do not transfer your luggage to every night stop as we feel it is unnecessary and environmentally unsound. In addition, it adds a great deal to the cost of the tour as some of the drives between hotels are 5 hour round-trips.

Please restrict the weight of your main luggage to 20 kg. This helps us with the luggage transfers.

We strongly recommend that you do not leave any valuables or any object of high value in your main luggage. When your luggage is transferred and then delivered to the next hotel, it is likely that it will be left in the reception area or in an unattended back-room. We recommend that you lock your luggage and clearly label it with your name, address and mobile phone number.

1. Transport During The Tour:

All transfers to the walks are included in the price of the tour: we use a mix of private and public transport. No journey is longer than 40 minutes, except the trip to and from the airport which takes just over an hour. We intend to use cable cars to gain or lose altitude on some days. These are included in the cost.

In the summer, daytime temperatures can vary from 15 – 25°C in the valleys to 0 – 20°C at higher altitudes (at the cols it can be cold and windy). It all depends on whether the sun is out and it can often feel very hot: occasionally it reaches 30°C in the valley and can feel quite muggy in the late afternoon. At night the temperature is 5-12°C in the valley and can drop close to 5°C at some of the night stops. As with all mountain ranges it can rain – either as frontal weather or as thunder storms after a hot day – and you should come prepared for this. It can be cold and windy at higher elevations and snow is not unknown. We pay special attention to the local weather forecasts and will adjust the day-to-day itinerary if we feel it is necessary to get the best from your tour.

• Good walking boots: leather or fabric and should be worn-in before you arrive.
• Full set of good-quality waterproofs – jacket and trousers. Gore-Tex recommended: a ‘pac-a-mac’ is not good enough.
• Trousers or skirts, short trousers.
• T-shirts and tops that includes a jumper or fleece jacket.
• Rucsac that will give you enough room to carry a few clothes plus other items for the 2-day periods when you do not have access to your main luggage, 40 litres is recommended.
• Sun hat, sun cream, sunglasses, water bottle, warm woolly hat and gloves.
• Torch, blister kit, any personal medicine.

For the night stops when you will not have access to your main luggage we recommend you carry a change of underwear, socks and T-shirt, basic toiletries and a torch – please remember that you will have to carry it all. You will need to carry your picnic lunch and will probably have your camera and blister kit with you. Although it may be cold outside at night, it will be very warm inside and so down jackets are not needed.

There is an ATM in Les Houches, Argentiere, Chamonix and Courmayeur. There are also a couple of Bureau de Change kiosks in Chamonix. Do not use the ATM’s at Geneva airport as they will give you Swiss Francs – France is part of the Euro Zone – so wait until you arrive in the Chamonix Valley. On trek, euros are accepted everywhere.

You will need extra money for drinks and evening meals not included. In addition, postcards, souvenirs, snacks, you might buy at mountain refuges or cafés and any optional activities. Chamonix and Les Houches have cafés, map shops and outdoor stores with a huge range of equipment.

Typical Costs: These are approximate costs: you can spend more or less than indicated.

Dinners Allow € 25 – 30 per meal for 4 nights: Chamonix Valley & Courmayeur.

Misc. Wine (€ 10 – 15), beer (€ 3 – 5), soft drinks (€ 2 – 3), cakes & snacks, coffee.

It is essential that you are in possession of an up to date and valid passport. You must check the visa and entry requirements of your chosen destination and any countries that you may be stopping off at en-route. It is therefore your responsibility to ensure that you have the correct documentation to gain entry into your chosen destination(s).

Adequate and valid travel insurance is compulsory when you travel with us and it is a condition of accepting your booking that you agree you will have obtained adequate and valid travel insurance for your booking by the date of departure. We recommend that you take out insurance as soon as your booking is confirmed. We recommend that your travel insurance includes repatriation, that you are covered for trekking in the Alps up to 2600 metres, helicopter rescue, all the activities mentioned in this dossier and any optional activities you may take part in. You must check with your insurer that you have adequate and valid cover for your tour. Anyone who does not have insurance will not be allowed to take part in the tour until cover is arranged. This is part of our booking conditions.

Please ensure that you have an up-to-date copy of this dossier immediately before you travel, as from time to time our itineraries may be amended, either for operational reasons or in response to feedback from clients. You will be informed of any major changes to your trip but small changes may just be added to this dossier.

In the event of any cancellation by you, we would need a notification from you in writing. If we receive the cancellation notification from you before 60 days prior to the date of departure the advance amount shall be refunded without cancellation charge for the tour. If we receive the notification in 0-60 days prior to the date of reporting, cancellation charges shall be levied as per the following terms:

• Cancellation between 60 to 51 days before date of departure: 40% of tour cost + cancellation charges for other services.
• Cancellation between 50 to 31 days before date of departure: 60% of tour cost + cancellation charges for other services.
• Cancellation between 30 to the day of departure or No Show: 100% of tour cost + cancellation charges for other services.

Cancellation by ‘Countryside’ & Refunds:

• “Countryside Adventure Holidays Pvt. Ltd.” reserves the right to cancel a Fixed Departure Tour if the minimum numbers of persons as specified, do not book on that tour. We strongly suggest you not to make any non-refundable air bookings and other travel arrangements, till you receive a final confirmation from us minimum 30 days in advance.
• “Countryside Adventure Holidays Pvt. Ltd.” reserves the right to refuse or cancel any booking if we consider it necessary. In such cases, we shall refund all the money that you have paid.
• Upon commencement of your tour, “Countryside Adventure Holidays Pvt. Ltd.” reserves the right to refuse a member to continue the tour in case of misconduct or bad health or unfit to travel. In such cases, we shall not refund any money that you have paid.

• Refunds will not be given for unused services on the tour.

• We stay in hotels for 09 nights and an auberge for 01 night.
• Rooms are on a twin-share basis: some have attached bathrooms; others have bathrooms along the corridor.
• For the night at Les Chapieux, we aim for you to be in a twin room, but this is not always possible: you may be in a room with more than 2 people and possibly a dormitory. The showers are along the corridor for all guests.
• Bedding is provided at each night stop, so there is no need to carry sleeping bags.
• For the night at the auberge at Les Chapieux, duvets are provided.
• Towels are provided at all night stops.
• Please note that we do not use mountain refuges or huts for any of the night stops.