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Chamonix and Mont Blanc - Geneva Message Board - TripAdvisor
Hi all,
I am planning to visit Switzerland on October and my first destination will be Geneva .
I want to visit Chamonix and Mont Blanc from Geneva for a 1 day trip and when I searched for prepaid comprehensive tours on the web I found a tour for 9 hours thirty minutes for around 167 Euro per person.
However, since it is my first visit to Geneva I can’t decide whether the price is reasonable or not so here is the itinerary and I hope that your experience will help to decide the fairness of the price:
Spend the day in the Swiss mountains on a day trip from Geneva to Chamonix, one of Switzerland's most famous villages.
You'll drive through the mountains, take a trip in a cable car to Aiguille du Midi for breathtaking views of Mont-Blanc and the surrounding Alps and board the charming red train to Montenvers.
Your mountain excursion begins with an unforgettable 90-minute drive through the picturesque Arve Valley from Geneva to Chamonix, at the foot of majestic Mont-Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps and Western Europe (15,770 feet/4,800 meters).
Continuing to Aiguille du Midi, a rocky peak close to Mont Blanc with snow year-round, you'll reach the summit in just 20 minutes by a two-stage cable car.
The panoramic views of the Chamonix Valley and the French, Swiss and Italian Alps are spectacular!
In the direction of the Swiss Alps , on a clear day it's also possible to see the Mattherhorn, Toblerone chocolate's famous trademark mountain.
There are many terraces and balconies up at the Aiguille du Midi where you can enjoy views of the magnificent mountain ranges and watch skiers zooming down towards the glacier.
There's also a cafe at the summit where you can have a hot chocolate and perhaps enjoy a light snack (at own expense).
After lunch in the village of Chamonix (included in the tour price), you'll take the comfortable electric railway to Montenvers, a vantage point with fine views of the Mer de Glace.
This magnificent glacier is four miles (seven kilometers) long and averages just under a mile wide.
You'll be riding the charming little red train that has been transferring passengers to the Montenvers site and the world-famous Mer de Glace glacier since 1908.
Surrounded by the impressive summits of Les Drus, Les Grandes Jorasses and Les Grands Charmoz, the Montenvers site is the perfect place to learn about the largest French glacier and about nature in the Alps
Now my questions are:
1.
Can I arrange this tour by my self and would it worth it?
And if so would I find any difficulties in booking the tickets for the attractions by my own?
2.
Are their any other tours or website that arrange similar or different tours with a cheaper price?
Thanks a lot
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I am not sure about this tour company you have found since they say that Chamonix is in Switzerland - it isn't!
Cham is in France...and the good burgers of Chamonix-Mt Blanc would be a bit startled to know they have changed nationality.
Other than that, the cost of the tour looks OK to me, given what is included.
In the summer the busses to and from chamonix don't go so often, and the train takes about 2 hours in each direction, with changes.
The ride up to the Aiguille du Midi is also expensive, and as you are getting your RT transportation, ride to the Aguille du Midi AND the train to the Mer de Glace AND lunch AND a guide (who I hope will know which country he or she is in!) I don't think the price is excessive.
But I am sure there are lots of such tours, and if you will be in Geneva for a couple of days you could ask the Concierge at your hotel to book one that s/he is familiar with.
Furthermore there is real sense in doing this as going up to the A.du Midi is a total waste of time if clouds are low as you will be in them and see no views!
One last point - if you have any fear of heights at all, do not do this trip.
The second leg of the téléphérique is extremely steep at the top and can be very scary to some.
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Thanks dear for your help
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The day tour you detail is with Keytours and operates from Gare Routieres in Geneva centre daily.I did it in October 2007.Honestly,and I am well travelled in Europe, it is far and away the best day excursion of my life.Worth every euro.
Just to endorse some points in previous reply.Not for vertigo sufferers and the multilingual tour guide warns you on the outbound coach journey.My wife dipped out.I had no problem on the cable car but at the summit is a narrow footbridge where you stop while the guide points out the various Alpine peaks on both sides of the bridge viewpoint eg Mont Blanc,Monte Rosa.I realised then that I was wobbling a bit.I recovered when I got to the cafeteria and sat down with a coffee.The guide helped me with personal advice gratefully received!
The lunch in Chamonix was excellent quality.Considering Keytours take a party there every day you can see why they are out to please you.Drinks are extra cost.
You cannot do this tour alone without experience.For casual tourists the ascent of L'Aiguille du Midi has to be pre-booked usually 24 hrs with allocated ascent and descent times.No such restrictions for Keytours.Having checked with the passengers after the vertigo warning the guide phones ahead on her mobile with exact numbers and the party's expected time of arrival at the ground station.So you jump the queue.The temperature at the base station was 10 degs C warmer than at the summit so take gloves and a warm jacket.
Yes the fine clear weather is important to get the best out of this tour and in the mountains you cannot rely on it many days in advance.I kept my eye on the internet 5 day weather forecast for Chamonix for the 7 days we stayed in Geneva, selected the forecasted clearest day,and went the day before to the tour desk at the Gare Routieres to book it.It worked a treat-the views were spectacular.As I sit here in my kitchen tapping into my laptop on the adjacent wall is a vastly enlarged framed photograph I took (on a film 35 mm £150 Canon non SLR camera) of which I am very proud.It was taken from the halfway station looking up towards the peak of L'A du M as the cable car was decending to collect us for the second stage.5,000 feet of cable and not one pylon support in between!
The sag in the cable is astonishing and in the far background is the peak with the needle visible on the top.
If you get the hotel concierge to book the trip you need 48hrs notice so best to book it yourself as I did at the Bus Station.Keytours Offices are only 100yds from the Bus Station.
Our guide was Japanese.She was so helpful and informative and spoke the required 3 languages.She checked our nationalities as we boarded the double-decker coach.
Can't fault it.
Don't hesitate.
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I also believe the tour this refers is Key Tours, I just did this myself in July.
First, there are definitely other options for getting to Chamonix but from what I read they are far less reliable and prone to problems.
We booked this trip and only booked for transportation and the cable cars.
While it was expensive, it was actually not that much more money than what we would have spent to arrange all of it on our own (transportation, cable car tickets, etc) and what you save in peice of mind is probably worth the 40 or 50 dollar difference.
And in my opinion it was worth every penny.
But as a previous poster advised, do not do this trip if you have an issue with heights or the weather forecast is not looking good.
The second stage of the cable car and the peak offer amazing views but you are WAY up there at nearly 13,000 feet and it would be a real waste if the weather was bad or you were too nervous to look!
Also, make sure you bring warm clothing and sunscreen.
Enjoy!!
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