Self-Guided Chamonix with Aiguille du Midi or Mer de Glace

Geneva, Switzerland

8 to 10 hours (approx.)
Offered in: English

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Overview

See Chamonix and Mont Blanc in just half a day on this excursion from Geneva. The experience is perfect if you’re short on time but still want to see mighty Mont Blanc from a classic French mountain town. Travel by coach from central Geneva to Chamonix and enjoy free time shopping and admiring Mont Blanc from afar. Or opt to include a cable car ride up Aiguille du Midi, the closest you can get to the summit of Mont-Blanc without hiking or climbing. Or opt for a cog railway ride up to Montenvers, enjoying fabulous views of Mer de Glace.

Maximize your time in Geneva and use a free half day to visit Chamonix
Explore Chamonix at leisure, admiring Mont Blanc, shopping, and sightseeing independently
Upgrade to include a ride on the cable car to Aiguille du Midi or cogwheel train to Montenvers

What's Included

Air-conditioned vehicle
Cable car to Aiguille du midi or Brévent - If option selected
Mountain train to Mer de Glace - If option selected
Incredible views on the Alps mountain
Sightseeing in the alpine village of Chamonix Mont Blanc

Food and drinks
Guide

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Geneva Place Dorciere
Pl. Dorcière, 1201 Genève, Switzerland
There is a sign for excursion at the geneva bus station, our office is also situated just across on the 8 rue François Bonivard. The bus has the name of the tour with the brand Swisstours on it.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Ticket Redemption Point

Rue François-Bonivard 8, 1201 Genève, Switzerland

Itinerary

KeyTours S.A.

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Aiguille du Midi

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Montenvers – Mer De Glace

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Mont Blanc

2 hours • Admission Ticket Free

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Stroller accessible
Near public transportation
Infant seats available
Most travelers can participate
Children must be accompanied by an adult

Not recommended for child under 3 years for the cable car
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
A current valid passport is required on the day of travel
Not recommended for pregnant women for the cable car
Please note that if you take the Aiguille du Midi and Mer de Glace options, you will be provided with a multipass. Multipass which gives access to all the facilities of the Mont Blanc company. If you use this Multipass for a single activity, it will be considered by the Compagnie du Mont-Blanc as used and cannot be refunded if the other activities are closed. The Mont Blanc company offers alternative activities but does not authorize refunds of the multipass.
Please note that due to maintenance works in Chamonix, some attractions will be temporarily closed: Mer de Glace (03.11 - 21.11) & Aiguille du Midi (03.11 - 19.12). Alternative tours will be offered during this period.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 40 travelers

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Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Francesca_P

Loved it so much. Highly recommend. It is a must especially if you want to spend a day in a beautiful village and seethe Alpsj

Reviews

3.3

based on 35 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Wasn't worth it for the money

Riya_K, Oct 2022

Not worth the money. Bus driver not friendly and no option to book train. The trip is too long the cable car is too packed

Response from Host, Nov 2022

Hello Riya, as you booked an independant tour it means that you will enjoy your tour by yourself. Apparently you took this option with only the cable car, so you decided to not book the train. When you were at the cable car stop you were able to add the train, it was enough to ask the staff at the cable car ticket office. We are sorry that the trip was too long for you, but when you decide to join mountain tour it means that you should travel, and even more when you want to reach the top of the mountain. Next time it may be better to watch some pictures from your sofa.

Loved it so much. Highly...

Francesca_P, Oct 2022

Loved it so much. Highly recommend. It is a must especially if you want to spend a day in a beautiful village and seethe Alpsj

Response from Host, Oct 2022

Hello, thanks for your good rate :) We are verry happy that you enjoyed the small and pretty village of Chamonix :)

Unhappy with viator and tour operator

Chidamber_K, Sep 2022

The tour operator was uncoperative and viator response time is not good enough for emergencies. Sad!

Response from Host, Sep 2022

Good morning, you wanted to cancel last minute, the tickets were preparid, unfortunately it's not possible. We advised you to contact your travel insurance.

Worth a visit barring a few glitches !

RABI_A, Jul 2022

The views and scenery from Chamonix & Aiguille du Midi is absolutely stunning and picturesque. Temp at Aiguille du Midi was around 3⁰C in July 2022 and needed a light jacket. Beautiful views and plenty of phot ops. However, the cable car ride (two for ascent and descent each) needs a lot to be desired. Absolutely uncomfortable for 40+ pax to be stuffed into one cable car. No regard to C19 precautions; more than half of pax unmasked ! Poor show. Toilets available at the top as well - a word of caution for men (pls sit and empty gently or else U may feel dizzy at that level of hypoxia; I'm a medical doctor!). The walk to Montenvers station for cog wheel train to Mer de Glace is atleast 15-20min (not 5min as per the info leaflet) with poor signage. We had to rely on Google maps. Also the visit to ice-caves at Mer de Glace needs walk down and up (550 steps each way) which is quite arduous for somebody out of shape. There is no info on the need to walk these steps either at Montenvers station nor in the info leaflet ! Most of our fellow pax were taken by surprise about this. We took under 20min to climb the 550 steps up. The ice views inside Mer de Glace pale in comparison to Jungfraujoch and are probably not worth the physical effort. If U haven't been to Jungfraujoch, then pls do it by all means. Lastly, be wary of the time factor. We had to scurry back in order to not miss the last train (5.30pm) only to find huge serpentine queues there. Overall, 4/5 rating. Mer de Glace was OK/average. Views from Aiguille du Midi well worth the money. Good Luck.

MontBlanc Chamonix

Priscilla_Y, Mar 2020

Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate for the cable car to Mont Blanc so we were taken to Brevent to ride the cable cars to view the glacier from there. The problem was that the local guide barely explained the situation and then gave vague instructions for getting up the mountain to another cable car, how to get to the train and a different meeting place to leave. We never saw her again all day. If you knew the area the places she pointed to on the map would be clear but we actually got lost. This is an independent tour, which is fine, but clearer information is needed up front about where to meet, going to the tour office (not the bus station), and better explanation of itinerary changes. That being said, the views were spectacular!

Great place, but don't take this tour to come here

Ankita_B, Mar 2020

Although the trip says that my return for the bus ride back to Geneva is at 6:15, what it does not say is that if you take the 6:15 bus, you have to come back to a different bus stop (not the one you started from at Chamonix) all by yourself and fend for yourself during the entire ride back, since Neil would be gone at 5. Hence, in essence, if you don't want to get lost, you might as well come back by the 5:05 bus, which leaves very little time to explore the otherwise picturesque town of Chamonix. The guide, Neil, was never inclusive. He wasn't available during the forward journey and during the return journey, just catered to 2 people who were in the front row. He never made an effort to connect to people outside the region, and wasn't helpful for someone like me visiting the region for the first time to figure out the place. If anything, the locals at Chamonix were more helpful than Neil. Although they mention that they will make you travel in "a group of just 15 people for less waiting and more interaction", what actually happens is that you are crammed into the front of a public bus, with the rest of the bus filled with other people, and if you can't grab the front 2 seats, you'll not be able to hear anything that Neil says amidst the cackle of other people behind you in the bus. All told, I don't realize what they took all the money for. If you buy the tickets individually, it will be much cheaper, and the value added by KeyTours is zero anyway.

Very good trip

April_W, Aug 2019

This was a great trip and Neil was a really helpful guide. The bus drivers were also very friendly too. I loved the cable car experience and have never seen a view like it.

Response from Host, Aug 2019

Good morning, thank you very much for your review. We will forward your message to Neil. We are glad you enjoyed your day, the experience in the Alp and the village of Chamonix. It's truly a unique experience. Have a nice holiday!

Disappointing

James G, May 2019

Paid for this tour in advance. Turned out to be a bad weather day for Mont Blanc. Windy, light snow and poor visibility. Decided to pay an extra 20 Swiss Francs for the mountain train after arriving at the tour office. Unlike the cable car up to the summit, the train was cancelled because of the weather. No refund.

Response from Host, Oct 2019

Good morning, thank you for your review. It always help us to get better. Chamonix Mont Blanc trip is a mountain excursion, so we are subjected to weather conditions. We cannot know before we arrived what is going to happen. If you pay tickets with us and the cable car or train is close, if you haven't use we refund the price of the activity. If you buy it on the spot there is nothing we can do. We always wish for sunny weather, but snow can be expected as it's a mountain and it actually gives another charm to the city. We hope you enjoyed your stay in Switzerland

Beautiful

Ronwyn_V, Apr 2019

There’s not a lot of information given before the trip, like make sure you have warm clothes for the top of Mont Blanc, comfortable shoes because there’s a million stairs to get down to the glacier and back up. The little train ride is spectacular! Will be your best day ever!

It was worth it

Zsfia_G, Oct 2018

The village is wonderful and a mountains are breathtaking. The cable cars were fun, too. The half day (10:30am-18:00pm!) trip was perfect, I am happy we participated in this tour.

The trip up to Aiguille du Midi was...

Daniel C, Feb 2018

The trip up to Aiguille du Midi was not quite as we expected. You're crammed into the cable cars like sardines the same, if not worse, as being on the London underground. Not comfortable. You can't relax and enjoy the views. And if you're not keen on confined spaces you won't like it - you simply have no space to move. But the views at the top are - of course - fantastic. Having read the previous reviews we were looking forward to meeting the local host Neil. That was a bit disappointing too. He was both patronising, impatient and quite rude. I'd be amazed if any of the overseas visitors could follow anything he was saying - he didn't seem to take their needs into consideration. We're just glad we didn't book the guided tour as more than 10 minutes of being spoken to like that would have tipped me over the edge. One tip: the last train ride back is at 4.30, so make sure you leave time for that. I'd recommend leaving about 2 hours for the cable car trip.

Pesima

Mauricio_V, Dec 2022

Compre un tour que se supone que es ida y vuelta y el conductor me iba a dejar tirado en chanomix y me toco pagarle en efectivo

Response from Host, Dec 2022

Hola, ha reservado una excursión guiada que incluye el autobús y el tren al glaciar. Por supuesto si contratas transporte público como el tren, es más barato pero no es directo, no tienes guía y tienes que hacer cola para comprar el tren glaciar. No compraste la telepherique porque no está disponible. La verdad es que suiza es un pais caro.