A trip to Chamonix is a brilliant way to get a taste of the majestic Alps. This tour is the perfect way to get there and presents a number of options following your arrival. The on-board guide was knowledgeable and helpful but the real value of this tour is the location itself. _br/_ Naturally, given the landscape, the weather can play a big role in just what is possible following arrival but Chamonix offers so much: shops, many beautiful restaurants, hikes and of course the advertised gondola ride and/or train ride. Not knowing what the weather would be like, I waited until arriving in Chamonix to decide which activities to do. It's very easy to buy the tickets in the town itself. _br/_ Luck was on our side this day and the weather was phenomenal, so I opted to travel up the gondola to the Brevent and take a walk across the snowy landscape. The area was a hive of activity, with hikers, rock climbers and the majestic parasails; truly a sight to behold._br/_ I feel the independence of this trip is its best selling point - especially if you're happy to look after yourself and don't need a guide to lead you around. Chamonix is compact, with a new surprise around every corner, so do yourselves a favour and book a return trip to this beautiful town.
Review by: John H, March 2018
Everything went smoothly and the views from the top of the cable car are amazing! Bit short of oxygen at the top of the elevator though. The glacier was spectacular too, after an awful lot of stairs. Well worth the trip.
Review by: Mahrukh U, January 2018
The drive in itself was lovely... The driver was great and to be fair that what I paid for. However, the guide we had, a lady called Caroline was absolutely useless and not helpful at all. She couldn't even confirm correctly where the drop off and pick up points were and when I asked her a question for some information, I was abruptly brushed off.
Review by: Tammy M, November 2017
great day trip! lots of time for site seeing and getting a feel for the area
Review by: Tanja G, October 2017
wonderful
Review by: Fiona C, October 2017
On time with knowledgeable guide and very flexible.
Review by: Rosie W, October 2017
Absolutely beautiful place and much recommended as a visit. We did the independent tour which effectively meant transport only with a little bit of information and a guide at the start. At first we were told we have to come back 2 hours later which was not enough time but then the guide said we were fine to come back on the later coach giving us 6 hours which was great and the right amount.
Review by: Frances, October 2017
This tour is operated by Key Tours. It was a full bus that day. The guide, Neil, was very informative. He gave out really useful tips on what to do in Geneva. It got bad when we were almost in Chamonix. He realized he didn't have enough tickets to accommodate everyone and the train wasn't working that day so he had to give everyone a refund . He also didn't give clear instructions - lots of people were confused all throughout. He first said there's going to be 1 ticket per group, but we didn't know he changed his mind and gave everyone a ticket instead. He was very disorganized. We spent about 20-30 minutes getting our tickets from him no instructions for this, just word of mouth from the other guests. He told everyone he's going to wait for everyone to come down at 12:16 and leave with the bus going to Gustav for lunch. It was already around 10:30 at that point, and it takes about 30 minutes just to get to the top of Mont Blanc, where the cable car takes you. Also, the cable car going up and down only runs every 30 minutes. By the time we got there, it was already past 11. Everyone tried to get back at 12:15 and lo and behold when we got there he said he's leaving at 12:30! Since we booked lunch, we either have to wait for him til 12:30 or find our way to Gustav, where lunch will be served. VERY disorganized.
Review by: Moeen S, October 2017
It was good
Review by: Joebutkovich, September 2017
I did the full day tour. It was a full day without feeling to overwhelmed or busy. Luckily we were able to take the cable car all the way to the highest point. Some days if it's too windy you can't and there is no refund. This is considered an independent tour, so you dont have a guide with you every step of the way. Probably a good thing. Neil was very informative and offered a lot of tips but he seemed very grouchy and talked to us more like we were children. Trust me, there a lot of ways to get your point across without talking to us like children. The restaurant that was optional was well worth the price. It was very good and plenty to pick from. The train ride to the glacier was also very nice. It's a lot of steps down, but it's even more or feels like more coming up. It's very cool to see even though the caves are manmade, it's neat to say you were inside the glacier.
Review by: Jinny L, September 2017
Had a great time, the only reason I'd give it four stars instead of five is because of something really that they cannot control, but sometimes the weather in Chamonix-Mont Blanc can make it difficult to enjoy certain sights and activities. They do not know whether all the gondolas will be operating or what kind of visibility there will be until they get there and so there is no guarantee that you'll get the experience that somebody else has. That being said, if you have some flexibility you should make sure you go on a day when the weather is nice. It was raining the day I went, which made it cold and when we hiked into the glacier we got completely soaked and remained that way for the rest of the afternoon. That's not the tour's fault but it's something to keep in mind! We were thankfully able to accomplish all that we wanted which was go to the summit although we couldn't see anything except clouds and we hiked into the ice cave glacier. I can only imagine it would've been more amazing if we could've gone on a day that was sunny.
Review by: Connie B, August 2017
This is a great tour. Neil was informative and shared lots of ideas and wisdom in visiting Geneva. Chamonix and Mont Blanc were spectacular. I'm sorry we only planned a half-day visit. Take the whole day tour and go clear to the top of the mountain.
Review by: Tana B, August 2017
You can't visit Geneva without going to Chamonix and Mont Blanc. Awesome excursion. Very well organized.
Review by: Arnold J, August 2017
The weather was so poor that the rating is meaningless. It didn't stop raining and the mountains were covered in thick low cloud.
Review by: Gabriela M, August 2017
It was an ok tour. They had a comfortable tour bus and it was a nice drive to the mountain from Geneva. They were easy to find and on time. They were polite, but not very informative or interesting. It was a cloudy day, so we couldn't get all the way up to the top of the mountain. But it was enough to just get half way up. The gondola ride was nice and smooth. The views are AMAZING!_br/_ Next time we may just get a Lonley Planet guide book, rent a car and go explore on our own:
Review by: Morgan M, July 2017
Neil was awesome and the tour was awesome. Reccommend doing the full day as the half day doesn't include much and doesn't allow you to really experience everything there is to see. Ice cave was incredible, definitely worth the 400 stairs.
Review by: Edward N, July 2017
I came back with lots of good pictures. Be prepared for a long line to go up Mont Blank in the gondolas I spent an hour in line. I spent 5 minutes on top, and then rushed back down but still missed the midday bus back to Geneva. You should plan to spend the whole day, you'll feel less rushed and can also take the train to see the glacier. It was also hard to breath on top of Mt. Blanc, but I still got some good pictures there of the mountains and the hang gliders. Chamonix was pleasant enough to spend some time in hanging out.
Review by: louella.starr, June 2017
The trip to Chamonix from Geneva was enough to enjoy the beautiful countryside. But arriving in Chamonix and spending some time viewing the Mont Blanc massif is something to behold. It was a beautiful day,..... perfect for walking around, shopping for souvenirs and enjoying lunch in one of the local restaurants in clear view of the snow capped mountains...it was great!! The people are friendly and very accommodating...if you have extra days to spare, Chamonix will be a great choice._br/_ This was another day trip with Viator that worked out so well....thanks!!
Review by: Luis V, June 2017
This is an awesome tour. Our guide was Neal, very informative and gave useful info in a fun way. We bought the sky card from him once in the place for 84CHF and that gave us access to the Cable car and the Aiguille du Midi, the Mer de Glace train, and other attractions. The town itself is beautiful with lots of places to eat and things to do. This was a perfect opportunity to see the French Alps and some of its glaciers. Be aware that although the excursion is advertised to take around 6-6.5 hrs, it really departs at 8:30am and returns 10hrs later at the Gare Routiere in Geneva. If you have a free day there, do it... 100 recommended.
Review by: Gladys G, June 2017
Great tour! Worth every cent. The cable car was the first on our agenda. When the guide saw that the cable car was not working, he quickly changed course and asked us to go on ice train. After we did the train and returned, the cable car was operational again. We went on it and completed the whole tour. Good job!
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