Introduction
In July 2025, my husband, Mark, and I completed the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) – the iconic 170 km hiking route that circumnavigates Mont Blanc, crossing through France, Italy, and Switzerland.
It truly was a dream trip. But we had one extra challenge: doing it vegan!
The Alps are famous for cheese, fondue, and raclette – not exactly vegan-friendly fare. And with my dairy allergy, I have to be extra careful to avoid even small traces of dairy. But we were up for the challenge, and I’m so glad we did it!
In this post, I’ll share what we learned, plus all our best tips to help you plan your own vegan TMB adventure with confidence.
Contents
- Planning is Key
- Booking Accommodation
- Email Ahead to Request Vegan Food
- Research Vegan-Friendly Spots
- Plan by Stage
- What to Bring from Home
- Managing Expectations
- Final Thoughts
Pin for Later ↓
Planning is Key
Good planning and forward prep make all the difference!
I actually loved this stage – researching the route, finding vegan-friendly places to eat along the way, and reading lots of reviews. By the time we left the UK, I felt fully prepared and excited for the adventure ahead.
Booking Accommodation
The TMB is incredibly popular, with a short hiking window (usually July–September) and limited accommodation, especially in the smaller mountain hamlets. We booked in January 2025 for our July trip – and even then, some refuges and hotels were already full! Ideally, try to book 8–10 months in advance (even up to a year, if possible).
You can either:
- Book independently – more flexible and potentially cheaper, but can be time-consuming and a logistical challenge to coordinate accommodation (and luggage transfers) along the TMB route.
- Book through a tour company – more convenient as they handle all logistics, but can be a bit pricier.
We chose Mac’s Adventures to organise our self-guided TMB trip, and they were amazing! They arranged all our accommodation, daily luggage transfers, and even taxi transfers where needed, removing a huge amount of the stress and time it would’ve taken for us to do all this ourselves.
We appreciated that we could actually talk to someone on the phone about our vegan needs. Rhona from Mac’s Adventures was particularly helpful, suggesting we stay in larger towns where vegan options were better – and that advice made a real difference for us.
We chose their Complete Tour du Mont Blanc in Comfort package, which included mostly hotel stays, with one or two refuge-style nights, where hotels weren’t available. The booking process took about six weeks, and once confirmed, Mac’s Adventures provided an app with all our accommodation details and route maps. This app was invaluable for navigating, viewing alternative trails, and checking distances each day.
Overall, the package felt good value – especially considering how expensive accommodation can be along the TMB route. Some of our stays, like the Bouton D’Or in Courmayeur, exceeded our expectations and felt like such a treat after long hiking days.
Would We Recommend Booking Through a Tour Company?
While we only have experience with Mac’s Adventures, we can wholeheartedly recommend them, especially if, like us, it’s your first time hiking the TMB.
Pros:
- All logistics handled (accommodation, luggage transfers, any taxi transfers)
- Expert advice to tailor your trip (e.g. choosing the most vegan-friendly stops)
- Easy communication and great support before and during the hike
- Handy app with route maps, and daily info all in one place
Cons:
- Can be more expensive than booking everything independently
- Less flexibility if you like to change plans on the go
For us, the peace of mind and time saved made it completely worth it – we could simply focus on hiking, eating, and soaking up those incredible views!
Email Ahead to Request Vegan Food
Once your accommodation is booked, email each place to request vegan meals – even if you’ve already noted it in your booking.
I recommend doing this 1–2 weeks before arrival, ideally in both English and French (Google Translate is a great help!) Every place we contacted replied within 24 hours, which was so reassuring!
👉 Tip: Clearly explain what “vegan” means – no meat, fish, dairy, eggs, or honey – as it’s not always well understood.
Here are two examples of the emails I sent:
– Sample vegan breakfast request email
Sujet: Demande de petit-déjeuner végan – Du vendredi 11 au dimanche 13 juillet
Bonjour à l’équipe de l’Hôtel Bouton d’Or,
J’espère que ce message vous trouve en bonne santé.
Mon mari et moi avons une réservation chez vous pour trois nuits, du jeudi 10 juillet au dimanche 13 juillet, dans le cadre d’un Tour du Mont Blanc organisé par Mac’s Adventures. La réservation est au nom de Mark Stephens, et nous sommes en formule petit-déjeuner uniquement.
Nous sommes tous les deux véganes et souhaitions vous en informer à l’avance. Cela signifie que nous ne consommons aucun produit d’origine animale, y compris la viande, le poisson, les produits laitiers, les œufs ou le miel. (J’ai également une allergie aux produits laitiers, donc je dois être particulièrement vigilante.)
Nous comprenons que les options véganes peuvent être limitées dans les Alpes, mais nous voulions savoir s’il serait possible de prévoir un lait végétal, comme du lait d’avoine ou de soja, pour le petit-déjeuner des vendredi 11, samedi 12 et dimanche 13 juillet (pour le café et les céréales) ?
N’hésitez pas à nous contacter si vous avez besoin de plus d’informations.
Un grand merci d’avance pour votre attention et votre aide !
Avec nos salutations les plus chaleureuses,
Sharon Collins et Mark Stephens
———————————-
Dear Hotel Bouton d’Or Team,
I hope this message finds you well.
My husband and I have a reservation at your hotel for three nights from Thursday 10th July to Sunday 13th July, as part of a Tour du Mont Blanc trip arranged by Mac’s Adventures. The booking will be under the name Mark Stephens, and we are booked on a bed & breakfast basis.
We are both vegan and wanted to inform you in advance. This means we do not eat any animal products, including meat, fish, dairy, eggs, or honey. (I also have a dairy allergy, so need to be extra careful.)
We understand that vegan options in the Alps can be limited, but we were wondering if it would be possible to have a plant milk, such as oat or soya milk, available for breakfast on the mornings of Friday 11th, Saturday 12th, and Sunday 13th July (for our coffees and cereal)?
Please let us know if you need any further information.
Thank you so much in advance for your kind attention and support!
With warm regards,
Sharon Collins and Mark Stephens
– Sample vegan breakfast & dinner request email
Sujet: Demande de repas végan pour notre séjour – Mercredi 9 juillet
Bonjour à l’équipe du Refuge Les Mottets,
J’espère que ce message vous trouve en bonne santé.
Mon mari et moi avons une réservation chez vous le mercredi 9 juillet, dans le cadre d’un Tour du Mont Blanc organisé par Mac’s Adventures. La réservation sera au nom de Mark Stephens, et nous avons réservé en demi-pension (petit-déjeuner et dîner).
Nous sommes tous les deux véganes, et souhaitions vous en informer à l’avance. Cela signifie que nous ne consommons aucun produit d’origine animale, y compris la viande, le poisson, les produits laitiers, les œufs ou le miel. (J’ai également une allergie aux produits laitiers, donc je dois être particulièrement vigilante.)
Nous comprenons que les options véganes peuvent être limitées dans les Alpes, mais nous nous demandions s’il serait possible d’avoir un lait végétal (par exemple lait d’avoine ou de soja) disponible au petit-déjeuner, pour le café et les céréales ?
Pour le dîner, pourriez-vous nous proposer un repas végane? Même un repas simple à base de légumes, légumineuses, céréales, huile d’olive, etc. serait très apprécié.
N’hésitez pas à nous contacter si vous avez besoin de plus d’informations.
Un grand merci d’avance pour votre attention et votre aide !
Avec nos salutations les plus chaleureuses,
Sharon Collins et Mark Stephens
———————————-
Subject: Vegan Meal Request – Wednesday 9th July
Dear Refuge Les Mottets team,
I hope this message finds you well.
My husband and I have a reservation at your hotel on Wednesday 9th July, as part of a Tour du Mont Blanc trip arranged by Mac’s Adventures. The booking will be under the name Mark Stephens, and we are booked on a half-board basis (breakfast and dinner).
We are both vegan and wanted to inform you in advance. This means we do not eat any animal products, including meat, fish, dairy, eggs, or honey. (I also have a dairy allergy, so need to be extra careful.)
We understand that vegan options in the Alps can be limited, but we were wondering if it would be possible to have a plant milk, such as oat or soya milk, available for breakfast (for our coffees and cereal)?
Also, would it be possible to provide a vegan dinner? Even a simple meal using vegetables, pulses, grains, and olive oil would be much appreciated.
Please let us know if you need any further information. Thank you so much in advance for your kind attention and support!
With warm regards,
Sharon Collins and Mark Stephens
Research Vegan-Friendly Spots
Before the trip, I researched vegan-friendly cafés, restaurants, supermarkets, and health food stores along the route.
My go-to tools were:
- Google Maps – search “vegan” near your accommodation, and filter reviews for vegan mentions.
- TripAdvisor – search for vegan restaurants in each location, then add ‘vegan’ into the review section to filter reviews.
- HappyCow – a great app and website for locating vegan-friendly spots anywhere.
I pinned all my finds on a custom Google Map called TMB Vegan Food 2025. I also added supermarkets and health food shops where we could grab lunch supplies and snacks.
This gave me such peace of mind – I knew exactly where vegan meals were available, and which stages would be trickier and need extra forward planning.
Plan by Stage
In general:
- Larger towns (Courmayeur, Chamonix, Les Houches) have more vegan options.
- Remote areas (Les Mottets, La Fouly, Champex-Lac) have very limited choices – it’s best to stay half-board and email ahead to request vegan meals.
If you’re planning your own vegan TMB adventure, you may find our Vegan Food Diary on the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB) blog post helpful.
What to Bring from Home
Bringing a few essential vegan supplies from home makes all the difference:
- Trail mixes (nuts, seeds, dried fruits, dark chocolate)
- Vegan protein bars (e.g. Trek, Nakd)
- Vegan meal bars (e.g. Real Meal)*
- Dehydrated expedition meals (e.g. Firepot vegan range)**
- Vegan treats (e.g. chocolate, oat bars)
- Vegan multivitamins (especially with B12 and calcium, as most plant milks served were unfortified ones)
* We didn’t take these but they would have been so handy for the remote stages of the Tour. We’ll definitely bring a couple each next time!
** Even though we didn’t end up needing these, it was comforting to know we had a couple of backup meals in case of emergency.
Managing Expectations
Vegan options are limited in the Alps – especially in remote areas.
Don’t expect much choice, especially in the refuges. We were just thrilled that they could offer us a hot, hearty meal, and it saved us from resorting to our emergency supplies!
Always pack your own lunch and snacks, so you’re never caught short.
Honestly, we went into the trip with very low expectations food-wise, but thanks to planning and preparation, we were more than fine. (As you’ll see in our TMB Food Diary!) We enjoyed some truly delicious vegan meals along the way, and our packed lunches were often little feasts in themselves.
Final Thoughts
If you’ve been dreaming of hiking the Tour du Mont Blanc but worrying about doing it vegan – go for it!
With a bit of forward planning and realistic expectations, it’s absolutely doable. You’ll be rewarded with breathtaking scenery, a huge sense of accomplishment, and (yes!) some delicious meals along the way.
Here are two more posts we wrote about our experiences on the TMB, which you might find helpful if you’re planning your own vegan adventure:
- Vegan Food Diary on the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB): What We Ate Stage by Stage
- Vegan Hiking Essentials for the Tour du Mont Blanc (TMB)
Have you already hiked the TMB as a vegan? If so, I’d love to hear your top tips, favourite vegan finds, and any advice you’d like to share with fellow hikers – please share them in the comments below!
With love,
Sharon xx