Tour du Mont Blanc and Alta Via 1 Are Full? Hike Here Instead

Tried to book the Tour du Mont Blanc or the Alta Via 1 for summer 2027 and found the mountain huts fully booked? You’re in very good company. Both routes sell out 9 to 12 months ahead, and every autumn thousands of hikers find that out at the same moment.

Here’s the good news: Europe is full of multi-day hikes that are every bit as spectacular, easier to book, and often hundreds of euros cheaper. These are the Tour du Mont Blanc alternatives and Alta Via 1 alternatives we’d send our own friends on, all of them self-guided hiking tours in Europe that we organize, with real 2027 prices, distances and seasons for each one.

If you were in the Tour du Mont Blanc booking rush this fall, you know why that matters. When the central Tour du Mont Blanc booking system opened for 2027 bookings on October 15th, 2026, there was a waiting list of almost 3,000 people, and some hikers reported waiting hours just to get in. Some booked every accommodation they wanted.

Others had to request some accommodations by email and wait a few more days for an answer. And a lot of hikers booked some of their nights but not all, and were left with no accommodations at the bottleneck stages of the route.

Is It Too Late to Book the Tour du Mont Blanc or Alta Via 1 for 2027?

For many summer 2027 dates, yes. The Tour du Mont Blanc and the Alta Via 1 in the Italian Dolomites are two of the most famous hut-to-hut hikes in Europe, and the number of beds along them is fixed. The mountain huts on both routes fill 9 to 12 months in advance. The cheaper dormitory beds and the few private rooms go first, so by fall the mountain huts are full for most of the summer that follows.

That’s no reason to give up on a big mountain hike in Europe in 2027. The routes below have every bit of the scenery, with more beds to go around, longer seasons and, on most of them, a noticeably smaller bill.

Hikes Similar to the Tour du Mont Blanc in Europe, Compared: Price, Days and Season

Every price below is a 2027 “from” price per person on our own self-guided hiking tours in Europe, with the Tour du Mont Blanc and the Alta Via 1 at the bottom for comparison. Price per day is the total divided by the length of the tour, arrival and departure days included, so you can compare a 5-day tour with an 11-day one.

Five Reasons to Hike a Tour du Mont Blanc Alternative in Europe in 2027

• You can still book them. Accommodations on these routes are far easier to secure, so you can pick the dates that suit you instead of the ones that are left.
• They cost less. Our Spain tours come in at about €131 to €134 a day in hotels, against an average of about €256 a day on our 6, 7 and 10-day Tour du Mont Blanc tours in private double rooms.
• More comfort for the money. Andorra puts you in 4-star hotels every night, and the Spain tours use 2 to 4-star hotels, for less than a dormitory-based TMB.
• Longer seasons. Spain runs from March to November and Andorra from May to October, so a spring or fall hiking trip in Europe is on the table.
• Quieter trails and a story nobody else has. Ibex on the path in Gran Paradiso, a night in the Montserrat monastery, a valley in Andorra that no road reaches. These are the trips your friends haven’t done yet.

1. Gran Paradiso, Italy: The Best Alternative to the Tour du Mont Blanc

If the Tour du Mont Blanc was the dream, our Gran Paradiso hiking tour is the one to book instead. Gran Paradiso is Italy’s first national park, in the Italian Alps, and it’s Laurel’s favorite area for hiking in Italy and one of her favorites in Europe. It’s ibex country: they may even greet you right outside the mountain hut when you arrive.

The 9-day tour runs from Cogne to Bien through four valleys, crossing a pass almost every day: 94 km (58 miles) with 7,165 m (23,510 ft) of ascent. The highlight is the Col du Lauson, 3,296 m (10,814 ft), one of the highest non-glacier mountain passes in all of Italy. You sleep 6 nights in mountain huts, including Rifugio Vittorio Sella, a converted royal hunting lodge belonging to King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, and 2 nights in a guesthouse or hotel, with breakfast and dinner included.

To learn more about the park itself, the Gran Paradiso National Park has a good overview.

2. The 7-Day Haute Route: Chamonix to Zermatt in the French and Swiss Alps

Want something even bigger than the Tour du Mont Blanc? Our Haute Route hiking tour runs from Chamonix to Zermatt through the French and Swiss Alps and finishes under the Matterhorn. It’s our most challenging tour, with more rugged, rocky terrain than the Tour du Mont Blanc, so it’s a great next step if you already have a multi-day hike or two behind you.

Pick the 7-day tour. Our 10-day Haute Route starts with stages of the Tour du Mont Blanc, so its accommodations sell out very quickly. On the 7-day tour they’re easier to come by: book 6 to 8 months in advance, so it takes some planning, but less than the Tour du Mont Blanc or the Alta Via 1. You hike 79.6 to 82.3 km (49 to 51 miles) with 6,195 to 6,335 m (20,320 to 20,780 ft) of ascent.

3. Spanish Pyrenees: A Hotel-to-Hotel Alternative to the Tour du Mont Blanc

Our Spanish Pyrenees hiking tour isn’t one continuous route like the Tour du Mont Blanc. Instead, you hike in 3 different areas of the Catalan Pyrenees, so you see far more of the range and the different sides it has to offer: the wooded hills of the Alt Garrotxa, the high passes and peaks above Setcases and the Ter Valley, and the Vall de Núria, a mountain sanctuary you can only reach on foot or by rack railway. Over 6 hiking days you cover 84.6 km (53 miles) with 3,831 m (12,570 ft) of ascent, with a circular day to Les Borregues, 2,687 m (8,816 ft).

Every night is in a 2 to 4-star hotel, including Hotel La Coma in Setcases, which has a spa.

4. Mountains of Catalonia: Hike to Montserrat and Sleep at the Monastery

Can’t decide between a sightseeing trip and a hiking one? Our Mountains of Catalonia hiking tour gives you both. You hike through three protected ranges, Montseny, Sant Llorenç and Montserrat, on ancient trade routes past Romanesque chapels and medieval villages, and spend your final night at the Montserrat monastery, long after the day visitors have gone home.

It’s 117.5 km (73 miles) and 4,549 m (14,925 ft) of ascent over 6 hiking days, including the optional summit of La Mola, 1,104 m (3,622 ft). You stay in rural hotels and 3 and 4-star hotels.

5. Alpujarras and Sierra Nevada: Hiking in Southern Spain

The Alpujarras was the last corner of Spain the Moors held, and it still looks it: white villages with flat roofs and clay chimneys, stacked under the highest peak in mainland Spain. Our Alpujarras and Sierra Nevada hiking tour uses three village bases, Trevélez, Mecina Fondales and Capileira, so you unpack only three times and know the village square by your second evening.

You hike 82.2 km (51 miles) with 4,461 m (14,636 ft) of ascent, and on your last hiking day you can choose the Poqueira Gorge or the summit of Mulhacén, 3,479 m (11,414 ft).

6. Andorra: Seven Nights in 4-Star Hotels for Less Than the Tour du Mont Blanc

Why Andorra? It’s a whole country of high Pyrenees, and our Andorra hiking tour puts a glacial lake on five of your six hiking days. You hike through the Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley, Andorra’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site and the last place in the country without roads, and stand on the summit of Comapedrosa, 2,942 m (9,652 ft), with most of the country laid out below you.

All 7 nights are in 4-star hotels, with your luggage moved for you and an in-person welcome briefing. You cover 71.4 km (44 miles) with 5,315 m (17,440 ft) of ascent.

7. Slovenia’s Julian Alps: Three Ways to Hike Triglav National Park

Slovenia’s Julian Alps are limestone peaks, emerald rivers and lakes so blue they look edited, all under Mt. Triglav, 2,864 m (9,396 ft). No wonder National Geographic says Slovenia has been rising as a premier hiking destination. We have three Slovenia hiking tours for 2027, so you can pick your format.

Guided Hiking in the Slovenian Alps

Prefer a guide and a small group? Guided Hiking in the Slovenian Alps is 8 days with a Slovenian guide and no more than 8 hikers, including a 3-day hut-to-hut crossing through the Seven Triglav Lakes: 56 km (35 miles) and 3,400 m (11,155 ft) of ascent.

Mountains & Lakes of Slovenia Hut to Hut Hiking Tour (Self-Guided)

The closest thing in Slovenia to the hut-to-hut feel of the Tour du Mont Blanc. Our Slovenia hut to hut hiking tour crosses Triglav National Park through the Valley of the Seven Triglav Lakes to a swim in Lake Bohinj: 50 km (31 miles) and 2,835 m (9,300 ft) of ascent in 4 hiking days, with 3 nights in Slovenian mountain huts and 3 in hotels or guesthouses.

Best of Juliana Trail and Alpe-Adria Trail, Slovenia (Self-Guided)

Our Juliana Trail hiking tour takes you from Ljubljana over the Vršič pass, along the Soča River to Bovec and Kobarid, and across the Pokljuka plateau to Lake Bled: 86 km (53 miles) and 2,490 m (8,170 ft) of ascent in 6 hiking days, with 6 nights in 3 and 4-star hotels and guesthouses and 1 in a mountain hut.

8. Peaks of the Balkans: A 3-Country Tour du Mont Blanc Alternative, Bookable November 1st

The Peaks of the Balkans is a cross-border trail through the mountains where Albania, Kosovo and Montenegro meet: high passes, shepherds’ summer pastures and a different country every few days. You stay village to village in family-run guesthouses, which is a big part of its charm. Our Peaks of the Balkans hiking tours are available to book from November 1st, 2026, with full itineraries and 2027 prices.

Alta Via 1 Alternatives in the Italian Dolomites

If your heart is set on the Dolomites, you don’t need the Alta Via 1 to see them at their best. These two shorter hut-to-hut tours hike through some of the most photographed scenery in the Italian Dolomites, and both fit easily into a wider trip to Italy.

Seiser Alm to the Rosengarten Dolomites Hiking Tour

Our Seiser Alm to Rosengarten hiking tour crosses the Seiser Alm high meadows to the Rosengarten massif, famous for glowing pink and orange at sunset. It’s 39 km (24 miles) with 2,460 m (8,070 ft) of ascent in 3 hiking days.

Val Gardena and Alpe di Siusi Dolomites Hiking Tour

The gentlest way into the Dolomites, and a great first multi-day hike in Europe. Our Val Gardena and Alpe di Siusi hiking tour covers 36 km (22 miles) with 1,680 m (5,510 ft) of ascent in 3 hiking days.

Can You Still Hike the Alta Via 1 in 2027? Try the Southern Stages

The full Alta Via 1 and its northern stages, from Lago di Braies, are the most popular itineraries, and they’re the first to fill. The southern stages are quieter, and they’re the Alta Via 1 itinerary where you may still find space for 2027.

Our 8-day Alta Via 1 southern stages tour covers 73 km (45 miles) with 4,300 m (14,110 ft) of ascent in 6 hiking days, and your luggage moves between the basecamp hotels. We can’t promise any particular date, because Alta Via 1 mountain huts fill 9 to 12 months ahead, so the sooner you ask, the better your chances.

Tour du Mont Blanc Alternatives FAQs

Find Your Tour du Mont Blanc Alternative in Europe for 2027

A full Tour du Mont Blanc or Alta Via 1 doesn’t have to mean a summer without mountains. Pick the hike that fits your dates, your budget and how you like to sleep, and we’ll book every night for you, send your GPS tracks and route notes, and build your free training plan. You can see all of our self-guided hiking tours in Europe in one place, or browse more ideas in our guide to the best hikes in Europe, hiking in Spain and hut to hut hikes in the mountains of Europe. New to self-guided travel? Here’s what a self-guided hiking tour includes.

Written by Laurel Robbins, founder of Monkeys and Mountains Hiking Tours. Laurel lives in Europe and plans every one of our self-guided hiking tours.