For UTMB week, stay near a station in the Chamonix valley or a shuttle stop, within an hour's walk of the finish if anyone will be back late at night, and in a hamlet rather than the town centre if you're a group. Book before the lottery results at the end of January if you can cancel for free, or as soon as they're out if you can't.
- Where to stay for UTMB: near a station in the Chamonix valley or a UTMB Mobility shuttle stop. In 2026, eight places on the course were closed to cars while the runners came through, and the car parks in central Chamonix were full.
- In summer 2026, the last train left Chamonix at around 8pm on weekdays and the last night bus at around 2am. After a late finish, you walk back to the hamlets about 3 km (2 miles) from the finish: Les Pèlerins, Les Bossons, Les Praz and Les Bois.
- The guest card your accommodation gives you includes free train travel between Servoz and Vallorcine, but not buses.
- The lottery results come out at the end of January (22 January in 2026). Only book before then if you can cancel for free. If you wait, you'll have less choice.
- A group of runners, support crew and family is better off under one roof, in a hamlet with a station and a night bus stop.
How UTMB week affects where you stay
UTMB, the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, loops round the Mont Blanc massif through Italy and Switzerland, and gives its name to a week of eight races. In 2026 they started between Monday and Friday from Chamonix, Courmayeur, Orsières or Martigny-Combe, and six of them finished in Chamonix.
| Race | Distance | Start in 2026 | Finish | Final cut-off at the finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PTL, La Petite Trotte à Léon, a team event | 300 km | Chamonix, Monday 24 August, 8am | Chamonix | Sunday 30 August, 3pm |
| MCC, Martigny-Combe to Chamonix, for volunteers, sponsors and locals | 40 km | Martigny-Combe (Switzerland), Monday 24 August, 10am | Chamonix | Monday 24 August, 8pm |
| TDS, Sur les Traces des Ducs de Savoie | 145 km | Courmayeur (Italy), Monday 24 August, 11.50pm | Chamonix | Wednesday 26 August, 8.45pm |
| YCC, Youth Chamonix Courmayeur, for runners born between 2007 and 2012 | 15 km | Courmayeur, Tuesday 25 August, 11am | Courmayeur | Tuesday 25 August, 3pm |
| ETC, Experience Trail Courmayeur | 15 km | Courmayeur, Tuesday 25 August, 2pm | Courmayeur | Tuesday 25 August, 6.30pm |
| OCC, Orsières-Champex-Chamonix | 60 km | Orsières (Switzerland), Thursday 27 August, 8.15am | Chamonix | Thursday 27 August, 10.45pm |
| CCC, Courmayeur-Champex-Chamonix | 108 km | Courmayeur, Friday 28 August, 9am | Chamonix | Saturday 29 August, 1pm |
| UTMB, Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc | 174 km | Chamonix, Friday 28 August, 7.45pm | Chamonix | Sunday 30 August, 5.15pm |
The last column is the final cut-off, when the finish closes. CCC runners keep coming in through Friday night until 1pm on Saturday, and UTMB runners through Saturday night until Sunday afternoon.
Most runners and their families spend the week in the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc valley, which has a railway line running its length from Servoz to Vallorcine, near the Swiss border, with a station in almost every village. La Flégère, above Les Praz, 3 km from the centre, is UTMB's last aid station, where runners stop to eat and drink 7 km (4 miles) from the finish.
Road closures: leave the car behind
In 2026, seven villages and a mountain pass on the course in France, Italy and Switzerland couldn't be reached by car while the runners were coming through: Les Contamines, Saint-Gervais, Courmayeur, La Fouly, Champex, the Col de la Forclaz, Trient and Vallorcine. In Saint-Gervais, for example, roads were shut from 6pm to midnight on the Friday UTMB started. Throughout the valley, the organisers strongly advised against driving, as the car parks in central Chamonix fill up.
A place ten minutes' drive from everything isn't much use if the car has to stay put. What counts is what you can reach on foot, by train or by shuttle.
Getting around: trains, shuttles and the night bus
The Mont-Blanc Express, the valley train, runs between Saint-Gervais-Le Fayet and Vallorcine. The guest card, or carte d'hôte, which your accommodation gives each guest for their stay, gives you free travel on it between Servoz and Vallorcine. It isn't a bus ticket, though, and on the buses it only gets you cheaper passes of two days or more.
Trains stop running in the evening. In summer 2026, the last train from Chamonix to Vallorcine left at 8.28pm, or 9.28pm at weekends, the last one towards Les Houches and Saint-Gervais at 7.55pm, and the last one from Vallorcine back to Chamonix at 8.10pm. Groups of ten or more also have to email the Mont-Blanc Express 48 hours ahead, at [email protected], or they may not get on at busy times.
UTMB Mobility shuttles are the organisers' coaches, taking runners and supporters to the starts and out to the course. They all have to be booked in advance. Runners' shuttles are included in their entry, while supporters buy a pass for each race and section of the course they want to follow, and UTMB alone has three, for France, Italy and Switzerland.
In 2026 those passes were sold from 9 June to 12 July. A pass for one adult cost between €26 and €62 depending on the race and section, with a group price for up to five adults (€76 for five on the UTMB France pass), and €5 for each child under 12.
At night there's the Chamo'Nuit, the valley night bus run by Chamonix Mobilité. Its N1 line runs from Les Houches to Argentière through the centre of Chamonix from 9pm, and the N3, which always has to be booked, carries on from Argentière to Vallorcine.
On the N1, only the last bus of the night needs booking, at least an hour ahead on the Chamonix Mobilité website or app. In 2026 it left the centre at 1.54am for Les Houches and 2.02am for Argentière.
Check the travel updates on race nights too. On 28 August 2026, the day UTMB started, buses didn't stop at several stops in Les Houches and Les Bossons while the runners were passing. The same notice listed stops in central Chamonix, including the N1's, closed to buses during evening events from 5pm to midnight, so check where to catch it on those nights.
All times and prices on this page are from summer 2026, and the organisers change road closures and shuttles every year. The 2027 rules will be published on the race website.
Where to stay for UTMB: the areas compared
To choose where to stay during race week, look at four things: a station within walking distance, a shuttle stop nearby, a way home after a night finish, and parking at the property. The table covers the first three, plus the distance to the finish, for seven areas, starting with the closest.
| Area | To the finish, central Chamonix | Station | Shuttles to the race starts, for runners and supporters, in 2026 | Getting back after a night finish, in 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamonix centre | A few minutes on foot | Chamonix | In the centre | On foot |
| Les Pèlerins, Les Bossons | 2.6 to 3.6 km, 35 to 50 min on foot | Les Pèlerins, Les Bossons | In Les Bossons | On foot, or night bus, with the last one leaving the centre at 1.54am (booking required) |
| Les Praz, Les Bois | About 3 km, 40 min on foot | Les Praz | In central Chamonix | On foot, or night bus, with the last one leaving the centre at 2.02am (booking required) |
| Les Houches | 7.7 km, about 20 min by train | Les Houches | In Les Houches | Night bus, last one leaving the centre at 1.54am (booking required). No return shuttle |
| Argentière | 9 km, about 20 min by train | Argentière | In Argentière | Night bus, last one leaving the centre at 2.02am (booking required). No return shuttle |
| Vallorcine | 16 km, half an hour by train | Vallorcine | In Vallorcine | During UTMB, an organisers' shuttle running round the clock from 5am Saturday to 12.30pm Sunday. On other nights, the N1 and N3 night buses via Argentière (booking required) |
| Saint-Gervais, Le Fayet, Sallanches | 20 km or more, 45 min by train from Le Fayet | Saint-Gervais-Le Fayet, outside the guest card zone | In Le Fayet, Saint-Gervais and Sallanches | Organisers' return shuttles after the UTMB, CCC, OCC and TDS, until 4am |
From these stops, shuttles ran to the UTMB, CCC, OCC and TDS starts, and MCC shuttles left from central Chamonix. After the races, the organisers' return shuttles mainly served places the N1 night bus doesn't reach, namely Saint-Gervais, Sallanches, Les Contamines, Vallorcine and Orsières. That leaves parking, which depends on the property rather than the area, so make sure it has its own spaces for the group's cars.
Chamonix centre: walk everywhere, but sleep by the finish
In central Chamonix you can walk to the finish, the shuttles and the restaurants. The catch is noise: you're sleeping next to the finish, where runners come in day and night, until 1pm on Saturday for CCC and 5.15pm on Sunday for UTMB.
The hamlets about 3 km out: Les Pèlerins, Les Bossons, Les Praz and Les Bois
On either side of the centre, four hamlets are less than an hour's walk from the finish and a few minutes' walk from a railway station. Les Pèlerins and Les Bossons are down the valley towards Les Houches, and Les Praz and Les Bois up the valley towards Argentière. They're away from the evening events, and the night bus runs there until about 2am.
From Les Praz and Les Bois, you can also walk to the Flégère gondola, which leaves from Les Praz and goes up to UTMB's last aid station, but only in the daytime. The last ride down was at 6pm, or 5pm from 31 August. Les Bossons has its own stop for the shuttles to the race starts, whereas from Les Praz and Les Bois you catch them in central Chamonix, 40 minutes' walk away.
Chalet Bonami is in Les Bois, a five-minute walk from Les Praz station (400 m) and the Flégère gondola (550 m). The finish is 3.2 km (2 miles) away, about 40 minutes on foot, and the last night bus to Les Praz left the centre at 2.02am. There's outdoor parking at the chalet for at least four cars.
Les Houches and Argentière: shuttles out, none back
Les Houches, at the lower end of the valley, and Argentière, towards Switzerland, are proper villages with a station and shops, about 20 minutes from central Chamonix by train. Organisers' shuttles stopped there on their way to the UTMB, CCC, OCC and TDS starts.
Getting back is harder. No return shuttle served Les Houches or Argentière, as the night bus already goes there, and the trains stop running in the evening. After the last night bus, at around 2am, it's a taxi or a long walk, 7.7 km (5 miles) from Les Houches and 9 km (5.5 miles) from Argentière.
Vallorcine, Saint-Gervais and Sallanches: further out, with night shuttles
Vallorcine, 16 km away, is UTMB's last crew point, the last place where a supporter is allowed to help their runner. The organisers also ran a round-the-clock shuttle between Chamonix and Vallorcine, from 5am on Saturday to 12.30pm on Sunday. On other nights, once the trains have stopped, the only way back is the night bus, taking the N1 to Argentière and then the N3, which has to be booked.
Down the valley, Saint-Gervais, its station at Le Fayet, and Sallanches are further out still, and outside the zone where the guest card gives you free train travel. The organisers ran return shuttles there after the UTMB, CCC, OCC and TDS, until 4am. On the Friday UTMB started, only people staying locally could apply for a permit to drive while the roads were closed.
These areas work for a single race, or for crewing only at Vallorcine, rather than as a base for the whole week. Outside race week, you'd choose where to stay in the valley on other grounds, such as where the walks start or, in winter, the ski areas.
Read more: Where to stay in Chamonix: which area to choose
Where to stay for UTMB depending on your role: runner, crew or family
The runner, the person crewing for them and the family who've come to cheer don't spend the week in the same places, or keep the same hours. The accommodation has to work for all three.
Runners: the night before and the night after
The night before, a runner needs sleep and an easy trip to the start. For UTMB, which starts in central Chamonix in the evening, anywhere on the train or bus routes works. For CCC and OCC, the shuttles left before dawn (from 5.15am in central Chamonix for CCC and from 4.45am for OCC in 2026), and for TDS they left in the evening.
These shuttles were included in the entry, booked in June and July, and compulsory for OCC and MCC. A runner who signed the no-car pledge when entering the lottery, in return for a better chance in the draw, also had to travel to their accommodation by train or coach, not just to the start.
Runners sometimes finish in the middle of the night. There's no night bus at 3am, so unless you're staying somewhere served by a return shuttle, only accommodation within walking distance of the finish saves them waiting for a taxi.
Support crew: getting around and getting some rest
Crewing means helping your runner in a designated area. In 2026 this was only allowed at four points on UTMB, Les Contamines, Courmayeur, Champex-Lac and Vallorcine, and each race has its own list. At aid stations such as La Flégère, runners can eat and drink, but nobody is allowed to help them.
The first three crew points were reached mainly by shuttle. Unlike the shuttles to the starts, which stopped in the villages, supporter shuttles to the crew points left from central Chamonix, with a change at Orsières for Champex-Lac, and from Saint-Gervais as well for Les Contamines. Vallorcine, the last, can also be reached by train until the evening, and by the round-the-clock shuttle from Saturday morning to Sunday lunchtime.
Crew get little sleep, and at odd hours. To give them somewhere to rest while they wait, the organisers ran Base Camps, covered areas included with the supporter pass and open while each race was passing. Champex-Lac and the Chamonix sports centre had beds, while Vallorcine had only toilets and live tracking.
The best base for crew is therefore central Chamonix, where the supporter shuttles leave from, or a hamlet less than an hour's walk away. Staying in Vallorcine only makes sense if that's the only point where you're crewing.
Families and small children
Families split their time between the finish and one or two points on the course. La Flégère is reached by gondola from Les Praz, in the daytime only, so you can cheer runners on there during the day, but to see them come through at night you have to walk up.
Small children add one more thing to think about. Under-3s needed special permission to use the organisers' shuttles, and the organisers advise against them for young children anyway, because of the long waits in the middle of the night. It's better to stay within walking distance of the finish or the Flégère gondola.
Groups of runners, crew and family
For a group made up of runners, crew and family, one property works better than several. People are coming and going at all hours, and home is where the runner recovers and the crew packs the bags.
The area that suits everyone has a station, the night bus and the finish less than an hour's walk away, and Les Pèlerins, Les Bossons, Les Praz and Les Bois all qualify. Les Bossons has its own shuttle stop, about a kilometre from Les Pèlerins, but from Les Praz and Les Bois a CCC or OCC runner with a pre-dawn shuttle has to walk or get a taxi into town. The upside is that these hamlets have whole houses to rent, while in the town centre you mostly stay in flats or hotels.
When to book accommodation for UTMB: before or after the lottery
If you can cancel for free, book before the lottery results come out. If you can't, book the day they do.
For most races you pre-register in January and a ballot (UTMB calls it a lottery) decides who gets a place. In 2026 pre-registration ran from 8 to 19 January, results came out on 22 January, and runners who got a place had until 4 February to confirm their entry.
Thousands of runners find out on the same day that they're going, and all start looking for somewhere to stay for the same week.
| When to book | What you gain | What you risk | What to check |
|---|---|---|---|
| As soon as the race dates are announced | Your pick of area and type of accommodation | Paying for accommodation for a race you won't run, if the runner isn't drawn | The cancellation terms, in writing, before paying a deposit |
| During pre-registration, in January | Booking before the rush that follows the results | The same risk | The free cancellation deadline, compared with the results date |
| On results day and the weeks after | Booking once the group knows who has a place | Less choice | Areas with a train, night bus or shuttle stop |
| In spring and summer | Picking up a cancellation | Accommodation a long way from the train and the shuttles | When supporter passes go on sale (9 June to 12 July in 2026) |
In September 2026, the dates for the 2027 race and its pre-registration hadn't been announced. The dates in this section are from 2026, so check the registration conditions for next year's race.
Read more: How much a week in a luxury chalet in Chamonix costs
Hotel, flat or a whole house for UTMB week
The race's official accommodation page points to three options:
- Nirvana, the race's official travel partner, with access to the official race hotels, early breakfasts on race days and a shuttle to the event
- the tourist office booking services in each town, from Chamonix and Les Houches to Vallorcine, Courmayeur and Orsières
- a list of partner hotels, including UCPA, a budget sports holiday provider with centres in Argentière and Chamonix
For a runner on their own or a couple, a hotel will do. A self-catering flat adds a kitchen, handy for eating what you're used to before a race. And when the group includes runners, crew and family, who sleep and eat at different times, a whole house starts to make sense.
Expect a minimum stay that week, the busiest of the summer across the valley. At Chalet Bonami, UTMB week usually books up more than six months ahead. The minimum stay is five nights that week (three the rest of the year), you choose your arrival day, and prices are on request.
For a group, Chalet Bonami is rented as a whole house, for everyone including the crew: up to fourteen people in Les Bois, 3.2 km from the finish, and the house has already hosted runners and brands. With just four of you, though, you'd be paying for the whole house, so a hotel or a flat works out cheaper.
Bonami's tip: when you ask about dates, tell us each runner's race and start day. An OCC start on Thursday morning and a UTMB start on Friday evening don't need the same nights, and that's often what decides the day you arrive at the chalet.
You deal with Chalet Bonami directly. Send us your dates and everyone's race, and we'll reply within 24 hours with the exact price for your stay.
Read more: Booking a chalet direct or through an agency: what's the difference
UTMB accommodation: frequently asked questions
The questions that come up when you're sorting out accommodation for race week.
How many nights should I book for UTMB?
At least four for a UTMB runner, covering the night before the start, the two nights of the race and the night after the finish. In 2026, UTMB started on Friday 28 August at 7.45pm and the finish closed at 5.15pm on Sunday, so you'd stay from Thursday to Monday. Some places ask for more that week, and Chalet Bonami has a five-night minimum, for example Wednesday to Monday.
How do I get from Geneva to Chamonix for UTMB week?
By coach transfer or by train, and without hiring a car. Geneva airport is about an hour and a half away, with several coach companies running direct transfers to Chamonix, and there are also trains from Geneva Cornavin station. The race publishes the travel options, and a runner who has signed the no-car pledge can only fly if the trip by train or coach would take more than 12 hours.
Is the bus free with the Chamonix guest card?
No. The guest card gives you free train travel between Servoz and Vallorcine, but it isn't a bus ticket, and it only gets you cheaper bus passes of two days or more, bought in advance online or from a ticket machine rather than from the driver. In summer 2026 a night bus ticket cost €4.50 by card or €5 in cash, and on the N1 line only the last bus of the night had to be booked.
Can I stay in Courmayeur or Switzerland for UTMB?
Yes, especially for a race that starts there, since ETC and YCC start and finish in Courmayeur, TDS and CCC start there, and OCC starts in Orsières, in Switzerland. For the rest of the week it's a long way, and in summer 2026 the scheduled bus between Courmayeur and Chamonix, through the Mont Blanc Tunnel, ran only four times a day each way, taking 45 minutes and needing a booking. Shuttles were compulsory for OCC and MCC runners in 2026, but that rule didn't apply to runners staying in Switzerland or Italy who uploaded proof of accommodation.
What if I'm in Chamonix during UTMB week but not racing?
Change weeks if you can, and if not, stay away from the finish and leave the car at your accommodation. From 24 to 30 August 2026, runners were finishing in the centre day and night, roads in villages on the course closed as the runners passed, and buses skipped some stops on the evening UTMB started. Trains and gondolas kept running, but you'll be sharing the trails on the course with runners.