Hiking Below and Beyond Mont Blanc: Switzerland, Italy and France

After you enroll, we’ll ask you to provide or update your personal information and preferences, which includes your health information, lodging and meal preferences for your program.

A passport is required for this program. It must be valid for at least 6 months after your return date.

This information about travel documents pertains to participants holding U.S. passports. Non-U.S. citizens should refer to their country's requirements to ensure they have the necessary documentation for travel.

United States citizens don’t need a visa for any of the countries you’ll be visiting. Non-U.S. citizens should refer to their country's requirements to ensure they have the necessary documentation for travel.

If Road Scholar is arranging your air travel to and from the program, and you travel on the scheduled start and end dates, you’ll receive free round-trip transfers from the airport to the hotel.

Arrival day is on September 29, 2025

Meet the group at Hotel du Grand Paradis in Cogne

Start of Trip:  3:00 p.m. hotel check-in; 6:00 p.m. Orientation followed by Welcome Dinner.

Getting to the site: Take either a taxi or the train from Milan Malpensa Airport to Milan Centrale Railway Station. From Milan Centrale, there are several possibilities to transfer to Aosta via train. The best way to find the connection that works with your flight is to check the Trenitalia Website: https://www.trenitalia.com/en.html The trip will take between 3 - 4 hours depending on your route and connections. From Aosta, you will take a taxi to Cogne. It will take approximately 30-45 minutes, and cost between €65-80. Alternatively, a taxi from the airport to the hotel will cost between €415-500 and take up to 2.5 hours.

Getting to the site by train or bus: Local transportation (train) available to the first site.

Your trip ends on: Friday, October 10, 2025 in Geneva at Crowne Plaza Geneva

End of Trip: After breakfast; 12:00 p.m. noon hotel check-out. Transfers throughout the day depending on flight times.

Getting to the airport: The hotel offers a free shuttle to the airport, which operates every 20 minutes between 4:40 a.m. and 11:40 p.m. It takes about 5-10 minutes to get to the airport.

Information if you are purchasing your own airfare: Transfers for Independent Travelers: Road Scholar no longer offers complimentary transfers to participants with “Program Only” status. However, on this program, ONLY THE ARRIVAL TRANSFER is an exception to that policy due to the distance and complicated nature of traveling to the first hotel. If you booked your own air, you will be on your own for the departure transfer. Reservations for the arrival transfer can be made by contacting rseuropeprograms@roadscholar.org no later than 30 DAYS prior to the program start date. Please note that we will not have a final transfer schedule until approx. 7 weeks prior to the program start date and it will be included in the Final Information Packet. As long as your flights fall into the parameters listed below, we will be able to confirm your ability to join a transfer if you reach out prior to that time, but no other details will be available. You MUST include your program number and date in the subject line of your request. If you arranged air on your own, please include your flight information and date of arrival in your request. The final transfer schedule will be based on the times of arrival for Road Scholar booked flights and will vary from departure to departure. TO ENSURE THAT YOUR FLIGHT ARRIVES WITHIN THAT SAME TIME PERIOD AS RS BOOKED FLIGHTS, WE REQUEST THAT YOUR FLIGHT ARRIVES NO LATER THAN 10:30 A.M. There is no guarantee that the final transfer will coincide with independently booked flights that arrive later than 10:30 a.m. Participants who have purchased Road Scholar airfare are protected against airline change fees; however, anyone who has not purchased Road Scholar airfare will be required to make their own adjustments and may incur fees imposed by the airline. If you wish to purchase airfare through Road Scholar, please call (800) 241-1404.