The GR5 – Lake Geneva to Samöens
From the shores of Lake Geneva to the beautiful alpine village of Samöens, we follow a classic European trail.
From Lausanne on the northern shores of Lac Léman to the pretty Alpine village of Samöens, this premier European hiking route offers dramatic scenery as it weaves its way between Switzerland and France to make this 6-day trek exciting and rewarding in equal measure. The GR5 actually starts in the Netherlands, crossing Belgium and Luxembourg before France from north to south. This section is part of the route through the French Alps from Lake Geneva to Nice called the Grande Traversée des Alpes.

Departures from June – September, 2021
Duration: 6 days
(5 day option by starting on the southern end of the lake)
Graded As: Challenging
Nearest Airport: Geneva
Highlights Include: Tour the World Heritage Vineyards of Lavaux
Enjoy a boat trip around the Eastern end of the lake
passing through Montreux
Hike through the Swiss and French Alps
Rustic mountain refuges
4 * Spa hotel in La Chapelle d’Abondance
Days 1 - 3
Beginning in Lausanne on the northern shores of Lac Leman we start with a gentle lakeside walk through the vineyards of the prestigious Lavaux region before taking a picturesque ferry weaving your way around the Eastern side of the lake. Starting our hiking journey ascending up to the village of Thollon-les-Mises, enjoying a mixture of balcony paths and stunning Alpine vistas, including an ascent of the Cornette du Bises, before descending on Day 3 into Val d’Abondance relaxing in our luxury 4* Spa hotel.
Day 4
Traversing the length of valley below the mighty Mont du Grange we explore the alpine meadows, in a proctected reserve with a high chance of seeing Chamois and other wildlife. Gradually ascending up to the Col du Bassachaux, with sweeping views down to Lac Montriond and beyond we traverse over to the Col du Chesery, dropping down to our simple Swiss refuge for the night alongside Lac Vert.
Days 5 - 6
The final 2 days offer the grand finale of this GR5 section to Samöens. Crossing back over the border from Switzerland into France we hike below the Dent du Midi which tower over us before descending into the Valleé de la Manche. Our final pass is the Col de la Golese below the Tête de Bostan. Parting the Refuge Golese in the morning we have the option of ascending the Tête de Bostan to enjoy far reaching views of the entire route, Dent Blanches, Dent du Midi and Mont Blanc (4810m). A long descent into Samöens with time to celebrate our success and enjoy a well earned rest.
Need To Know
Accommodation
1 x night in Lausanne city 3* hotel
1 x night in a family run 2* hotel
3 x nights in rustic mountain refuges with doritoir sleeping arrangements
1 x night in 4* Hotel with Spa facilities
What’s included
All accommodation
All breakfasts, lunches and dinners, drinks on first and last night
Due to the remote nature of this particular trail we are without vehicle support so carry a little extra equipment for the mountain refuge nights, and are therefore self sufficient.
Guides
We adopt an excellent guiding ratio meaning we can cater for differing levels within the group and offer extra add-ons where appropriate, such as taking in a side peak or giving two different trail choices.
One Guide – 1 – 7 clients
Two Guides – 8 – 14 clients
Booking and Price
Cost:
2 people – €2500 pp
3 – 4 persons – €2200 pp
5 – 6 persons – €1900 pp
7 – 8+ persons – €1800 pp
Single Supplement available in hotels – Lausanne / Thollon – les – Mises / La Chapelle d’Abondance.
Private vehicle support can be provide at an extra charge.
We manage every booking independently to ensure attention to detail and provide a personalised service.
Terms & Conditions
Terms and Conditions (updated November 2020) – All trips are sold subject to these Terms and Conditions (hereinafter T&Cs).
1. Insurance
All clients need to be adequately insured for all activities they are taking part in. Insurance must include repatriation and details should be provided at the beginning of each trip.
All European clients should obtain a European Health insurance card (EHIC), however, this is not a substitute for travel insurance.
2. Health and fitness
Trip members have the responsibility to select a trip appropriate to their abilities and interests. In order to assist with this, all trips are graded and we welcome the opportunity to discuss trip details/answer questions in advance of your reservation. Trip members must be in sufficiently good health to undertake the trip, and if unsure seek medical advice in advance. For your own safety, you need to inform us of any medical conditions in advance or at the start of the trip. Trip members are also required to bring adequate clothing/equipment as advised in the pre-departure information.
3. Dietary Requirements
We endeavor to work with clients and accommodate their dietary requirements. However such is the nature of adventure travel we may be limited to specific menus e.g remote Mountain Huts, Tea Houses in the Himalaya’s etc. We fully encourage you to contact us in advance to discuss your requirements then we have every opportunity to explore options thereafter.
4. Cancellations and Fee Schedule Per Person
91 days or more prior to departure – €250 cancellation fee
61 – 90 days before departure – 25% of the trip cost
46 – 60 days before departure – 50% of the trip cost
45 days or less: 100% of trip cost
Fees are calculated from the date we receive written cancellation notice which can be via email. If clients are unable to access email and cancel over the phone we will confirm in writing the cancellation.
If you cancel 91 days or more prior to departure, it may be possible to transfer to another trip without occurring any fees. Please discuss this with us in the first instance.
With specific departures, there may be an increase in cancellation fee if the accommodation provider T & Cs mean we are liable for payment.
4.1 Cancellation due to COVID travel restrictions.
If your chosen destination country or the country where you reside have restrictions in place due to COVID, meaning you are unable to travel, you have three options:
4.11 Postpone your trip until a later date.
4.12 Take a credit note and use against a future trip with LBH.
4.13 Request a full refund.
If any other reasons prevent you from travelling, including quarantine measures then our normal (4) T&Cs will apply. We recommend that you check with your travel insurance provider to fully understand your level of cover.
5. Complaints
If you have a complaint, please contact us as soon as possible, in the first instance your leader is often your obvious point of contact. This ensures we have every opportunity to explores solutions to the problem(s) arising and we will do all we reasonably can to resolve the complaint. You must tell us within 4 weeks after your holiday of any complaints that you feel have not been dealt with properly.
6. Alterations By Us
We will tell you as soon as reasonably possible if we must make any alteration to your holiday. Most alterations are minor, but very occasionally we might have to make a major alteration. A major alteration is a change of location or to a lower standard of accommodation for a substantial part of your holiday, a change in start/finish dates or necessary price rise in your holiday caused by rises in costs (e.g. exchange rates, internal transport etc). You may then choose as follows:
- To accept these alterations
- To withdraw from the holiday, in which case we will repay all monies paid to us including your deposit and this is the sum of our liability to you
- To accept an alternative holiday that we may propose to you, in which case if the proposed holiday is a lower price we will pay you the difference and if it is a higher price we may ask for the difference.
You must inform us of your choice as soon as possible after we contact you.
7. Group Leadership
On a guided holiday your leader is responsible for the safety and enjoyment of the whole group and has sole discretion, on behalf of Live Breathe Hike, to exclude temporarily a participant from the group. They may also choose to terminate the participants holiday without the possibility of a refund if the leader thinks the participant is likely to endanger the group safety or spoil its enjoyment.
8. Your Responsibility
Mountain holidays by their very nature are adventurous, with a certain level of risk is undertaken. Individuals need to conduct themselves in a safe and responsible manner at all times; responding to advice, guidance, and instruction that may be given by the group leader / experienced professional and take all reasonable actions to eliminate accidents or injury.
9. Our Responsibilities
We will take all reasonable care to ensure that the information we give to you is accurate, including on our website, in your schedule and information pack. We will do all that we can to provide the service as described in the information we give to you. We are not liable if any failure is:
- Attributable to anyone other than us
- Attributable to a third party unconnected to us, and unforeseeable or unavoidable
- Due to unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control and could not have been avoided even if all due care had been taken
- Due to an event which even with all due care we could not foresee or forestall
10. Cancellation By Us
Live Breathe Hike reserves the right to cancel any trip prior to departure for any reason whatsoever, including insufficient signup or logistics problems that may impede trip operations. The refund of all land payments received shall relate Live Breathe Hike from any further liability.
Live Breathe Hike must normally make substantial payments to its suppliers far in advance of the scheduled trip departure date. If a trip is canceled due to force majeure; (acts of God, war, strikes, earthquake, flooding etc), Live Breathe Hike will promptly refund the portion of the trip cost not already advanced to suppliers and use its best efforts to recover and refund the balance as promptly as possible. However, Live Breathe Hike does not guarantee recovery of any or all of the advance payments made.
11. Additional Costs
Live Breathe Hike shall not be liable for (a) expenses such as additional nights and meals not specified in the individual trip itineraries, but which may required to get to from a trip start or end; expenses due to the delay of a trip for any reason (e.g. bad weather, trails conditions, land slides, flooding, sickness etc); (c) expenses occurred in recovering lost luggage by airlines, belongings left behind on a trip or in shipping purchases or other goods home from abroad; (d) visa and other incidental costs.
Live Breathe Hike reserves the right to take photographic or film records of any trips,and may use any such records for promotional and/or commercial purposes without payment.