How much does a night in a staffed refuge cost?

It depends on the refuge. In 2026, a night for an adult non-member is listed at €22 at the FFCAM Refuge des Merveilles and €30 at the Refuge des Écrins, meals extra. FFCAM members pay half as much.

How much does half board in a gîte cost?

Prices vary from one gîte to another. An example collected in October 2026: €49 per person at the Eylie gîte, on the GR10 in the Ariège, tourist tax included.

Is it worth joining the FFCAM to sleep in refuges?

In FFCAM refuges, a night for a member costs around half the public rate. If you are planning several nights in refuges, compare the price of membership with the savings you would make.

Can you pay by card in refuges and gîtes?

Not always. Some mountain accommodation only accepts cash, cheques or bank transfer: bring cash and ask when you book.

GR budget: refuges, gîtes, meals and transport in 2026

The items in a GR budget

A long-distance walk rarely costs much in activities: walking is free. Most of the spending falls into four items:

Accommodation, by far the biggest if you sleep under a roof every night.
Meals: dinner and breakfast taken at your accommodation, or cooked yourself.
Food for the day: packed lunch, snacks, drinks.
Transport to get to the start and home from the finish, plus any journeys along the way.

On top of these come one-off expenses: a guidebook or map, small items of gear, insurance, and a margin for the unexpected (an extra night, a taxi to leave a stage, replacing damaged gear).

Sleeping in a staffed refuge

Refuge prices are set refuge by refuge. As an example, here are the prices published for 2026 by two refuges of the French Federation of Alpine and Mountain Clubs (FFCAM), collected in November 2026:

FFCAM refuge	Night, adult non-member	Night, adult member	Outside the staffed season
Refuge des Merveilles (Alpes-Maritimes)	€22	€11	€8
Refuge des Écrins (Hautes-Alpes)	€30	€15	€8

Meals are charged on top of the night. At the Refuge des Merveilles, dinner is listed at €24, breakfast at €10 and a packed lunch at €12. A full evening (night, dinner and breakfast) there therefore comes to around €56 for an adult non-member, and €68 with the next day's packed lunch. Some refuges add a tourist tax, €0.80 per person at the Refuge des Écrins.

Two lessons to remember:

Membership matters: in these two refuges, a night for an FFCAM member costs half as much as for a non-member. Members of associations with a reciprocity agreement also get the reduced rate on showing their card. If you are planning many nights in refuges, compare the cost of membership with the savings you expect.
Outside the staffed season, the night is still charged, but at a much lower rate, since there is no service and no meals.

Sleeping in a gîte

In a gîte, half board is the most common option. Prices vary with the region, the season and what is included (sheets provided or not, room or dormitory). An example taken from the Couserans Pyrénées tourist office listing, updated in October 2026: at the Eylie gîte, on the GR10 in the Ariège, half board is listed at €49 per person and full board at €62, tourist tax included.

B&Bs and hotels offer more privacy, at highly variable prices. On a tight budget, self-catering (a kitchen available to guests) lets you cut the evening bill by preparing your own meal.

Camping or bivouacking

Sleeping in a tent greatly reduces the accommodation item. In return, you have to carry a tent, sleeping gear, a stove and food, and therefore a much heavier pack. Remember too that bivouacking is tightly regulated in France, and banned in some places: read our guide to accommodation and bivouacking before relying on it.

Meals and supplies

For the day, there are two options: buy a packed lunch from your accommodation (€12 at the Refuge des Merveilles in 2026) or shop in the villages you pass through. On a route well supplied with shops, the second option can work out cheaper. FFRandonnée advises locating grocery shops in advance and not carrying more than five days of freeze-dried rations: on remote sections, dehydrated food bought before you set off therefore also counts towards the budget.

Bring cash: in refuges and small mountain gîtes, paying by card is not always possible. The Eylie gîte, for example, only accepts cheques, cash or instant bank transfer.

Transport

The cost of the train or coach depends on the distance, when you book and the discounts you are entitled to. On a linear GR, allow for two separate journeys: the outward trip to the start and the return trip from the finish, which are often far apart. Booking early, travelling outside peak periods and checking for regional coaches or shuttles can often lighten this item. The guide dedicated to transport details the car-free options.

Estimating your budget in practice

The most reliable method is to start from your list of stages:

For each night, note the planned accommodation and its actual price, checking what is included (meals, sheets, tourist tax).
Add the cost of packed lunches or the day's shopping.
Add up the outward and return transport.
Keep a margin of 10 to 15% for the unexpected.

The prices quoted here are examples collected in 2026: they change every year and differ from one establishment to another. Always check the accommodation's price list when you book.