The Italian Alps had been on our wish lists forever! Picture imposing peaks, breathtaking views, emerald colored lakes, cute small towns and some of the most amazing hikes!
We had visited Italy in 2017 but that trip was focused more on the main cities and tourist spots. On our second trip to Italy in 2024, we wanted a mix of nature and cities. So, we decided to finally cross the Dolomites region off our list!
Fun fact – Did you know there are three official languages spoken in the Dolomites? Most places here have a name in Italian and in German (including the road signs and maps) and sometimes in Ladin. So that is why Ortisei is also known as St. Ulrich, another name for Alpe di Siusi is Seiser Alm, Lago di Braies is also known as Pragser Wildsee and so on. This is what makes this region so unique – Dolomites is a beautiful blend of cultures!
We spent four days in the Dolomites in mid-September and trust me, it was even more beautiful than I imagined. If you are planning to visit this region, then continue reading. This four-day long road trip itinerary is perfect if you want to discover the beauty of the Italian Alps in a short period of time. Let’s plan your dream Dolomites road trip together 😊
For a general overview of our Italy itinerary please click here
If you are planning to hike, recommend downloading AllTrails and Komoot app – they both show the exact hiking trail routes including detours.
Best time to visit
Spring-time, though beautiful, isn’t the best time to visit. Most of the hiking trails still have a lot of snow, thereby making hiking difficult.
While it is summer by July, keep in mind that some high-altitude trails can still have snow, which may not have fully melted.
August has the best weather for hiking. The trails are free from snow, offering clear and safe paths. But that also means that these towns and trails are CROWDED.
Mid-September to late October is autumn which means fewer crowds. The weather is perfect to go on long hikes and with autumnal leaves all around, the views look even more beautiful.
If you are looking for snow related activities, then winter months are the best. And some of the towns like Bolzano, are very cutely decorated during holiday season.
Depending on the month you decide to visit in, ensure to check the current schedule and any operational limitations before your visit. For instance, timing for the boat rides in Lago di Braies differs per season. So do the cable car timings in Alpe de Siusi, Seceda, etc.
Now, for those who were following my stories on Instagram, would know that we visited in September (Sept 10 – Sept 14). The first two days it was cloudy yet no rain, which still wasn’t bad. On the last two days it snowed and how! So much snow that trails were shut, towns were buried under snow and the visibility was poor. We still stepped out and explored a little bit but due to the snow, we had to skip some hikes ☹️
We were disappointed, but living in India, we don’t get to witness snow often. It certainly was a pleasant surprise!
Best Way to Get There
The Dolomites are in Northern Italy. You can fly into Milan/ Venice, rent a car and drive to Dolomites.
If you are coming from Europe, Verona is yet another option to fly into – the drive to Dolomites is much shorter from Verona.
You can also fly into Innsbruck and Munich. Innsbruck is much closer to the Dolomites. However, keep in mind that renting a car at both Innsbruck and Munich could lead to additional charges for crossing the border into Italy. Ensure to carefully review the car rental conditions to avoid surprises.
How Many Days Required
The ideal length for the perfect Dolomites itinerary depends on how much you want to explore and what you want to do. This region is packed with incredible sights and activities.
If you want to possibly explore all that this region has to offer and go on long hikes, then you need to set aside at least 6-7 days. If you are short on time, then 4 days is still good enough. It gives you plenty of time to go on half-day hikes, spend time in small villages and soak in the beauty of this region.
Best Way to Get Around
While having a car is definitely the easiest way to explore the Dolomites, it is not the only option. The region has a great public transport system. If you prefer to use it, then purchase the South Tyrol Mobilcard. This card gives you access to buses, trains, and cable cars throughout the region.
Since we were going to be in Italy for 2 weeks and visiting a bunch of cities, we rented a car for the whole trip.
Where to Stay
Dolomites is HUGE and getting from the western side to eastern side can easily take 2-2.5 hours one way. So, it is ideal to split your stay.
I would say, first, choose the hikes and sights you want to visit in Dolomites. Then, decide how much time you want to spend traveling to and forth and accordingly select the town to base yourself in.
There are a variety of accommodation options in this region, from luxury hotels to cozy mountain huts. For central access to major attractions, select accommodation in Ortisei, Bolzano or Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Bolzano is the largest town on the western side. Here you will find a number of hotels / Airbnbs suiting every budget requirement. It is a lovely town with a buzzing central square, full of restaurants and charming streets. The drives from Bolzano to most places (on the western side) can take around 45 minutes to an hour one way.
Ortisei is more central and closer to most places of interest. It is the perfect town to base yourself in, specially if you are planning to use public transport. With cable cars to both Seceda and Alpe di Siusi right in the town center, your two main places of attraction are sorted! And for the rest, you can take buses from the main town center.
Cortina d’Ampezzo is the largest town on the eastern side. From here, most of the lakes and the famous Tre Cime de Lavaredo hike are much closer. So, this town is an ideal base for exploring the eastern side.
We stopped by this town, but I will be honest, I preferred Bolzano and Ortisei. They are much bigger, with plenty of dining options and much cuter too!
Since we were in Italy for 2 whole weeks and had a bunch of accommodations to change, we decided to stay in one town (near Bolzano) for the entire duration of our time in the Dolomites. We didn’t mind the long drives since who is really to complain when the views are so pretty! Here is the link to our Airbnb – even though slightly far, it was perfect for us.
Places to Visit/ Things to Do
Alpe Di Siusi
Alpe di Siusi (or Seiser Alm in German) is the largest alpine meadow in Europe. You can either drive here or take the cable car.
If you are planning to drive, note that during the high season, road to Alpe di Siusi is closed from 9 am to 5 pm. However, these timing restrictions do not apply for going down. You need to reach before 9 am and park the car in Compatsch. If you book a hotel for the night in this area, then these timing restrictions do not apply. But note that you are only allowed to drive in your car to your hotel and no further.
You can also take a cable car from Ortisei to Alpe di Siusi. Click here for more information on cable car timings, routes and prices. For those planning to use the bus, click here.
Since we drove here, we reached by 8 am. Now there are two main parking lots here – P1 which is a 20-minute walk to Compatsch and P2, which is close to Compatsch. The parking fee at P2 is €26.50, whereas P1 is free to park depending on availability of parking space. We parked at P1 and since we reached early, there were just 3-4 cars in the lot.
Once you reach Compatsch, the most difficult decision is choosing the hiking trail. I highly recommend doing some research to find the trail that best suits your interests and fitness level. But no matter which path you choose, you won’t be disappointed. The views will be breathtaking! Oh and be ready to say hello to alpacas, llamas, horses and cows 😉
We decided to hike to the most famous viewpoint here. To get here, type in “Belvedere dell’ Alpe di Siusi” on Google Maps. The hike takes around 1.5 hours one way from P2 and is mostly flat hill.
Around 20 minutes before you get to this viewpoint, there is a lovely restaurant, Malga Sanon. We ate a delicious apple strudel with vanilla sauce, sandwich and hot chocolate. It has a very cute set up and there is even a tiny playground in front of the restaurant with a swing. The scene truly looks like a painting. Highly recommend stopping by.
Sadly, we had cloudy weather on the day we visited, so most of the time, the mountains were hiding behind the clouds. Nonetheless, we enjoyed this hike and the views.
Also, since we started the hike early, we were the only ones on the trail and the only other couple at Malga Sanon. As we made our way back to the car, the trail was very busy and brimming with crowd. And there was hardly a table left at Malga Sanon. So glad we had an early start and could enjoy the views and the place peacefully.
Val Di Funes
If you are looking for short hiking trails with scenic views, then Val di Funes should top your list.
Santa Maddalena Church with the Odle mountains in the background has become one of the most photographed places in the entire Dolomites and for a good reason. Doesn’t this view look straight out of a postcard 😊
But you cannot drive all the way up the church. Instead, park your car (parking fee is €4) and walk for about 25 minutes to get to this famous viewpoint. Head in the direction of Hotel Tyrol. Then, continue uphill to Fallerhof Farm. From here, turn left and you will pass by some cows and birds. The good thing is that the path is fairly even, although it involves a little bit of uphill climb. You will be treated to beautiful views and can even say hello to sheep and cows along the way.
For the main viewpoint, type in ‘Panchina Panoramica’ in GoogleMaps. On the way you can even find a bench where you can rest and soak in the breathtaking view of the church with its stunning backdrop. It is a peaceful spot to pause and appreciate the beauty of the Dolomites!
If you want to continue hiking, hike the Panoramaweg trail, which takes another hour.
For those visiting mid-September to October, head to this spot during sunset. As summer comes to an end, the skies get clearer. When the sun sets, the mountain peaks and rock pinnacles glow like hot embers in orange-pink, fiery red or violet. This phenomenon is also known as “burning Dolomites” and is a sight to behold.
After you are done with this beautiful place, come back to your car and head to yet another postcard perfect view in this region. If you are feeling adventurous, you can even walk to this spot from Santa Maddalena (it takes 30 minutes). The lovely Church of Saint John in Ranui is surrounded by lush meadows and dramatic mountain peaks. It is yet another postcard worthy images of the Dolomites region.
You will find parking near this church itself. There is a built wooden viewing platform close to the parking lot and is the perfect spot to take photos of the church with the mountains in the background. If you want to access the interior, you need to pay a small fee of €4.
If you are looking for a more challenging hike in this region, then check out the Adolf Munkel trail. It is a 3-4 hour roundtrip trail which offers stunning views of this region.
Seceda
Seceda has one of the most dramatic ridgelines in the Dolomites. Just look at this !
To get to Seceda, take a cable car from Ortisei. Roundtrip tickets cost €45 per person and can either be purchased online or bought at the counter on the day of your visit.
The cable car ride takes 15-20 minutes and provides scenic views. You can even walk all the way up – but it is a 4-hour long hike and strenuous of course!
If you are driving, park the car at the parking lot below the cable car station or in Ortisei town.
Seceda summit is at an elevation of 2,518 meters, with the mountain peaks reaching 8,264 meters. If you have flexibility in your schedule, try to visit on a sunny day so the mountain peaks are not hiding behind clouds. While we ended up visiting on a slightly cloudy day, we still loved the views. In fact, it was my favorite place in the entire Dolomites region.
Once you have reached the top, turn left and start walking uphill! There is even a sign on the road pointing to the viewpoint. The views from here will leave you speechless I promise!
After admiring the views from here, you can walk along the ridgeline or take one of the numerous hiking trails. There are countless hiking trails to choose from depending on your fitness level.
If you’re not much of a hiker, you can simply relax admire the views. Once you are done, make your way back to the cable car station.
After walking the along the ridgeline, we took a little detour to Baita Sofia Hütte. Here, we had a hearty bowl of tomato soup, rosemary potatoes and a cup of coffee. It was truly one of the most scenic places I have ever dined in!
And after we finished eating, we relaxed for a while on their lounging chairs. Trust me, I didn’t want to leave 😊
If you are looking for a cheaper cable car ride, then take the Col Raiser cable car from St. Christina. Roundtrip ticket costs €30 for adults.
Lago di Carezza
With turquoise blue water and imposing mountains as its backdrop, this is one of the most incredible lakes in the Dolomites. You can even hike the loop around the lake, which takes around 20-25 minutes.
Now of course, we ended up visiting on the day it was snowing. With all the snow we got enroute and poor visibility while driving, we had initially abandoned our plan of visiting this lake. It briefly stopped snowing, so we decided to take a detour to this lake. Of course, as we started our uphill drive, it started snowing again. We were more then halfway there, so decided to continue driving.
Once we reached, all we saw was a beautiful turquoise lake submerged under a huge blanket of snow! We couldn’t even see the mountains! We tried to take a walk around the lake, but it was so cold that our hands were frozen. But despite all the snow, the emerald color was truly shining out. I can only imagine how breathtakingly beautiful it would look on a clear sunny day.
Access to the lake is simple – park your car in the parking lot, walk for 5 minutes and there, you have reached the lake. Parking is free for the first 15 minutes.
Passo Gardena/ Passo Gardena
The day you are driving from the western side (say Bolzano/ Ortisei) to the eastern side (Cortina d’Ampezzo), you can stop by this beautiful place.
Gardena Pass is situated at an altitude of over 2,000 metres and offers amazing views of the surrounding peaks and valleys. Park your car near Rifugio Frara and from here, walk up to the viewpoint. There are couple hiking trails as well from here if you are keen to explore this area further.
Now, as you know, we got a LOT of snow on the last two days of our trip. But despite the snow, we ventured out to explore this region. Also, since we were visiting in September, at the time of renting the car, we didn’t bother about snow tyres. As we made our way up the mountain, our car started skidding. And the visibility kept dropping. Even if we would have made it to the top, we would have barely got any views. So, we decided to turn back ☹
Lago di Braies
This place truly needs no introduction. Thanks to social media, it has become one of the most famous lakes in the world.
Lago di Braies is a picturesque glacial lake and is known for its stunning turquoise water. The lake is just as breathtaking in real life as it appears in photos. Even though we visited on a cloudy day, it still looked beautiful.
Once you get to the lake, you can rent a rowboat (€45 for private boat and €15 per person for a shared boat) or you can hike around the lake. The boat ride gives you an opportunity to soak in the breathtaking surroundings from a unique perspective. However, due to snowfall on the previous day, the boats were still getting cleared of the snow when we got here. We waited till 10.30 am but they still had not started renting the boats. Since we wanted to visit a few more places on this day, we skipped waiting for the boats and made our way to the next stop on our list. Click here if you are interested in learning more about the boat ride and timings.
You can even hike the loop around the lake – it is about 3.5 km long and you get to admire the lake from all different angles. We hiked may be 1/3rd of the trail and then turned around since there was still a fair bit of snow on the trail.
There are three parking lots here and although they are big, they can fill up quickly so try to reach early. Between July 10th and September 10th, driving access to the lake is restricted between 9:30 am and 4 pm. During the day, this lake can only be reached by public transportation, on foot, by bicycle, on presentation of an online reservation, or a valid transit permit.
During the low season (September 11th – July 10th), there are no driving restrictions here. You can drive all the way to the car parks near the lake. Since we visited after September 10th, the driving restrictions didn’t apply.
The closest parking spot is P4, located right at the lake and costs €18. You can reserve your spot in advance here. There are few more parking spots, which are relatively cheaper, albeit involve a little walk to get to the lake. We parked at P2 for €6 and the walk to the lake was barely 10 minutes. If all parking lots are full, park at P1 and take the shuttle for an additional fee.
Lake Dobbiaco
Access to this lake is quite simple as the car park is situated right next to the lake. It is yet another scenic lake and worth stopping by if you are in the area.
Tre Cime di Lavaredo
This is one of the most iconic trails in the region and one of Dolomites’ most famous landmarks.
The trail begins at Rifugio Auronzo. The roundtrip hike is approximately 10km and offers stunning scenery every step of the way. Even though long, it is an easy hike and takes around 3.5 hours to complete. It is a must-do for nature lovers and those looking to experience the best of the Dolomites!
There are three ways to get to Rifugio Auronzo:
- By car: Be prepared to pay €30 to drive on the road – this fee allows you access for 24 hours. There is a toll road shortly after Lake Antorno. If you choose this option, go early because in high season the car parks at the top fill up easily and you may not be able to go up the road.
- On foot: You can walk from from Lake Antorno.
- By bus: There are buses from Dobbiaco (no. 444), Misurina (no. 31) or Cortina d’Ampezzo (no. 30/31) to Rifugio Auronzo.
Because of the high parking cost and the effort required in hiking the trail, ensure you come on a clear day to get the best views.
Now sadly due to heavy snowfall on the previous day, all our plans went haywire. We had initially planned to visit Lago di braies on one day and hike Tre Cime on the other day. But since we had to abandon our drive to Lago di Braies on the previous day due to snow, we had no option but to cover both these places on our last day in Dolomites. Also, due to snow, we had to wait for it to melt a little before starting our drive. So, the earliest we could leave from our Airbnb was 7 am.
After visiting Lago di Braies and Lake Dobbiaco in the morning, we reached Rifugio Auronzo around 11.30 am. But by the time we reached, the parking lot was full. Plus, we weren’t sure how much snow was going to be on the trail for us to be able to finish the hike. So, with a heavy heart, we turned around ☹
Thankfully we got a short glimpse of the peaks on our way to Rifugio Arunzo. On the way between Lake Antorno and Lake Landro, there is a viewpoint over Tre Cime by the side of the road. Type in “Viewpoint on the Three Peaks of Lavaredo” to get to this viewpoint. But if there is so much snow on the ground, I can only imagine how much worse it could be at the top of the trail ☹️
If you are planning to hike Tre Cime de Lavaredo, also add Cadina Misurina to your list. Both hikes have the same starting point, Rifugio Auronzo, so it makes sense to do both in one day (you’ve already paid the €30 toll fee after all). But for Cadini di Misurina hike, you have to hike in the opposite direction of Tre Cime. It takes around 35-45 minutes to get to the viewpoint. It is only a 2 km hike from Rifugio Auronzo but is a bit steep. Also, due to narrow paths, this hike is not suitable for people with a fear of heights.
Lake Landro
Accessing this lake is incredibly easy, as it is located right along the road that passes through it. The colours of this lake easily compete with Lake Carezza and Lago di Braies.
Lake Misurina
You can club your visit to this lake with Tre Cime de Lavaredo since it is close to it.
The lake is beautifully framed by mountains and a vibrant yellow hotel, which looked stunning against the stark contrast of snow. Also, I noticed boats here so I am guessing one could go on a lovely boat ride here as well. But of course, these boats were drenched in snow on the day of our visit 😂
*All prices as of September 2024