Dolomites
The Dolomites are a 150 km range across three provinces with no single centre, driven valley to valley and now booked sight by sight. Three nights minimum, in summer rather than snow, and the longest lead time in Italy.
Dolomites in a nutshell
Dolomites: what to expect
Our own data here is 715,000+ stops planned across Italy on Stippl.
The Dolomites are a range rather than a place, and three nights in one valley is the floor. The limestone runs 150 km across Trentino, South Tyrol and Belluno with no centre to base in, so a visit is a valley, Val Gardena, Alta Badia or Cortina d'Ampezzo, and the drives out of it: the Tre Cime di Lavaredo loop, the Seceda ridgeline above Ortisei, Lago di Braies and the meadows of Alpe di Siusi. All three of the big sights now need a booking before the car leaves. Most travellers give the Dolomites 3 nights on Stippl.
This is Italy's longest stay and its closing stop, planned in summer rather than for the snow. 33.4% of Dolomites stops planned on Stippl run to four nights or more, against a fifth in Rome; the range closes 10.8% of the multi-stop trips it appears on and opens only 5.8%, the one Italian place we measure that sits past the midpoint of a trip.
Base in Val Gardena for the lifts, Alta Badia for the quiet, Cortina for Tre Cime, and hire the car knowing where it cannot go. Braies and Alpe di Siusi close their roads by day in season and the Tre Cime toll road needs a plate-linked reservation. Skip the Dolomites in May and November, when the lifts and the huts are shut and the high paths are under snow, and skip them without a car unless the trip stays inside South Tyrol, where the buses run to timetable.
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Walkers at every level
The range offers cable-car-assisted meadow strolls and multi-day via ferrata from the same valleys, so a mixed group finds a route each.
Drivers who accept the rules
The valleys connect by road and the trailheads do not, and the three most-visited sights now police access, so the car is essential and rationed at once.
Long-stay travellers
33.4% of Dolomites stops planned on Stippl run to four nights or more, the deepest stay in Italy, so this is not a two-night add-on.
Trip closers
The Dolomites close 10.8% of the multi-stop trips they appear on and open 5.8%, so they sit at the end of a route from Venice or Verona.
Summer mountain people
69.8% of Dolomites plans on Stippl start between June and September, for the walking rather than the skiing the range is famous for.
Hut-to-hut walkers
Alta Via 1 runs roughly 120 km over eight to eleven days between rifugi, and the hut booking systems open in winter for the following summer.
Maybe not for you: anyone without a car outside South Tyrol, since the trailheads are not connected and the buses stop at the province line; anyone coming in May or November, when the lifts and huts are shut; and anyone who wants a single base to see it all.
The best time to visit the Dolomites
Ski
mid-December to early April
The range's international reputation and the bottom four months of demand on Stippl: the lifts run for skiers, the walking trails are under snow and the passes can close.
The dead season
mid-April to mid-May
Lifts shut, snow still high, valleys quiet and much of the accommodation closed between the two seasons. Not the month for a first visit.
Opening
mid-May to late June
Valley cable cars restart, but the high huts, the Tre Cime road and most trails come later, and snow lingers on north-facing paths into early July.
The season
late June to early October
Everything open, everything bookable and everything busy, with afternoon thunderstorms routine and the passes full of motorbikes; late September is the quiet, clear end of it.
- July is the month most travellers plan the Dolomites for on Stippl, and June to September takes 69.8% of the plans. The ski months are the bottom of our demand, so the range is planned as a walking place, not a resort.
- Tre Cime, Lago di Braies and Alpe di Siusi all need a booking now. The Tre Cime toll road takes a plate-linked reservation, Braies bans cars between 09:00 and 16:00 from July to mid-September with a prepaid bus, and the Alpe di Siusi road shuts to cars from 09:00 to 17:00.
- Most travellers plan the Dolomites about 110 days ahead on Stippl, the longest lead in Italy, and 30.3% book half a year out. The rifugi open their booking systems between December and February for the following summer, and the popular huts go in weeks.
- Ferragosto on 15 August is the Italian peak, and valley accommodation is at its dearest and fullest. The passes are at their busiest with motorbikes the same week, so the early start is the whole day's plan.
- Dolomites Bike Day in early June closes the Sella and Pordoi passes to cars for a day. The passes belong to cyclists for it, which is worth knowing if the drive over them is the plan for that Sunday.
- Törggelen runs from roughly October to mid-November in the lower valleys. The South Tyrolean chestnut-and-new-wine season in the farmhouses is the one reason to come after the lifts close.
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Things to do in the Dolomites
Photo by Pietro De Grandi via Unsplash
Photo by Hardial Aujla via PexelsThe Tre Cime di Lavaredo loop
The range's defining walk, a circuit of about 10 km around the three towers from Rifugio Auronzo on a wide path, reached by a toll road that needs a plate-linked booking.
The Seceda ridgeline
The tilted grass slope against the Odle spires, reached by two cable cars from Ortisei with little walking required, and the range's best view for the least effort.
Lago di Braies
The emerald lake with the wooden boathouse and the rowing boats, and the most access-restricted place in the range, with no cars by day in season.
Alpe di Siusi
Europe's largest high alpine meadow above Val Gardena, gentle enough to walk with children, reached by cable car once the road shuts for the day.
Val di Funes
The church of Santa Maddalena against the Odle spires, the photograph everyone has seen, in a small residential valley that asks visitors to park at the edge.
Alta Via 1
The classic hut-to-hut traverse, roughly 120 km over eight to eleven days from Braies to Belluno, with the rifugi booked months ahead.
The valleys of the Dolomites
Val Gardena
The busiest, best-connected valley
Ortisei, Santa Cristina and Selva, German-speaking, with the Seceda and Alpe di Siusi lifts starting from the villages and the widest choice of hotels. For first visits, lift access and families.
The lifts at the door, and the fullest villages in the range.
Alta Badia
High, quiet and Ladin-speaking
Corvara and San Cassiano, the base for walking the Sella group, with the range's best food and a slower pace than the valley next door. For hiking, food and ski touring.
Quiet and high, at a longer drive to Tre Cime and Braies.
Cortina d'Ampezzo
The Italian-speaking resort town
Expensive, well-connected and the closest base to the Tre Cime di Lavaredo loop and the Giau pass, on the Belluno side of the range. For Tre Cime and resort comfort.
The closest base to Tre Cime, at resort prices and outside the South Tyrol bus network.
Val di Funes
The photograph, and a home
Santa Maddalena's church against the Odle spires, in a tiny residential valley with a few farm stays and a car park at the edge. For photography and quiet.
The view from the window, and a drive to every lift.
Alpe di Siusi
The meadow above Val Gardena
Europe's largest high alpine meadow, with a handful of hotels on the plateau itself and the road closed to cars by day. For gentle walking and mountain-hut evenings.
Sleeping on the meadow, with the car left below and the road shut by day.
Val di Fassa
The Trentino side
Canazei and its neighbours, Ladin-speaking and central for driving the Sella and Pordoi passes as a loop, at lower prices than South Tyrol. For the passes, cycling and value.
The most central base for the passes, and the furthest from Tre Cime and Braies.
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Where to stay in the Dolomites
Base in Val Gardena for a first visit, where the Seceda and Alpe di Siusi lifts start from the villages, or in Cortina d'Ampezzo if Tre Cime is the point of the trip. Book far ahead: most travellers plan the Dolomites about 110 days out on Stippl, the longest lead in Italy, and the rifugi open their booking systems in winter for the following summer.
Val Gardena
Family-run hotels and apartments in Ortisei, Santa Cristina and Selva, €120 to €250 a double in summer.
Alta Badia
Hotels and farm stays in Corvara and San Cassiano, €130 to €280 a double, with the best dining in the range.
Cortina d'Ampezzo
Resort hotels and B&Bs, €150 to €350 a double, the dearest valley on the Belluno side.
Val di Funes
A handful of farm stays and guesthouses, €90 to €180 a double.
Alpe di Siusi
Mountain hotels on the plateau, €150 to €300 a double half board, with the car left below.
Val di Fassa
Hotels and apartments in Canazei, €100 to €200 a double, the value side of the range.
What to eat in the Dolomites
cured, smoked ham, the Tyrolean charcuterie staple
bread dumplings, served in broth or with butter
half-moon stuffed pasta with a spinach-and-ricotta filling
slow-cooked beef stew, part of the valley's Tyrolean repertoire
apple pastry made from South Tyrol's own Adige valley apple crop
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Dolomites customs and what not to do
German first, then Italian
In South Tyrol the German name usually comes first on signs, and in Val Gardena, Alta Badia and Val di Fassa the local language is Ladin.
Greet people on the trail
Grüß Gott or buongiorno is expected on the paths and its absence is noticed, so say it first.
Rifugi have hut etiquette
Cash often, hut shoes at the door, lights out early, and dormitories are dormitories, shared with whoever booked.
Punctuality is Austrian here
The buses leave on the minute and the huts serve dinner at a fixed hour, so the timetable is the plan.
The war is present
First World War tunnels, trenches and ossuaries sit on ordinary walking routes and are treated as war graves, not viewpoints.
Do
- Book Tre Cime, Braies and Alpe di Siusi before the car leaves the valley
- Start walks early; afternoon thunderstorms are routine in summer
- Carry cash for the huts and the small valley buses
- Learn the German and the Italian name of every place you are driving to
Don't
- Treat the via ferrata cable as a handrail; harness, lanyard and helmet are required
- Come in May expecting open lifts and huts; much is still shut
- Drive the passes expecting an empty road; they are motorcycling roads with a real accident rate
- Rely on a valley guest card for the Braies shuttle in high season; it is not valid
What a Dolomites trip costs
Budget
€70–120
A rifugio dormitory or a valley guesthouse, canederli and speck in the hut, the South Tyrol bus card, walks that start from the village.
Mid-range
€160–300
A three-star in Val Gardena or Val di Fassa half board, a hire car, one big lift a day, the Tre Cime toll.
High-end
€350+
A resort hotel in Cortina or a spa hotel in Alta Badia, a guide for the via ferrata, dinner in the valley's starred kitchens.
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Fun facts about the Dolomites
The via ferrata network began as First World War infrastructure. The Italian and Austrian front ran along these ridges, and the fixed cables, ladders and tunnels were cut for soldiers rather than for climbers.
South Tyrol was Austrian until 1919. It remains majority German-speaking with full bilingual administration, which is why every place has two names and the bus timetables hold.
Ladin is the fourth language of the Dolomites. A Romance language spoken in Val Gardena, Alta Badia and Val di Fassa, with its own schools, radio and road signs alongside German and Italian.
Alpe di Siusi is the largest high alpine meadow in Europe. Around 56 square kilometres of pasture above Val Gardena, gentle enough to walk with children and closed to cars for most of the day.
The Dolomites are the remains of Triassic coral reefs. The rock is fossil atoll, which is why the peaks are pale and vertical and the valleys between them are green.
The enrosadira turns the Dolomites pink at sunset. The local word for the glow, caused by the iron in the dolomite rock, and the reason the terraces face west at dinner time.
Local tips for the Dolomites
Essential car, rationed roads
The valleys are connected but the trailheads are not, and Tre Cime, Braies and Alpe di Siusi all police access, so book the sights and then hire the car.
The South Tyrol buses work
They run to timetable, the Mobilcard covers the province and Braies is reachable without a car, but the guest cards are not valid on the Braies shuttle in high season.
The passes are the point
Sella, Pordoi, Gardena and Giau are the attraction for a large share of visitors, and they are motorcycling roads in summer, so drive them expecting overtaking.
Start early
Alpine weather changes fast and afternoon thunderstorms are routine in summer, so the early start is a safety measure rather than a crowd tactic.
Check the insurance
Mountain rescue in Italy is chargeable, and travel insurance frequently excludes via ferrata and high-altitude hiking, so read the policy before the harness goes on.
Give it the nights it takes
Most travellers give the Dolomites 3 nights on Stippl and 33.4% give it four or more, so plan it as the end of the trip rather than a stop on the way.
Dolomites questions, answered
Three in one valley as the minimum, a week to see two. Most travellers give the Dolomites 3 nights on Stippl and 33.4% of stops run to four or more, the deepest stay in Italy, because each of the big sights is a drive and a booking and the weather takes a day back.
Val Gardena for a first visit, with the Seceda and Alpe di Siusi lifts starting from Ortisei and the widest choice of hotels; Cortina d'Ampezzo if Tre Cime is the point; Alta Badia for quiet and food; Val di Fassa for the passes and lower prices on the Trentino side.
At the end. The range closes 10.8% of the multi-stop trips it appears on and opens only 5.8%, in the Italy trips people build on Stippl, usually after Venice or Verona. Put Venice, Verona and the valley into Stippl in that order with a car from Venice, then check the drives with people who have done them, in subreddits like r/ItalyTravel.
For the range as a whole, yes: the valleys connect but the trailheads do not. South Tyrol's buses reach the main valleys and Braies on a timetable that holds, and a car does not get into Tre Cime, Braies or Alpe di Siusi without a booking anyway, so the car is for the passes and the valleys between.
No, and it is the trap. Valley cable cars restart around mid-May, but the high lifts and the rifugi open in late June, snow lingers on north-facing paths into early July, and much of the accommodation is shut between the seasons. Late June to early October is the season, and July is the month most travellers plan for on Stippl.
Not any more. The toll road to Rifugio Auronzo takes a plate-linked online reservation and the gate is automated, so an unbooked car is turned back at the barrier. Book the slot with the room, and treat Braies and Alpe di Siusi the same way, since both close their roads to cars by day in season.
Every guide is written by the Stippl editors and checked against the trips our travellers actually plan. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
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