Our tour begins in Bolzano, a beautiful small city filled with plazas and museums, where we'll briefly meet before taking a 1 hour bus to St. Ulrich, also known by its Ladin name of Ortisei. St. Ulrich is a charming village in the heart of the very traditional Val Gardena, with miles of hiking trails radiating in every direction. We'll start with 2 nights St Ulrich, followed by 2 nights in remote mountain inns, including the historic mountaintop Schlern hut, and finish with 2 more nights St Ulrich. Both of our mountain inns feature private rooms, and our 4-star hotel in Ortisei is a treat, luxurious yet casual, with a beautiful pool and spa, and great food. You won't want to leave!

Our typical day starts with a delicious buffet breakfast at our hotel - a feast of freshly baked bread and croissants, local meats and cheeses, cereal, fruit, eggs made to order, coffee and freshly squeezed juice - which gives us the energy needed for the task ahead. Soon we'll be out on the trail, where you'll get to choose between an easier or more strenuous hike for the day. Each morning, you'll be handed a lunch to carry, and at a mid-point along the way we'll choose a beautiful spot to stop and enjoy our picnic. We get a lot of compliments on our imaginative lunches - making them something to look forward to as well!

For our hikes, we'll have 2 loop dayhikes from St. Ulrich, bookending an unforgettable 3-day inn-to-inn circuit of the valley. There are many route options, and a lot of flexibility to the hikes, and we should finish each day around 4 pm, giving you time to wash up, relax, perhaps settle into the pool, or just gaze upon the outside panorama from your room balcony. After that, we'll enjoy dinner together at our hotel's fabulous restaurants. These are multi-course feasts, often featuring delicious local Austrian and Italian specialties.

The Dolomites is truly a special region. With gorgeous hotels and charming village to go with and numerous exciting hikes, this Dolomites tour will make an unforgettable vacation.

Day 1 Arrive in Italy and transfer by train to Bolzano, our meeting point in the Italian Dolomites. Bolzano is a pleasant city with large squares, outdoor markets, and an captivating natural history museum (home of the famous Ötzi iceman). After we meet, we'll take a bus to St Ulrich, a charming village with narrow cobblestoned streets lined with elegant shops. We'll enjoy a wonderful welcome dinner and settle in to our luxurious and very friendly 4-star hotel for the night.(Hotel Grones)
Day 2 St. Ulrich is surrounded by pleasant hiking trails and is blessed with beautiful views from every corner. For our first dayhike, we may choose to hike through the U-shaped Langenthal valley, or into the Puez-Odle National Park. Return to St Ulrich for a 2nd night. (Hotel Grones)
Days 3-4 Hiking hut-to-hut, we'll head up through a narrow gorge to Schlern hut, an historic mountain inn atop the mighty Schlern peak, with breathtaking views in every direction. We'll have private rooms but no showers at Schlern hut. After a night here, we'll continue on a high-level traverse above the Alpe di Siusi, the largest mountain meadow in the Alps, to the towering Sassolungo mountain group, to rifugio Plattkofel, a remote inn tucked away on the edge of the rocky group, with private rooms and showers. (rifugios Plattkofel and Schlern)
Days 5-6 A rugged traverse around the Sassolungo group brings us to the beautiful Sella pass, where we'll catch a bus or hike back down to St. Ulrich. On our last day, we like the hike through the high scenic meadow trails of Seceda, where we can look back on almost our entire route. In the evening, you can unwind in the sauna or pool and enjoy the gourmet cuisine at our tasteful 4-star hotel. (Hotel Grones)
Day 7 Today we say arrivederci, and depart for our post-tour destinations.

sign up now