Your tour begins with one night in Bolzano, a beautiful small city filled with plazas and museums, where you'll get a chance to see the famous Ötzi iceman, visit the farmer's market, and enjoy Bolzano's classic Tyrolean ambiance. This is followed by 5 nights in St. Ulrich, also known by its Ladin name of Ortisei. Ortisei is a charming village in the heart of the very traditional Val Gardena, with miles of hiking trails radiating in every direction. Optional nights in remote mountain huts can also be arranged on request. The standard tour includes 3-star hotels in Bolzano and Ortisei, while the deluxe tour adds upgraded rooms in Bolzano and a 4-star hotel in Ortisei. Our 4-star hotel in Ortisei is a treat, luxurious yet casual, with a pool and spa, and great food. You won't want to leave!

Your 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, coffee and freshly squeezed juice - which gives you the energy needed for the day ahead. Before setting out on your hike, visit a bakery and market for lunch supplies, or bring some money for a stop in one of the alpine restaurants along your route. Soon, you'll be out on the trail for 6-8 hours, with many hiking options to choose from.

You should finish your hike 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, you'll enjoy dinner at your hotel restaurant. These are multi-course feasts, often featuring delicious local Austrian and Italian specialties. Our hotels all serve fabulous food, and dinners will be hearty, filling, well-earned and very delicious.

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

Day 1 Arrive in Italy and transfer by train to Bolzano, your gateway to the Italian Dolomites. Bolzano is a pleasant city with large squares, outdoor markets, and an captivating natural history museum (home of the Ötzi iceman). After checking out the city, enjoy dinner at one of the many restaurants in town and settle in to your central Bolzano hotel for the night.
Day 2-6 A scenic one-hour bus ride brings you into the lovely Val Gardena, surrounded by mountains in the very heart of the Dolomites. Your base for hiking for the next 5 days will be the charming village of Ortisei, with narrow cobblestoned streets lined with elegant shops. Ortisei, also known as St. Ulrich, is surrounded by pleasant hiking trails and is blessed with beautiful views from every corner. We'll give you plenty of choices for our favorite dayhikes in the region, and fill you in on the local transportation options to get to nearby trailheads. Hike across the Alpe di Siusi, the largest mountain meadow in the Alps. Circumnavigate the trails surrounding the rugged Sassolungo and Sassopiatto peaks. Explore the U-shaped Langenthal valley or the high scenic meadow trails of Seceda, where you can look back on almost the entire region. In the evening, you can unwind in the sauna or pool and enjoy the gourmet cuisine at our tasteful hotels.
Day 7 After breakfast, you'll say arrivederci, and depart by bus for your post-tour destinations.

sign up now

Prefer an inn-to-inn tour? We do not have a self-guided Dolomites Traverse itinerary online, but we can arrange any number if inn-to-inn tours in the region, with 1-3 hut nights, and a 3, 4, or 5-star hotel bases in the villages of Ortisei, Selva or Canazei. An itinerary with 2 nights in the village of Selva/Wolkenstein, 1 or 2 nights in huts, and 2 nights in Ortisei makes a great week-long circuit of the Gardena valley. Optional luggage transfers between villages are available.

This 7-day/6-night itinerary is offered only as a self-guided hiking tour or private guided hiking tour. Our self-guided prices are per person, based on two people sharing a standard double room. Availability is limited in August, and due to tiered hotel pricing in the Dolomites, there is a $300 additional charge per person for August tours for both standard and deluxe tours. Our 4-star hotels on the deluxe Dolomites tour is wonderful, but Ortisei also has a pair of absolutely superb 5-star hotels that can be a very worthwhile splurge for a luxurious vacation. Please ask if you're interested.

This self-guided tour includes prepaid hotels in Bolzano and Ortisei, with breakfast in Bolzano, breakfast and dinner each day in Ortisei, bus schedules between Bolzano and Ortisei, hiking maps, detailed route descriptions (including longer, shorter, and rainy day options), reservations for optional nights in nearby huts, and lots of useful information to help ensure a successful trip.

Not included are lunches, dinner in Bolzano, drinks with dinners, extras (such as laundry, phone calls from the room, etc), or ground transportation of any kind.

If you'd like to lengthen or shorten this tour, upgrade hotels, or create a customized tour of the Dolomites from scratch, let us know. We have extensive experience in many parts of the Dolomites, and will be happy to work with you to build the hiking vacation that best suits your needs.

Learn more about custom and self-guided tours