THE BEST OF THE DOLOMITES

A word of caution – this is MY best after 5 days of easy hikes, strolls and driving about in this truly spectacular area which is now a World Heritage Site. One short visit does not make me anywhere near being an expert but I’ll describe the walks and areas I definitely want to return to and those which didn’t quite hit the spot.

As ever, pre-trip, I’d browsed countless, very enjoyable blogs (some with truly fab photos especially AFarAwayLand) some reputable guide books and posed a question on the South Tyrol Tripadvisor Forum.

Our weather was mixed but we were SO lucky with most of the ‘priority’ hikes I wanted to do, in that we got the mountains clear.

In a nutshell, I fell in love with the Dolomites and can’t wait to go back!

GETTING THERE

Flew to Venice Marco Polo airport from Edinburgh (2.5hr flight with EasyJet),picked up a prebooked car from Italy Car Rental and headed off on the 2hr 10min drive on good fast roads to Cortina. LONG wait at the car rental (always feels as if they are hiring out the Crown Jewels) meant it was a good 90 mins after arrival before we finally followed Google Maps (couldn’t do without this) and headed north. The forecast was good and if time allowed, I hoped we might manage a trip up to the Lagazuoi Rifugio/Hut, a short drive from Cortina.

On Car hire: we always use a third party booking site – usually Discover Cars – as we find we get the best deal that way. We also take out our own, separate Excess/Additional Car Insurance with a UK provider  to avoid the hard sell hassle at the rental desk. That means we are secure in the knowledge that we are covered for any eventuality. Italy, in our experience of many trips there and throughout Europe, has some pretty hair-raising driving at times. So many cars with considerable body damage too – it seems to be a thing.

Despite several road work sections, it was indeed just over 2hrs later than we drove through Cortina.The scenery had been spectacular in the last half hour as the road climbed higher and higher, up through Auronzo and past gorgeous Alpine chalets, their balconies draped with flowers. Onion domed churches were a reminder that this was Alto Adige and with strong historical links to Austria; many of the population are German speakers.

RIFUGIO LAGAZUOI (8,500ft)

The weather was great so we pushed on through Cortina and made our way to the Falzarego Pass – better make the most of that when mountains were concerned!

 This was a further 25 min drive beyond Cortina, where the Lagazuoi cable car was running until 5pm. I’d read that views from here were superb. What a stunning drive it was to the Pass and what a gorgeous spot. We were amazed at where we found ourselves and had a quick look at the lovely chapel sitting on its own.

Parked in a gravelly area and shot across to the cable car office where we paid 26.50 euros each return. Cars were running every 15 mins so after a short wait, in we went with a few others. I get a bit nervous going up these things, with cliff faces looming ahead of me (and there had been a terrible cable car accident in Portugal a week before our trip) but it was a case of – get on with it! Below, the rifugio just visible on top of the mountain, towards the left.

It was at this point we realised we hadn’t paid for our parking. Too late now, as the cable car clattered into place at the top station and we got out after one of the quickest, shortest runs I’ve ever been on.

Lagazuoi sits at 8,500 ft and we were incredulous at the view. All the mountains were clear. It was now 3.20pm but our mega early start this morning at 4am felt well worth it already. I was amazed at how mild it was up here so we spent the whole time with just a light jumper for me and Chris in his shirt. There wasn’t a breath of wind.

There is a wonderful, easy walking path from the cable car terrace/café all the way to the summit cross which takes about 15 mins. How good the path is, shown below…

However, I took so many photos as we admired our surroundings that it took a lot longer than that.

Summit Cross…

There is actually a wheelchair/disabled section which has been built out around the rock face at one point (a bit of a gulp for a vertigo sufferer like me.) This avoids a minor ascent onto rocky ground which might not be for everyone given a drop off.That section is visible in the photos below.It is quite near the start of the walk to the Summit Cross.

Many areas of the Dolomites were tunnelled during WW1 and there were various small caves to peer into though others looked to be in quite intimidating positions.

The Rifugio Lagazuoi itself, the hut you can stay overnight in, sits a little above the cable car. What a location! I had tried to book us in here and also at Rifugio Locatelli but had no luck, despite trying way back in Feb ’25.I would prioritise at least one hut stay on our next visit as seeing sunset and sunrise must be superb. (However, it’s also a lottery as weather could be poor.)In the centre of this photo, you can see the path up to Rifugio Nuvolau, amidst the moonscape.It’s actually a very simple , fairly wide hike to the hut and one we did later in the week.

It’s possible from the cable car terrace, to hike back down to Falzarego Pass but it looked very steep and scree -y at the start and not hugely attractive.

Anyway, we were straight off the plane, I hadn’t thought I’d need my poles so hadn’t brought them plus I hadn’t wanted a steep hike on our first afternoon. What we did was perfect for us as an easy introduction on arrival day.

Zoomed to Marmolada, the highest in the Dolomites…

Yellow Billed Mountain Chough – they were everywhere, little scavengers…

Back down at the Pass by 5pm and thankfully, no penalty ticket on the car. It was one of the free car parks so, a bit of luck there. 

I remember thinking at the time– will any other day this trip, beat what we saw today? (Little did I know!)

CORTINA

I loved Cortina, we both did.Enjoyed it much more than Ortisei where we based for 2 nights later in the trip.

Time to get sorted! Parked at one of the edge of town areas – 2 euros an hour – and walked down to the Co-op, a 10 min stroll away. 

Elegant, upmarket, classy Cortina and what a wonderful location it has too with stunning mountains all around, rearing above the emerald green meadows.

Lots of great outdoor shops and some very .expensive designer places too ( Dior, Dolce and Gabbana and many others well outside my budget.) It also has the loveliest Co-op Supermarket I’ve ever seen which is also a smart department store. I’m not much of a shopper and had no notion to see Dior’s autumn collection but the shops were such a beautiful addition to the townscape somehow. Plenty of traditional South Tyrol architecture too, balconies draped with flowers and some venerable old hotels. Quite a bit of road work going on as the town is hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics. The long, pedestrianised main street was wide and just so lovely to stroll with attractive cafes and fancy hotel terraces all lit up at night.Croda da Lago range in morning light from the apartment…

Picked up supplies and finally, at 6.30pm, made it to our 1st floor apartment. Actually, I don’t think my photo of the building does it justice – it was much nicer than the pic, super tidy and clean.

Our accommodation for 4 nights was  in a delightful, quiet Airbnb a few mins drive outside of Cortina (look up Cozy Nest Cortina.) Not cheap for only the 2 of us but it had 3 bedrooms so for a group, fantastic value. Very characterful with lovely decoration, great books and two big balconies. It’s a traditional property owned by a helpful, outdoor – focused couple (via ferrata harnesses hanging in the hallway – no danger of us borrowing those! )They gave us lots of great info on the wider area before and during our trip. They had also left a little welcome pack – a bottle of wine, fresh rolls from their favourite bakery, butter and milk as well as some honey and jams. Plus, a bottle of fresh spring water which was available only to residents in the neighbourhood.Sat out on the terrace off the sitting room and breathed a sigh of relief that we were here and had had an amazing first day. 

We had our own parking spot at the apartment and I was so pleased at where it was and how it looked inside; it was just perfect.( I’m quite fussy about where we stay and spend hours researching places (unlike Chris!) The road was a quiet, local road with very little traffic passing.

A quick pasta favourite for dinner – smoked salmon with peas and mixed through with crème fraiche and parmesan. Easy peasy (oops, sorry about the pun) as we were a bit knackered by now! 

The forecast (I was frantically checking  Il Meteo) suggested pretty dodgy weather over the next few days and my heart sank. However, rain wasn’t due in until 11am tomorrow and by sheer chance, I’d booked our car into the Auronzo Parking at 9.30am. That meant we just might have a couple of hours of views before the clouds rolled in.Fingers crossed!

Tomorrow: Tre Cima di Lavaredo Hike plus Rifugio Locatelli – TRE CIME LAVAREDO AND RIFUGIO LOCATELLI HIKE and LAGO DI BRAIES – WALKING IN THE RAIN CINQUE TORRI PLUS RIFUGIOS AVERAU AND NUVOLAU