The Dolomites are a stunning mountain range in northern Italy. Towards the end of spring and summer they become a haven for hiking, cycling and outdoor activities. It’s a completely underrated place and in fact so many people don’t know it exists! I visited in June 2022, over 4 days. So, here’s my itinerary of how to have the best three days hiking in the Dolomites. You’ll see stunning mountain ranges, use cable cars, admire beautiful blue lakes and picturesque villages.
The itinerary
This itinerary doesn’t include a travel day, so depending on where you’re coming from, you may need to add a travel day. We were based near Cortina d’Ampezzo so each day starts with driving to the respective hike.
Day 1: Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Lago d’Antorno & Lago Misurina
Today is the day that you will be going to one of the most famous hikes and iconic sights in the Dolomites, Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Three huge protruding rocks surrounded by mountains, valleys and a few small lakes. This hike takes around three and a half hours and is quite easy. Note it costs €30 to access the road to the parking, which seems steep but is worth it. For more information on the Tre Cime di Lavaredo loop check out my post here
After completing the hike, on the way back stop off at Lago d’Antorno. A small but beautiful lake where you can take a short 20 minute stroll around the lake. Slightly further on you’ll come across Lago Misurina. This lake is huge and again you can walk around it but can also hire pedal boats to explore.
Day 2: Hike from Col Raisier to Seceda, Santa Maddalena & Lago Di Braies
Today is a full day out. With one big hike, one small hike and also visiting the famous Lago di Braies. I recommend following the hikes in this order, as the first big one requires using the Col Raisier cable car which is open from 08:30 – 17:30. I’d suggest leaving fairly early in the morning around 7am. Take a packed lunch so that you can get to the Col Raisier cable car around the time it opens so you can make the most of the day.
So the first hike you’ll be doing today is from Col Raisier to Seceda Ridge. Seceda is another famous site in the Dolomites and it is amazing! The hike itself takes around 4.5 hours and is a little steep in some places. However you are rewarded with stunning views at every point. If you don’t fancy hiking you can take a different cable car to Seceda Ridge and then do a short hike up there to Pieralongia, take a look at my post here for more information.
After getting the cable car back down it’s time to hop in the car and drive to Santa Maddalena. This drive is about an hour away and when you get here, follow the signs to parking for the church. Here follow the signs to Santa Maddalena or ‘Kirchsteig’ which means church path in German. Once at the church it’s a short 15 minute to this amazing viewpoint! Check out my post here for details on how to get here.
From here, it’s now on to part three of today, Lago Di Braies. The most recognised Lake in the Dolomites, picture perfect! It’s about 1.5 hours drive from Santa Maddalena. Once you get here you can choose to walk around the lake or actually what we did is hire a boat to row on the lake which was so much fun! The boat hire closes at 6:30 so ensure you get here by 5:30 latest if you do want to hire a boat, it’s also really cheap €20 for 30 minutes and 4 people can go in one boat.
Day 3: Lago Di Sorapsis
Today’s hike is a moderate/tough 4-5 hour round trip but is so worth it when you see Lago di Sorapsis. It’s one of the most stunning lakes you will ever see. It’s only about a 20 minute drive from Cortina d’Ampezzo to the start of the trailhead. The parking for the hike is along the road just past the Hotel Passo Tre Croci. I’d recommend getting here early and starting the hike around 7:30/8am. You’ll find that the later you start the more people you’ll encounter and have to wait behind on the path. This will add time and can be frustrating.
The trail is quite steep in some places and some tricky places where you can hold rope to help you. When you get to the lake make sure you walk all the way round to experience it in it’s entirety. Take time to soak in the pristine, serenity and beauty of the lake.
This hike was my favourite in the whole trip and I would absolutely recommend it!
With more time
If you have more time, then you may want to check out these other hikes/lakes too. They’re on my list for next time!
- Adolf Munkel Trail
- Lago Di Carezza
How to get to The Dolomites & get around
The easiest way to get the Dolomites is to fly to Venice and then drive about 1.5/2 hours to where you’re staying. Driving to the Dolomites is actually really quite easy. From Venice you pretty much drive on the motorway most of the way there until you reach the start of the mountain range. Here the roads become a little windy and are one lane each direction but not too bad at all.
I’d definitely recommend hiring a car for this trip. You’ll have greater flexibility in terms of what hikes you want to do and when you can start them. There are public buses however they are slower, will definitely add a lot of time to your journey and require more planning.
Where to Stay
We based ourselves in Cortina d’Ampezzo. This was because it’s a good base for the a lot of the hikes we wanted to do including the famous Tre Cime di Lavaredo.
We stayed in this beautiful Airbnb Cesa Tuze and would 100% absolutely recommend it. The hosts were unbelievably accommodating, flexible and really kind. The place was amazing, with four of us sharing two bedrooms and two bathrooms and we had a fully functioning kitchen which was so useful for preparing lunches for our hiking days.
When to go to the Dolomites
The best time to go hiking and avoid the crowds is June or September. I can imagine the roads and hikes are very busy and crowded in July-August. Also I think I personally would find it too hot to hike then, so it’s good to visit in the shoulder seasons.
Top Tips
- Make sure you have good sturdy hiking boots & socks, you will need them. We walked at least 20,000 steps every day! So you want to make sure that your feet and ankles are supported and are wearing the right footwear. Along with hiking boots, make sure you wear hiking socks
- Put suncream on. You’re up high in the mountains and if you have good weather like we did when it was 30 degrees at some point throughout the day, you’ll definitely want to make sure that you put suncream as you don’t want to burn.
- Bring a container to pack your lunch in for the day. We made a really easy 10 Minute Meal of couscous, frozen veg and chickpeas to make sure we had a good balanced meal along with our snacks whilst hiking. A packed lunch because it gives you more flexibility for the day. And if a hike takes you longer or you want to spend more time like looking at the view then you’re able to do that
I hope you have the best time hiking in the time it’s like I did. I would absolutely recommend it and I honestly can’t wait to go back and explore more of the area!
