Where to stay in The Dolomites and what to do in each town
The Dolomites are a range that lies mostly in South Tyrol. A former a state of Austria, once you’re here you hardly feel like you’re still in Italy.
The people of South Tyrol speak German and Italian. This unique mix of culture also yields some of the best food you’ll find. Not only that, but the hotels are a class amongst itself. Basic hospitality is so thorough in this region, you’ll be blown away. From high quality, in-house dining to daily itineraries for the hotels. Even the most basic accommodation will be more than adequate.
I will talk about the different cities to stay in and which ones function as the best home bases if you do not want to hop through towns.
val gardena
There are three main towns that comprise this region: Ortisei, Santa Cristina Val gardena, & Selva di Val gardena. All three towns are very close the farthest (Ortisei —> Selva) being only 12 minutes.
We stayed in this valley for two days about 30 min away in the Gardena Pass at Hotel Cir. The views are unreal, and the trail on literally at the hotel. Amazing hotel but it is more of a specialized stay. Staying in these towns, especially Ortisei, gives you a diversified itinerary and less of a necessity to change hotels as often. If you’re on a time crunch and do not want to hotel hop, staying in one of these three towns is highly recommended.
Ortisei
Ortisei
When you picture a mountain town of the movies, this is it. Meticulously clean streets sit in a valley ridiculously close to many of the most beautiful ranges in the entire Dolomites: Seceda, Gardena Pass, & Seiser Alm (Alpe di Suisi).
Cable Cars in Town
Seceda & Seiser Alm can be reached by lifts located in the town of Ortisei. Seceda was €40 euros a person for a round trip. If you’re saying no way, I’m paying, I’m hiking it! We saw the trail leading up to Seceda, it looks unreasonably long, not very scenic, and just a waste off time. Why? Well when you reach the top of the range. There are many hikes you can do in the Seceda valley that are a way better use of your time than refusing to pay the ski lift prices. Time is invaluable when you’re traveling, I value 4-6 hours of sunlight on vacation much more than the fee so it was a no brainer to us to pay it and fast track to the range.
Seiser Alm/ Alpe di Suisi
The lift on the south side of town will take you to Seiser Alm. One of the most famous ranges in the Dolomites and TikTok famous for a reason, there is only one range that can compete with the greenscreen-esc peaks of this region. I will talk about these later don’t worry 😉
Seiser Alm / Alpe di Suisi
Seceda (2500M)
On the north side is the two stop lift to Seceda, stopping first in Furnes, then going up to Seceda. The ride to the top takes 15 minutes, arriving to the Seceda ridge. The highest point in the Val Gardena, boasting spectacular 360 views. This is one of the MUST visit places when in the Dolomites.
gardena pass
Part of the Val Gardena region, this pass is scenic to say the least, if you are not trying to knock everything off a list and just want beautiful scenery & hiking trails on site, this location is for you. We stayed in this valley for two days, about 30 min away in the Gardena Pass at Hotel Cir. The most popular hike is Gran Cir via Ferrata. We accidentally went off trail and went up Piccolo Cir for sunrise. From Hotel Cir you hike up towards the big peak with the cross on top of it. It’s super simple to find the trail markers, just look for the red dots on rocks and that indicates a trail. We learned that after the sun came up, we were so unprepared it was embarrassing, you shouldn’t have problem.
*Tip: If you’re like us and did not come prepared with hiking gear - fortunately there are plenty of sports stores located throughout Ortosei & other popular ski villages, however you will be paying a steep premium for these items. So if you’re planning on hiking, make sure you come prepared with a comfortable backpack, hiking boots, water/snacks, and get ready to scale some ground!
cortina d'ampezzo
Named the heart of the Dolomites, this town is known for a number of reasons. From hosting the Alpine Ski World Championships to being the official site of the Audi Driving Experience, where you can test drive the newest Audi models in the winding roads of the Italian Alps. Although the main motive bringing people to this town is one thing , to hike. From Tre Cime di Lavaredo , the Cadini group, to Lago di Sorapis - Cortina boasts a huge array of hiking options and demands at least a couple of days when in the Dolomites.
The sheer beauty of the town alone warrants a visit. The town centre, looks like its straight out of a Disney film, surrounded by mountains that look like CGI. So naturally you’ll see some serious money walking around this town, but it happily welcomes all types of people.
It’s difficult to pick another town to stay in besides Cortina, due to the central location and convenience of it being the main town of the region. If you do, the prices should drop, and you’ll get more bang for your buck. We stayed in San Vito di Cadore , 10 minutes south of Cortina. The hotel has 5-star level of service each day. From complimentary breakfast to discounted aperitivo hours to unique daily itineraries. Fiori Dolomites Experience Hotel is the only place you should look if you’re willing to stay outside Cortina. This is no ad, just had a brilliant experience here, best hospitality I’ve ever experienced. We booked direct on their website and it was much more affordable than going through booking. The Dolomites have prices fluctuate based on weekends and seasons but for us during July it was about $225 per night.
The famous bike trail from Cortina to Dobbacio
They provided this awesome guide to two of best bike rides through the region. Even if you do not stay with them check out the guide if you fancy a ride. We aren’t too big of bikers so we rented mountain E-bikes and rode from San Vito de Cadore to Lago di Landro. (60km round trip) There is a bike trail the entire way so no need to share the road with cars. The lake below is your prize at the end of the bike ride.
Lago di Ladro, Toblach
Surprisingly this stunning lake had a small amount of people compared to less scenic lakes nearby: (Lago di Dobbiaco / Toblacher See). Both lakes are right off the road so if you don’t make a biking trip out of it, it’s still super accessible if you’re day tripping to one of the surrounding areas.
top hikes around cortina
We left Tre Cime di Lavaredo, the Cadini group, & Lago di Braies for our next trip back due to some unforeseeable problems. These are some of the must visit places and I highly, highly recommend them. We wanted to leave something epic to bring us back :)
We did however make it to Lago di Sorapis. A gorgeous, electric blue alpine lake. There’s two options to hike:
1. The loop is more difficult: 13.85km / 8.6mi with almost a 1km (3000ft) elevation gain. However loops provide different terrain the entire hike, so if you’re up for it… definitely recommend!!
2. Out & Back is less difficult 11.25km / 7mi & 580m/ 1,900ft elevation gain but also you’re seeing the same scenery twice. So if you’re capable I do not recommend this one… only if you’re trying to finish your hike in the afternoon before the sun goes down.
Taking pictures and filming some definitely made this longer for us. I would give yourself around 4-5 hours to do this hike. So you can enjoy a lunch at the lake and not be rushed taking picture/videos. The hike is paved with some beginner level ferratas that do not require use, they’re mostly there in case it rains and the rocky trail becomes slippery. The trail is much easier when compared to the hikes around Gran Cir and Piccolo Cir.
