Travel guide · Europe
Jagged limestone peaks, green alpine meadows and some of the best skiing in Italy. Here is how to plan a trip to the Dolomites.
Late June-September
Hiking season, huts and lifts open
December-April
Ski season, early December to early April
Innsbruck airport
About 1.5 hours to Val Gardena
Three languages
German and Ladin alongside Italian
The Dolomites are a mountain range in north-east Italy. Val Gardena is the best base for most people, about an hour and a half by road from Innsbruck airport, with ADLER Dolomiti in Ortisei as our first choice. Hiking runs from late June to September and skiing from early December to early April.
Our first choice: ADLER Dolomiti in Val Gardena. Check availability and prices at ADLER Dolomiti
The Dolomites are a mountain range in north-eastern Italy, famous for pale limestone peaks that glow pink at sunset. The range has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2009, and it is one of the best places in Europe for both hiking and skiing.
For the full story, read our article on an Alpine holiday for nature lovers in the Dolomites. More ideas for the rest of the country are in our Italy travel guide.
The Dolomites lie mainly in the regions of Trentino-Alto Adige (South Tyrol) and Veneto, close to the Austrian border. German and Ladin are spoken alongside Italian in many valleys, which gives the area a character of its own.
The nearest large airports are Venice, Verona and Innsbruck, and Bolzano has a small airport close to Val Gardena. From the big airports it takes roughly two to three hours by car or bus to the main valleys.
British Airways flies to Venice from Gatwick and Manchester and to Verona from Gatwick, and Ryanair flies to Verona from Stansted, according to the tourist board for Merano and South Tyrol. Airlines change their routes each season, so check the current schedule before you book.
To Val Gardena, Innsbruck is the shortest drive of the big airports at about an hour and a half, and Venice takes about two and a half hours, according to Jet2 Holidays. Bolzano has its own small airport, and the transfer from there to Val Gardena takes about 35 minutes, according to the Val Gardena tourist board. Check whether it has flights from your UK airport.
Hike to the Tre Cime di Lavaredo, the three famous peaks that are the symbol of the Dolomites.
Walk the high meadows of Alpe di Siusi, the largest high-altitude alpine pasture in Europe.
Climb a via ferrata. Many of the routes follow paths and ladders built during the First World War.
Spend a night in a rifugio, a mountain hut with simple rooms and hearty food.
See the green water of Lago di Braies, one of the most photographed lakes in the Alps.
Ski the Dolomiti Superski area, with hundreds of kilometres of linked slopes, including the Sella Ronda circuit.
Choose your base by what you want to do. Cortina d'Ampezzo is the classic resort town, Val Gardena and Alta Badia are popular for skiing and hiking, and Val di Funes is quiet with views of the Odle peaks. Many hotels offer half board and spa areas.
ADLER sits in the centre of Ortisei and has a large spa, and Hotels.com lists ski-in/ski-out access. Val Gardena is on the Sella Ronda circuit, so this is the base for anyone who wants a full day on the loop. In summer the same valley is the way up to Alpe di Siusi.
COMO Alpina stands in the middle of the Alpe di Siusi plateau, and Hotels.com lists ski-in/ski-out access. It suits calm days on gentle slopes and long walks in summer rather than a busy village. Our guide to COMO Alpina Dolomites has more.
Rosapetra sits at the edge of the forest just outside the centre of Cortina, with a spa, and Hotels.com lists a free ski shuttle. It suits anyone who wants Cortina's restaurants and shops close by but a base away from the main street.
For hiking, the best time is from late June to September, when the mountain huts and lifts are open. July and August are the busiest months. The ski season usually runs from early December to early April.
Once the cable car has gone down for the evening, hotel guests have Europe's largest high alpine meadow almost to themselves. Read more about COMO Alpina Dolomites on Alpe di Siusi.
Skiing the Sella Ronda: ADLER Dolomiti in Val Gardena. The valley sits on the circuit, and the hotel has ski-in/ski-out access according to Hotels.com.
Calm days, beginners and families: COMO Alpina Dolomites on Alpe di Siusi, where the slopes are gentle and the hotel stands in the middle of the plateau.
A town with restaurants and shops: Rosapetra Spa Resort near Cortina d'Ampezzo, with a free ski shuttle and a spa for the evening.
The trade-off: Cortina sits outside the Sella Ronda circuit, so choose Val Gardena if the circuit is the plan.
The Dolomites are in north-eastern Italy, mainly in the regions of Trentino-Alto Adige and Veneto, close to the border with Austria. In South Tyrol many people speak German, so place names often have both an Italian and a German form. The nearest airports are Venice, Verona, Innsbruck and Bolzano.
A car gives you the most freedom, but buses connect most valleys in summer and winter, and lifts take you high into the mountains. Some popular passes and lakes have limited access or paid parking in high season.
Yes, the Dolomites suit beginners well. There are easy walks between mountain huts in summer and gentle, well-groomed slopes in winter, especially in Alta Badia and Val Gardena, plus ski schools in every valley. Experienced mountaineers get demanding routes and via ferratas, so mixed groups are easy to please.
Choose your base by what you want to do: Cortina d’Ampezzo is elegant with plenty of restaurants, Val Gardena with Ortisei and Selva suits skiing and hiking around the Sella massif, and Alta Badia is known for great food and family-friendly slopes. You will usually want a car to move between the valleys. Read more in the Dolomites: an Alpine holiday for nature lovers.
Fly to Innsbruck, Venice or Verona and continue by hire car, bus or pre-booked transfer. Innsbruck is about an hour and a half from Val Gardena by road and Venice about two and a half hours, according to Jet2 Holidays. Bolzano has a small airport about 35 minutes from Val Gardena, so check whether it has flights from your UK airport.
The airport transfer times come from Jet2 Holidays and the Val Gardena tourist board. The airlines that fly from the UK come from the tourist board for Merano and South Tyrol. Hotel facts, including ski-in/ski-out access and the ski shuttle, come from Hotels.com. The comparison of the bases and our picks are Picolo's own. Hotel details last checked 8 November 2026.
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The Dolomites is Italy's largest and most dramatic mountain range. If you love both activity and nature, we are talking about a paradise for everything from cycling and climbing to alpine skiing and air sports.
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