15 Most Photogenic Mountain Huts In The Italian Dolomites

45 Comments

1. This is probably the best website covering all the Refugio in Dolomites. Your article covers them very well. Thanks for maintaining this very informative website.
   It seems end of may I may not have any choice as most of the huts are closed.
   For a general advice – if I plan to visit and hike around Dolomites in the last week of May, is that place accessible for hiking? I am planning to cover Tre Cime di Lavaredo & Cadini Peaks, Lago di Braies & Santa Magdalena Village & Lago di Carezza and Seceda & Alpe di Siusi.
   Pls advice. Thanks in advance.

   • Hi Jyoti. Thanks for stopping by. Whilst May is not an ideal month for hiking yet, especially if you plan on doing some summits, most places you enlisted will already be accessible. The Furnes-Seceda gondola starts running in the last week of May. Siusi is a high alpine plateau which you can drive to (within certain times). Lago Di Braies, Carezza and Santa Magdalena village will all be fine to visit, those are year round places. The only one that might not be accessible yet is the road to rifugio Auronzo, but then you can just hike up. All the places you enlisted are very touristy and stay accessible for a longer time period than others.

2. Hi!
   Thank you so much for all the valuable information on your website. I was wondering, if you do a multiday trek, is it possible to buy lunch in each hut that you stayed in overnight for the following day? So that we don’t have to carry cooking equipment and so on.
   Marieke

   • Hi Marieke. Yes absolutely, You can order a packed lunch for the next day or simply eat lunch in whichever hut you get to next along the way. The huts are usually spread around every 1-4 hours in between one another.

3. Hi Marta! We are visiting the Dolomites this Summer with our 2.5-year-old in tow. Are there any huts in particular you would recommend with a toddler or should we just skip it this trip? We’re a very active family and we do have a hotel booked the whole time so we could just go for dinner. It’s hard to know based on the descriptions! Thanks for any help you can provide. Your website is fantastic

   • hi Danielle. I’d probably recommend huts that you can get to with a gondola/chairlift or a car and just do walks from there. There are a lot of them in the Dolomites. Just a few of the top of my head: Paolina, Kölnerhuette, Lagazuoi, Scoiatolli, Col De Varda, Auronzo, Son Forca, Pomedes, Dibona, Duca D’Aosta, Rosetta. You would probably also have to book a private room. I hope that helps

4. Hi! Thank you so much for the amazing information!

   Is it possible to stay in the huts before the summer season starts? I’m planning to visit Dolomites in the first week of June.

   Thanks!

   • Hi AJ. I would recommend that you look into my Rosengarten Traverse. Some huts already open there at the end of May.
     Start of June is usually when the staff starts working on reopening the huts so I wouldn’t count on staying in winter rooms then.

5. Marta, WOW! Your website and this information is amazing! I’ve been dreaming of going to Italy my whole life but of course have only ever imagined the “typicals” like Tuscany, Venice etc! To be honest, embarrassingly, I didn’t even know about the Dolomites region, nor have I ever heard in my life about these mountain hut hikes — so my mind is pretty blown right now! My husband’s one request for our 3-week trip this August was “hiking” so we are now shifting some of our itinerary to the Northern region! I don’t know much about how this works, wondering if you could guide me on getting started? We are planning to: start in Florence, head to the Dolomites and then fly out of Venice. Thinking 3 full days and 4 nights in Dolomites. We were suggested to look into staying in Ortisei or Cortina. Any suggestions on which town to stay in? How would you use the 3 days to incorporate a hut hike? (Which ones? And how does it work exactly?) I really appreciate all of your information and will keep reading through the site as I research! Thanks so much!!!

   • Also, I wanted to add that we are flexible with our itinerary and open to adding another day to the Dolomites!!

   • Hi Katy! Thanks so much for your feedback and I am glad it inspired you to visit the Dolomites. It’s lovely out there! Now for your question. Before I answer it, can you let me know if you are looking at staying in a hut overnight, or do you just want to do day hikes? Have you had a look at my article about the best place to stay in the Dolomites? Looking forward to your answers and we can take it from there 🙂

     • Thank you so much for your reply Marta! You’re the best and I’d love to know how I can make a donation/best support your blog!

       To answer your question, I was initially thinking of staying in a town and doing day hikes, however, after discovering the hut hikes we are very interested in doing one overnight. Perhaps since our time isn’t too long in the Dolomites (and we are novice hikers at best) we would only visit one of these mountain huts overnight. I’ve heard you can do hut-to-hut sleeping as you go, but I’m thinking that might not be a good fit for us this time around.

       The Dolomites will be the last stop on our 3-week trip. We are planning on 50lb packs vs suitcases, however, we weren’t planning to bring hiking gear beyond good shoes and adaptable clothing. We are athletic and in good shape, however, we don’t have any rock climbing or advanced hiking skills — I’m not sure we would want to do the via ferratas! Maybe only up to level 1.

       Thank you for sharing the link to that blog post! I just read the whole thing! I’m feeling like Cortina or Ortisei might still give us the best options. Very curious your thoughts! Here’s what we are looking for overall:

       *4-5 nights
       *Moderate budget (prefer not to spend an arm and a leg)
       *Easy to reach our in and out points via public transport (coming from Florence & leaving from Venice)
       *Not planning to rent a car, but we are open to it
       *Accessible, beautiful day hikes with mountain views
       *Not as interested in lake views
       *Option to do an overnight at a mountain hut
       *Would love other activities to do in the town or surrounding area for a relaxing day with no hikes

       Questions:
       – Any suggestions on where we should stay? And overnight mountain hut from that spot?
       – If we did a hut hike, I’m struggling to understand what we would do with our luggage that isn’t for the actual hike or if there’s anywhere to store it? Maybe just back at our base hotel?
       – Do people ever get lost doing the hut hikes? I saw one hut that looked extremely remote and I’m just wondering how people find their way!

       Thank you again x a million!

       • Hi Katy.
         I thought for some time what to recommend you and here are some options:
         1: Val Gardena (any town: Ortisei, Santa Cristina or Selva) will be a good base for these overnight hikes
         option 1: gondola up to Seceda (from Ortisei) then hike to rifugio Genova. Stay overnight and hike back to Ortisei via the Adolf Munkel Trail. This would be a circuit around the Seceda ridgeline. Once in rifugio Genova if you were up for a longer hike you could go to the lower summit of Sass Di Putia.
         option 2: Vallunga to rifugio Puez then the next day hike to rifugio Firenze and down to Santa Cristina.
         option 3: Bus from Ortisei to Passo Sella and hike part of the Sassolungo circuit then veer off and go to rifugio Alpe Di Tires. The next day hike out across the Alpi Di Siusi back to Ortisei.
         A map of Val Gardena would be useful to visualize these options. It’s the Tabacco map no. 05 and you can order it on amazon.. You can search for the names of these places using the search button on my site (for example rifugio Alpe Di Tires you will be shown the article about the best mountain huts in the Dolomites etc, so you can get a clue where these places are and how do they look like). If you book the same hotel before and after the overnight hut hike you can easily leave the things that you won’t need in a hotel. Most hotels have storage rooms. I do recommend contacting the hotel beforehand though to double-check.

         Now overnight hut hikes for Cortina.
         1. Croda Da Lago Circuit and a stay at rifugio Palmieri.
         2. Bus from Cortina to Sesto then hike along the Croda Fiscalina circuit. Stay overnight at Pian Di Ciengia. The next day’s hike from Pian Di Ciengia passes rifugio Locatelli to Rifugio Lavaredo then Auronzo then takes the bus back to Cortina. You can also hike down from Auronzo to Lake Antorno and catch a bus from there. This would probably be my no. 1 recommendation because of the views. However, rifugios in this area are notoriously difficult to reserve.

         Now for your last question. There are so many trails in the Dolomites that it might be confusing. However, if you know where you are going you should have zero problems. There are A LOT of signs everywhere. You just need to know the next point of interest. For example along the Croda Fisalina circuit, you usually have signs pointing to the huts so you need to know the name of the huts that you will be crossing then it is super easy. If you don’t know the name of the place where you are heading then you will get lost. I hope that explains it 🙂

         As for your question about supporting my work in the bottom left corner (if you use a desktop computer) there is a green button that says support me where you can make a donation. Another way is to book your hotel stays through my affiliate links (even if you book different hotels to the ones I recommend)
         Let me know if you have more questions.

         • Thank you so, so much Marta for all of this amazing information!! We just spent the evening looking into all of your suggestions and reading your blog. I wish I would have discovered the Dolomites sooner because as they say, we are having quite a difficult time finding much available on Booking.com for accommodation within our budget. We are looking to be in the area the week of August 14th. It was particularly hard to find much around Cortina. Also, wow the prices in that area! There seem to be at least a few good options for our budget remaining in the Val Gardena area (ideally $200-$350 per night max).

           I was wondering —

           If we stay somewhere like Selva or San Christina and we don’t have a car, can we use Uber to get around? Or are there buses into Ortisei to reach the lifts?

           There seemed to be a lot of accommodations left in Bolzano in our price range — is that an area worth staying in with good day hikes?

           Lastly, the rifugios are amazing and our intention is really to be in nature! The prices are so much more budget-friendly too. Are there any rifugios it would make sense to stay at for multiple nights? I’m thinking if we booked a hotel in town for our first and last night (and stored our luggage there, as you suggested) maybe we could sleep on the cheap at rifugios in the middle.

           Thoughts?

           Again, can’t say thank you enough for your help!

         • Hi Katy. August is the peak of travel time for Italian, as they are all on holiday. The same goes for French hence August is probably the most expensive time. Couple this with the increased prices after the pandemic. I was recently updating this post and was shocked at how much the prices have changed. From 45 Euros per night in 2019 to easily 70 or in some cases even 80 euros/per night in a hut. It is still a more affordable option than hotels.

           I don’t have any experience with uber in the Dolomites, but tbh I wouldn’t count on it. Public transport however is very good, so you will definitely be able to use that. A great app for finding bus connections is Sued Tirol Mobil.

           I wouldn’t recommend staying in Bolzano. It’s a city and whilst it is in a nice location, it is not in the Dolomites, and travel time back and forth would not make it worth it.

           Sure you could book the huts. Apart from the recommendations I gave you, I would also recommend that you check out rifugio Firenze which is a 30-minute walk from the Col Raiser gondola. You could stay there the first night, then hike to Genova the next day and from Genova back to Ortisei or Selva on the third day.

           There are also some huts that are on Passo Sella or Passo Gardena. Zoom in to google maps to see what they are. Wherever you stay there is always going to be a possibility to hike and explore.

           It’s also worth looking into some areas which aren’t as touristy as Cortina or Val Gardena for example San Martino Di Castrozza or Fierda Di Primero, Alleghe or villages in Val Fiorentina or Val Di Zoldo.

         • Makes perfect sense why those areas are so popular, and especially in the warm summer months for hiking! We’re excited to dip our toes in this time and will hopefully make our choices and get our bookings in soon! I’ll continue checking out the blog and let you know where we end up deciding to stay. Thanks so much for the recommendations on other huts and towns to consider as well. I’ll come back here first when booking accommodations to use your links!

         • Thanks for using the links Katy! Good luck with your planning and don’t hesitate to write again if any questions pop up!

         • Hi Marta, it’s me again! I wanted to say thank you for all your help and to let you know we booked lodging in Santa Cristina Gherdëina for this August! We took your advice to book 1 night, store our luggage the next day and depart for a mountain hut overnight and then return the following day back to our base hotel.

           I’m reviewing the 3 great options you suggested (will copy below) and am curious how these 3 rank in terms of difficulty (hardest to easiest) and out of all the rifugios listed, which is your favorite for an overnight stay?

           It’s so tough to decide but we are getting close to finalizing our itinerary! Thank you again!

           ****

           option 1: gondola up to Seceda (from Ortisei) then hike to rifugio Genova. Stay overnight and hike back to Ortisei via the Adolf Munkel Trail. This would be a circuit around the Seceda ridgeline. Once in rifugio Genova if you were up for a longer hike you could go to the lower summit of Sass Di Putia.

           option 2: Vallunga to rifugio Puez then the next day hike to rifugio Firenze and down to Santa Cristina.

           option 3: Bus from Ortisei to Passo Sella and hike part of the Sassolungo circuit then veer off and go to rifugio Alpe Di Tires. The next day hike out across the Alpi Di Siusi back to Ortisei.

         • Hi Katy. I imagine it’s difficult to choose, but don’t stress, whatever you go for you will find it amazing, I am sure of that.
           As for your questions. Out of the 3 Alpi Di Tires is definitely my favorite refuge, then Genova then Puez
           In terms of difficulty of the 3 trails the easiest would be no.3 then 1 then 2.

           I hope that helps!

6. Hey Marta, thanks for all of the amazing info. What would you recommend for a 2 night trip? Hoping for amazing views, a via ferrata, and not afraid of challenging hiking but I will only have 2 nights to spare. Thanks!

   • Hi Megan. I would recommend that you do the first 3 days of Alta Via 4 or another option is the Rosengarten Traverse, but starting on the first day with via ferrata Passo Santner then staying overnight in Rifugio Vajolet, then second day hiking from rifugio Vajolet to Rifugio Alpi Di Tires and doing via ferrata Sentiero Massimiliano in the afternoon. On the third day then hiking out to Ortisei. Let me know if I can help you further!

7. Hi thanks for the info! If we are traveling by bus to Corvara, which rifugio would be the easiest to get to from there? Also, since I am coming to Italy for my honeymoon, is there a place to store our suitcases while on a rifugio 2 day trip (since we would only be taking a backpack for that)?

   • Hi Sara. Thanks for visiting. Most of the time you can just leave your bags at the last hotel where you stayed. They usually have some kind of storage rooms as many people do what you are planning. As for the nearest huts, there are loads. If you want to do a great via ferrata then I recommend VF Brigata Tridentina then a stay in rifugio Pisciadiu. From the hut you can summit Cima Piscadiu as an extension then hike down to Corvara the next day.
     Another one is Rifugio Puez which you can access from Colfosco (you can do via ferrata Sassongher along the way).
     Staying at rifugio Capanna Fassa on the top of Piz Boe (I have a post about it in the day hikes in the Dolomites category), or rifugio Piz Boe which is 300 vertical meters below the summit, is also an option. You can access both huts from Passo Gardena which is easily accessible by bus from Corvara. I hope that helps.

8. Hello! My partner and I are going to Italy on the 30th of September. We were hoping to do a hut to hut hike for around 4 days – do you have any recommendations? We are concerned about the weather, and places being closed at that time of year. We would consider basing ourselves in one place and doing walks from there if that is more suitable but we would love to have the hut to hut experience! I have loved reading your articles and appreciate any advice you could give us!

   • Hi Hannah! Thanks for stopping by. Whilst It can already be quite cold in the mountains during that time, September is still a very good time to hike in the Dolomites. I actually find the weather in September and October the most stable as by then the summer storms which occur so frequently in June and July and some parts of August are mostly gone and it is also not scorching hot during that time. I myself have done the Rosengarten Traverse at the start of October so I would recommend you check out that article on my site. In the comment sections, you will find my suggestion on how to turn this traverse into a 3 day trip without doing via ferratas, if they are not something you are after!.

     • Hi Marta! Thank you for the tips! Sadly Passo Principe’s last night of opening is Oct 1 and I think the soonest we can get there would be Oct 3rd. Which rifugio would be the best alternative? Also we are coming from Munich and will need to hire via ferrata equipment. Does it make sense to train from Munich to Bolzano, hire gear and drop luggage in Bolzano, then make our way to Carezza? Or is there somewhere else that would be more convenient as we will have to get back there after hiking? Thank you again for your help!

       • Hi Hannah. I just read on the website (german version) that they stay open until mid-October, where did you get the information that they close on October 1st? If that’s the case rifugio Vajolet should still be open.
         You can take a train to Bolzano and then travel by public transport to the Dolomites. I would recommend leaving your luggage at a hotel somewhere in Campitello di Fassa or Moena (wherever you decide to stay). Basically any villages in Val Di Fassa, close to where the hike through Rosengarten begins.

         • Hi Marta! I emailed Passo Principe and sadly they told me this year their last night will be October 1st. I will check out rifugio Vajolet thank you. Do you know if there is any way to get someone to teach us the ropes of via ferrata? Perhaps hire shops would show us? My partner is an experienced climber, I have been climbing a handful of times and neither of us have via ferrata experience. Thank you again.

         • Fingers crossed for Vajolet. Principe should update their site. However, considering that most sites, that belong to the huts in the Dolomites, look like they were designed 2 decades ago, it probably won’t happen 😉 As for the via Ferrata question. I have a beginner’s guide on my site. If you are climbers you will have no problem whatsoever. You can watch a youtube video on clipping in and out of the cables. It’s really just one move with one hand. I recommend getting a lanyard with the quick-release carabiners/handles, not the screw locks. Look into my beginner’s guide it will answer a lot of your questions, then practice at home and when in field, choose an easy ferrata to begin with.

         • Hi again Marta! Hopefully this is the last of my questions. The beginner’s guide to via ferratas was incredibly helpful! We have found availability at Rifugio Santerpass, I know you haven’t stayed yet but it looks like they are open from their renovations! So we are thinking night 1 at rifugio Santerpass and night 2 at Alpe di Tires. Do you think that would make the first day too short if starting from the König Laurin chairlift, or could we incorporate a via ferrata that day to make it longer? Similarly, do you think Santerpass to Alpe di Tires is too long of a day? We are so grateful for your advice! Your website if the most useful information we have found by far!

         • Hi Hannah. Congrats on securing the reservation. The ferrata will take 2-3 hours (without stops) depending on how fast you are. I just recently had a report from one of my readers that it took them 6. It really is up to how fast people are and how many stops they do. To me, this would be a short day, but you can still explore the area around the Vajolet towers, and enjoy the sunset with the most spectacular review in the whole of Rosengarten.

           It’s totally doable to walk from Santner Pass to Alpe Di Tires in one day providing you will only hike and not do the via ferrata Catinnaccio as an extension which I talk about in my guide. If you want to do it then try to get a reservation at rifugio Passo Principe, my favourite one in the Rosengarten group! I hope that helps!

9. Hello! I am planning a road-trip through Northern/Central Italy for my honeymoon and we will just have a few days in the Dolomites. I am planning to do just two nights near Cortina but would love to stay in a refugio for these two nights as basecamp and do day hikes from there. Are there any you would recommend that are easily accessible by car? I’ve looked into a few like Passo Giau (available for one of the nights we need but not both) and Lagazuoi (totally booked). Are there any others you recommend I look into? Or one that we might do for 1 night along with Passo Giau? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

   Thank you!

   • Hi Kelly. I recommend that you try either rifugio Son Forca (you can reach it with a chairlift and park at the bottom of the chairlift) or rifugio Duca D’Aosta. Similarly you can reach it with a cable car. The latter has awesome views of the jagged Croda Da Lago. Rifugio Ivano Dibona can be reached with a car, however, your car has to be lowed than 2.5 meter (Any standard car is lower than that) so no campervans. Another one, off the top of my head, is rifugio Auronzo which you can reach with a car. It’s around 30 minute drive from Cortina. It’s a great place to start the Tre Cime circuit. Last but not least rifugio Platzwiese. A great spot to start Durrenstein summit hike. By the way you can read about Tre Cime Circuit and Durrenstein summit hike in the day hikes in the Dolomites category in my Italian Dolomites Guide. I hope that gives you plenty of choices! Let me know if I can help further! Good luck with bookings!

10. Thank you for this great article.
    As a landscape photographer I am really looking forward to visiting the Dolimiti. Now, I have never been there and there are so many amazing places. If you were to go for the first time, where would you go to spend 5-7 days? Of course, I am looking forward to speechless scenery. Thank you!

    • Hi Fabrizio. Thanks for visiting. Cortina is a great way to start with as it offers access to many great photography spots. Villages in Val Gardena are the second option if you want to be close to some great photography spots. However in my opinion it is best to do a road trip around the Dolomites and spend 1-2 days at each location. I hope that helps!

11. Cześć Marta,

    Greetings from Warsaw 🙂

    Thank you so much for this blog, it is really helpful. the images from dolomites are absolutely stunning. I’m planning on a hiking and photography trip in next few weeks and this really helps an amateur like me. I wanted to also check if you organise any photography workshops? I would be interested to join.

    Stay Safe and best wishes

    Kind regards,
    Praveen

    • Cześć Praveen! Thanks for stopping by my site and for your lovely feedback. Unfortunately, I do not organize any photography workshops at this time but I do appreciate your interest. I hope you will check the Dolomites out nevertheless and have a wonderful time!

12. I would love to stay at Campanna Fassa as it looks amazing. I am wondering if there would be enough time in the day if we were doing either Vallelunga or Seceda as a day hike in the morning, could you get to the Cable car sass and get to this rifugio in a reasonable time to spend the evening & night there? Or do you think this would be too rushed in the same day? We are unsure yet if we will be hiring a car or relying on public transit. Thanks again for all of your phenomenal work on this website.

    • Hi Paula. It’s definitely doable. After your Rosengarten Traverse I would suggest that you finish it in Ortisei, stay the night there and then from Ortisei you can reach Seceda with the Furnes -Seceda Cable car. Buy a one way ticket. You can then hike to rifugio Firenze and to the top of Col Raiser gondola which will take you down to the valley (again one way ticket) From here you catch the transport to Passo Pordoi and from Passo Pordoi you take the Sass Pordoi Cable car. It takes max 2 hours to reach the Piz Boe hut but for fit hikers a lot less (it took me 1 hour). From what it seems I actually would recommend that you travel around with public transport because the car might become a liability, especially since you plan on staying a lot in the huts.

13. Your website is exquisite! I’m finally getting to explore Europe after living all my life in the U.S. and it’s overwhelming (in the best way possible) how much there is to do and see, so sites like yours are a Godsend. If doing hut to hut treks during summer seasons, do you need to bring any mountaineering equipment? (I noticed you had a helmet in a few of your photos)

    • Hi Galina! Thanks for your awesome feedback. Yes, Europe is amazing and there is loads to do around here! As for your question. It depends on a route. What you can see me wearing is a helmet, harness and a lanyard which is used on the via ferrata sections on some of the multiday hikes. Alta Via 1 doesn’t have any sections of via ferrata so if you don’t want to carry any equipment just look into that one! I have a whole best about top multiday hikes in the Italian Dolomites. Make sure to check it out!

14. Hi Marta,

    Thanks for the great information! Are reservations typically needed in early-mid September or does the hiking traffic decrease quite a bit by then?

    • Hi Vance, It depends on a mountain hut. The busy ones such as Lagazuoi or Locatelli are busy throughout the whole season, but the quieter ones don’t require a reservation in September and you could just call a few days before. With that said though you have to bear in mind that after the pandemic it’s all a bit crazy because a lot of people have been putting off their trips for a while. I was reading reports just today that my friends couldn’t book anything within a reasonable range for their trip to Seville and they are there now when it is still technically low season. I hope that helps! Let me know if you have more questions.

15. If you were able to get reservations to both Locatelli and Lavaredo huts which one would you choose? Either works scheduling wise- we are mostly wondering about comfort and food (although I’ve heard the food is better at Locatelli, I’m wondering if the comfort at Lavaredo is enough to make up for it) Having a really hard time deciding! Thanks for all the great blog posts!

    • Hi Amanda. Locatelli is a very busy refuge. A LOT of day hikers pass this place. Lavaredo even tho it’s on the same route it is a lot quieter. Both have fantastic views. Lavaredo is a private refuge and those generally are a lot more luxurious and offer more food variety. The food at Locatelli was very general and same as all the other huts belonging to Club Alpino Italiano. I hope this will help you make a decision.