Guide

Tour Leaders are quite simply the glue that holds our tours together. They are chosen for their travel experience and people skills and are thoroughly trained by Explore, widely acknowledged as some of the best training in the industry. A Tour Leader's ultimate aim is to ensure everyone is well looked after and have a fantastic trip. They are there to ensure that the tour logistics run smoothly, that health and safety is adhered to and provide comprehensive briefings at the beginning and throughout the tour.

Meals

A key facet of our responsible approach to tourism is that we encourage our groups to eat in local restaurants that prepare locally grown food. We give customers choice as to their meals and do not use rather bland and impersonal hotel restaurants or all- inclusive options 7 Breakfasts 5 Lunches 4 Dinners

Others

All accommodation, activities and meals that are shown in the itinerary are included in the total cost of your trip You will also receive a complimentary transfer to and from the airport if you arrive on day 1 of the trip and depart on the last day and have provided your international flight information.

Optional

The following excursions and/or activities are usually available and may be arranged locally. Estimated costs are provided below for guidance only, are on a per person basis unless shown otherwise, and may depend on the number of participants. Prices quoted are correct as of the date these tour notes were originally issued but may change at any time due to currency fluctuations. Please note: These activities are booked and paid for direct with the supplier and do not form part of your Explore holiday contract. Cortina: one of Italy's premier ski resorts: public transport, 1 hour each way, €8 return journey. Lienz: charming medieval town in Austria with churches & museums: public transport, 1 hour each way, €10 return journey. Bolzano: 5000 year old ice man: public transport, 2 hours each way (covered by your free weekly travelpass), 9 euros ice man museum entrance. Monte Piana - WWI remains. Jeep from Misurina €12 both ways Brunico - Messner's museum €9.00

Transport

Bus, Public Bus, Train

Accommodation

7 nights standard hotel Our comfortable, mid- range accommodation offers a good level of service, often with amenities such as, restaurant, bar, garden or swimming pool. Rooms generally have en-suite facilities.

Not included:

Others

Any visa costs, spending money and tips are not included in the trip price. You can also book extra nights’ accommodation at the beginning and end of the trip and the cost of this accommodation along with any transfers would be quoted separately.

Flights

International flights not included in the tour cost

Insurance

Travel Insurance is not included

Start planning your experience

Day 1 Day 1: Join Trip In Venice; Drive To Dobbiaco (1200M)
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 1: Join Trip In Venice; Drive To Dobbiaco (1200M)

Our trip begins in the Arrivals Hall at Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) at 15.45pm. Your tour leader will meet you by the waterfalls in the Arrivals Hall near the red fronted Relay shop (currently no water is flowing at the waterfalls due to Covid restrictions). Please note that it can be extremely busy by the main exit from the luggage area, do not leave the building (some airport staff might try to direct you to the Water Tower in the car park). If you would like to join the complimentary airport transfer today, the latest your flight can arrive is 15.15 pm. We will travel together as a group (around three hours' drive) t o our hotel in Dobbiaco (1217m). Located in the far north of Italy, we are close to the border with Austria. There are great views of the mountains from our hotel and it is well-located for all the shops, restaurants and other facilities in the town. There will be a short briefing on arrival by our trip Leader about the week ahead.
Day 2 Day 2: Walk To The Shores Of Emerald Green Lake Braies
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 2: Walk To The Shores Of Emerald Green Lake Braies

Taking the public bus we travel to Ferrara to begin our walk to Lake Braies (1494m). We make our way through the fields and forest paths to arrive at the grandeur of the hotel at the head of Lake Braies - a justifiably popular lake spot with high sided cliffs and deep green emerald waters. We have lunch and explore further around the lake before taking the public bus back to our hotel. Today's 14 kilometre walk is expected to take around five hours with a total ascent and descent of 450 metres.
Day 3 Day 3: Trek Through Forest And Alpine Meadows To The Putzalm Hut
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 3: Trek Through Forest And Alpine Meadows To The Putzalm Hut

We take a local bus this morning to the old spa town of Altprags from where we climb up through beautiful flower meadows and on through forests to reach the lovely Putzalm hut for a well-earned coffee break. We then continue climbing to reach the tree line and shortly after, the pass of Suisridl, a little over 2000 metres and a beautiful picnic spot. We descend on paths and tracks through the forests and the cross-country ski area to return to our hotel. Today's 12.5 kilometre walk is expected to take around six hours with a total ascent and descent of 750 metres.
Day 4 Day 4: Ridge Walk Along The Austria/Italian Border
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 4: Ridge Walk Along The Austria/Italian Border

We take a bus to Sesto and then a cable car to the top station of approximately 2000 metres and then ascend Mt Elmo at 2434m. Our walk takes us along a ridge that marks the border between Austria and Italy and has a number of bunkers and look-out posts from WW1. There is also a great and unusual photo opportunity - a foot in both countries! After walking the ridge and possibly bagging another summit we descend into quiet valleys echoing with the shrill whistle of the elusive marmot, the eagle-eyed may well spot one sat sentry on a rock. We return to a different cable car for a descent to the valley floor and a public bus back to Dobbiaco. Today's 11 kilometre walk is expected to take around six hours with a total ascent of 680 metres and a descent of 700 metres.
Day 5 Day 5: Free Day: Optional Cycling Or Visits To Cortina, Lienz And Bolzano
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 5: Free Day: Optional Cycling Or Visits To Cortina, Lienz And Bolzano

Today is an opportunity to either rest your legs and explore the cultural side of the region or keep up the activity levels and try some biking. A popular cycling day is the 50km cycle ride to the Austrian town of Lienz. This gentle descent follows a well-made cycle track which is traffic free and pretty much all downhill. Taking between 2.5 and 3.5 hours, most people will arrive in time for lunch. The train will take the strain for the return trip and the local rental company will collect the rental bikes from Lienz. A pair of cycling shorts and cycling gloves are recommended for this trip. The town of Brunico hosts one of Reinhold Messner's mountain museums and is a short 30-minute train journey away. The pedestrianised main street leads to the castle atop the hill overlooking the town, the old castle's rooms contain interesting exhibitions celebrating the mountain peoples of the world as well as displaying some of the expedition equipment used on his epic oxygen-free ascents of the world's 14 8000 metre peaks. A longer journey to Bolzano allows you to visit the museum of the 'Iceman' discovered in the Schnalstal Glacier in the Otztal Alps in 1991. At over 5000 years old, he is Europe's oldest natural human mummy and the discovery of his body, along with the remnants of his weapons and clothing has helped to throw some light on the life and times of the region's Chalcolithic (Copper Age) Europeans. For those interested in the battlefields of the 'White War,' as the conflict of 1915-17 in these mountains was known, a visit to Monte Piano via a bus journey and 4x4 shuttle can be arranged. This open-air museum commemorates the 14,000 soldiers who lost their lives to enemy action and the environment with well-preserved battlefield trenches, look-out posts and troop shelters. The nearby town of San Candido, barely five minutes by train, is another popular destination for a spot of shopping on a slightly larger scale than Dobbiaco. Pedestrianised streets, street cafés and restaurants invite you to linger for a lazy lunch as the world passes by. Perfect for a relaxing day off. Less than an hour by public bus, Cortina is a world-renowned glamourous spot. The streets ooze high class shopping experiences and the cafes invite you to stay and people watch. With the 2026 Winter Olympics being part-hosted here, there's a buzz and flurry of activity that is infectious and exciting. Alternatively you can take further walks or stay at the hotel and make use of the indoor pool and spa.
Day 6 Day 6: Trek Around The Three Iconic Limestone Peaks Of Tre Cime
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 6: Trek Around The Three Iconic Limestone Peaks Of Tre Cime

We take the bus to the Auronzo hut at 2320m, just below the famed UNESCO site of the Tre Cime de Lavaredo. From here we take a quieter path to the most impressive north faces of the Tre Cime and pass the Langalm hut before following another less well-known path to reach the Locatelli hut and a picnic spot near the lake. After lunch we take a small path, looping around Torre di Toblin and have some time to explore various Austrian WW1 defences. We return to the Auronzo hut via the south faces of the Tre Cime and a complete loop of the most iconic mountains in the Dolomites. From here we return to Dobbiaco via the shuttle bus service. Today's 13 kilometre walk is expected to take around seven hours with a total ascent and descent of 500 metres.
Day 7 Day 7: Trek From Pratopiazza To Strudelkopf Summit
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 7: Trek From Pratopiazza To Strudelkopf Summit

We take the public bus to Pratopiazza (1991m) - approximately 50 minutes - and walk a high-level track to the Durrenstein hut (2040m). From here we make a climb to the summit of Strudelkopf - a fabulous summit at 2307m. The panoramic views are superb and we can see the Tre Cime in the near distance. We descend via a military road and a choice of either a return on the same outward bus or an additional 4km descent through the forests and along the riverside to Brukele and a bus back to Dobbiaco. Today's 11 kilometre walk is expected to take around six hours with a total ascent of 480 metres and a descent of 1000 metres.
Day 8 Day 8: Trip Ends At Venice Airport
12:00 am - 11:59 pm

Day 8: Trip Ends At Venice Airport

Departing Dobiacco this morning we drive to Venice Marco Polo Airport (VCE) where we will arrive about at 13.45 pm and this is where the holiday ends. The earliest time you should book a flight to depart today is 15.45 pm.

8 days tour

Hiking In The Dolomites

This tour includes:

Not included:

Start planning your experience

Itinerary of your trip Hiking In The Dolomites

Day 1: Join Trip In Venice; Drive To Dobbiaco (1200M)

Day 2: Walk To The Shores Of Emerald Green Lake Braies

Day 3: Trek Through Forest And Alpine Meadows To The Putzalm Hut

Day 4: Ridge Walk Along The Austria/Italian Border

Day 5: Free Day: Optional Cycling Or Visits To Cortina, Lienz And Bolzano

Day 6: Trek Around The Three Iconic Limestone Peaks Of Tre Cime

Day 7: Trek From Pratopiazza To Strudelkopf Summit

Day 8: Trip Ends At Venice Airport

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