A rocky peak rising above green pastures at Passo Giau under a blue sky with white clouds.

Trips · Italy

The Dolomites, from Cortina to Val di Funes.

A round trip by car from Venice: two nights in Cortina d’Ampezzo for the Tre Cime, three in Val Gardena for Seceda, the Alpe di Siusi and Val di Funes.

Why go

We love mountains. No, we really love mountains.

But the Dolomites are the mother of all mountain ranges, and maybe the most magical we’ve visited to date. Much of the Alps is dark granite and gneiss. The Dolomites are pale rock built from ancient coral reefs, which grew in a tropical sea around 250 million years ago and were later pushed up into sheer towers and spires. At sunrise and sunset the rock glows pink, which the locals call enrosadira. UNESCO made the Dolomites a World Heritage Site in 2009.

And they’re big mountains you can actually get to. Mountain roads and cable cars do most of the climbing, so the walks start high: a lake under the peaks at Misurina, the ridge at Seceda, the meadows of the Alpe di Siusi. In between, Cortina d’Ampezzo and the villages of Val Gardena, and one early start for sunrise over Santa Maddalena in Val di Funes.

The route

  1. Venice · 1 night · fly in, then pick up the car
  2. Venice to Cortina d’Ampezzo · 2½ to 3 hours by car
  3. Cortina d’Ampezzo · 2 nights · Lake Misurina and the Tre Cime di Lavaredo
  4. Over Passo Giau to Val Gardena · 3 to 4 hours with photo stops
  5. Ortisei, Val Gardena · 3 nights · Seceda, the Alpe di Siusi, Selva and Val di Funes
  6. Back to Venice · about 3 hours by car · fly home

Six nights, round trip from Venice. Returning the car where you picked it up avoids a one-way rental fee.

What we’d skip

  • Lago di Carezza. The lake itself was a bit underwhelming. Skip it unless you’re planning to hike there.

Best time to go

  • Summer, late June to mid-September. Hiking season: the cable cars and mountain huts are open and the passes are clear. July and August are the busiest, especially around the Italian holiday of Ferragosto in mid-August.
  • September. Usually settled weather and thinner crowds. Lifts and huts start closing from mid-September, so check before you plan a hike around one.
  • Spring and late autumn. The quietest months, but many lifts and huts are closed, and snow can linger on high trails into June.
  • Winter, December to March. A great time if you enjoy skiing. Cortina co-hosted the 2026 Winter Olympics, and the Sella Ronda ski circuit runs right around Val Gardena.

We went at the end of August, into the first days of September, and avoided some of the summer crowds.

More of Italy

We’ve traveled to Italy more than to any other country. Ceci can also help you plan trips to Puglia, Umbria, the Amalfi Coast, the Italian Riviera and the Italian Lakes, to name a few.

A street of painted buildings in Cortina d’Ampezzo, a pale Dolomite peak framed at the end.
Cortina d’Ampezzo.
The church bell tower in Cortina d’Ampezzo rising above the town centre.
Cortina d’Ampezzo.
Ceci with both arms raised in front of grey Dolomite peaks near the Tre Cime.
Near the Tre Cime.
Ceci smiling by Lake Misurina, the lakeshore and forested hills behind her.
Lake Misurina.
A small stone chapel with a bell tower near the Tre Cime, a hiker on the path and grey peaks behind.
The chapel below the Tre Cime.
Ceci in a red dress beside red geraniums in Selva, green slopes behind her.
Selva, Val Gardena.
The sharp, tilted ridge of Seceda above steep green slopes.
Seceda.
Ceci on a hiking trail below the Seceda ridge, green slopes rising behind her.
Below Seceda.
Two old wooden huts on a slope near Seceda, a distant peak across the valley.
Huts near Seceda.
Ceci and Scott sitting on a bench among pale rocks in Val Gardena.
Val Gardena.
A horse grazing on the Alpe di Siusi in golden evening light, a cable car cabin passing overhead.
Alpe di Siusi, evening.
Ceci in a dark coat looking back over her shoulder on the Alpe di Siusi, meadows and chalets behind her.
Alpe di Siusi.
Santa Maddalena in Val di Funes, a white church among green meadows below jagged peaks.
Val di Funes.
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