Italian Dolomites and Venice Walk

On arrival you will have your transfer arranged to take you to your Venice Hotel. A water taxi will take you straight from the airport water dock along the Venice waterways. It's an intriguing boat ride through Venice's canals to get to our home for the next two nights - right in the heart of Old Town Venice.

A historical residence near the Rialto, Ca’Favretto, the Hotel San Cassiano is an elegant 4-start hotel in Venice. The former home of the most important Venetian artists of the 19th century.

After your long flight there's time today to rest up and take some time to explore Venice before meeting for a welcome dinner in the evening.

This morning we'll take a full tour of this fascinating floating city. From Palazzo Ducale to Piazza San Marco to the Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs), we'll take a deep dive into the City of Canals, learn it's history, experience the Gothic architecture and marvel at this artistic, cultural and engineering wonder.  

After lunch, we'll embark on our journey into the mountains. Departing first by boat through the Venice canals, we'll then head by road into the Dolomiti region.  Our home for the evening is Canazei - an absolutely picture perfect village of the Dolomites with a charming town centre. A perfect place to relax for the afternoon and prepare for our hiking days ahead

Approximately 5 hours of walking (15km)

Today we'll traverse along the south face of the Dolomites largest mountain group - the Sella Massif. 

From our hotel, we’ll take a 30 min drive by van to Passo Pordoi. We'll walk to a War Memorial and follow the trail up to a big and wide ledge on the Sella massif. This superb and panoramic trail will take us across the face of the mountain, bringing us to the Rifugio Kostner, our lunch spot. 

After lunch, it’s just a 20-minute hike down to the chairlift, which will take us to Corvara in Alta Badia. Alta Badia is a sunny hollow on the south side of the Val Badia. 

The afternoon is free to relax at the hotel or explore any of the six Ladin villages in Alta Badia that comprise this area and experience the unique culture that still thrives here.

Approximately 5 hours walking (8km)

Our hike today is all about the meadows. From our accommodation in Corvara we’ll drive a short distance to San Cassiano and begin our hike across the base of the Santa Croce mountain group.

We’ll begin with a short ascent through forest, before emerging into boulder garden areas and eventually arriving at the renowned La Crusc Church, built in 1511. After lunch and exploring the church we’ll make our way through glorious alpine meadows, with the sounds cows bells and a landscaped peppered with traditional hay storage huts.

We’ll drive a short distance back to Corvara for a well earned rest and prepared evening meal.

Approximately 5 hours walking (11km)

This morning we'll take a gondola ride up towards Passo Gardena, passing over the village of Colfosco and up to the Pass. After a quick espresso at the Jimmy Hutt, we'll hike up to Forcella Cir amidst massive rock spires and looking back at spectacular views of the Sella Massif. After reaching the pass, we'll descend into Val Chedul, a stunning U shaped valley with massive rock walls on either side.

We'll descend through the alpine terrain, into the treeline and eventually into the green meadows of Val Lunga and Selva - our home for the evening.

Approximately 5 hours walking (11km)

Today we'll hike the the flank of the Rasciesa Odle mountain group, amply named “needles” in Ladin. From the town of Ortisei, we'll take the Resciesa funicolar to Chalet Resciesa from where we'll start our hike. This trail is predominantly undulating with minimal elevation gain. This allows for spectacular views of this geological marvel. We'll stop for a drink or a rest at a local Rifugio and admire the jagged north faces of the dramatic Odle Group before descending toward Ortisei by cable-car. 

Approximately 5 hours walking (11km)

Today’s hike offers high-altitude panoramic walking with superb scenery; wildflowers grow in abundance on the grassy slopes populated by cows and marmots. 

In the morning we'll drive to Passo Sella for our hike on a wide, well-marked trail under the Sassolungo north face and Sassopiatto massifs. Right after the impressive Sassolungo North Clock Tower spire, we’ll hike right into the heart of the massif to Rifugio Vicenza, a typical Dolomites rifugio and the perfect place to enjoy lunch. After lunch, a green landscape will replace the rocky scenery. We'll stop for a drink at the cozy Murmeltier Hütte before hiking the final kilometre to our hotel for the night.

Today is fantastic opportunity to take a break and enjoy views of the Alpe di Siusi and the surrounding mountains. Our accommodation affords the opportunity to relax in the inhouse spa facilities, enjoy al fresco dining with the best views in the world, or sample the regions finest wines.

If you'd like to hike more, our guides will plan a hike in the Alpe di Siusi - always with great views and of course, a rifugio where there's a chance to sample local cuisine and coffee!

Approximately 7 hours walking (9.5km)

Today we’ll take a fantastic hike across the Alpe di Siusi, one of the most recognized landmarks of the Dolomites and Europes largest high alpine pastureland. This is undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable and beautiful hikes in the Dolomites - have your camera at the ready! From our hotel, we'll hike across the beautiful green meadows and up to the RIfugio Alpe di Tires, where we'll take a break for lunch. Our hike back takes us across a spectacular balcony trail above the Val Duron, with Catinaccio and Antermoia mountains in full view. We'll drop back down into Alpe di Siusi to our lodging.

Today is the last day of your hiking adventure in the Dolomites - arguably the most beautiful mountains in the world. After breakfast we'll depart from our hotel and head back through the mountains to Venice in time for departing flights in the afternoon. Please note that flights may be booked on this day ideally after 1.00pm.