Traveling: Unlocking the Dolomites, Italy

For me, 2024 is the year of different types of traveling and destinations, partially influenced by all the content that I saw on social media, and partially because I wanted a change of scenery. And if there was one destination that kept on popping this year, that was the northern part of Italy, the Dolomites mountains. 

A few years back a friend of mine visited the area and always said that it was one of her favourite places in the world. Breathtaking views and relaxation in the heart of the mountains. I cannot say that I consider myself an outdoorsy mountain type of person,  yet growing up I used to climb and spend a lot of time with my parents on hikes, so at that time, I made a mental note to keep this trip on my radar. 

2024 did come with some major changes, fact that we bought a new house and a smaller travel budget, we thought a road trip to Italy might be a good idea and since we spent so much time at the beach in recent years, we considered the changes of scenery. 

So in June, we found ourselves in the car, alongside our dog, Fox, traveling to Italy. Our itinerary contained one night in the capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, 4 nights in the beautiful area of Cortina d'Ampezzo, and 2 nights in Badia.

First Stop: Slovenia

A country that was never on my radar per se, I heard about its capital and the Beld Lake area, but I never had a burning desire to visit it. I can tell you now that my perception changed completely. I was surprised by the beauty, friendly people, and very good food that this country has to offer. 

We made a stop in Maribor,  Ljubljana, and Lake Bled on our way to Italy and now I would love to come back and spend more time in a country that isn’t yet affected by mass tourism.

Second Stop: Cortina d'Ampezzo and Alta Badia

There isn’t a single photo that can do justice to this amazing town. As much as I tried, I wasn’t able to capture its beauty with the camera. 

From the moment we stepped into the town, we realized that it’s well hidden, but this is how the other half lives. 

Mostly focused on sky resorts and wooden cabins, it gives a quiet luxury vibe. We wanted to stay in the area because some of the most beautiful trails start near Cortina. 

Even if the distances look small, the one lane with a lot of turns, along with heavy traffic makes you spend hours getting from one place to another.

After some research, we ended up choosing the following trains for our 4 days here: Lago di Sorapis, Tre Cime and Cadini di Misurina, Cinque Torri and Passau Giau, Braise Lake and Alpi de Suis.

All trails are marked as medium difficulty and can be made by any fairly active people. The challenge stands with keeping it up for multiple days in a row.

For our 2 nights in Badia, we decided to go to Scenda and spend some chill time there on the top of the mountain. We took the cable car to the refuge and we enjoyed our last day at a slower pace than the rest.

Do’s & Don’ts for a trip to the Dolomites

Do’s:

• Pack clothes for all seasons since even during the summer months the temperature on the mountain peaks is low

• Bring waterproof clothes, the chances of rain are very high so be prepared 

• Hiking boots are a must

• Bring some sweets or a sandwich, many trails don’t have refuges or if they are, some are full in the peak hours

• Plan your trails based on your level of activity 

• Plan in advance, but adjust based on the weather 

• For Tre Cime and Cadini di Misurina, if you plan on driving, be there as early as possible since there is a limited number of cars that can go up

• Bring your dog with you, the whole area is dog-friendly

Don’ts:

• Don’t litter, keep the mountains clean and plastic-free

• Don’t go off the trails and don’t risk your life for a photo

• In places where a lot of people want to take photos and there is a line, be mindful of the rest and don’t stall

• Don’t sit in the middle of the trail and let others pass you if they have a higher pace 

Costs for a 6-day trip

When it comes to the costs, I feel like it is up to you and your style how much you are willing to spend. We knew that we had to be mindful of the costs since we had a lot of big expenses this year.

A breakdown of the costs will be as follows:

• Approx. 300 euros for the gas, road tolls

• Car - 0 euros since we drove from Romania to Italy and back

• Accommodation for 7 nights ( 1 in Slovenia and 6 in Italy) - 800 euros

• Food and other expenses: 650 euros 

• Cable car for Scenda 100 euros

Total: 1850 euros for 2 people 

Conclusion 

The Dolomites area is amazing and will force you to take a break from it all and enjoy the present moment. After a year filled with changes, a different type of travel experience was a perfect fit for me.

Even if I was influenced into going on this trip, I think it was the type of “influencing” done right and it will be one of those experiences that I will remember and praise for a long time.

Are you planning a trip to the North of Italy? Were you also presented with a lot of content from Dolomites this year or was it just my history that made the algorithm feed me this?