14 Days & 13 Nights

Dolomites Alta Via 1 Complete (extended)

A well-paced two-week tour along the iconic Italian ‘High Route 1’ through the best of the Dolomiti mountains, with a mid-walk rest day to recharge and explore the region’s ‘hiking capital’ - Cortina. Start your journey in fashionable Cortina, located in a natural amphitheatre of mountains, including Tofane (3244m), Croda Rossa (3156m), Cristallo (3221m) and Sorapis (3205m), walk from hut-to-hut absorbing the spectacular mountain peaks, pine forests and lush pastures of the High Dolomites. Finish in the small town of Belluno; with its shops and cafés it is an ideal end to your trek.

From £2,140.00

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Itinerary

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Day 1 Arrive in Cortina Day 2 Bus to Lago di Braies (Pragser Wildsee); walk to Rifugio Sennes / Fodara Vedla 6 miles / 10 km Day 3 Walk to Rifugio Fanes / Lavarella 6 miles / 10 km Day 4 Walk to Rifugio Lagazuoi / Scotoni 7.5 miles / 12 km Day 5 Walk to Cortina 8 miles / 13 km Day 6 Rest day in Cortina Day 7 Walk to Rifugio Averau 5 miles / 12 km Day 8: Walk from Rifugio Averau to Rifugio Croda da Lago 5 miles / 8 km Day 9 Walk to Rifugio Coldai 10 miles / 17 km Day 10 Walk to Rifugio Vazzoler 6 miles / 9 km Day 11 Walk to Rifugio Passo Duran/San Sebastiano 7 miles / 11 km Day 12 Walk to Rifugio Pian de Fontana 10 miles / 16 km Day 13 Walk to La Pissa; bus to Belluno 7 miles / 12 km Day 14 Onward travel from Belluno

THIS TRIP'S CARBON SCORE

This trip has a carbon score of 10kg per person per night, meaning it’s one of our best trips! For comparison, a carbon count of 10kg is equivalent to 18 lattes. Here at Macs, we pride ourselves on being a responsible travel company and continue to adopt, develop and innovate ways to positively impact the environment. Find out more information on how we've carbon counted our trips.

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Other Information

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Is it for me?

Experienced hikers will love this classic long-distance trail through the stunning high peaks of the Dolomites. You should be sure-footed and have a head for heights to really get the most from this trip. It is not suitable for people suffering from vertigo. This version of the full Alta Via 1 is extended, which means that although the hiking is still strenuous, it is broken up into shorter sections on some of the days. There is also a mid-trek rest day in the lovely town of Cortina, allowing you to catch your breath. You should be prepared to stay in remote yet charming ’Rifugi’ - these mountain huts give a great sense of camaraderie, with dormitories, and the option at times to have a private room. Great food, good company, and mouth-watering scenery, so….andiamo!

Trip Type:

Classic Routes | If you’re the active, outdoorsy type, who’s interested in taking on the great routes of the world or looking for a challenge, then our Classic Routes are for you. We’re talking the West Highland Way, Tour Du Mont Blanc and the Passau to Vienna Danube Cycle Path, to name but a few!

Activity:

Hut to Hut Walking | Walk from hut to hut, changing accommodation each night

Ideal if you have an interest in:

Long-Distance Trails, Alpine Walking

The minimum age for this tour is: 18 Years

Grade & Terrain

This walk is graded moderate to strenuous and includes daily walks of between 9 and 16.5km with ascents of up to 900m, descents of up to 1300m. You’ll be following switchback footpaths, country lanes, both narrow and wide tracks and rough mountain paths. You should be prepared for rocky and loose ground and unavoidable narrow paths across scree slopes. We have deliberately avoided routes involving via ferrata. Some of the ascents and descents are considerably steep and some can be exposed so require a good head for heights and sure-footedness in places. There are two particularly long days on this trip; Day 8 & Day 9 where you can expect to be walking between 8-10 hours each day. We can split these days up if you prefer, please see the detailed itinerary for more info. You should have a good level of walking fitness to get the most from this trip, and be an experienced mountain walker.

Accommodation & Meals

Accommodation Information

We specifically select your rifugi to give you a taste of warm Italian hospitality and so that you are able to join in the camaraderie with your fellow walkers. For the first and last nights of your tour, you will stay in a friendly 3* hotel on a breakfast basis. In Refugio San Sebastiano only breakfast is included, but you can buy dinner locally at the refugio. For your remaining hut nights you will stay on a half board basis in mountain huts - ‘rifugi’. They offer comfortable accommodation and good local food and drink. Some of the rifugi are more basic than others; they are a mixture of CAI (Italian Alpine Club) and privately-run properties.

On certain days there are different suitable mountain huts - which mountain hut you are booked in will depend on availability.

Hut accommodation is booked in mixed-sex dormitories made up of alpine-style communal sleeping areas or in bunk beds. We can often book private rooms in the huts (some with shared and some with en suite) and where this type of room is available this is noted against each accommodation; this 'room upgrade' is at an optional supplement. Private rooms are popular and, therefore always subject to availability. Please note that private rooms in the mountain huts are extremely limited. If you wish to ask for a private room you need to BOOK EARLY. While we are always happy to ask, it may not be possible to reserve private rooms in the mountain huts.

Single Rooms & Solo Walkers

This trip is not available to solo walkers due to the remote terrain and single rooms are not available except on the first and last nights (in hotel accommodation). A supplement is payable.

Meals

Breakfast is included each morning. Dinner is not included in Cortina or Belluno as there are plenty of restaurants to choose from. Whilst staying in the rifugi dinner is included (excluding drinks). The only rifugio where dinner is not included is the Rifugio San Sebastiano at Passo Duran - dinner can be bought off the menu and paid for locally (you may not be overnighting here). Meals in the mountain huts are always simple, hearty fare.

Navigation What's Included When to go Travel & Transfers

Getting to the Start

By Air: Venice Marco Polo Airport is the most convenient airport, with various interational airlines operating here. The smaller Venice Treviso Airport is serviced by low-cost carrier Ryanair (London Stansted, Bristol, East Midlands, Leeds Bradford).

From Venice Marco Polo airport (or Venice Mestre bus station): it is possible to take the Cortina Express to Cortina (approx. 2h20); departures are twice-daily, usually in the afternoon, so please ensure you check their website for timetables. We recommend booking this bus well in advance.

From Venice Treviso Airport: From the airport take a bus (approx.12 mins) to Treviso, then from Treviso Sud there is an ATVO bus once a day to Cortina (approx. 2 hrs). Or you can take a bus from Treviso town to Venice Mestre or Marco Polo Airport for onward connections with the Cortina Express (see above). Check the timetable on the ATVO website.

Getting from the End

From Belluno to Venice: From Belluno you can take a train (changing at Conegliano) to Venice Santa Lucia station (approx. 2h30); see www.trenitalia.com for timetables. From here, take a bus from Venice Mestre to Venice Marco Polo Airport (35 mins). See timetable.

To return from Belluno to Cortina: Dolomiti Bus Lines 9 and 30 run between Belluno and Cortina, if you need to return there to collect any additional luggage (we can request if luggage be left at your first hotel in Cortina—subject to prior agreement). Journey time takes just over 1 hr. For timetables, see www.dolomitibus.it/dolomitibus/jsp/orari

Baggage Transfer

Bag transfer is included from Cortina to Belluno, allowing you to hike only with the equipment you require and you will be reunited with your main bag at the end of the hike.

As an optional extra, you can choose to have your bags delivered to some of the huts. However, due to some of the huts' remoteness, it is impossible to transfer bags to each overnight location. If you opt for bag transfer, bags cannot be delivered to Rifugio Fanes, Rifugio Sennes/Lavarella, Rifugio Averau/Nuvolau, Rifugio Coldai, Rifugio Vazzoler and Rifugio Fontana. On these days, simply carry a few overnight things in your day pack to see you through. If you choose not to opt for baggage transfer, you will need to carry your kit with you each day. Since you are staying in dormitory-style accommodation, you will need to bring a sleeping bag liner (or you can sometimes buy or hire one locally). Bed linen is provided when booking private rooms.

At Macs Adventure we work in partnership with many luggage transfer providers who set a limit on how many bags/suitcases they will transfer per person, and also the weight of the bag/suitcase.

For the optional baggage transfers on the Alta Via the handlers are very strict with weight limits. You are only allowed to take one small bag (duffel style) weighing a max of 10kg (22lbs) per person. There is no space in the rifugios for more baggage.

Regardless if you are opting for the baggage transfers within the holiday one main bag of a max of 20kg will be transferred from Cortina to Belluno. We do not have control over the limits that these providers set. Therefore, it is very important that you adhere to these limits, as there is a great possibility that they will not take any additional or heavier bags. This limitation can be a challenge, especially as airlines generally have limits that are higher. However, our luggage providers have reasons for these limits we must respect.

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