Only have 3 days in the Dolomites? Dolomites is literally my favorite region of Italy! Our 3 day Dolomites itinerary will you the most beautiful places to visit in the Dolomites based on our epic trip. My itinerary will also give you our practical tips (and mistakes to avoid) to make your trip more smooth!

The Dolomites is one of the most beautiful places I’ve been to in Italy that many people have never heard of. You won’t be seeing many cathedrals or any ancient Roman relics in the Dolomites, but instead, you will see turquoise and emerald lakes and pale peaks!

I was so impressed by the landscapes of the Dolomites that I totally get why the Dolomites is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Since we are super big outdoors fans (well, not really, I just like the photos), I was very happy to find the nice hikes and other cool outdoor activities in the summer there. In fact we saw so many people with their kids there doing the easy hikes (so you can see that you don’t need to be super fit to visit the Dolomites).

So let me take you through our very awesome 3 day Dolomites itinerary so you can see what we did (or you can just copy this entire itinerary since I only go to the prettiest places)!

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Dolomites Itinerary: 3 Days Overview

Trust me, 3 Days in the Dolomites is not a lot of time but it will give you the opportunity to visit the most beautiful places in the Dolomites. We did some hiking during our vacation but the trails in this Dolomites itinerary are pretty tame/ easy so you don’t have to worry (trust me, I’m not the fittest person).

Day 0: Arrive in Venice
Day 1: Hiking Tre Cime di Lavaredo & Cadini Peaks
Day 2: Visiting Lago di Braies, Santa Magdalena Village and Lago di Carezza
Day 3: Take cable cars to Seceda & Alpe di Siusi and visit Seiser Alm in the afternoon

Now before we get into the nitty gritty of everything we did in the Dolomites, let’s go over some basics like where the Dolomites is and how to get there or how to get around. If you already know all this, then feel free to skip ahead to the detailed Dolomites Itinerary!

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Where is the Dolomites in Italy?

Dolomites is a large mountain range that form part of the Alps located in northeastern Italy near the Austrian border. Historically the Dolomites were part of Austria. The mountain range ran through the Austro-Hungarian and Italian border during World War I.

Both sides used mines during the war, which resulted in the creation of Via Ferrata, protected path along the cliffs above the mines. Via Ferrata now has become a tourist attraction and is one of the most popular things to do in the Dolomites

Nowadays the Dolomites belongs exclusively to Italy. This is the reason why the names in Dolomites are in both Italian and German and the food in the Dolomites have heavy Austrian influence.

When I was in the Dolomites I saw a lot of German speaking visitors and the hotel and restaurant staff all speak German, Italian and some English. Sometimes it made me wonder if I was actually in Italy!

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How to Reach The Dolomites

The closest airports to the Dolomites are Venice or Innsbruck (in Austria).

I flew into Venice because I found out it costed way more to rent a car from Austria and return it in Italy (we were going to Milan after). We used Discover Cars and was able to get an automatic transmission (you know, being American and such so I can’t drive a manual car).

It took us 2 hours to drive from Venice to the Dolomites but I heard it takes 2.5-3 hours to drive from Innsbruck. The road from Venice to the Dolomites was pretty easy to drive on compare to what you will experience later when you drive between towns in the Dolomites.

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Areas of The Dolomites

There are 3 provinces in the Dolomites:

• South Tyrol
• Trentino
• Belluno

We only visited the province of South Tyrol (Sudtyrol in German). Within South Tyrol, we went to 3 areas in particular:

• The Sexten Dolomites near Misurina has the famous Tre Cime (Drei Zinnen in German; three peaks in English) hike and it’s also close to the legendary Lago di Braies (Pragser Wildsee in German). It is more on the eastern side of the Dolomites region.

• Val Gardena and Val di Funes are more west of the Misurina area (~2-3 hour drive). Val Gardena is where the town of Ortisei (Urtijëi in German) is located, as well as the famous Seceda and Alpe di Siusi.

• Going slightly north from Val Gardena is Val di Funes (Villnöß in German); it is where the village of Santa Magdalena and Puez-Odle Nature Park are located.

These names may mean nothing to you, but just keep them at the back of your mind. After you read through the itinerary they will make sense to you.

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Our Dolomites Itinerary: 3 Days in Details

We visited the Dolomites in the summer/early fall, as roads are closed during the winter. In addition I would highly recommend renting a car (or a private driver) to do this itinerary as it covers a large area in South Tyrol and buses can’t get you to these places in a reasonable amount of time.

Day 0: Arrival in Venice

After we landed in Venice, we picked up our rental car at the airport. The rental car building is a building outside of the terminal of the Venice airport.

If you land in Venice early enough and you are not too tired from the flight, I suggest you start driving to the Dolomites since it’s only 2 hours away. However if you landed at night or are simply too tired, you should book a hotel near the airport to crash.

I stayed at the Best Western near the Venice airport and it was sufficient for the night. They also have breakfast (at an additional cost).

Day 1: Hike Tre Cime di Lavaredo & Cadini Peaks

Tre Cime (Drei Zinnen) is known as the Three Peaks and it is a group of mountain peaks famous for their distinct tower shapes. Up until 1919 the Three Peaks were on the border of Italy and Austria but now they are Italian. This hike is one of the most “signature” hikes in the Dolomites so the hike was pretty crowded.

You can hike around the Three Peaks to fully appreciate their glory from all angles. If you want to do the day hike to Tre Cime, there is a 3.5 – 4 hour loop hike that let you go around the peaks.

We didn’t actually do the entire loop since the best view was the first half of the hike, so we just walked back the same way after reaching the third and last Rifugio (refugios are huts with food and restrooms).

I did hear from my friends that the loop is narrow and rocky and if you are scared of heights you shouldn’t do it since you already saw the best view at the view point and at the third Rifugio (Rifugio Locatelli).

Logistics of Hiking Tre Cime di Lavaredo

There is a massive parking lot at Rifugio Auronzo (Rifugio No.1). Parking is €30 cash only. If you go after 10am you run the risk of the park lot being full then you need to park down the hill and hitch hack back up to the Rifugio.

We went at 10am in mid September and the parking lot was mostly full, so if you visit during June to August you should get there even earlier. The gate to the parking lot opens from 8am to 5pm.

Once you park the car, follow the path everyone walks on (101) to Rifugio Lavaredo (Rifugio No.2). The path is super wide and flat and I saw people with strollers and wheelchairs.

Once you go past Rifugio Lavaredo, you will climb uphill for 30 minutes until you come to a view point of the side of the three peaks. Some people turn back at this point but you can continue walking 40 minutes to Rifugio Locatelli (the red one, or I call it Rifugio No.3).

Rifugio Locatelli has really really good food and desserts and you can sit outside with the best view of Tre Cime. The hike there was some uphill but I promise the view is worth it.

At Rifugio Locatelli the path splits. You can either go back the way you came or follow signs to go around the towers to complete the loop.

The Cadini Peaks

Most people go to Tre Cime/ Drei Zinnen for the famous three peaks hike. Little do they know there is another amazing view point opposite of where the three peaks are. You can actually see the Cadini Peaks when you hike back from Tre Cime; the peaks are pretty distinct and magnificent.

The hike to the Cadini Peaks view point starts at the Tre Cime parking lot, opposite of where the 101 trail is. It takes about 40 minutes one way to get to the view point. The latter half of the hike is on a very narrow path next to a cliff but the view is totally worth it.

Here is my blog on how to get to the insanely beautiful Cadini Peaks from Tre Cime. I definitely recommend combining the two hikes to maximize your day and your €30 parking.

Where to Stay near Tre Cime

There are a lot of options when it comes to where to stay near Tre Cime. The biggest town to stay in is Cortina d’Ampezzo and there are a lot of hotels and restaurants in the town. Alternatively you can stay in Misurina, Auronzo, or go a little north to a small village called Dobbiaco/Toblach.

I stayed in Dobbiaco because it was closer to Lago di Braies for the next morning compare to Cortina d’Ampezzo. I stayed at Hotel Rosengarten which was amazing; our room had its own sauna and balcony. It has a restaurant on site but also a few minutes drive to other great restaurants in the area.

Grab Dinner in Town

After we checked into our hotel, we got a delicious meal near the hotel. Since we stayed in Dobbiaco, there were a lot of different restaurants we could pick from. Each hotel in town had their own restaurant but you can of course go to other places. We didn’t want to eat in our hotel because I wanted pasta, so we drove to town and ate at an Italian place.

Keep in mind that due to the Austrian influence in this part of the Dolomites, you will find more Austrian/ German food on the menu than proper Italian food.

Day 2: Lago di Braies, Santa Magdalena Village, Lago di Carezza

Day 2 of our Dolomites itinerary was pretty packed, with a lot of driving between towns. However we saw some of the most beautiful places in the Dolomites on this day.

Morning: Visit Lago di Braies

We started our day early to visit the famous Lago di Braies (Pragser Wildsee in German). Since we stayed in Dobbiaco, it took us 30 minutes to drive to Pragser Wildsee.

Lago di Braies is part of the UNESCO heritage sites in the Dolomites and it also is one of the deepest lakes in the Dolomites with the deepest point at 36m. The lake became famous because it was featured in the Italian TV show “Un Passo dal Cielo”.

In recent years it was also frequently seen on social media as a “must see” in the Dolomites. That is the real reason why I wanted to visit (not because of the TV show, but because of social media).

Lago di Braies is not all hype fortunately; the lake’s turquoise colored water together with the perfect reflection of the mountains surrounding it make it truly postcard perfect.

When to Visit Lago di Braies

The lake is open all day long but I suggest you visit either really early in the morning or late in the afternoon from May to October (you don’t want to go in the winter or spring when the lake is still frozen).

From July 10 to September 10, between 9:30am to 4pm, Lago di Braies (and the Pragser Tal Valley) can only be reached by public transportation, on foot, by bike or having a valid reservation if you are driving.

I got to Lago di Braies around 7:20am on a Monday in mid September and there were already a row of photographers by the lake shore and a few Instagrammers taking photos. Since we went after September 10th, we didn’t have to worry about getting a reservation.

Around 8am most of the photographers left so it was actually much nicer because there was still the perfect reflection on the water without all the people getting in my photos. By 9am regular visitors started arriving and by 10 it was pretty crowded at the lake.

Popular things to do at Lago di Braies

• Hike around the lake: this takes about an hour

• Rent a rowing boat: this is the most iconic thing to do on the lake

• Take photos around the lake

You can spend as little as 30 minutes at the Lago di Braies just taking photos or as long as 3-4 hours hiking around the lake and rowing a boat. We spent about 3 hours there since we were taking a lot of photos and hiked around the lake.

The hike around Lago di Braies is easy and relatively flat with some uphills and stairs but nothing too bad (you can do it even if you are old or not fit). I really enjoyed the walk since it got me away from the crowd and you get to see the other side of the lake.

The boat rental at Lago di Braies doesn’t open until 10am and boats do run out during peak summer time. In fact in recent years they cut down the number of boats available to 10 and you can only rent the boat for 30 minutes.

See below for Lago di Braies boat rental prices:

• Shared boat ride experience (you share with other people, 5 max per boat): 15 Euros for 30 minutes
• Private boat ride experience: 50 Euros for 30 minutes
• Shared boat ride + E-bike rental: 69 Euros for 30 min boat ride

Check out my comprehensive guide on visiting Lago di Braies/ Pragser Wildsee.

Noon: Drive to the Village of Santa Magdalena (Santa Maddalena) in Val di Funes

The idyllic village is Santa Magdalena sits in Val di Funes in front of the magnificent Odle/Geisler massif in the Puez-Odle Nature Park.

I wanted to visit Santa Maddalena to see the picturesque Medieval Church from a view point up the hill. If we had more time in the Dolomites, we would’ve used St. Maddalena as a base for the hikes in Puez-Odle Nature Park.

It took us 2 hours to drive to St. Maddalena from Lago di Braies. The roads to Santa Maddalena were not exactly wide or easy to drive on, so expect some narrow twist and turns on your way there.

You may also want to budget more time to drive to St. Maddalena as we actually got lost on the way there due to random road closure.

When we arrived in St. Magdalena, I saw many different signs for parking so it was easy to find parking. We just went to a random restaurant in town for lunch after we got there.

My main goal was to find the famous view point of Santa Maddalena, which was outside of town. It took us 30 minutes to walk to the viewpoint from town and it was a lot of uphill walking under the burning sun.

See my blog for more detailed information on how to find the view point in Santa Maddalena.

Afternoon: Visit San Giovanni Church (Church of St. John of Nepomuk)

Aside from the Santa Maddalena church, there is another famous and frequently photographed church in Val Di Funes called San Giovanni Church.

The San Giovanni Church is a small church located in Ranui in the foot of the Odel Dolomites. The mine owner Michael von Jenner commissioned the construction of this church in 1744.

It was really easy to visit San Giovanni Church since it’s literally a 5-10 minute drive from St. Magdalena. Just put “Kirche St. Johann in Ranui” in Google Maps and it will lead you right there.

There is a parking lot at where the Google Map location takes you. From there you can actually walk to the church and look inside.

I only wanted to photograph the church with the mountain peaks behind it, so we just parked on the side of the street at the beginning of the road leading up to the official parking lot.

There is a small platform that I walked on to take the photo (the area is fenced off and the small platform is the only place for you to stand to see the church and take photos). You can find instruction on how to get to this church from my blog here.

Sunset: Lago di Carezza

The last stop of our second day in the Dolomites was Lago di Carezza (Karersee in German). It’s a small alpine lake in South Tyrol in the foot of Rosengarten mountain range.

Located not too far from the city of Bolzano, Lago di Carezza draws tons of visitors with its emerald colored water and the perfect reflection of the peaks.

It took us about an hour to drive from San Giovanni church to Lago di Carezza (so make sure you budget enough time so you don’t miss sunset). Sunset is the best time to photograph the lake (or you can visit during sunrise, with even fewer people).

There is a fence all around the lake and signs that prohibit people from hopping the fence to get down to the lake. But many instagrammers blatantly ignore the sign and hop the fence. Don’t be that person and do respect the place you are visiting. I actually saw a couple of people that hopped the fence and it was super annoying!

After visiting the lake, you can either drive 40 minutes to the large town of Ortisei (Urtijëi) to spend the night or stay at a hotel near Lago di Carezza.

I decided to stay near the lake since it was getting late and the place I stayed at was a cute apartment called Residence Chris Appart. If you decide to stay in Ortisei, consider Hotel Garni Snaltnerhof, which is located in the center of Ortisei.

Day 3: Explore Seceda & Alpe di Siusi

This is the last day of our short time in Dolomites and we saw some of the best mountain peaks and views in the Dolomites without much efforts.

Morning: Visit Seceda

Seceda is a mountain located in Val Gardena above the town of Ortisei. Its chiseled hill side is one of the major draw point and gained social media success on Intagram.

Seceda is actually one of the biggest reasons why I wanted to visit the Dolomites so you can imagine my excitement to finally visit this mountain.

There is a live webcam at Seceda so you can always check the condition up there before you go (there is no point to go if you can’t see anything).

How to reach Seceda

Seceda is located above the town of Ortisei, a large touristy town in the heart of Val Gardena. If you are staying near Lago di Carezza, then you need to check out really early to drive about an hour to Ortisei to take the cable car to Seceda.

I heard that the cable car parking lot gets full in the summer and I also wanted the photo against the chiseled hill side without a lot of people. So we drove there super early in the morning trying to catch the first cable car (check the official schedule and opening/closing time here).

We easily parked in the closest lot next to the cable car and bought tickets at the booth (didn’t have to buy it online ahead of time). There are two types of tickets, one to the middle station, then to the Seceda summit (get this ticket).

Once you are on top, you can walk around to the Seceda photo point (there is a sign pointing to it) or just keep walking around and taking photos. There are hikes on top of Seceda too, so if you want to hike you can do that also.

Lunch: Ortisei

Since I knew I wanted to visit Alpe di Siusi in the afternoon, we decided not to do the long hike on Seceda. Instead after walking around and taking photos, we took the cable car down (by then there were a lot of people) and just spent time in Ortisei.

I really liked Ortisei as the town is super cute (it turns into a ski resort in the winter). There were a lot of restaurants in town, and our favorite was Ustaria Da Checco; it’s a little bit on the pricey side but the food is really good.

Afternoon: Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm)

After lunch and resting a bit, we decided to visit another super photogenic place (which can be easily reached by cable car from Ortisei): Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm in German).

Alpe di Siusi/ Seiser Alm is the largest Alpine meadow in Europe and it’s one of the most popular ski area in Val Gardena. Located at the altitude of 1680m, the scenic Alpe di Siusi sits in the foreground of Langkofel Group.

Many people come to Alpe di Siusi because there are a lot of hiking trails here and photographers love coming here for the classic photo of the meadow especially during sunrise. There is a webcam at Alpe di Siusi that gives you live condition of the area.

How To Get To Alpe di Siusi

Alpe di Siusi is car-free, meaning that between the hours of 9am to 5pm, you cannot drive up there unless you have a valid hotel reservation.

If you get caught driving at Alpe di Siusi without a hotel reservation, you will be heavily fined.

There is a cable car from Ortisei to Alpe di Siusi near the Ortisei town center that can take you straight up that cost about EU 20 round trip.

However the cable car hours are pretty much between 8am to 6pm (sometimes 5pm depending on the season). For more information of the Seiser Alm cable car, see information on the official website.

After we got to the cable car station at Alpe di Siusi, we had to walk down towards the “Adler Lodge” then continued down the road for another 10 minutes till we found the best view point of Alpe di Siusi.

The “hike” down was easy and it took us about 20 minutes but you will need to walk all the way back up to the cable car station, which can be a little tiring especially if it’s hot.

If you have more than 3 days in the Dolomites and want to hike around Alpe di Siusi/ Seiser Alm, consider staying up there for the night. You can get the best sunset/sunrise photos and fully explore the plateau.

The best hotels at Alpe di Siusi is undoubtedly the luxury resort lodge Adler’s Lodge but it’s really expensive and requires minimum of 3 nights booking. Another nearby hotel is Sporthotel Sonne, which requires minimum number of nights for booking also.

Alternatively you can stay in the town of Compatsch, which has cheaper and more hotels. The only drawback is that it’s about a 45 minute walk to the Alpe Di Siusi view point if you want the sunrise shot.

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Is 3 days in the Dolomites Enough?

3 days in the Dolomites is actually a really short amount of time, and I personally would suggest at least 5-7 days in the Dolomites to fully experience it.

However if you are limited on time and just want to see the most beautiful places in the Dolomites then follow my itinerary.

If you do have more than 3 days in the Dolomites, then you can either spend more time at Seceda or Seiser Alm, do the hikes in Puez-Odle Nature Park, hike to Lago Sorapis, do a Via Ferrata or visit the Passo Giau. The choice really is unlimited if you are into outdoor activities and hiking.

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Best Time to Visit the Dolomites

The Dolomites is popular to visit all year round depending on what you want to do:

• May to Early October is best for outdoor activities and hiking (I visited mid September and had perfect weather), but you can expect massive crowd, more expensive hotels.

• Winter is great for skiing and snow sports as there are numerous ski slopes and the towns and ski resorts all turn into winter wonderland.

• Summer in the Dolomites is rainy and wet and you need advanced reservation to visit Lago di Braies

I visited the Dolomites in mid September and got totally lucky with perfect summer days the entire time I was there. However it did rain 5 days before I visited and it rained for a week after I left.

When I was visiting the Dolomites in mid September the temperature varied a lot during the day. It was cold in the morning and at night (~40s-50sF/ 10C) and it got super hot under the sun during the day (~85F/ 28C). See below for an annual temperature chart and monthly precipitation.

Other Useful Things to Know Before You Travel to the Dolomites

Hotel receptions are not 24 hours in the Dolomites

One thing that added to my stress of traveling to the Dolomites is that hotel front desks are not always there. Generally they are there between 8am to 5pm but anything before or after those hours are questionable.

Why this mattered to me is because I was getting up really early every morning to get to the lakes and cable cars to beat the crowds. The hotels only took payment upon check out so I was quite stressed that nobody would be there to let me check out.

If you need to get somewhere really early, be sure to tell the hotel front desk the night before so you can make payments (or take care of parking if they have a paid parking garage).

It takes you longer to get to places in the Dolomites than you think

Buses are not always frequent in the Dolomites and you may need to transfer multiple times to get anywhere on public transportation.

Driving in the Dolomites is also tricky because of the windy roads, confusing directions and random road closures. Always budget more time to your travels when driving in the Dolomites so you don’t feel rushed like I did.

You can use credit cards most of the time in the Dolomites

I was worried about how much cash to have with me in the Dolomites because I wasn’t sure if places accept credit cards.

Most hotels and restaurants in the Dolomites accept international credit cards, but you should still have cash for parking and bathrooms (get coins for bathrooms).

If you plan to eat at the rifugios on your Dolomites hikes then you should also consider bringing some cash. Some lodges accept credit cards whereas others prefer cash.

You can [probably] fly drones in the Dolomites

Out of all the mountainous places I’ve visited, Dolomites is probably the most lenient when it comes to drones.

Most places in the Dolomites don’t have signs prohibiting drone usage and I saw many people flying their drones at Tre Cime, Lago di Braies and Seceda. Although rules can change but for now it looks drone friendly although it can be annoying to other people who are trying to enjoy some peace and quietness in the wilderness.

Don’t expect Italian food in the Dolomites

Although the Dolomites is technically in Italy now, it hasn’t always been. If you are expecting amazing pasta and pizza in the Dolomites then you may be disappointed. Although most restaurants do offer some pasta and pizza dishes, you will more likely to find Austrian food and local Tyrolean cuisine.

We had a lot of sausage, meat and Tyrolean dumplings in the Dolomites although we occasionally found a pizzeria here and there. The Italian food cannot be compared to what you would find in Florence and Rome.

Locals drive fast

Italian drivers are known to be aggressive and it is no exception in the Dolomites. As I mentioned earlier, even on narrow windy roads the Italian drivers can be really aggressive and sometimes borderline reckless.

There are also autobahn/ highways in the Dolomites and there is no speed limit, so you can expect cars zooming past you at 120-150 km/h.

What’s interesting to me (coming from the US) is that although drivers can be very aggressive, everyone stays on the right lane (if there are more than 1 lane) and people only use the left lane to pass. Once they pass they automatically go to the right lane, which I thought was courteous.

Roads are Narrow and Windy

I did not enjoy driving in the Dolomites. Most of the roads were very narrow (against the cliff side) and windy. The fact that locals drive so fast made things worse.

If you are going to drive there, set your expectation! Everything takes longer than you think and there are sometimes random road closures and confusing directions.

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Other Italy Travel Resources

If you are traveling to Italy I have some other blogs that might interest you!

• How to spend 10 days in Italy – 4 Amazing Itineraries
• How to spend one day in Florence
• One Week Amalfi Coast Itinerary
• Best things to see on the Amalfi Coast
• Best things to do in Marsala, Sicily
• Best things to do in Trapani, Sicily
• Other Dolomites blogs

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