Ascend to alpine bliss on a grand adventure in Italy's majestic Dolomites. Ride a chairlift above a dramatic limestone setting. Hike and bike through a fairy-tale tableau of stunning mountain scenery. Alpine meadows carpeted with wildflowers. Quaint villages and charming hotels. A blend of Austrian and Italian cultures. Invigorating mountain air. Life in the Dolomites is always on the up and up.
Day 1 It's love at first sight when you catch a glimpse of the towering Sciliar peaks and the mountain landscape of the Dolomites | Savor hearty Tyrolean dishes like canederli (bread dumplings) and apple strudel during lunch in a cozy rifugio | Ride a gondola down to the Val Gardena | Soak up alpenglow while sipping an aperitivo on the terrace of our luxurious hotel.
Day 2 Ride a chairlift to Passo Gardena, gateway to the Puez Odle Natural Park | Admire views of neighboring Sella and Sasso Lungo massifs from high above the Badia Valley | Hike manicured alpine trails among a lunar-like landscape en route to Lago Crespeina | Linger over a cold post-hike birra at the stylish Col Pradat rifugio | Dine on Michelin-starred regional cuisine.
Day 3 Bike up the San Vigilio Valley toward the Fanes mountain group, taking your wheels off-roading if you choose | Get ready for an exhilarating zip-line ride—Europe's biggest!—in San Vigilio di Marebbe | Take an afternoon hike on the Pralongià plateau.
Days 4-6 Explore an open-air WWI museum with a local guide | Traverse bucolic alpine cirques, spotting marmots and edelweiss | See and be seen like the Italians do on the stylish Corso Italia in Cortina d'Ampezzo.
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Accommodations may vary based on departure date. Any difference from what is listed below can be found by clicking on your desired date on the Dates & Prices tab.
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Just a short walk from the center of the village, this hotel has blossomed from a simple 1950s pension to a luxurious wellness resort featuring a gourmet restaurant and 360-degree views of the surrounding peaks. (pool, spa)
This alpine getaway, a Leading Hotels of the World member, charms with pine woodwork, Tyrolean décor and Michelin-starred cuisine. (pool, spa)
This distinctly Italian hotel, located amid mountain peaks above well-heeled Cortina, has hosted countless dignitaries and famous people, including Leo Tolstoy, since it opened in 1901. (pool, spa)
There's no better way to find out about Backroads than by hearing it from the people who have traveled with us. For more about the Backroads Experience, read our Guest Testimonials.
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The earlier you book, the more choice you'll have and the lower your price. And you can always change your mind—you won't be charged to transfer to a different trip before your final payment is due.
Please click on a date below for specific pricing and possible itinerary variations.
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AVAILABLE TO BOOKi GOING FASTi CONTACT USi PRIVATE TRIP - RESERVEDi
Interested in a Private Trip? Check out the Make It Private tab for private dates available, or call us at 800-462-2848.
Every Backroads trip is designed to appeal to a wide variety of interests and fitness levels. We know your pace may vary from one day to the next—and your traveling companion's may differ somewhat from yours. So we present a range of mileage options, and each day you decide exactly what and how much you want to do.
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| Daily Route Options | |||||||||||
| Day | Activity | EASYGOING | ACTIVE | AVID | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Level 4 | Level 5 | |||||||
| miles | feet gain | miles | feet gain | miles | feet gain | miles | feet gain | miles | feet gain | ||
| 1 | Biking | 7 | 900 | 9 | 1000 | 18 | 1600 | ||||
| 2 | Walking/Hiking | 5* | 350 | 6* | 450 | 8* | 1600 | 10* | 3500 | ||
| 3 | Biking | 7* | 600 | 12* | 1300 | 19 | 2100 | ||||
| Other | Adventure Park Zip-Lining Excursion (2 Hours) | ||||||||||
| 4 | Biking | 9 | 500 | ||||||||
| Walking/Hiking | 4* | 600 | 6* | 2100 | 9 | 2100 | |||||
| 5 | Walking/Hiking | 3 | 800 | 6 | 1200 | 7 | 1600 | ||||
| 6 | Biking | 9 | 1000 | 18 | 1500 | ||||||
Note: To make for the most comfortable ride to this particular trip, we've outfitted our titanium road bike with slightly wider tires. You'll appreciate this on those stretches of the route with hard-packed dirt (approximately 40% dirt and 60% paved). Our routes follow rolling to hilly terrain with a few steep ascents and descents that sometimes include hard packed gravel bike paths. Mileage is moderate to enable you to spend more time exploring on your own.
* Includes shuttle.
Learn more about how we determine our activity levels and fully support a range of abilities and interests.
Please note that our distance and elevation figures come from Ride with GPS. Other sources (such as Map My Ride and Garmin devices) may give differing elevation figures due to different GPS and mapping technologies. Readings from a Garmin or a smart phone are influenced by other factors such as air pressure.
Backroads is the only active travel company providing two support vans in Dolomites—because we know it's essential to ensure a truly great travel experience. It doubles our ability to be there when you need us to offer hydration, lighten your load or give you a lift if it's time to take a break. Read more on why two vans make all the difference.
On this trip featuring Premiere Hotels, you can count on the best lodgings Dolomites has to offer. In fact, the hotels we've chosen in this region have higher retail room rates than those offered by any other active travel company—even when their trips cost more.
A great bike is obviously critical for a great multi-adventure trip; you don't want to gamble on one that's been sourced locally to trim costs. This trip features our acclaimed Backroads Custom Titanium bikes, expertly tuned and fitted, and included in your trip price. Learn why our titanium bikes are ideal for most riders.
Coordinating multiple activities throughout a single day can be tricky, but with Backroads you'll never know it. When you explore Dolomites with us, you switch activities seamlessly without missing a beat. We invented the multi-adventure concept, and we're constantly adding new dimensions and fine-tuning the experience to make it even more enjoyable.
On our Dolomites trips we have an extra leader supporting you along the road and trail—for a total of three, compared to the industry standard two. So we can be in more places at once, giving personal attention to guests traveling at their own pace. Here's more on our Trip Leaders.
We design and support our Dolomites trips to suit mixed abilities and varied interests—so you can set your own pace, then change things up as the day unfolds. And all guests are free to do the same, traveling together or apart, with no one cramping anyone else's style. Which sounds easy in theory, but it's hard to pull off. Here's more on how we do it.
For nearly four decades we've worked to earn and maintain our right to call Backroads the world's #1 active travel company. In pursuing that vision on behalf of our guests, we believe we've set the standard for our industry—captured in the Backroads Quality Guide, which clearly sets out the benchmarks of excellence, choice and support that we live by
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Gather your favorite people to share a Backroads adventure on a ready-to-book Private Trip - featuring all the legendary Backroads hallmarks from expert leaders to unforgettable activities. You can pick from the selection of dates below for your group; some dates are only available for 16 or more guests while other dates are available for 8 or more guests. If your party has fewer than 8 guests, or your preferred date is not available, we'll create a departure just for you. Call or email us to reserve your date.
Click on a date below for specific pricing and possible itinerary variations.
8 AVAILABLE TO BOOK FOR 8 OR MORE GUESTS 16 AVAILABLE TO BOOK FOR 16 OR MORE GUESTS RESERVED
Don't see your ideal travel date? Make a Date! i
Invite your family and friends on an adventure that's entirely your own - for your group of 8 or more. Find out more
I simply can't imagine a better way to immerse yourself in the life of a region, to explore hidden corners and appreciate nuances while enjoying the benefits and enormous satisfaction of traveling under your own power. These are experiences you cannot have behind the wheel of a car, or on a train or a tour bus. Active travel is, at its heart, a way of connecting more authentically with the world. Sure, Backroads provides amazing leaders, superb accommodations and meals, and opportunities you could never arrange on your own. But all of our comprehensive planning and support is aimed at something far simpler: bringing you the immediate, highly personal satisfaction of discovering a new world on your own terms.
— Tom Hale, Founder & President
