1/2 price of Alta Via 1 : Dolomites Rosengarten Hut to Hut hike

Just back from the Dolomites and sitting in ice rain in Germany 😢…

The perfect time to dream of summer and as promised, I want to share my custom itinerary for travelers that want to spend about a week in the Dolomites mixing up Nature and Culture with a hut to hut hike.

The Rosengarten Traverse near Bolzano: perfect 1st timer hut to hut trek

This trail is not popular with the international set …Italians and Austrians love it…but you’ll find it’s WAY less intense to plan yourself than the Alta Via 1. Currently, the AV1 is almost fully booked for 2024.

I booked this one myself in May to hike in August…so you’ve got plenty of time to independently book to save money by not hiring a guide or agent, use your money for a sweet luxury spa hotel at the end!

Download the app Komoot - and I’ve laid down GPS tracks you can follow, bus directions, and huts you should consider.

They often don’t even take a deposit - but you have to email them directly to secure beds. They operate on “half-board” meaning the bed, breakfast and 3 course dinner are included with your reservation.

Drinks and lunches are NOT included. Don’t forget - everything here is in 2 languages.

Day 0: Get to Bolzano Italy - spend the night and enjoy this scenic city

Very cool city with lots to do and gorgeous old town, museums, wineries, gondolas, etc.

I found this guidebook to be really helpful…👉 Shorter Walks in the Dolomites (cicerone guide) on amazon…In addition to Komoot.

Day 1: Bus to Vigo di Fassa- Gondola - Vajolet Towers

3 hours, 4 miles, up 2,675 ft, down 175 ft. path no. 542, 546 and 540

You’ll take a bus to Vigo di Fassa then get to the Catinaccio gondola. Then it’s a hike to the Vajolet towers. It’s Uphill walking - many rifugios to stop for lunch. You will need to scramble a TINY bit the last 45 min of the hike but it’s worth it to get to these two rifugios. They are under the Vajolet towers.

Stay at Rifugio Alberto or Santerpasshütte.

Contact: [email protected] or [email protected]

https://www.rifugiorealberto.com/en/ - online booking.

Day 2: Vajolet Towers - Tierser Alpl or Rifugio Bergamo

4 hours, 3.5 miles (depends on which hut, longer to Tierser), up 2,970 ft, down 1,125 ft

From either rifugio you have to go back down the scrambly boulder canyon to the main trail. Then you’ll ascend past the Passo Principe - Grasleitenpass refuge where you can side trip to Anteromoia if you like.

There are many opportunities for Via Ferrata if you want - my path Does not include it. But you can dump your pack at a rifugio and do them if you like.

After crossing the notch, you’ll go downhill through a very scenic pass toward Rifugio Bergamo. You can stay there or continue on to Tierser Alpl rifugio in the Sciliar Catinaccio Nature Park.

The length of your day depends on which one you choose. They are both really great huts. Rifugio bergamo (grasleitenhutte) is truly family run and we loved it.

Stay at Rifugio Bergamo or Tierser Alpl Rifugio

Contact: [email protected] or [email protected]

Day 3: From Rifugio - Passo Sella - Val Gardena

6-7 hours, 10 miles (depending on where you stay), up 2,725 ft, down 2,550 ft

Today it’s a longer hike down to Passo Sella where you’ll then take a bus to the famous and luxurious Val Gardena.

Enjoy the highly luxurious towns and maybe get yourself a spa hotel to relax for a night or two.

It’s worth it to spend a couple of days in Val Gardena and do some of the more “touristy” things like visit Seceda or Alpe di Suisi. The town of Ortisei has gondolas to these more iconic (busy) locations.

Bus info:

Take Bus 471 from Passo Sella (Schutzhaus Sellajoch) to Plan. Then take Bus 350 from Plan to Selva (Wolkenstein), Santa Cristina, or Ortisei.

Beware: you need to book hotels asap for these areas as it’s very popular. There are some budget accommodations, but not many. This is more of a “splurge”.

Places to Stay in Val Gardena for Sauna/Wellness:

Luxury Spa Ortesei Hotel

Santa Christina Wellness Hotel

Alpe di Suisi Wellness Hotel

There’s a ton of other hotels - so take a look. Don’t be like me though and wait till the last minute. On our ski trip there we ended up staying in a harley motorcycle hotel that was pretty crap for a lot of money because we waited until 3 months prior to book.

Day 4 or 5: Return to Bolzano via Bus (or onto your next location)

Often people will spend a few days enjoying the mountain atmosphere and recovering after the hiking. There’s a lot of things to do beyond hiking. There are frequent bus connections back to Bolzano.

➡️ GPS directions here to plan your own Rosengarten Traverse Hut to hut Hike 

👉 Don’t know how to use komoot? Read my detailed guide.

Can you help?

If you’re getting value from these emails, can I ask a favor?

I’m trying to build my Youtube channel so that I can afford to keep producing videos - and perhaps get better at it :-). Despite it being very expensive and time consuming, I believe that seeing a hiking trail or hidden gem travel destination is a million times better than reading about it.

If I can get to 1000 subscribers then there’s potential to get some kind of compensation.

Here’s an assortment of self guided treks that don’t require as much planning ahead as the popular Alta Via 1 and Tour du Mont Blanc.

✈️ This is my favorite kind of hiking tour! These are best accessed from Innsbruck, Austria or Munich, Germany.

• 8 days Culinary Hiking Tour: This hut-to-hut hiking tour in Austria and Switzerland offers mouthwatering food by top chefs, breathtaking scenery, a good calorie burn, and can be customized to meet any fitness and comfort level.

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• 6 Days Hut to Hut Tour: This family-friendly hiking tour in a lesser-known area of the Alps offers well-cared for trails, spectacular scenery, no crowds, and easy access from Innsbruck, with options for family-sized rooms in the huts, although it's best to avoid late-June and early September due to snow.
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• 3 Days Culinary Hiking Tour: This hut-to-hut hiking tour in one of Austria's premier hiking regions offers mouthwatering food by top chefs, breathtaking scenery, a good calorie burn, and can be customized to meet any fitness and comfort level, although it's best to avoid late-June and early September due to snow.
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• 8 Days Bike Tour Across Alps: This beginner-friendly bicycle tour across the Alps follows a historic Roman trading route, offers impressive views, and ends at Lake Garda, with the option to skip uphill passages by taking a shuttle at an additional cost, starting in Garmisch, Germany and passing through Austria and vineyards in Italy, with well-established signage and routing that makes the tour enjoyable for cyclists of all levels.
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