Hiking the Alta Via 2 in the Italian Dolomites - a full guide on a budget

ItalyHiking
Written By Adriane Turner

The Italian Dolomites - a world of incredible mountain ranges, family-owned huts, pasta, and international friends.

Note: If you don’t have data in Italy, I highly recommend downloading an e-sim before your trip! While many of the huts have wifi, it’s good to have service in case of emergencies or to ensure your map loads. I use Airalo for my e-sims, which is affordable and is easy to download. Make sure your phone is e-sim compatable!

Why the Italian Dolomites?

To start with, I live in Boulder Colorado surrounded by some amazing mountains. The Italian Dolomites are insanely unique. They have dramatic, vertical peaks with scenic viewpoints at every turn. Here are 5 reasons you should visit the Italian Dolomites:

  1. The landscape is awe inspiring. Words and pictures don’t do it justice. In the Alta Via 2, you cross 5 different mountain ranges, and each one is unique. Different flora, rock structures, and topography keeps you gaping at every turn. If you’re into geology… there’s no place like it in the planet! (I travelled with a geologist, and he was in heaven).

  2. Once you try hut-to-hut hiking, you can’t go back. Wake up, eat breakfast, hike, arrive at the hut, apres beer, dinner, and sleep. It’s a great cycle, and you only need to carry your clothes. Each hut is unique and provides a different culture. It’s a blast, and you can make the days what you want them to be!

  3. There’s a lot of history. Not only are the Dolomites a UNESCO World Heritage site, the area is engrained in history from World War 1. There are installed cables from groups journeying over the

  4. The people. It’s hard to put into words the amazing people I met on this trip. From the Italian hut owners, to hikers from all over the world, to community breakfasts and dinners, to games over mixed languages, there is SO much to experience outside of just the hiking.

  5. The one-way journey. There aren’t many places in the world where you can take the train, start in one location, and end 100 miles away. The public transportation system at the start, finish, and throughout is unrivaled. If anything happens, you can hop on a bus at one of the passes and head to where you need to go.

What is an Alta Via? A Via Ferrata?

Alta Via directly translates to “high road” or “high way”. These are specific routes in the Italian Dolomites where you can venture on a multi-day hike from North to South (or vice versa). There are 6 distinct routes, each ranging from ~3-14 days depending on the route. While this blog focuses on Alta Via 2, you can see the different maps and routes in the area for the other Alta Via hikes.

Via Ferrata is a type of hiking / climbing where one clips into fixed bolts or cables for safety. The gear necessary to safely complete an Alta Via includes:

  • Harness

  • Ferrata belay device (which is essential for safe falls versus a traditional PAS climbing device)

  • Helmet

Note that while via ferrata gear is recommended for Alta Via 2, it is not entirely necessary if you are a confident hiker and climber. I went off the main path to do extra summits, so I am glad I had the gear. But I met a number of people without gear that could move quickly due to less weight in their packs.

Alta Via 2 - at a glance

Distance: 100 miles

Elevation: 39,000ft

(Alltrails outlines the route HERE)

Time to complete: 10-14 days (I did it in 11). If you are really ambitious, I met people doing it in 7 but they looked exhausted every day!

Starting location: Brixen / Bressanone (there are 2 names because of the Italian and Austrian influence)

Ending location: Croce de Aune or Feltre. I highly recommend ending in Croce de Aune and taking a bus to Feltre because the final 6 miles are flat, dull, and not necessary to get the full experience!

The elevation is intense, so do not underestimate the route!

Cost to Hike the Alta Via 2

There are 2 options when planning your Alta Via experience:

Use a private company to book your huts

  1. Approximate Cost: $1,900 for 12-13 nights

  2. Pros:

    1. It’s hassle free! The huts are picked for you and paid in advance, so you just show up and enjoy

    2. You can book a trip right before you go and don’t need to spend a lot of time planning

  3. Cons:

    1. It’s nearly 2.5x the cost as doing it on your own

    2. You don’t have a say in what hut you stay in, and typically those picked by companies are very crowded / focused on international travellers / possibly have less of an authenic experience

  4. Companies you can use

    1. Book a Trekking - I met a lot of people who used this site, and the approximate cost above was from speaking with people who used this platform

    2. Macs Adventure

    3. The Natural Adventure

    4. …and many more if you google!

Plan it yourself (which is how I did it)

  1. Approximate Cost: $850 for 11 nights

  2. Pros:

    1. You can stay wherever you want to stay! I went off the beaten path 2 days and the huts I stayed in were my absolute favorite. Great vibes, food, and a really authentic experience

    2. It’s much less expensive, so this is absolutely the option if you are on a budget

  3. Cons:

    1. Planning takes a lot of time and you need to start early! I started emailing huts in March for a July trip, and even that was too late. Do not underestimate the logistics!

    2. Not only do you need to email every hut separately, but you have to wire transfer them money. I used Wise for cheaper, easier wire transfers and it worked wonderfully!

Backpacking the Alta Via 2

Can you backpack? Yes! When I was doing research on this trip, it was hard to find information on backpacking. Here’s the basics:

  1. Yes, you can backpack the Alta Via 2

  2. The official rules are you have to set up and take down your tent in the dark - you are not allowed to have it up during daylight hours and the tent should not be seen by a hut

  3. You can buy food a la carte from the refugios (dinner and breakfast), which reduces what you have to carry. Additionally, most of the huts have potable water so you can fill up there and reduce weight with a water filter

Do I recommend backpacking the Alta Via 2? —> No!

The best part of the experience is spending time in the huts and meeting people from all over the world. You miss out on that experience in a tent. If you want to backpack, I recommend doing another trail that is not the Alta Vias.

What happens if a hut is full?

I met a few people who had no hut reservations and would arrive and ask if there is space. They made the whole trip work for them, but they were travelling solo. Here’s what I recommend:

  1. Make as many reservations in advance that you can

  2. If a hut is full, you can either leave the space open in your schedule and hope for the best, or find an alternative (see my notes in the next section about alternative routes)

  3. Upon arrival, huts can offer you a variety of options. There may have been a last minute cancellation and you can grab a bunk. If the space is full, many times they will charge you 10 euros and you can sleep in the kitchen. Not the nicest option, but you won’t be stranded.

    1. Note that if you have a European alpine membership and the hut aligns with the alpine groups (not all of them do), then they are required to find somewhere for you to sleep. They will not turn you away

    2. That being said, they can turn you away if you do not have an alpine membership

  4. I personally never saw anyone get turned away, and I was impressed with how easy it was for my friends to find spaces and have zero reservations!

If you are solo, this is definitely an option to consider! But I would carry a tent just in case you are not successful.

Detailed guide on how to book huts independently

For those of you on a budget, I outlined the steps to take to book your ultimate Alta Via 2 itinerary. You can plan distances based on your own confidence / experience.

Steps to Book Huts:

  1. Start at least 6 months in advance to when you want to go. This will give you the easiest planning process and most availability.

  2. Decide on your total trip length, and plan which huts you would prefer to stay in! Check out my table below on distances and my route over 11 days.

  3. Pick a date range that works for you. For example, if you can start anywhere between July 1 - 7, you should email that date range to the huts

  4. Send each hut an email asking for availability on your date range, with a preferred date. Also share with them the type of room you want to book and number of people.

  5. Wait for responses and track them using a spreadsheet. Most of the time you will find that one hut will have a lot of availability while others will only be available one day. It’s important to identify those bottleneck places, and see if there is an alternative place you can stay.

  6. Once the picture becomes more clear, as in you have responses from ~70% of places and dates are lining up, start booking via email.

  7. If needed, transfer deposits using Wise. This is the easiest and cheapest way to send money to Italy! All of my transfers went through and I had no issues. Make sure you get the IBAN number and address / name for the wire transfer - the huts will provide this to you easily.

  8. Keep all of your email receipts for your trip! I had one hut say they did not have me down for a reservation, but luckily I had space because I shared my email confirmation.

The perfect 14 day itinerary

Brixen — Genova — Puez — Piscadiu — Capanna Piz Fassa di Bernard Guido — Castiglioni — Alberto Miralago — Mulaz — Rosetta — Pradidali — Treviso — Passo Cereda — Boz — Feltre

The perfect 12 day itinerary

Brixen — Genova — Puez — Boe — Castiglioni — Alberto Miralago — Mulaz — Rosetta — Treviso — Passo Cereda — Boz — Feltre

The perfect 10 day itinerary

Brixen — Genova — Puez — Boe — Castiglioni — Alberto Miralago — Rosetta — Passo Cereda — Boz — Feltre

Approximate Mile Marker Hut Name Hut email / website Cost in 2025, dorm room (euros) Included in Cost Night I stayed there
0 Brixen Youth Hostel brixen@jugendherberge.it 31.60 Bed (no food incl) 1
4.7 Rifugio Plose https://www.plosehuette.com/ - Closed in 2025
12.8 Rifugio Genova http://www.schlueterhuette.com/ 41 Bed and breakfast (dinner a la carte) 2
19.8 Rifugio Puez https://www.rifugiopuez.it/ 87 Bed, Breakfast, Dinner included (Note this hut was full, so I stayed at Firenze)
Rifugio Firenze (Alt for Puez) https://www.rifugiofirenze.com/en/ 47 Bed and breakfast (dinner a la carte) 3
26 Rifugio Piscadiu https://www.rifugiopisciadu.it/en.html 34.5 Bed (dinner & breakfast a la carte) 4
27.9 Rifugio Boe rifugioboe@gmail.com 84.5 Bed, Breakfast, Dinner included

Rifugio Capanna Piz Fassa di Bernard Guido (Alt for Boe) https://www.rifugiocapannapizfassa.com/en/ 75 Bed, Breakfast, Dinner included
29.5 Forcella Pordoi https://www.rifugioforcellapordoi.com/en/ 55 Bed (dinner & breakfast a la carte)
35.5 Rifugio Castiglioni info@rifugiomarmolada.it 57 Bed and breakfast (dinner a la carte)
36.5 Rifugio Fedaia (Alt for above) rifugiofedaia@gmail.com 30 Bed and breakfast (dinner a la carte) 5
46.9 Albergo Miralago
 https://www.albergomiralago.it/en/home/ 55 Bed and breakfast (dinner a la carte) 6
54.6 Volpi al Mulaz rifugiomulaz@gmail.com 82 Bed, Breakfast, Dinner included 7
58.7 Petrotti al Rosetta https://www.rifugiorosetta.it/en/ 82 Bed, Breakfast, Dinner included 8
62.3 Pradidali https://www.rifugiopradidali.it
66.2 Treviso http://www.rifugiotreviso.it/
71.5 Passo Cereda https://www.rifugiocereda.com/en/ 80 Bed and breakfast (dinner a la carte) 9
88.5 Refugio Boz https://www.rifugioboz.it/en/home-english/ 80 Bed, Breakfast, Dinner included 10
100 Feltre Hotel 11
Adriane Turner
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