Italy - Walking from the Dolomites to Lake Garda - 8 days
This walking holiday begins in the famous mountain surrounded spa town of Merano. From here you walk through vineyards and orchards, past historic castles and glittering mountain lakes. The trails lead you through idyllic villages and past spectacular views. The mountains in South Tyrol and Trentino are fascinating with their turquoise lakes, green alpine pastures, deep river valleys and spectacular gorges.
The view of The Dolomites' raw mountain peaks will follow you during most of the trip, and in the Trentino region you will experience the small mountain villages with their winding, narrow alleys and picturesque stone houses. As the grand finale for the walking holiday, you will arrive at the shore of Lake Garda, surrounded by rocky cliffs, olive groves and fig trees. After this week of walking adventures to Lake Garda, a cappuccino and gelato never tasted better.
Highlights on this tour
- Accommodation at 3-star hotels and charming lodges
- Self-guided walk at your own pace, with detailed walking descriptions and maps
- Follow fantastic hiking trails through the hilly terrain of the Dolomites.
- Enjoy the sights from the mountain train, which brings you up to breathtaking views from the Mendelpasset
- Trails that wind through olive groves and orchards.
- Walking past old castles and palaces, situated in stunning natural surroundings
- The lakes Andalo and Nembia, with their respective turquoise and green colors creating a beautiful contrast against the raw mountain peaks.
- Luggage transport between accommodations
Great things about this tour
A stunning mountain landscape
Hiking in the mountains is fantastic and on this trip you'll have plenty of opportunities to enjoy the beautiful views. Most of the mountains are at the start of the route and you'll alternate between hiking in valleys and on mountainsides.
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The delicious food
In all accommodation towns it is possible to find excellent eateries to suit all tastes. Packed lunches for the hikes can either be purchased at the hotels, nearby cafés or supermarkets. It is also possible to opt for half board when booking your trip, whereby all evening meals are included in the price and are either served at the hotel or nearby restaurants.
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Hiking with your dog
It is possible to bring your dog(s) on this walking holiday. If you wish to do so, simply write it in the message box when you book your holiday. Remember to write the dog's shoulder height and breed.
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The beautiful lakes
During the journey, you'll pass several small lakes where you can stop to enjoy the view and possibly take a dip.
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Child discount and shared rooms
Children receive a discount when sharing a room with two fully paying adults. See more about this further down the page under "practical info". People over 15 years old sharing a room with two full paying adults also receive a discount.
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Enjoy the Mediterranean flair in this wonderful and cultural town in the heart of South Tyrol. Wander around the charming arcades or follow in the footsteps of Emperess Sissi along the 'Passer' esplanade.
Today's walk will take you along the Waal paths, through apple orchards to an impressive waterfall. From here the trail leads you through Tisens chestnuts and further up to the small historic church of St. Christoph. The walk continues through a beautiful wooded area, with nice views of the Etsch Valley. You will then arrive at the small village of Nals, idyllic surrounded by vineyards and apple orchards.
You can look forward to a fascinating trekking day on the 'Castle Trail'. On interesting and steep roads you will walk between admirable castles and fortresses, with their diverse and historic architecture. The afternoon brings you through an area with "holes in the ice" - a natural phenomenon that gives you the chance to experience icicles even during mid-summer. After passing the Tower of St. George and several vineyards, you will arrive at Lake Kaltern, where you will stay for the night.
You will begin the day with a train ride to the saddle of Mendel caring the name ‘Mendelpass’. From here there is a breathtaking view before you continue on foot across the plateau towards Nonstal, which is located on the border of the region. The walk will take you through fantastic canyons and through small idyllic villages to the pilgrimage place - Saint Romedio. You will continue past two small fine lakes and before soon reaching Còredo.
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After a short transfer you can admire the impressive landscape of the Nonstal, before you begin your walk along the ‘Way of St. James’, up to the airy high plain of the Paganella. The path leads through wide woodland areas up to Cavedago with its famous triple-arched bridge. Further on across the wetland of a karst lake towards Andalo and then on to the village of Molveno, situated at the foot of the Brenta-Dolomites and the same-named mountain lake with its turquoise water.
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During the short transfer you can enjoy views of the impressive landscape of the Nonstal valley.
You then hike through lonely forests up to the panoramic square by the remarkable little church of San Tommaso. Continue into the Priori nature park area and across the wetlands of a kast lake to Andalo and on to Molveno, located at the foot of the Brenta Dolomites and the sparkling turquoise-blue Alpine lake of the same name. Here you spend the night.
Enjoy the fascinating alpine world of the tall peaks of the Brenta group! You ascend into the mountain area of the Pradel by cable car and you discover one of its most beautiful hiking routes. Stop at a Rifugio (mountain hut) and enjoy a typical Italian snack as well as the impressive view of the surrounding mountain tops, before you slowly descend to the crystal clear, green tarn Lago Nembia.
As you approach the end of your walking holiday the route will take you through untouched meadows in the Valley of Lomason. A healthy ascent will lead you up to the Rifugio of Monte San Pietro from where a spectacular view of Lake Garda awaits you. Continue down through the winding streets and alleyways, past stonewalls belonging to the Castle of Tenno. The last few miles of your trip goes through olive groves and cypress vegetation before you reach the final destination at the banks of Lake Garda.
After breakfast you will be checking out for you individual journey home.
Price includes
- 7 nights in 3-star hotels (can be upgraded)
- Breakfast every day
- Welcome meeting on the day of arrival
- Detailed walking descriptions (route maps, route descriptions, information on relevant tourist attractions and important phone numbers)
- Luggage transfers between hotels
- Tickets to Mendelpass Mountain Railway (Day 4)
- Tickets to the cable car from Pradel to Molveno - only in the summer season, otherwise walk (day 6)
- Local service hotline
- 24-hour local and international service hotline for the duration of the tour
- Access to the route in our GPS-app which works offline while you walk
- This is a packaged holiday and is therefore covered by The Travel Guarantee Fund - See which benefits this means for you - click here
- Transportation to/from Merano
- Cancellation and travel insurance
- optional: Half board (6x dinner)
- Bus fare from Lago Nembia to Molveno, approx. EUR 3 per person
- optional: Transfer from Riva del Garda to Merano (59 eur pr. person)
Practical info
The price is based upon two people sharing. It is also possible travel alone in a single room. Simply choose "1 person" in the booking form and it will automatically add the single room surcharge.
On this tour you will be on your own supplied with maps, route descriptions and luggage transfers. That means that your time is your own and you have plenty of time to enjoy the stages in your own pace.
Check the price quickly
You can quickly check the price of your desired trip without having to fill in anything. Here's how:
- Choose your desired start date
- Click on the green button "See price and reserve your holiday" and go to the booking form
- Select number of people, add any optional extras and see the price at the bottom of the page (you don't have to fill in anything on the form).
Get a quote
For example, if you want a flight included or changes to the trip, you can order a quote for this using the "Get a quote" button. Remember to describe in detail what, if anything, you want changed.
The process of your booking
When you book, we will start booking hotels and arranging all the practical details of the trip. This process typically takes 2-5 working days, but some bookings may take longer. If you are arranging your own transport, we recommend that you wait until we have confirmed your booking before arranging this.
Dates
If you can select the date in the tour calendar at the top of this page, this is a possible start date. We continually update the tours with sold-out dates, after which those dates will turn red and cannot be selected.
The flights to/from Milano, Verona or Venice are not included in the price. You can easily find a suitable flight via a flight booking engine such as Momondo or Skyscanner.
Notice: we recommend that you book with us and wait for the confirmation before you book your flights.
Book a quote
If you prefer that we handle your flight, then we would be happy to arrange this for you. You simply book a quote below the map on this page and we will return with a quote as soon as possible (usually within 2-5 working days). Please note that we add a handling fee of 45 euro to each flight and this means that the flight will be cheaper if you book it yourself.
Getting from the airport to Merano
It is relatively straight forward getting from the Airport to Merano. The closest airport is Verona.
We recommend that you use this tool to easily find your way to Merano: Rome2Rio
If you are driving yourself
Luggage transfer is included on this tour. Upon arrival at the first hotel you will be given luggage tags along with the rest of the welcome package. You fill out the luggage tags and put them on your bags where they will remain for the duration of the tour.
Your luggage is picked up from the hotel lobby around 9am every morning and will arrive at your next hotel at 6pm at the latest (often long before that). If there are any special exceptions to the luggage transfer you will be notified upon arrival.
Luggage transfer includes one bag per guest and the bags can weigh 20kg each.
There will be an information meeting held by a staff member of our local partners. This will take place at 18.00 O’clock on the arrival day. You will meet the staff member in the reception, unless told otherwise upon check-in.
On this tour you will stay at nice 3-star hotels. It is also possible to upgrade to 4-star hotels. You select this option on the booking form. Breakfast is included in the trip.
Some places you will possibly be charged a small 'Tourist tax' - this is payable locally.
It is possible to purchase 6x dinner at the hotels on this trip (not on day 7 of Riva on Lake Garda). The meal will at least be a 3-course menu. Half board is selected on the booking form.
On this trip, it is possible to bring your dog. Should this be of interest, then note the breed and height of the dog in the comment section when booking. - It is possible that there will be a small additional charge when bringing a dog, this will be payable locally at the hotels.
The walking on this trip is a level 2. When you are on a self-guided tour, you make your own decisions on how many detours you are up for. The program is arranged with an average daily walking time of 4-6 hours in the hilly terrain. You can read more about our grading system here.
Here you can get an overview of the entire route and the elevation profile for each day. The data shows the data from the GPX-files related to the tour. Notice that the routes are sometimes updated, which means that there might be small variations.
Colors
Blue routes: The route as normal
Red routes: Variations/options (such as shortened or extended routes)
It can be hard to plan your trip according to the weather, but to give an idea of the local climate of Bolzano area, see data below:
We are members of the Travel Guarantee Fund (nr. 2529) and have all available insurances. This covers you regardless of your nationality. Read more about that here.
Call our experts on weekdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Phone: +44 20 3936 1208
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Phone: +44 20 3936 1208
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