Highlights of the Dolomites

My dad and I have just returned from the Dolomites. We had an absolutely amazing week and I cannot rate it highly enough for keen mountain walkers. With varied walks, beautiful views, excellent guides and cheerful company from fellow hikers, it has been a very memorable week; I am so pleased that i chose this spectacular trip. Thank you to everyone for making it such a happy holiday. ...more ...less

A very enjoyable week's hiking in a truly spectacular part of the world. We had wanted to visit the Dolomites for some time and the Val di Fassa did not disappoint. The pretty towns and villages sitting in the valleys are surrounded by majestic mountains, not least the imposing Marmolada, and the backdrop is really is awe inspiring. The great advantage of this trip for us was the dual grades, enabling you to pick and choose a level 3 or level 5 walk. We chose level 3 on all but one of the days, and unlike level 3 walks we had been on in the past, they provided fantastic views of the surrounding area and a good amount of ascent to get the blood pumping. The level 5 walks tended to involve more ascent and fewer refreshment breaks, and also negotiated trickier ridges and ledges. All the walks made use of the excellent cable cars, chairlifts and gondolas throughout the valley to gain height as well the local buses. These got pretty busy since it was peak holiday season, so on a couple of occasions we made early starts to beat the crowds. Although breakfast was a rush, it was well worth it. The Hotel Enrosadira was clean and comfortable, although the rooms were quite small. The friendliness and efficiency of the staff made up for this, and the buffet breakfast and evening meals were very good indeed. The hotel was a few minutes walk to the centre of Campitello were you can find a supermarket, bars, bakeries etc. A special mention must be made for the mountain refuges, or huts. These are dotted about the mountains and both level 3 and 5 walks frequented these for refreshment and lunch stops. I was surprised at the standard of the food and facilities of these considering their remote nature. I recommend taking along some extra cash and trying out some of the local dishes, particularly the Kaiserschmarrn! ...more ...less

The walking was varied and challenging enough ( Grade 5), our group was a good mix which seemed to click straight away and we were blessed with perfect weather the whole week. The views were magnificent and the walks well planned. It was good to use the available ski lifts to save slogging up the lower slopes, so that we could start higher and go further. ...more ...less

Superb walking surrounded by weirdly beautiful, jaggedy peaks, with alpine meadows, terrific views, snowfields, bare-rock scrambles, ridge walks, mountain streams, well-stocked, picturesque Rifugios, steep, steep ascents and descents, cable cars, woods, valleys and a truly astonishing number and variety of wildflowers. It is a hard-working holiday but the rewards far outweigh the effort involved. ...more ...less

One of the best trekking holidays with Exodus since I did the Haute Route 18 years ago. A good variety of hiking in amazing scenery including getting into some remote and barren areas. And led by two great leaders, Albert and Martin.

I really enjoyed this trip and I would say the highlight for me was the variety of scenery, not just over the course of the week but on each walking day! Stunning limestone towers and very Austrian style rolling meadows with the greatest profusion of alpine flowers I have ever seen each day. Both the leaders were very experienced and a good laugh too. Although some have stated the hotel was basic, I found it clean and comfortable and the food was certainly better than last years TMB highlights trip! Overall a very enjoyable holiday with a lovely group of people and I would thoroughly recommend it.  ...more ...less

Walking, accommodation (especially the food) and leaders all excellent - BUT Exodus really shouldn't run the trip as late as mid-September - the winter timetable had started a week earlier so some cable cars weren't running, and unexpected heavy snow led to others being shut down - because of this the leaders had to work very hard to find alternative walks and it is to their great credit that they managed to do so. ...more ...less

Great week of level 5 trekking with amazing views. The option of swapping to level 3 if desired was available to us at each evening's debrief which was perfect. Each trek available each day was described and we could chose each evening which group we went out with. Hotel and food was simply wonderful, fabulous hosts! Would go back again in a heartbeat. ...more ...less