Where to Stay in The Dolomites: Best 2 Areas for Summer (+Map & Hotels)
Planning a trip to the Dolomites in Italy and not sure where to stay? This practical guide covers the two best areas to stay in the Dolomites for hiking and sightseeing in summer.
The Dolomites region is large, with towns, lakes, and hiking trails spread out across winding mountain roads that can make getting around slow. But if you’re a first-time visitor aiming to see the top sights and do the best hikes in the Dolomites, you can focus on just two main areas: Cortina d’Ampezzo in the east and Val Gardena in the west.
We’ve visited the Italian Dolomites several times, staying in different towns for weeks at a time. Based on our experience, these two areas offer the best base locations for exploring the region in summer – and they’re also top picks for skiing in winter (but that’s not the focus of this article).
In this guide, you’ll find everything you need to know about where to stay in the Dolomites: what makes these two areas a great choice, how to get there, what to see nearby, and tips for picking the right base for your trip. Find out!
Our Top Picks
If you don’t have the time to read the entire guide, here are our hand-picked mid-budget hotel recommendations in each area:
- Cortina d’Ampezzo:
- B&B Hotel Passo Tre Croci near Cortina (at the start of the Lake Sorapis hike).
- Hotel Aquila in town center.
- Selva di Val Gardena (the best town to stay in the Val Gardena area):
- Linder Cycling Hotel – a great-value upscale hotel.
- Hotel Euròpa Dolomites – a wonderful lower-budget option.
Good to know: Many hotels in the Dolomites require a minimum stay of 3-4 nights, some even longer. So if you are only looking for a place to stay for a few nights, your options will be more limited. In this guide, we try to feature only those hotels that are bookable by night, but it also depends on the season. So it’s always best to check what’s available for your exact travel dates. And don’t wait to book – the Dolomites are extremely popular in the summer and best-priced accommodations always sell out first.
Good to know: On the map above, we marked the two best areas to stay in the Dolomites. They may look close – just 50 km (30 miles) apart – but driving between them takes at least 1.5 hours due to narrow, winding mountain roads.
Some top sights are located even further east or west, so while it’s technically possible to visit everything from one base, you’d spend too much time driving. The roads can be slow, tiring, and can often leave you feeling nauseous after just a short drive.
Staying closer to the places you want to visit not only saves time but also lets you reach popular spots early, before the crowds.
TIP: If you have just 1–2 days in the Dolomites, pick one of these two areas (without a car, Cortina is the best choice, with direct bus connections to Venice). With 3–4 days or more (and a car), split your stay between both.
Wondering if you can stay somewhere in the middle? Sure. But trust us – once you see the roads and mountain passes, you won’t want to cross two or three of them every time you head out or return to your hotel. Plus, the facilities outside of the main towns can be very limited.
READ ALSO: Dolomites Itinerary (suggestions for any trip)
Here are the best areas to stay in the Dolomites:
1. Cortina d’Ampezzo
Good accessibility and a very central location for visiting most of the top places make Cortina one of the best towns to stay in the Dolomites.
Cortina d’Ampezzo is one of the most famous ski resorts in the Dolomites. Surrounded by stunning mountains, it also has the most convenient location for sightseeing and hiking in summer.
This is a small upscale town, with a pedestrianized area where you will find some fashion boutiques and a couple of restaurants.
There are mountain gondolas on the outskirts of town, a fun adventure park (great with kids!), and a few other attractions depending on the season. If you are here for skiing, however, you will need a shuttle or a car to get to most ski lifts. Many hotels offer ski shuttles to their guests too.
If visiting in the summer, you will be glad to know that Cortina is very centrally located for exploring some of the nicest lakes and iconic landmarks in the Dolomites. Quite a few of the most popular hikes in the Dolomites are also located in this area.
What to see near Cortina
Cortina d’Ampezzo is an excellent location, with many amazing landmarks and hiking trails located within less than 1-hour drive from here.
There is a lot to see in this area and you could spend weeks here. But if this is your first time in the Dolomites, staying in Cortina makes it really easy to visit the following top places:
- Tre Cime di Lavaredo.
- Lago di Sorapis.
- Lago di Braies.
- Lago Dobbiaco.
- Lago di Federa.
- Cinque Torri.
- Lago Limides.
- Passo Falzareggo/ Lagazuoi.
- Passo Giau.
- Marmolada, the highest mountain peak you can easily visit in the Dolomites, is about 1 hour drive from here.
Getting there & nearest airports
Cortina d’Ampezzo is located on the eastern side of the Dolomites, just 2 hours drive from Venice. So if you are flying to Venice Airport, this is the easiest part of the Dolomites to get to.
Other bigger airports are in Milan, Bergamo, Innsbruck, and Munich. They are all 3.5-5 hours drive from Cortina.
Good to know: There are direct express buses between Venice Airport and Cortina d’Ampezzo. So if you don’t want to rent a car, it’s possible to see and do a lot just by using public transport. In winter, there are ski shuttles in town. And in the high summer season, there are good bus connections between Cortina and the main places in the nearby mountains.
However, if you are visiting in the summer and want to explore all the best areas in the Dolomites at your own pace, we recommend renting a car. In general, car hire isn’t very expensive in Italy, especially if you book well in advance. We use and recommend Booking’s car hire search engine.
Where to stay in Cortina d’Ampezzo
Below are a few hotel suggestions in Cortina d’Ampezzo, covering different budgets. There are plenty of accommodation options here—including self-catering apartments—so it doesn’t make sense to list them all.
Instead, we recommend checking what’s still available for your travel dates. Availability, group size, and budget will ultimately determine what works best for you. But to help you get started, here’s our hand-picked selection of top hotels in central Cortina:
€€€€€ Hotel de LEN
€€€€ Ambra Cortina Luxury&Fashion Hotel
€€€ Radisson Residences Savoia Palace
€€+ Hotel Aquila (great value)
€€ Hotel Olimpia
Good to know: If you’re traveling by car, check if your hotel offers parking – it’s often limited and can be tricky in the town center of Cortina.
TIP: With a car, staying just outside Cortina can save you money. Since you’ll be driving around to explore the area anyway, being a few kilometers out won’t make much difference, and prices tend to be a bit lower (the entire area is really not cheap to start with).
One of the best value hotels near Cortina is B&B Hotel Passo Tre Croci. It has a great location right next to the famous Lago di Sorapis hike trailhead and offers excellent value in this part of the Dolomites.
2. Val Gardena
Excellent location for many nice hikes, accessibility, great facilities, and a bigger choice of accommodations for various budgets make Val Gardena one of the best towns to stay in the Dolomites.
Val Gardena comprises several towns: Ortisei, Santa Cristina, and Selva di Val Gardena. This is another top area to stay in the Dolomites and is extremely popular in the winter. In fact, if you are looking for ski-in/ski-out hotels, you will find better options here than in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
In summer, Val Gardena is also an excellent area to stay for hiking in the Dolomites. Some of the most iconic ‘postcard’ landscapes of the Dolomites can also be found in this area. Plus, there are many great restaurants, hotels, and all other facilities.
The big advantage of staying in Val Gardena is its proximity to the highway and a relatively flat road through the valley. So it’s quite easy to get here. Also, there are some nice bigger towns nearby that are worth a visit too (Bolzano and Merano, to mention just a few). So if the weather isn’t great in the mountains, you can easily find alternative ideas for sightseeing.
What to see in/near Val Gardena
Just like the Cortina area, Val Gardena has a lot to offer to first-time visitors. Also here, you can easily spend several weeks and find plenty to see and do.
But if it’s your first visit, you will want to focus on these top places in/near Val Gardena:
- Seceda – Pieralongia area (accessible by cable car from Ortisei).
- Funes/Villnöss Valley with St. Magdalena, the most photographed landscape in the Dolomites, and Adolf Munkel Trail to the picture-perfect Geisler Alm.
- Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm).
- Puez-Odle Altopiano area (accessible from Selva).
- Passo Pordoi.
- Passo Sella.
- Passo Gardena.
You can find more information about these places in our guides to the best Dolomites hikes, the best places in the Dolomites, and the best lakes in the Dolomites.
Getting there & nearest airports
The closest airport near Val Gardena is Bolzano, which is less than 1 hour drive from the Val Gardena towns. But this is a rather small airport and so there aren’t many flight connections.
Innsbruck airport, just over the border in Austria, is less than 2 hours away and can also be a good option depending on where you are coming from.
The bigger airports in Milan (also Bergamo) or Munich, are all about 3.5-4 hours drive from Val Gardena.
There is public transport between Bolzano and Val Gardena, but also here, renting a car is a much more convenient option. Alternatively, you can also hire a private transfer, but those are really expensive and are mostly used by skiers in the winter.
Where to stay in Val Gardena
Of the three main towns of Val Gardena, probably the nicest one to stay is Selva di Val Gardena, followed by Ortisei. We find that Selva has the best atmosphere and it’s also quite flat and walkable. There are shops and many restaurants, a tourist info center, bike rentals, etc. You can also do some hiking starting straight from town.
There is also a regional bus (included when staying in most Val Gardena hotels) that can bring you to all the popular places nearby. If you do have a car, make sure that your accommodation provides parking.
There are tons of hotels and accommodations in Val Gardena. However, many Val Gardena hotels require a minimum stay, which can be 3-4 nights, but often even as long as 7 nights. So if you are just here for a night or two, you will have fewer options. Still, it’s usually not an issue to find a nice place to stay, but in the peak season, it’s a good idea to book well in advance.
Because of this, it’s quite difficult to recommend specific hotels in this guide. The best thing I suggest you do is simply check what’s available for your travel dates. Also here, the places located a bit outside of the main town will often be cheaper.
To help you get started, check out the Linder Cycling Hotel. It’s one of the few hotels in the town of Selva di Val Gardena that is usually bookable by night, even in the peak season. Plus, it has parking and usually includes breakfast in all rates. On a lower budget, Hotel Europa Dolomites is another excellent choice.
TIP: We have a very thorough guide to the Val Gardena accommodations (link below), so check it out if you are staying in the region longer and are looking for more specific hotel recommendations (ski hotels, hotels for families, hotels with pools, etc.).
LEARN MORE: Where to Stay in Val Gardena
Things to Consider When Deciding Where to Stay in the Dolomites
Now that you know the best areas and towns to stay in the Dolomites, there are a few things that you may want to consider when deciding which one to choose:
The Season
If you are visiting the Dolomites during the winter season, your main focus will probably be skiing. In that case, I would just look for a nice hotel close to the ski slopes and stay there for the entire vacation. For that, Val Gardena is probably the best option. For specific hotel suggestions, take a look at our guide to the best ski hotels in Val Gardena.
If you are visiting the Dolomites in the summer, then you are probably most interested in sightseeing and hiking. For that, both – Cortina and Val Gardena – are equally good. But where to stay and for how long depends on the duration of your visit – see below.
If you are visiting during the shoulder season, first and foremost consider what you will be able to do at that time of the year. While some places can be seen/visited the whole year round, others are only accessible in the summer (or only with skis in winter).
What you want to see & How much time you have
Another important factor when deciding where to stay in the Dolomites is what you want to see and how much time you have.
For ‘the musts’, ideally, you plan at least 3-5 nights in the mountains and split your stay between these two areas. This will limit driving each day. Staying at each place for at least several nights will also give you more flexibility to adjust your plans in case of bad weather.
For more details, please see our recommendations on how to plan your Dolomites itinerary.
What kind of transportation you will use
This is another very important thing that can determine where to stay in the Dolomites. Without a car, consider how you can best get to the Dolomites to start with. Once there, research which places can be visited by public transport.
Cortina is easier to reach without a car – mainly because there are direct buses from Venice.
Both – Val Gardena and Cortina – have quite some possibilities for places to visit and nice hikes to do by taking a public bus. But this will require a lot more planning from your side and many buses only run in the peak season.
I really recommend renting a car for sightseeing in the Dolomites (check this website for the best deals – no matter which airport you are flying to). Just remember that parking is often limited. Starting your days early always pays off, especially when going to the most popular places or world-famous hikes.
budget
Another thing to consider when looking for a place to stay in the Dolomites is your budget. Overall, Cortina has more affordable accommodation options than Val Gardena. But, as already mentioned, the entire area is not a low-budget destination, especially in the peak summer and winter seasons.
Here are some tips on how to save money on the Dolomites accommodation:
- Avoid peak travel times. In winter, it’s Christmas and February – March, plus Easter. In the summer, the absolute peak season is between mid-July and the end of August.
- Book well in advance! The sooner you book, the more lodging options you have.
- Stay just a bit outside of these prime areas. Sometimes, a few kilometers can make a huge difference in price, but not necessarily influence your travel experience.
- Stay longer (in one place). Yes, you read that right. Since many accommodations require a minimum stay, you will sometimes be able to find much better deals if staying in the area longer. Also, some places have multi-day passes for gondolas and public transport, which give amazing value if you stay in one region for a longer time.
- When comparing hotels, check what’s included in the price (breakfast, parking, etc.). Also, check if there are restaurants nearby. You may also want to look for self-catering accommodations, but this is not always a guarantee of a lower price, not even to mention that most self-catering places often require a longer minimum stay.
- Compare prices and accommodations. For that, take a look at our handy map below. Simply insert your travel dates, group size, and the approximate location where you want to go, and you will see the best deals available. The map now shows Cortina d’Ampezzo accommodations, but you can zoom it in and out to any other area. Check it out!
Your overall travel plans
And finally, when deciding where to stay in the Dolomites, consider your overall travel plan. If the Dolomites are just part of a bigger trip, you may want to see how it best fits your itinerary.
For example, if you are planning to explore Northern Italy, you could start with a few days in Venice, then head to Cortina d’Ampezzo, followed by the Val Gardena area. Afterward, visit Trento, Verona and Lake Garda, and/or Milan and Lake Como…
If you would like to combine a visit to the Dolomites with a trip to Austria and potentially even Germany, you could start in Munich, visit Neuschwanstein Castle, Innsbruck and/or Stubai Valley, and then head to the Dolomites. Stay in Val Gardena, followed by Cortina d’Ampezzo, and then on to Salzburg in Austria.
These are just a few examples of possible itineraries. There are endless ways to plan a trip to this area!
Best areas to stay in the Dolomites – FAQ
If you have to pick just one place, Cortina d’Ampezzo is the best area to stay when visiting the Dolomites for the first time. It’s easy to reach from Venice, and its central location gives you easy access to many of the best hikes and top attractions in the Dolomites. Plus, it has good public transport connections and more affordable accommodation options.
There are two best areas to use as your base for sightseeing in the Dolomites – Cortina d’Ampezzo for the eastern side and Val Gardena for the western side. Dividing your stay between these two areas will allow you to see the best of the Dolomites without having to spend hours in a car each day.
If you are mostly interested in doing the most popular hikes in the Dolomites, such as Tre Cime di Lavaredo or Lago di Sorapis, then the area around Cortina d’Ampezzo is by far the best place to stay in the Dolomites for hiking.
You can just drive through the area and see some of the nicest places in a day or two, but we highly recommend at least 3-4 days for your first visit. However, if you want to see all the top places and do some hiking, you can easily fill 6-10 days in the Dolomites (and you will want to come back for more).
We highly recommend renting a car as it will give you much more flexibility when exploring the Dolomites. But no, it’s not a must, and you can visit the Dolomites using public transport. Without a car, we recommend that you fly to Venice Airport, from where you can take an express bus to Cortina d’Ampezzo. Staying in this town, you will be able to see a lot of the area using public transportation.
Depending on what you want to see and do, both – Val Gardena and Cortina d’Ampezzo – areas are very good places to stay for sightseeing and hiking in the Dolomites. That being said, Cortina is better located for some of the most popular hikes, plus, it’s very easy to get to from Venice.
So, this is our guide to the best places to stay in the Dolomites.
Of course, so much depends on your specific plans and the area is huge with thousands of accommodations throughout. So use this just as guidance, but always see what makes the most sense for your specific itinerary, interests, and budget.
Have a great time in the Dolomites!
TIP: Before you go, you may want to check our other guides to the Dolomites. We have TONS of information that will help you plan a truly memorable trip – whether you are hiking or not. Here are just a few articles to start with:
- Must-sees: The Most Beautiful Places to See in the Dolomites
- For hikers: TOP Hikes in the Dolomites (all these are rather easy/moderate, and most only require up to 3 hours).
- For everyone: Best Lakes in the Dolomites (most of these don’t require any hiking).
READ ALSO: Best Places to See in Italy
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More travel inspiration for Northern Italy:
- Venice:
- Milan:
- Florence & Bologna:
- Lake Garda & Verona:
- Lake Como:
- … for many more destinations, see our Italy travel guide.
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This article was extremely helpful as we plan for our trip to the Dolomites in June. Based on your recommendation, we will do two nights in Cortina and two nights in Selva. I found hotels through Booking but I wondered if there was any advantage to booking our stay directly with the hotel, on their website?
Hi Lindsay, a lot can be said about this topic, but we personally always book via Booking.com if possible and that is also what we recommend to our readers. I have dozens of examples of things not going as they should with direct bookings and also when using lesser-known accommodation booking platforms. Some of the main advantages of booking via Booking.com include their amazing customer service, plus having all your bookings in one app and extremely easy to manage/adjust/cancel, etc. If you are planning a longer (road) trip and have multiple hotel bookings, it’s just so much simpler. When booking directly, you have to deal with all kinds of different websites, create separate accounts, provide your credit card details via not always the safest ways, and if for whatever reason you decide to cancel, it’s often not quite straightforward either.
Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip to the Dolomites!