It was late autumn in 2014 when my boyfriend Craig and I first visited the Dolomites in northern Italy. We were on a big, seven-month road trip around Europe that took us up to the Arctic Circle and down to the twinkly Adriatic Sea. 

One of the places we were most excited about visiting was the Dolomites, but the problem was, we couldn’t find the famous peaks. 

It’s comical now I look back on it, but these were the days before WiFi at our fingertips – well, at least for me. 

Before we embarked on the road trip my sister gave me her old iPhone and said I needed to stay in touch more. It helped with travel planning too, but I didn’t have WiFi all the time, we’d just stop at a McDonald’s every couple of weeks to do a bit of life admin on the phone. 

My lack of technology use created a few problems – like trying to locate the best sights in the Dolomites. I used a paper map to navigate our entire road trip and it showed the national parks so we just headed in that direction. We stopped en route at a visitor centre to get some advice, but the staff didn’t speak English and were very unhelpful.

It was down to us, so we just drove in the general direction of the mountains, and whenever we reached a junction we had to impulsively pick whether to turn left or right. 

We were winging it, but somehow we made it up a mountain pass where thick cloud wrapped around us. The peaks made a brief appearance and then they were gone, forever – at least that’s how it felt. 

A local told us with a look of disgust that it was due to rain heavily for the next week, which meant our chances of seeing the famous mountains were low. 

It was too cold to wait around for the weather to clear up in our uninsulated van. We didn’t even have a heater so if we weren’t out hiking we were wrapped in blankets and cuddling hot water bottles. 

The only silver lining was finding some patches of snow at the pass, creating an opportunity for us to go sledging. But, we were budget travellers living in a tiny van so we didn’t even have a sledge – instead, we repurposed our plastic foldable table. It was great fun, plummeting down the mountainside, the wind in our hair and boots filled with snow, but eventually more rain came along and we made the decision to continue west, towards clearer skies in Switzerland. 

Fast forward to October 2025 and we finally returned to the Dolomites. A whopping 11 years later. 

This time we didn’t have a camper van, so we stayed in apartments and rented a car – which filled me with anxiety due to the reckless drivers in Italy who all seem to think they’re Formula One drivers while revving a Fiat Panda. 

The flight took us right over the Alps, offering views of snow-capped peaks, glaciers, and blue lakes – I even spotted the Toblerone-shaped Matterhorn out my window! 

Once we arrived at Verona airport I quickly researched how to say hello in Italian. I remembered that Ciao could be used for hello or goodbye, but I figured I’d refresh my memory. There was a word I hadn’t used before, ‘Salve’ which meant hello. Craig and I repeated the word to each other a few times, trying to figure out how to pronounce it. As we practised, a man walked past and my impulsive thoughts took over, causing me to confidently blurt “SALVE!” to the innocent bystander. 

After a split second (which felt like a full week) of confusion and silence – on both sides, the man said “salve” and continued on his way while Craig muttered “what the hells gotten into you?” 

A little fiat panda was allocated to us, and we spent almost an hour taking photos and videos from every possible angle, ready to prove that the scratches and dents were already there when we returned the vehicle. 

We were both feeling very anxious when we hit the road but soon we joined the toll motorway, heading towards the crisp mountain air. 

As we made our way north, we watched the boxy, pastel coloured houses change to humongous alpine chalets, with wooden balconies and flower boxes full of geraniums. 

Not only did the architecture have a different feel, but delicacies like strudel were more common than Tiramisu, and locals’ first language was German. It all made sense once we considered that the region was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire before WWI. While it’s part of Italy now, the Austrian culture very much lives on today. 

It was a three-and-a-half-hour drive to our accommodation which was an apartment within a traditional farmhouse, just a few kilometres from the Austrian border. 

The sun had set by the time we reached the steep, winding track, but we could still make out the shape of the mountains through the twilight sky.

A sweet old lady who didn’t speak a word of English greeted us before her jolly son appeared, standing over six feet tall, with floppy mousy blonde hair, and a smile that lit up the room. 

The apartment was perfect for us and after a quick bowl of tortellini we excitedly got into bed where a huge feather duvet wrapped around us and we fell asleep to the sound of cow bells dinging outside. 

I couldn’t wait to wake up and see the view the following morning, and while we were met with low-lying cloud masking the peaks, it soon began to burn off and reveal the snow-capped towers. 

Our first adventure in the Dolomites was a visit to Lago di Braies, known as one of the prettiest alpine lakes. 

We opted for a longer walk, to avoid a paid carpark and it led us through thick pine forest with occasional glimpses of rocky towers rising like skyscrapers. 

Before we reached the lake we got sight of a large hotel with an immense mountain rising almost 3000m behind it. The scene reminded us of Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies, with the famous Fairmont Chateau surrounded by an almighty group of peaks. 

As we walked across the stony shoreline towards the water’s edge, my speed increased. I could see that the lake was completely flat, offering a dreamy reflection of the mountains. 

Wispy clouds drifted around the summits, occasionally building up and masking the entire view, before melting away again, like a curtain being pulled open at the theatre. 

Wooden rowboats were moored up on the lake, bobbing on the mirrored surface before the crowds descended on the dock to rent them out.

To make the most of Lago Di Braies, we opted to follow a loop trail that circumnavigated the emerald lake. It was one of those hikes that takes twice as long as it should due to how many times I stopped to take photos.  

There was a short section that went up a series of steps along the side of a rocky cliff with a steep drop down to the emerald water. 

As we made our way towards the southern shore, the sun pierced towards us like a laser beam as it crested between two mountains. As soon as the sun hit the lake, the water turned a vibrant UV colour. 

The gravel beach dropped down into the water at an alarming rate. It made the idea of going for a wild swim more tempting as it meant less time faffing in the shallows and a quicker entry. But, a chilly breeze was enough to keep us from undressing. 

By the time we reached the end of our hike, we had a bit of a shock as it was heaving with people. All of the rowboats were being paddled around the lake, mostly by people who hadn’t rowed before and moved in jolting zigzags. 

Feeling elated with our first outing, we decided to drive to a different valley for a second hike. Before we set off we prepared the picnic lunch that we’d purchased from a supermarket. It was a very professional affair – I opened the boot of our car and laid a couple of napkins on the parcel shelf. Then we filled some baguettes with pesto, and used a blunt knife to slice the tomato and the mozzarella. How very Italian of us.

We settled on a bench beside a shallow river and were reminded what a workout it is eating a big, crusty baguette. After about an hour of vigorous chewing, we brushed the crumbs from our laps and set off on our hike. 

The scenery was completely different to Lago Di Braies, and now we were roaming across bright green pastures with pockets of forest. 

It felt like a fairytale, with rustic wooden cabins nestled between the trees, and cows all around us, the sound of their bells filling the air. Between the forest, we could see the tall rocky spires, and eventually the whole view opened up as we arrived at our end goal – a traditional rifugio. 

There’s a vast network of over 1000 rifugios spread across the Dolomites. They’re mountain huts built beside hiking trails that offer accommodation and food. It’s a great way to do a thru hike without having to bring a tent or cooking equipment because every night you can get a delicious meal and a cosy bed. 

The rifugio we arrived at had a large terrace area basking in sunshine, offering a jaw-dropping view of the jagged peaks. 

We were pleasantly surprised by the prices, with glasses of wine starting at €2.20 but a chill in the air had me ordering a hot chocolate, covered in a thick dollop of cream. It was heaven. 

We sat there for a while, sipping the rich hot chocolate while laughing at our luck. From a week of rain and no visibility during our 2014 Dolomite trip – to glorious sunshine and endless mountain Views. 

We couldn’t wipe the smiles from our faces and were so excited to have nine more days exploring the beautiful region.