***I am editing this from the original post about hiking in the Dolomites, my plans have changed and I will now be hiking solo and looking to go hut to hut.

My plan is to take the Bernina Express into either Italy at Tirano or Switzerland at Poshiavo, and then hike from either of those. I have about 6 days (5 nights) to hike, and I am hoping to follow a route that would let me stay up high in the alps and go from hut to hut each day. Any suggestions would be much appreciated! I am somewhat flexible on where I start from and end. Many thanks.

Last year I camped wild one time high up in the Italian Alps myself, though it was a bit west of the Dolomites. Usually I prefer refuges, but there wasn't one near where I wanted to spend the night, so I packed a tent instead. I also figured that the lack of a refuge meant that there would be few if any people passing by my tent, and if nobody sees it, there is no problem, right?

Occasionally I've seen a tent in the middle of nowhere in the Dolomites as well as in other parts of the Italian Alps. It's pretty rare, actually. Fortunately, Italians are far less strict about rules than, say, Austrians, Germans or Swiss, so the mere fact that camping wild is officially forbidden somewhere isn't necessarily a problem. If you want to camp wild, do so unobtrusively, well away from people and not in the vicinity of a perfectly fine alpine refuge. Mind you, the Dolomites get a lot of visitors, making it difficult to find a secluded spot in some parts. Generally speaking, the rest of the Italian Alps are a bit quieter. It's best to pitch your tent late in the day and get moving the next morning; don't plan on leaving your tent standing during the day.

You might consider the alpine bivvy shelters. Customs vary a bit per region, but in Italy they are usually open all year and they are free. Some are popular, but the majority are mostly empty. That said, it's first come, first serve, so if a big group decides to use a shelter, it can get crowded, and there may be no bunks or blankets left, and no room to roll out your own sleeping bag if you've brought on (I prefer my own sleeping bag anytime). Weekends are busier than week days, and the first half of August is the busiest period.

That makes me wonder: when do you plan to be there?

rgg wrote:Last year I camped wild one time high up in the Italian Alps myself, though it was a bit west of the Dolomites. Usually I prefer refuges, but there wasn't one near where I wanted to spend the night, so I packed a tent instead. I also figured that the lack of a refuge meant that there would be few if any people passing by my tent, and if nobody sees it, there is no problem, right?

Occasionally I've seen a tent in the middle of nowhere in the Dolomites as well as in other parts of the Italian Alps. It's pretty rare, actually. Fortunately, Italians are far less strict about rules than, say, Austrians, Germans or Swiss, so the mere fact that camping wild is officially forbidden somewhere isn't necessarily a problem. If you want to camp wild, do so unobtrusively, well away from people and not in the vicinity of a perfectly fine alpine refuge. Mind you, the Dolomites get a lot of visitors, making it difficult to find a secluded spot in some parts. Generally speaking, the rest of the Italian Alps are a bit quieter. It's best to pitch your tent late in the day and get moving the next morning; don't plan on leaving your tent standing during the day.

You might consider the alpine bivvy shelters. Customs vary a bit per region, but in Italy they are usually open all year and they are free. Some are popular, but the majority are mostly empty. That said, it's first come, first serve, so if a big group decides to use a shelter, it can get crowded, and there may be no bunks or blankets left, and no room to roll out your own sleeping bag if you've brought on (I prefer my own sleeping bag anytime). Weekends are busier than week days, and the first half of August is the busiest period.

That makes me wonder: when do you plan to be there?

Good question, I forgot to add that - I will be there July 20 - 24 likely. And I was asking about backcountry camping since I am from the states so I am familiar with a "leave no trace" type of camping. Is there a good place to find where these bivvy shelters you mentioned are located? Also, how easy would it be for myself and a friend to try to hitch-hike or get some sort of other transportation to a trailhead further away from Bolzano? Thanks for the response!

Rifugi Bivacchi provides lots of maps. As you can see see there are a lot more refuges than bivvy shelters, but refuges are not free. When I spend time in the italian Alps, using refuges a lot, my budget is 50-60 Eur per day. I take it that's not what you're looking for.

Still, there are bivvies here and there. When you're planning to go up there, ask beforehand about the state they are in. And check the accessibility: Bivacco Giuliani for example is on an (easy) rock climbing route, so unless you're a climber, you can't get there. For hikers, something like Bivacco della Pace looks more suitable.

I don't have a car myself, and rely primarily on public transport and if that doesn't work on hitch hiking. In my opinion public transport in Italy is pretty cheap. There are no buses heading up into the mountains real early, but apart from that, there are buses all over the place, over all the mountain passes and consequently to all the trailheads. My main problem is usually by the end of the day. The last bus out of the mountains often leaves as early as 6 pm or so, while there is still daylight for several hours. If the weather is good, I like to be out there the whole day. Considering the bus schedules, Italians apparently don't do that, nor do they expect tourists to. My solution? Hitch hiking. Rarely fails, though I have to admit that I also have had to hike down a mountain for several hours. And I've always got some cash with me to pay for accommodation and food if I don't get back down to where I want to go and have to spend the night in a refuge, hotel or whatever I can find.

For the record, I'm hitch hiking as a 56 year old guy, alone, and I usually look a bit scruffy when I'm in the mountains. I like to think that I portray a harmless kind of scruffiness, but I still don't think it's conducive to getting I ride. However, what works in my favor is that my pack and hiking poles make me readily recognizable as a hiker, which means other hikers tend to be sympathetic to my plight. It rarely takes long to get picked up. Sometimes even single young women stop for me so I guess I look harmless. The main issue is that around dusk there is hardly any traffic left in the mountains, so I aim to be by a road while there is some daylight left.

Outside the mountains I find hitch hiking in Italy much more difficult. Lots of cars, but it can take hours to get a ride. If a train or a bus is going my way, I'll take them instead anytime.

July is fine. For Italians, the first half of August is the most popular time to head into the mountains. There will be some weekend warriors from July 22 to 24, but you're still ahead of the big rush.

Cheers, Rob

i always do those thing with tent and never had problem. many people do that. Nobody will ever say anything unless you go near a rifugio or in a very touristic area..


Only thing is.. just out of bolzano is not easy to get close to the real "dolomites".. you should take a bus and go a little bit further inside..


as they told you, you can find many "bivacchi" for free

Thanks matteo_b and rgg for your great suggestions, but see my recent edit of the original post as to my change of plans! This might make suggestions easier.

I have done little hiking in that particular part of the Alps, so I can't advise you very well. I've visited the Bernina Group back in 2009. The Bernina Express offers fine views of the glaciated peaks (provided the weather is good of course). It's beautiful area, but what we did isn't suitable for a solo hiker I'm afraid: we were mountaineering , including lots of glacier travel, and we were a group of five.

P.S. Now that you've edited your original post, the first few responses are left hanging, so to speak, and people reading this thread from the beginning can't see what it was all about, originally. I suggest that the next time you want to completely change your original post, don't: just add a new message at the bottom with your revised plans.