Self Guided Hut to Hut Hiking

When on a self-guided hike, you are your own master. With your family or friends for company, you are free to enjoy the unbroken silence of the mountains surrounding you. If attracted to the Alps by splendid mountain panoramas in their natural unpopulated state, self-guided hiking is the right trip style for you.

Self-guided hikes are multi-day adventures, without guides or groups, that will take you through the itineraries planned by our experts and guides. We are not forming groups for such hut-to-hut hikes. You pick your company yourself – whether your family or friends. We do all the organizing: we select and book mountain huts for your overnight stops and a base camp hotel in the valley, we elaborate a step-by-step itinerary, we make sure maps and other materials await you at the hotel by the time you arrive. We take care of thousands of other details to turn the whole trip into a pleasant experience for you.

The self-guided format is a convenient option if you prefer not to depend on trekking abilities and circumstances of people you don't know. It is an opportunity to spend time outdoors with your family or friends or even solo without other people always near. The self-guided style is often preferred by photography enthusiasts, who want to be able to manage their trail time as they find appropriate.

Mountain Huts

Our self-guided hike arrangements include a choice of mountain huts for overnighting and meals. We provide all our hut-to-hut hikers with bed and dinner-breakfast reservations at the huts. Most of the huts on our routes are surprisingly comfortable, especially in the Dolomites. Once at a hut, you can take a shower. There is usually time to cool off before dinner is served at 6:30 – 7:30 p.m. When selecting the huts for your self-guided trek, we prioritize the best ones whenever there is choice on your route. Moreover, we have agreements with many hut managers for additional services for our guests where we think it is necessary, such as a more substantial breakfast, and we pay a supplement for such services.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Huts offer shared dormitories, typically for 5 to 12 guests, and private bedrooms for 2, 3 and 4 guests equipped with mattresses, pillows and blankets. Normally, private rooms also feature bed linen. In shared dormitories, guests are to use sleeping bag liners.

Marked Trails

Our self-guided hut-to-hut itineraries follow marked well-maintained trails. Self-guided hikers will not have to traverse via ferratas, glaciers or similar sections requiring special technical skills or equipment. The only possible exception is if you specifically asked us to design a more challenging itinerary. For example, we can plan your Alta Via No.2 itinerary with or without via-ferrata based on your preferences and experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Direction signs are provided at all forks and intersections, as well as the terrain landmarks suitable for navigation, such as passes, saddles or summits. Along their entire length the trails are also color-coded with paint marks, with or without the trail number. The marking frequency depends on terrain: high altitude paths, moraines and other challenging sections are marked much more frequently than conspicuous trails through the woods.

Hiking Maps

We provide our self-guided hikers with a specialized trekking map or a set of trekking maps, depending on route. Our trekking maps show numbered trails, huts, topographic landmarks and lots of other data to assist your navigation. We deliver the maps to your base camp hotel by your arrival along with the other materials in your trip package. In the Dolomites, we provide electronic maps with a satellite navigation functionality in addition to the paper maps.

For most our hut-to-hut routes we offer 1:25000 scale maps, i.e. 1 cm representing 250 meters. There are some exceptions, such as the massively popular Tour du Mont Blanc, where one 1:50000 map is more convenient than 2 or 3 larger scale maps for being compact, and also because there are so many direction signs and people on the trail.

Step-by-Step Hiking Schedule

We supply our self-guided hikers with step-by-step itinerary schedules with detailed descriptions of each day's trek. These two aids (itinerary schedule and map) reduce navigation to following written instructions with occasionally a look at the map. This leaves you enjoying your walk, rather than worrying about your directions.

Step-by-step itinerary and hiking schedule for each daytime trek.

The schedule contains detailed descriptions of each leg of the itinerary, stating the numbers of trails to take you to the next hut. If there is a choice between several interesting path options, the schedule describes each one. There is also information on the sightseeing locations not shown on the map. The schedule gives an altitude profile diagram for each daytime trek for an idea about the time needed to complete it. The diagram breaks your trek up into smaller sections – ascents and descents – and suggests the time it may take for each one.

How We Organize Your Self-Guided Hike

1. We book and pay for mountain hut services, including breakfasts and dinners.

2. We negotiate comfortable accommodations if no private rooms are available.

3. We book and pay for the first and final nights at the base camp hotel in the valley.

4. We transport your non-hiking luggage to the base camp hotel in your destination on the routes going from A to B. If you are on a loop route, our base camp hotel will safely store your luggage.

5. We supply step-by-step guidelines for transportation from airport to base camp hotel.

6. We help you find a solution if you missed the bus or train from the airport. We notify you of changes in the timetables whenever it is possible to know in advance.

7. We take you to the trailhead on the first day of the hike or supply timetables and instructions on how to get there by bus. Same on the final day of your hike.

8. We deliver maps, itinerary schedules and other materials as necessary to the base camp hotel by your arrival.

9. We monitor the situation in your trip's locale and alert you in advance about any corrections to be made, due to weather conditions, for example.

10. We provide 24 hour support throughout your hike.

Your First Self-Guided Hike in the Dolomites

In the Alps, you will find the most inspiring landscapes in the Dolomites. As a vast region with about 30 mountain ranges, the Dolomites feature a wide choice of hut-to-hut itineraries, always very scenic, but varying in difficulty and popularity. We offer about a dozen Dolomites Self-Guided Hut to Hut Hiking Tours, mostly on well-maintained trails where you don’t need technical gear. For your first self-guided trek in the Dolomites, we recommend choosing from the classical itineraries. The complete Alta Via No.1 itinerary is an excellent choice, but in August you will see day tourists on the trails near the most famous landmarks, such as Lake Braies, Lagazuoi and Cinque Torri. If you would like to see these landmarks but prefer a shorter route, we recommend Alta Via No.1 North. For less-traveled trails and more wilderness, we recommend the southern part of Alta Via No.1 which is a good choice in August too.

The Fassa Dolomites trek features an exceptionally broad diversity of landscapes and very comfortable huts with private rooms. Although the Fassa Dolomites itinerary can be adjusted to fit your hiking ability and enthusiasm, it is challenging as it partly runs through the rocky high-altitude terrains of the Sella and Rosengarten groups. One of the calling cards of the Dolomites is the Tre Cime group – we recommend the Cortina Dolomites Trek to see Tre Cime as well as most other landmarks surrounding Cortina d’Ampezzo.

If you prefer to walk not more than 4-6 hours a day, our recommendation is the Val Gardena and Alpe di Siusi Trek. It is a 3-day hut-to-hut hike through the idyllic Alpe di Siusi plateau and on the edge of it – with moderate distances between the huts and light radial trek options to consider once you make it to your destination hut.