Self-Launched: Hike the Italian Dolomites (Sesto & Tre Cime)

Land at Venice Marco Polo and make your own way north. Cheapest reliable route: ATVO/Cortina Express style express bus or the train from Venezia Mestre to Fortezza/Dobbiaco (Südtirol regional trains run Fortezza–Dobbiaco hourly, ~1h30) then the 445/446 local bus up the Val Fiscalina to Sesto. Total journey 3.5–4.5 hrs, roughly £25–35. If you land too late to connect, stay a night in Mestre (hostels ~£25) and travel up the following morning — no need to pay €300+ for a taxi. Arrive into Sesto, a small Tyrolean village, check into a family-run guesthouse or Garni, and walk the village for a first look at the Sesto Meridians glowing at sunset. Dinner at a village pizzeria or Gasthof — polenta, speck, canederli.

🚌ATVO/train Mestre → Fortezza/Dobbiaco (~£20-28) + local bus 445/446 to Sesto (~£4-6). No private minibus needed.

🛏Family-run Garni/guesthouse in Sesto, twin/double room, breakfast included (~£45-60/night per room)

• →Arrive Venice Marco Polo
• →Scenic train/bus north via Fortezza or Dobbiaco
• →Evening wander through Sesto village

Walk 20 minutes from your guesthouse to the Bad Moos cable car and ride up to Prati di Croda Rossa at ~1950m (cable car ~£14 single, ~£18 return — cheaper on a multi-day Sesto cable car pass if you buy one). Follow waymarked trails (marked red-white, routes 1/15 area) across meadows and larch forest beneath the Croda Rossa walls, past First World War trenches, tunnels and old Austro-Hungarian positions. Loop across the high slopes under Croda Rossa and Pala di Popera with views toward the Carnic Ridge, then descend on foot back to Sesto. This is a gentle 4–5 hr, ~14km day with only 150m up and 700m down — a perfect warm-up. Stop for goulash and strudel at a mountain hut (rifugio/malga) mid-route, then back for a sauna at your guesthouse or the local public pool.

🚌On foot from Sesto to Bad Moos (~20 min) and cable car both ways; no transfers required.

🛏Family-run Garni/guesthouse in Sesto (~£45-60/night per room)

• →Bad Moos cable car to Prati di Croda Rossa
• →WWI trench and tunnel relics walk
• →Circular hike under Croda Rossa and Pala di Popera
• →Mountain hut lunch

Take the local bus (Sesto–Dobbiaco line) up to Prato Piazza at 1991m — the plateau ringed by meadows where the road opens out under Monte Cristallo. Hike the short loop up Monte Specie / Strudelkopf (2307m) for one of the classic Dolomites panoramas: Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Monte Piana and Monte Cristallo all lined up. Back down, hop the bus 10 minutes to Dobbiaco and walk the flat lakeside path around the Toblacher See — still water, pine forest, mountains reflected. Coffee or a drink at the lakeside kiosk before the bus returns you to Sesto.

🚌Local bus Sesto → Prato Piazza / Dobbiaco (~£4-6 each way); short public bus to Dobbiaco.

🛏Family-run Garni/guesthouse in Sesto (~£45-60/night per room)

• →Bus to Prato Piazza plateau
• →Summit hike to Monte Specie / Strudelkopf (2307m)
• →Lakeside stroll around Toblacher See at Dobbiaco

Today's hike starts at your front door — no transport at all. Climb straight into the Via delle Malghe, the old dairy-hut route, with the jagged Sesto Meridians filling the skyline the whole way. You'll pass working malghe that operate June–September when herders bring cattle up to the high pasture; many still make butter, ricotta and mountain cheese and welcome hikers for a coffee or a plate of local cheese. Pack a picnic (buy bread, cheese and speck in Sesto the day before) and eat it on the high pasture. A 5 hr, 15km loop with ~505m up and ~560m down, past the Patzenfeld area and back to the hotel. Afternoon free — book a spa treatment at one of Sesto's alpine wellness hotels, or take a night swim if your guesthouse has a pool.

🚌None — circular route on foot from the village.

🛏Family-run Garni/guesthouse in Sesto (~£45-60/night per room)

• →Via delle Malghe dairy-hut circuit
• →Cheese and ricotta tasting at a working malga
• →Picnic on the high pasture
• →Optional afternoon spa/pool session

Later start today. Take the Monte Elmo cable car (Helm lift, ~£14-18 return) up to the Helm mountain station at 2041m, then follow the scenic path across open meadows to the Hahnspielhütte (Rifugio Gallo Cedrone) on the panoramic ridge. Continue to the summit at 2434m — the westernmost peak of the Carnic Alps' 140km ridge and the old Italy–Austria border, once a smuggler's route. On a clear day the 360° view takes in the central Alps to the north and wave after wave of Dolomite peaks to the south. Loop back past the hut to the cable car. Half-day hike, 3 hrs / 7km / ~440m up. Back in Sesto by early afternoon — wander the village, visit the small museum, or rest up: tomorrow is the big one.

🚌On foot to the Monte Elmo cable car station; cable car return (~£16).

🛏Family-run Garni/guesthouse in Sesto (~£45-60/night per room)

• →Monte Elmo cable car up to 2041m
• →Ridge walk past Hahnspielhütte
• →Summit Monte Elmo / Helm (2434m)
• →Afternoon in Sesto village

The big day. From Sesto take the local bus or a shared taxi to the Val Fiscalina toll road entrance (~£4-8), then walk up the valley. Follow the quieter northern approach to the Tre Cime — the route that avoids the crowded Rifugio Auronzo loop — climbing through forest and meadows at the foot of the Sesto Dolomites. After 2–3 hours of steady climbing the trees thin and the amphitheatre opens up: Croda dei Toni, Cima Undici and Monte Popera. Traverse below the north face of the Tre Cime to Rifugio Locatelli, eat your picnic lunch facing the three peaks, then descend the long way down to Lago di Landro. 6–7 hrs, 15km, ~950m up / 1000m down — the hardest day of the week, so start early. Bus back to Sesto from Landro, then a farewell dinner at a village restaurant.

🚌Local bus to Val Fiscalina entrance (~£4-8), return bus from Lago di Landro to Sesto (~£4-6).

🛏Family-run Garni/guesthouse in Sesto (~£45-60/night per room)

• →Val Fiscalina valley approach
• →Northern Tre Cime traverse to Rifugio Locatelli
• →Picnic with the Tre Cime di Lavaredo in view
• →Long descent to Lago di Landro

Breakfast at the guesthouse, then reverse your arrival route: local bus down the Val Fiscalina to Dobbiaco or Fortezza, then regional train to Venezia Mestre and airport shuttle (or the direct Cortina Express bus if timings suit). Leave Sesto by mid-morning to comfortably reach Venice Marco Polo by early-mid afternoon. If you have time before your flight, drop your bag at the airport and take the 20-minute shuttle bus into Venice for a last wander by the canals. Budget 3.5–4.5 hrs door to door.

🚌Local bus Sesto → Dobbiaco/Fortezza (~£5) + regional train to Venezia Mestre (~£20) + airport shuttle bus (~£8).

🛏N/A — depart

• →Morning bus down the Val Fiscalina
• →Train to Venice Mestre
• →Optional few hours in Venice before flying