Blog

Enjoy our guide to traveling to the Dolomites at Christmas. In this post, we want to share our experience and what we learned while traveling there, helping you plan your next independent trip to the Dolomites at Christmas.

About us

We are the Kucavana, a family with two little ones and a dog who are passionate about traveling.

We help you organize your trip

And if you want to save time, money, and headaches, we can help with our Click & Go route planning and organization service so you can fully enjoy your trip, relying on our experience. Click below and let's get started.

Our experience of traveling to the Dolomites at Christmas

Our trip through the Dolomites is a 10-day trip during Christmas, from December 26th to January 5th.

A trip, which as always, we do as a family. With our two children, ages 11 and 8, and this time with our motorhome by road.

14 hours of driving and about 1300 km is what separates Barcelona from the Dolomites on our route.

We loved this route, so much so that it is the second time we repeat it, with that we tell you everything. Although this time we see the Dolomites in winter and at Christmas, the previous one was a visit in summer.

The Dolomites at Christmas is like stepping into a Christmas fairytale . With its decorated villages, everything adorned with lights, its charming snowy Christmas market stalls, its mulled wine with a thousand flavors in the most German style (due to its proximity to Austria it has many similarities), and beautiful towns and cities brimming with magic.

Costs of our trip: the Dolomites at Christmas

On our 10-day trip to the Dolomites at Christmas, we spent a total of €3.210 for the four of us traveling:

The cost of gasoline and tolls for the round trip was 1.115 euros, and the rest was for overnight camping costs, travel insurance, and activities such as ski passes.

What we liked most and least about traveling to the Dolomites at Christmas

The best thing about traveling to the Dolomites at Christmas on our trip has been…

• Traveling to the Dolomites at Christmas is seeing fairytale towns like Moena, Ortisei, Selva di Val Gardena, Bressanone, Vipiteno...
• Bolzano and Bressanone are beautiful cities with the most beautiful Christmas markets, with a lot of life and corners, each one more beautiful.
• Visit the church of Sant Giovanni di Ranui and walk for a while through a quiet and solitary forest with stunning views of the beautiful Odle Mountains.
• Eat pasta, pizza and Italian food + eat crocantis ice cream in Pecol, in the Val di Zoldo, world capital of ice cream, a must when traveling to the Dolomites at Christmas or whenever 😛
• Eat candy, waffles and crepes at the Christmas stalls
• The mulled wine that warms the soul and hands on cold nights
• The snow that fell on us at New Year's Eve for 2 days that turned the Dolomites white for the rest of our route. He made it a 100% Christmas trip.

More of the best

• Discovering that the Dolomites have a lot of Austria to the north (they speak German) and that the Italians have many traditions that are very different from the Spanish at Christmas. For example, they do not celebrate Three Kings, they celebrate Befana on Twelfth Night, a good witch who brings gifts to children.
• Leave the most famous towns and go to other towns without crowds, breathing the pure air of the Dolomites, as happened to us throughout the Valle di Zoldo or in the area of ​​Rocca Pietore and Sottoguda.
• Visit the Great War museum and the panoramic terrace of the highest mountain in the Dolomites in Marmolada, taking the cable car in Malga Ciapela.
• Skiing in the Civetta domain, simply spectacular.
• Ice skating, cross-country skiing, biathlon in the Val di Zoldo.
• Entering hot waters in Canazzei and in the swimming pools of the Vidor campsite in Pozza di Fassa.

The worst thing about traveling to the Dolomites at Christmas on our trip has been…

• The large number of people in most towns and cities in the most famous valleys such as Val di Gardena or Val di Fassa. A mass of tourists, without the life of local people. Very different from other valleys where nature and local life became the perfect harmony of the trip.
• The secondary roads and within the towns do not have salt, they only add the "yaya" a gravel that is of little use when patches of ice form that with slopes on one occasion gave us a bad time. Although luckily the 4-season approved snow wheels that we carried were great for us.
• Overcrowding meant that in some towns we couldn't even find a place to park or we had to spend a long time looking for a free spot. Ortisei and Selva di Val Gardena were the worst.
• That it hadn't snowed before to see the first snowy markets.
• It was very difficult to square the entire route to be able to see more Christmas markets on the days and times they were open. It required a lot of prior planning and preparation, and even in some places we couldn't get it right.
• That in some valleys there is no free bus service like in Val di Zoldo.
• Not having had more days to enjoy traveling to the Dolomites at Christmas more!

3 Things you should know and tips for traveling to the Dolomites at Christmas

Before we move on to the route and the must-sees and things to do in the Dolomites at Christmas, here are some tips to keep in mind before you go.

1 In the Dolomites it is cold and it usually snows: Winter wheels or chains are mandatory from November 1 to March 31

As mentioned, if you're planning a trip to the Dolomites in your vehicle over Christmas, from November 1st to March 31st in this part of Italy, winter tires or snow chains are mandatory . We use all-season snow tires, which are like winter tires, but we use them year-round without changing them, and that's a real plus.

2 Documents needed to travel to the Dolomites at Christmas

For this trip, don't forget to bring your valid ID card or passport for both adults and children, and also, in case of any health problems, the European Health Insurance Card , which you can get on the social security website and receive at home.

3 You should know that the Dolomites have different celebrations at Christmas than the Spanish ones.

In the Dolomites Christmas starts earlier than here. That's probably why you'll see that the Christmas markets here start the third week of November now.

They begin with Saint Nicholas, on December 6th , and around the weekend before you can start to see their parades.

Saint Nicholas was a bishop with a long white beard of wealthy Turkish origin, who is said to have done charity work for families with needy children by throwing coins down his chimney.

Hence comes the tradition that on the night of December 5 to 6, children in the Dolomites, and in many other places in Europe such as Austria, Germany, Belgium or Switzerland, leave some boots near the fireplace or an entrance door and Saint Nicholas He leaves them money, sweets or gifts.

Now you are surely thinking… but Pilar, isn't this Santa Claus? Well… Bingo! That's where Santa Claus comes from...

Regarding when the Christmas markets and Christmas in the Dolomites end, they end like in Spain on January 6th , but in this case they don't celebrate the Three Kings, but rather they celebrate the Epiphany with the Bifana, a friendly good witch who also brings gifts to Italian children during the night of January 5th.

Christmas markets in the Dolomites: 7 essentials

Below, we show you in a video the 7 Christmas markets in the Dolomites that we liked the most on our trip.

Proposal for a 10-day route through the Dolomites at Christmas

Based on our experience of two trips through the Dolomites, we propose a route to fully enjoy the Dolomites at Christmas but also its essential places.

Day 1: Arrival at the Christmas Capital in the Dolomites and gateway to the mountains

On this route we suggest the following stops:

1. Bolzano

Day 2: Between Christmas and breathtaking landscapes

1. Val di Funes: route until reaching the church of Sant Giovanni di Ranui
2. Vipiteno: visit to its great tower and small Christmas market in one of the most beautiful towns in Italy
3. Bossanone: one of the Christmas markets that we liked the most at the foot of its cathedral and with the beautiful Colors show of light and immersive music

Day 3: Towards the most elegant Christmas valley and the highest mountain in Dolomites

1. Ortisei: visit to its Christmas market in one of the most beautiful villages in the Dolomites
2. Selva di Val Gardena: visit to its Christmas market and ice sculpture park
3. Arrival in Malga Ciapela at the foot of the Marmolada cable car

Day 4: We continue through towns classified as the most beautiful in the Dolomites and arrive at Respirar de Dolomitas

1. We boarded the Marmolada cable car in Malga Ciapela. First we stop to see the Museum of the Great War and then we go back up to the top to see its impressive panoramic terrace and its chapel of the Virgin of the Snows to finish descending along the Bellunesse ski slope, mythical and difficult to 1800 meters of elevation gain for 12 km
2. Sottoguda: we visit one of the most beautiful villages in the Dolomites full of wrought iron and wood craft shops
3. Pecol: We arrive at the Val di Zoldo, here we can breathe the pure air of the Dolomites, we are going ice skating in Baita Ru, next to the campsite where we are staying, the Civetta campsite.

Day 5: Breathing Dolomites

1. Pecol: we woke up to ski through the impressive Civetta domain, right next to the Civetta campsite is the gondola that takes us up.
2. Then in Pecol after the day of skiing we rest and prepare for a snowshoe excursion to a refuge where we will have dinner and see the entrellas, an activity organized by Tourism of Val di Zoldo.

The 19 essential plans to travel to the Dolomites at Christmas: what to do and what to see in the Dolomites at Christmas

Below, after our two trips to the Dolomites, we share our 19 favorite things to do there with or without children for your next holiday getaway . Things to do and see in the Dolomites at Christmas, in winter, and even many in summer. They work equally well for most types of plans.

 They are all plans to travel to the Dolomites at Christmas that you will be delighted with!

Access them by clicking the button below.

Our map of the Dolomites at Christmas with everything you can see and visit

Here is the map we made with all the interesting places to visit in the Dolomites at Christmas. An interactive map of the Dolomites at Christmas with everything you need to know to plan your route through the Dolomites at Christmas.

Video guide to the Dolomites by motorhome at Christmas

If you want to see how to travel by motorhome or campervan on this Christmas trip through the Dolomites, here's an essential video you should watch to learn the basic rules about camping, overnight stays, and parking in the Dolomites in a motorhome , along with tips on driving and operating your motorhome in winter with the cold and snow.