Are you headed to the Dolomites in Northern Italy this year? Visiting the Dolomites was one of my favorite trips, but it is logistically harder to plan than a regular trip to a European city. This is one of the most stunning regions in Italy (which is saying a lot!), so you don’t want to miss it. One of the biggest questions we had when planning our trip to the Dolomites was how to get to Seceda.
I’ll be covering different sections of the Dolomites in upcoming blog posts, but this post specifically is about how to get to the world-famous peak of Seceda. My mom and I took a girl’s trip to Milan, Lake Como, The French Riviera, and the Dolomites last year and made memories that will last a lifetime.
Seceda is one of the most recognizable peaks in Europe. It’s nestled in the mountains north of Bolzano and south of the Austrian border. Most travelers make their way to the Dolomites from Milan, Lake Garda, or Venice.
If you’re planning to come from Milan, don’t miss my Milan travel guide!
Rent a Car
No matter where you are coming from, whether it’s Milan or Venice (or somewhere else!) I highly highly recommend renting a car. There is public transport in these areas, but it’s minimal. Renting a car allows you to explore nearby towns and hiking trails on your own.
We rented our car on Expedia before the trip. In our case, we were driving from Milan to the Dolomites, so we picked up our car at the Milan Central Train Station. It was very simple. We showed up to the station with our reservation confirmation and our passports and we had our car within 15-20 minutes.
Once you’ve got your car, the world is your oyster! 🙂
Milan to Seceda – Stop in Bolzano
If you’re driving from Milan like we were, you’ll pass through Bolzano. Milan to Bolzano is about a 3-hour drive. We gave ourselves most of the day so that we could spend some time in Bolzano. This mountain town feels like it should be in Austria or Germany, and that’s because it was. The entire South Tyrol region used to be a part of Austria. After World War 1, Italy annexed South Tyrol from Austria and has remained a part of Italy ever since.
Most of your Dolomite visit will have a very prominent Austrian feel. Learn more about the history here.
Even if you’re making a quick stop in Bolzano, you’ll have enough time to explore the main city streets. We saw live music, beer gardens, and shops and poked our heads into a few museums in about two hours. We stopped for lunch on Via Museo, which was full of great restaurants. I remember being blown away by how Austrian this town felt.
If you’re looking for a unique experience, Bolzano is home to Otzi the Ice Man. Otzi is a natural, frozen mummy who froze in the Alps and is Europe’s oldest known natural mummy. He is believed to have lived between 3350 BC and 3105 BC. Seeing Otzi in person is incredible if you’re into history!
Bolzano to Val Gardena
Once you’re ready to leave Bolzano, you’ll venture out on a 45-minute scenic drive to Val Gardena. Val Gardena is the most convenient place to stay if you want to see Seceda.
In Val Gardena, we stayed at the Hotel Maciaconi and LOVED it!
We stayed at this hotel for three nights because it gave us perfect access to Seceda and Sassolungo. We spent each day hiking and, to our surprise, we were able to book a free hiking guide through the hotel. This hotel had a fantastic pool and spa area, which was perfect for unwinding after long hikes. I highly recommend this hotel if you’re in the area!
Book your stay at Hotel Maciaconi.
How to Get to Seceda From Val Gardena
Seceda is one of those places that you need to get to early in the morning. We visited Seceda during the first week of September and it was still quite busy from the summer tourist season.
Drive from Val Gardena to the Seceda Cable Car and you will see plenty of parking options nearby. This is not a long drive if you’re staying in Val Gardena.
Seceda Cable Car
You can purchase your Seceda lift ticket in person, which is what we did. The ticketing process was simple and we did not have any issues. We paid with a credit card and did not need cash. You can also purchase your tickets online beforehand here. If you want some flexibility with timing, I recommend purchasing your tickets in person.
The bathrooms at this cable car lift required Euro coins. I remember only having bills, and I couldn’t get into the bathroom. Bring coins so that you can get into the bathrooms before and after your visit to Seceda.
It requires two lifts to get to Seceda. The first is a regular ski lift, pictured above, and the second is a quick but very steep cable car. I’m not going to lie, the second cable car really freaked me out. It was SO steep! I had to look down and try not to think about it while we were in that second cable car. If you’re afraid of steep heights like I am, this was a huge (and scary) surprise.
Seeing Seceda
When you come up from the cable car, you are arriving over the back side of the mountain. As you step out of the cable car center, you will see Seceda to your left. It’s one of those places that doesn’t feel real, no matter how long you sit there and stare at it. I have never seen anything quite like it. After seeing this beautiful peak, I felt like the steep cable car was worth it! 😉
Once you make it to this point, you can pick a trail and start exploring! We spent probably 2-3 hours on the mountain exploring and soaking up the views. Other travelers were beginning huge hikes down to the bottom of the mountain, and others were paragliding from the peak which was incredible to watch.
Returning to Val Gardena
Once we were ready to head back down, we pretty much walked right onto the cable car! It was very easy to leave with no lines. We purchased round-trip lift tickets on our way up and were able to go down whenever we wanted to. Seceda was one of the most jaw-dropping nautral sights I’ve seen in my travels so far. Not to mention, during our trip to the Dolomites, we saw many other bucket list-worthy spots. More on that soon!
From the Seceda lifts, we hopped back in our car and drove to our hotel in Val Gardena. We soaked up every moment at the spa at Hotel Maciaconi and recorded some pretty iconic videos from our balcony. 😉
Stay tuned for more Dolomites tips and itineraries.
