no. 01 aug 2026 pale di san martino, trentino ← the archive

weekend in the

Dolomites

(far from the crowds)

A pickup parked on alpine grass under a blue sky, Pale di San Martino

We spent the summer watching everyone queue at Tre Cime and Braies, reading about the turnstiles at Seceda and the sold-out shuttles. But the truth is the Dolomites have more to offer than you'd think from social media.

in short — the Trentino side of the Dolomites: Pale di San Martino, noticeably cheaper than the Belluno side, with Fiera di Primiero and San Martino di Castrozza as bases.

So we picked a different corner from the one we kept seeing online.

We opted for Pale di San Martino, a protected natural park in Trentino, part of the Dolomites UNESCO site.

The Pale di San Martino under low cloud, first snow on the rock
A trail signpost with the Pale behind

Where we stayed

We stayed at Rifugio Cereda (highly recommend). It sits in a wide green valley, completely away from everything, about five minutes from Fiera di Primiero.

Rooms are cozy and comfortable (a mention for the beautiful bathroom). The food is excellent and they also do a lot of gluten-free options.

Rifugio Cereda in its valley, sheep in the foreground
The room at Rifugio Cereda: wooden headboard, linen lampshades
the room at Rifugio Cereda
Dinner at Rifugio Cereda
dinner at the rifugio

Where we ate

The Pale di San Martino in full sun

The villages

The two main bases are Fiera di Primiero and San Martino di Castrozza (both beautiful). Worth exploring the smaller villages nearby too: Tonadico, Siror, Transacqua all have their own character and are worth a short walk.

Trails we did and loved

  • Loop trail Passo Rolle – Malga Segantini – Cristo Pensante
  • Rifugio Treviso trekking (from Baita La Ritonda)
  • Rifugio Rosetta – Manna lake (with cable car)
The wooden façade of Rifugio Passo Cereda

stay

  1. a Rifugio Cereda (highly recommend) passo cereda A wide green valley, completely away from everything. Excellent food, plenty of gluten-free options, a beautiful bathroom.
  2. b B&B Sass De Mura
  3. c Chalet Nel Doch siror
  4. d Cant del Gal val canali
  5. e Stella Alpina San Martino san martino di castrozza
  6. f Caltena Baita di Charme transacqua
  7. g White Moss Garnì san martino di castrozza

eat

  1. h Malga Canali val canali
  2. i Ristorante da Anita san martino di castrozza
  3. j Chalet Prà delle Nasse san martino di castrozza
  4. k Malga Venegiota val venegia
  5. l Rifugio Capanna Cervino passo rolle
  6. m Albergo Ristorante Miralago Calaita lago di calaita
  7. n Malga Ces san martino di castrozza
  8. o Pasticceria Lucian fiera di primiero
  9. p Caseificio Primiero mezzano The valley's cheese shop. Go before you leave.

see

  1. q Fiera di Primiero primiero The valley base. Beautiful.
  2. r San Martino di Castrozza primiero The mountain base, under the Pale.
  3. s Tonadico primiero Its own character. Worth a short walk.
  4. t Siror primiero Its own character. Worth a short walk.
  5. u Transacqua primiero Its own character. Worth a short walk.
  6. v Bassano del Grappa veneto A lovely stop to break up the drive from Venice.

the map

22 places · a–v

stay eat see double ring · highly recommend all places on the map →

practical

getting there

Getting there is straightforward. If you're flying into Venice and want to break up the drive, Bassano del Grappa makes a lovely stop.

closest airports
  • venice (vce) · about 2 h by car
  • verona (vrn) · about 1 h 45
on prices

Noticeably more reasonable than the Belluno side of the Dolomites (accommodation, food, everything).

when

Late August. The two main bases are Fiera di Primiero and San Martino di Castrozza.

filed 1 sep 2026 · last checked 5 sep 2026 · photos: iphone

in the archive

the whole index →
  1. no. 02 aug 2026 weekends on lake Garda (the spots we love) lago di garda, veneto & lombardia