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Jul - Sep
Head to Italy’s Brenta Dolomites for a Via Ferrata hut-to-hut trek in the mountains.
Intermediate
Challenging
Back to Basics
From
£2,330
(USD $3,658.10)
Wild Dolomites
Five days clipped into one of the most complete via ferrata routes in Europe, crossing the entire Brenta Dolomites from one side to the other on the Bocchette Way. Iron pegs, ladders, narrow suspended bridges – this is serious mountain terrain that demands your full attention, at real altitude, across long days.
Nights are spent in traditional rifugios as you move hut to hut through the range. Expect dorm rooms, hearty food, and good company from the rest of the group.
If you want a real challenge, to really get into the mountains and have a good head for heights, this bucket-list adventure is the one.
An active agenda
No hidden costs
The Bocchette Way plus hiking days across the Dolomites
A mix of a hotel and historic mountain huts
Breakfasts, lunches and dinners throughout the week
A morning at Italy's biggest thermal park
Qualified instructors each day and your Gutsy Girls host
Pick-up and drop-off at Verona Airport
Activity Overview
Somewhere between scrambling, hiking and climbing, via ferrata uses fixed metal cables, ladders, pegs and handles bolted into the rock to take you through terrain that would otherwise be off limits. No climbing experience required, but you do need a genuine head for heights and strong fitness as your arms get as much of a workout as your legs do.
On this trip, you’ll tackle the legendary Bocchette Way, carrying your stuff. Running the full length of the Brenta Dolomites, the route finishes with a 30-metre vertical ladder to the highest point of the traverse and is on every via ferrata fan’s bucket-list.
Activity Overview
The Brenta Dolomites are a hiker’s playground – jagged limestone spires, high alpine terrain and incredible trails. Between via ferrata sections, hiking is how you move through the mountains, with each day ending at a new mountain hut. Day two is spent entirely on the ground, covering distance across this dramatic landscape before reaching your base for the evening.
Expect long days, significant elevation gain and varied terrain, from valley trails to exposed ridge paths. You need to be comfortable covering a serious distance with a pack on your back. Good fitness and solid footwear are non-negotiable.
Activity Overview
At the end of your adventure you’ll get to rest any tired muscles in Italy’s biggest thermal park. Just a few minutes from Verona, the park offers indoor and outdoor pools filled with thermal spring water, as well as saunas, steam rooms and whirlpool stations. There’s also plenty of restaurants to grab some lunch in and swim up bars for refreshments.
The Destination
Your adventure starts here
Transfer to the hotel with the group. Check in, dinner, meet your guide and hear what the week has in store. Pack your kit and get an early night.
Breakfast, kit check, and then you're off. Hike through a forest, before the terrain changes and you’re faced with the rocky walls of the Brenta mountains around you.
5h hiking
Lunch, then continue the hike through steep terrain to tonight's hut.
Dinner and settle in for your first night of your hut-to-hut adventure.
Breakfast, then time to tackle your first Via Ferrata. Metal ladders and iron pegs help you wind your way up the eastern side of the Brenta Group.
The route ends near Rifugio Tosa Pedrotti - expect sweeping views across Crozzon di Brenta and Cima Tosa.
Dinner at the hut, first via ferrata done! Celebrate and settle in for the night.
Breakfast, then straight onto the Brentari Route, a high-altitude traverse across ledges and scree on the south face of Cima Tosa, pushing up to the pass of the same name.
Descend toward the Ambiez Glacier, then take a short walk that loops through rocks and high-mountain pastures before arriving at your refugio for the night.
Dinner, drinks and take in the views.
Breakfast, then prepare for the most epic section of the whole trip - the Bocchette Centrali. This via ferrata route will take the whole morning and covers a passage underneath Campanile Basso, one of the most famous peaks in the Dolomites.
Stop for lunch, then continue along the route as it winds through the heart of the Brenta, with the towers and pinnacles of the range all around you.
Last night in the hut - rest, eat and share stories.
Fuel up at breakfast for the most technical section of the whole trip, the Bocchette Alte; a route of vertical ladders, exposed ledges and incredible views.
Climb the famous Scala degli Amici, a 30-metre ladder that leads to the highest point of the entire route. Finish the via ferrata, then enjoy the easy hike back to the cable car for a trip down the valley.
Back to the hotel for a celebratory dinner, hot shower, sauna and the kind of satisfaction that's hard to put into words.
Breakfast, check out and jump in the transfer to the thermal park.
Enjoy a soak in the thermal waters to ease any achy muscles before taking the transfer back to the airport.
Rest & Refuel
Your first and last nights are in a comfortable 3-star hotel in Madonna di Campiglio with twin rooms, hot showers and a restaurant. For the four nights in between, you'll be in rifugios: traditional mountain huts with shared dormitories, basic facilities and a lot of atmosphere. The terrace view alone will make up for whatever the bathroom lacks.
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All meals are included, from breakfast and hearty dinners at each hut, to packed lunches on the trail. Expect regional Trentino cooking built for people who've been outside all day.
Most dietary requirements can be accommodated with advance notice, although kitchen facilities in the rifugios are basic and cross-contamination can't be guaranteed. Please get in touch before booking if you have an allergy.
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Book now
The essentials
| Accommodation |
Back to Basics Two nights in a comfortable three-star hotel at the start and end of the trip with hot showers, a wellness centre, restaurant and proper beds. For the four nights in between, you’ll be sleeping in shared dorm rooms in traditional Italian rifugios as you move hut-to-hut through the mountains. Hotel (nights 1 and 6)
Mountain huts (nights 2 to 5)
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|---|---|
| Food and Drink |
All meals are included throughout: buffet breakfasts, packed lunches on the trail, and dinners at the huts and hotel each evening. Dietary requirements can be catered for, but hut kitchens are basic and options will be very limited so let us know when you book, not the week before. Cross-contamination cannot be guaranteed in the huts.
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| Fitness Level |
3
Challenging A via ferrata works your arms, shoulders and grip in a way that hiking simply doesn’t, and you’ll be doing three to four hours of it daily, for four days, while carrying your kit between huts. There’s long ladders, high exposure with drops on both sides, and thin wire bridges across mountain sections. If heights make you even slightly wobbly, this is not the trip to find out. You'll Need to Be
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| Skill Level |
3
Intermediate No prior via ferrata experience is needed, but solid hiking fitness, confidence on steep and rocky terrain, and a genuine ease with heights are non-negotiable. Not sure what level you are? Our Trip Rating Guide explains how we score fitness and skill. |
| Packing List |
We Provide
You'll Need
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| Travel |
The meeting point for this trip is Verona airport. Alternative routes and travel information are in our trip guide. |
| Not Included |
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| Trip Code |
ITACMBVIA |
The answers
Fly into Verona Airport (VRN). From there a fixed-time, group transfer will run on both arrival and departure days, making the two hour journey between the airport and hotel.
One group transfer is included from Verona Airport on both arrival and departure days. Our transfers run at fixed times and can’t wait so please make sure your flights arrive in time.
July
September
Via Ferrata means the “Iron way” in Italian, a protected system of fixed metal cables, ladders, pegs and stirrups anchored into the rock. You clip your harness directly onto the cable as you move, keeping you attached to the mountain at all times. It’s somewhere between scrambling, hiking and climbing. No technical climbing experience is needed, but you do need a genuine head for heights, good fitness and the ability to use your arms as much as your legs for hours at a time.
No. But you do need solid fitness to spend time in the mountains, confidence on steep and exposed terrain, and a real ease with heights. This trip is designed for regular hikers who are ready to really step things up. If you felt wobbly last time you were up high though, this isn’t the right trip to ease back in on.
Flights aren’t included, but we’ve listed some options that align with the group transfer times to make planning easier.
Women join us from all over the world, so this isn’t a complete list — just a helpful starting point. You’re welcome to book any flights that work with the transfer times.
July
London to Verona – British Airways
Arrival Day: LGW 7:50 ✈ VRN 10:55 | BA2588
Departure Day: VRN 17:50 ✈ LGW 21:00 | BA2590
September
London to Verona – Easyjet
Arrival Day: LGW 12:55 ✈ VRN 16:00 | EZY8337
Departure Day: VRN 18:35 ✈ LGW 19:40 | EZY8338
Flying from elsewhere? Get in touch — we can help you work out the best connection.
This trip is rated challenging. Expect five days of 5-7 hours of activity, with no rest in between. During the hikes you’ll also spend 3-4 hours on the via ferrata per day, with daily ascents of 700–1,000m. Via ferrata uses your whole body, as your grip strength and upper body will be tested as much as your legs. You need to arrive fit enough to handle the final day feeling like the first four haven’t already happened.
Yes, definitely. The whole via ferrata is done at altitude, and the Bocchette Centrali and Bocchette Alte sections of the route include sustained exposure with significant drops on one or both sides. If heights affect you at all, be honest with yourself before booking, there is no way around the exposure on this route.
You need to bring well broken-in mountain boots with ankle support and good grip. Trainers are not permitted on the via ferrata under any circumstances.
You’ll start and end the trip in a three-star hotel in Madonna di Campiglio. The other four nights are in traditional mountain rifugios with shared dormitories, communal bathrooms, hearty dinners and early mornings. They’re basic and full of atmosphere, although if you’re a light sleeper then earplugs are recommended for the hut nights.
Expect hearty dinners of traditional alpine dishes each evening, served in the communal dining room and simple, filling breakfasts with bread, cheese, ham, jam and hot drinks. Lunches are packed and eaten on the trail each day.
A sleeping bag liner is required for the rifugio nights and can be hired for €18 if you don’t want to bring your own. Drinks and extra snacks at the huts and hotel are not included and departure day lunch at the Aquardens is also not.
Yes. Card payments at the mountain rifugios are unreliable due to connectivity at altitude. Assume it’s cash only at the huts and bring enough euros for drinks, snacks and extras across four nights. You may also want to tip your guide and host too.
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