Dolomites Autumn Tours

Autumn is the best time of year for a day in the Dolomites, and also the hardest to plan. The summer crowds leave, the larches turn gold, and on a clear October morning the pale rock looks close enough to touch. But the season doesn’t end on one date. Lifts, huts, toll roads and even whole tours close one valley at a time between late September and early November, so a plan that works on 5 October can fall apart by the 25th.

This page is the overview. It goes month by month, says which day tours still run and what each one can include, and links to the detailed guides for the places people ask about most.

September: the easy month

Early and mid-September is still summer in practice. The lifts are running, most mountain huts are open, and the weather is often more settled than in August. Two things change mid-month and make it easier. The daytime road restriction at Lago di Braies, which means booking a parking space in advance, ends on 15 September. And after the first week the lakes are noticeably quieter.

What you lose after mid-September is small: the Col de Varda chairlift and the rowing boats at Lake Misurina stop. By the last week of September the huts start to close. Rifugio Locatelli, below the north faces of the Tre Cime, published its 2026 season as ending on 27 September.

For a September day from Venice, almost any route works. This is the month for the harder walks — see guided hiking tours and the Tre Cime in September and October.

October: gold, and the season closing

October is when the Dolomites look most like the photographs. The European larch is a conifer that drops its needles each autumn, and before it does, whole hillsides turn gold among the dark spruce. The Dolomites tourist board puts the foliage from late September to mid-October depending on altitude, and the larches usually peak in the second and third weeks of the month. The autumn foliage tours page covers where to see them.

It is also the month when the timing gets complicated. In 2026:

• Alta Badia and Arabba/Marmolada lifts close on 4 October.
• The Cinque Torri chairlift above Cortina closes on 11 October, along with San Martino’s lifts.
• Cortina’s lift area, including the Lagazuoi cable car, closes on 18 October.
• Seceda and the Alpe di Siusi in Val Gardena run until 2 November.
• The 3 Cime lifts run until 8 November and Val di Fassa until 11 November.
• The Tre Cime toll road usually stays open until the end of October, but shuts whenever there is snow or ice.

The tours change too. When we read GetYourGuide’s calendars in September 2026, the summer coach tours from Verona and Lake Garda stopped in the first days of October. The Venice coach tour ran to 31 October. The Venice minivan tours had dates right through the month and on into November. Dolomites in October has all of it on one page.

One practical note: the clocks go back on 25 October, so the last hour of the drive back to Venice is in the dark.

November: the lakes, the snow and the gap before winter

By November the high Dolomites are between seasons. Most lifts are closed, the huts are shut, the Tre Cime road is normally closed, and snow on the passes can change an itinerary on the day. From 15 November winter tyres or chains are compulsory on the Brenner motorway.

The lakes and the towns are still there, though, and almost empty. The Venice minivan tours keep going to Misurina, Cortina and Braies. One operator switches its route on 15 November to include San Candido and Lago di Braies, and from 23 November it adds San Candido’s Christmas market. Bolzano’s Christmas market opens on 27 November. Late in the month the first ski slopes open at Cortina, and winter tours start soon after. Dolomites in November has the details.

Which autumn tour to book

For most people coming from Venice, the best all-round autumn day is the Dolomites, Cortina and Lake Braies small-group trip. It gives Lago di Braies an hour and a half with the entry fee included, stops facing the Tre Cime, and has free time in Cortina, in a Mercedes minivan for up to eight. It has 602 reviews at 4.9 out of 5 and dates through October and November. That’s the widget at the top of this page.

If you’d rather spend the time at one lake than drive further, the Cortina and two lakes day spends more than two hours at Misurina and is the most-reviewed Dolomites tour on the site. If you are travelling in November, the Misurina small-group day is the one that changes its route for the season.

For a walking day, the hut hike from Venice includes transport and a certified guide. It works best in September and early October, before the lifts and huts close.

The autumn guides

Each of these goes into one question in more detail:

• Dolomites tours from Venice in autumn: September, October and November from Venice, and how each route changes.
• Dolomites in October: every closing date on one page.
• Autumn foliage tours: when and where the larches turn.
• Lago di Braies in autumn: access, boats and how long you need.
• Tre Cime in September and October: the toll road, the huts and guided alternatives.
• Seceda and Val Gardena in autumn: the lifts that stay open latest.
• Guided hiking tours in autumn: which trails work in September and October.
• Photography tours in autumn: light, larches and what you can actually book.
• Dolomites in November: closures, and what you can still do.

Whatever you book, choose free cancellation and look at the mountain forecast two days before. The weather decides more about an autumn day in the Dolomites than the itinerary does. Check availability for our autumn pick.