Dan and I spent eight days camping in the Italian Alps, and the whole experience is still blowing our minds. After flying into Venice, we rented a VW California from Indie Campers. We spent the first night in Falcade, exploring the town and befriending both local humans and local sheep, dogs, and cats. From there, we visited many mountain towns, each more scenic and surprising than the last. Some of our favorite hikes were: Seceda Ridgeline, Tre Cime di Lavaredo, Cadini di Misurina, and Lago Di Sorapis.

We were fascinated by the mix of Italian and Austrian Cultures and how some towns spoke primarily German. What amazed us even more, though, was the development in such remote areas. Every trail we climbed had a hut operating at the top. This is something I’d never experienced on a hike in the U.S. (And once you have Aperol Spritz and Dolomiti Cuisine at 9,000 feet, you’ll start questioning how you ever settled on trail mix and a water bottle.)

I couldn’t believe how we lucked out with beautiful weather, and the only thunderstorm happened right as we were finishing Cadini di Misurina. Dan and I watched the storm roll through from the van, and then headed out to Tre Cime right when the clouds parted! Because of this, we managed to get a lot of the hike to ourselves. Sitting at these Alpine lakes in privacy was something I’ll never forget.

The one hiccup was that our luggage got lost during our Paris Layover. Not knowing how long it would take to make it to Italy, we decided to continue our camping trip as planned. (Yes, we learned what it’s like to wear an airplane outfit for six days.) While we kept trying to remind ourselves that “things are just things,” we were extremely happy to get our warm clothes and hiking gear back for the last two days.

We’re so grateful we could finally visit this part of the Alps and are already dreaming of all the Swiss and French regions we’d like to visit. Please leave a comment at the bottom if you have any questions!