With their dramatic peaks and stunning alpine scenery, the Dolomites are home to some of the best hiking in Europe. Whether you’re an experienced trekker or a first-time visitor, there are apps you can use that will greatly improve your travels.
In recent years, citizen science biodiversity projects have emerged as a means of contributing to the conservation of the natural world, while slow travel is gaining traction as travelers seek to unplug in nature and connect with their surroundings. Here’s how to harness travel apps and tech to make the most of your adventure in the Dolomites.
1. Pre-Trip Planning: Map Your Route With Apps
Dolomites hut-to-hut hiking requires good planning even before you go out on track. The most crucial aspect is deciding on the type of hut-to-hut route the huts love best. So, dozens of travel apps for hikers allow you to browse a variety of trails, review route difficulty levels, and see when the best times to hit them are. 
You can use a few popular apps, including Komoot, AllTrails, and Outdooractive. These apps provide detailed maps, trail descriptions, and estimated hiking times. You can even tailor your route to suit your fitness level, interests, and time available. These apps will assist you if you want to tackle a classic route, such as the Alta Via 1, or choose trails that are less traveled, allowing you to customize your adventure.
Plus, these apps usually contain user reviews and advice and allow you to see what you can expect in different areas along the trail. With advanced planning using these tools, you can ensure that your hike matches your experience and physical capabilities and get the best out of your time in the Dolomites.
2. Update Your GPS App: Stay on The Right Track
Navigation is one of the most useful modern technologies when you are hiking. With trails in the Dolomites sometimes unmarked or changing with the weather, a solid navigation system can be the difference between comfort and stress, and even safety. Google Maps are great for general navigation, indicating what towns, landmarks, and points of interest may be nearby.
But if you’re looking for more detailed, hiking-specific maps, apps such as Komoot or Cairn provide downloadable offline maps that don’t require an internet connection to work—great for areas with poor cellular reception. Komoot is particularly popular for its turn-by-turn directions, keeping you on course and enabling you to avoid getting lost.
With built-in GPS tracking, these apps also allow you to log your progress, see where you’re located on the trail, and monitor your elevation. This is so important on multi-day hikes such as Dolomites hut-to-hut hiking so that you’re always alert and aware of your surroundings.
3. Safety: Manual for Emergency and Weather Alert
When hiking in remote places like the Dolomites, safety is paramount. Thankfully, there are now modern travel apps that keep you safe while on the trails. Cairn is an app for hikers that offers paramount safety features like sharing your location. And by sharing the details of your hike, your friends or family will be able to see your progress. The app can also send an SOS message with your location in case of emergency, notifying rescuers if needed.
You can look at a local weather app, such as MeteoExplorer, for live weather updates. Weather in the Dolomites can take a quick turn, making it important to stay on top of any storm warnings, temperature drops, or trail condition changes that could affect your hike. This way, you can revise your plans and prepare for the possible changes in the weather, ensuring a safe ride.
Also, you can download Red Cross First Aid for basic first aid guidance for when you’re hiking in remote areas without cell service.
4. Getting Around: Booking Mountain Huts on the Go
One of the best things about hut-to-hut hiking in the Dolomites is sleeping in the mountain huts along the way. These huts can get booked up, particularly during peak season, so it’s best to book in advance. Luckily, travel apps have made booking mountain huts simpler than ever.
Others have their own apps or websites you can use to book your stay directly. Booking in advance means you won’t have the stress of searching for somewhere to sleep after a long day of walking.
But if you like to be spontaneous or need to plan on the fly, Mountain Huts Dolomites is a dedicated app that allows you to search for the available huts on your route, see photos, and contact hut owners. This process is particularly useful if your plans shift or if you’re seeking a specific kind of lodging.
5. The Experience: Photos, tunes, journals
On your Dolomites hut-to-hut hiking trails, you will want to snap photos of breathtaking views and unique wildlife as a memento of the experience. If you want to share and edit photos, have Instagram, Snapchat, or VSCO — capture the beauty of the Dolomites artistically. You can make albums or even share stories with your buddies, encouraging them to start their adventures.
If you want to go a little deeper into your day, you could use a journaling app like Journey or Day One to write down what happened each day. Writing about the experience of hiking, your thoughts, what you see, etc., can help you reflect on the experience and create lasting memories.
Spotify or Apple Music are also great options if you want to immerse yourself in a perfect musical atmosphere while hiking. Music can personalize your adventure, whether you are listening to some peaceful instrumental tracks during a quiet stretch of trail or rocking out to your favorite tunes.
Conclusion: Technology Is Your Hiking Friend
Hiking the Dolomites connects you with nature in a profound way, but there are many other ways travel apps and technology can enhance your trip. Technology provides relevant assistance throughout your Dolomites adventure, from planning your hut-to-hut hiking route, keeping you safe with real-time weather updates and GPS navigation to booking mountain hut accommodations while you are on the go.
The right apps and tools to help you get into nature and enjoy the beautiful, albeit sometimes challenging, experience of the Dolomites will be able to set your mind at ease while you’re exploring one of the world’s most beautiful mountain ranges — assuring you that technology is there to guide the way, keep you safe, and help you have the best time possible.
