Mountain huts in Italy

CAI's official 2026 tariff sets maximum prices by category: a dormitory bed 30–39 euros for non-members and 24–31.20 euros for members of CAI or a reciprocal club, and a small room of up to four beds 34.50–43.50 euros. The tariff applies only to CAI huts; private rifugi, of which there are many, set their own prices.

Each hut prices its own half board, with at least 20% off for members. At Rifugio Tissi on Alta Via 1 it is 76 euros, or 60 for members. From 1 October to 30 April non-members pay a 30% heating supplement, and non-members who bring their own food pay 3 euros. A personal sleeping sheet is compulsory.

CAI huts and a few dozen private ones, about 150 in all in 2026, can be booked on prenotarifugi.cai.it, in Italian, English, French or German. Other rifugi are booked directly by email or on their site.

In CAI huts the deposit may not exceed the price of the night, it is refunded if you cancel by 18:00 three days before arrival, and the booking is held until 18:00 on the day. Private huts set their own rules. For the summer, book 3–6 months ahead.

CAI huts must keep a winter room open when they are closed. There are also bivacchi (bivacco fisso): unstaffed shelters that are always open, with the bare minimum. In the Belluno Dolomites park the bivacchi are always open, free and unbookable: no dinner, often no water and sometimes no mattress, and what you carry in you carry out.

CAI fees are set by each section, for example 45–62 euros in 2026, plus about 5 euros for a new card. The statute admits foreign citizens, but you join through a local section, usually in person, and there is no national online sign-up. Insurance covers rescue up to 25,000 euros across Europe.

For someone living in Israel it is usually simpler to join the Austrian club: its card gets member rates in CAI huts too.

Venice is the gateway to the eastern Dolomites and Alta Via 1 and 2, Milan to the Italian side of Mont Blanc and the Aosta valley, and Verona, in season, to the western Dolomites. Venice and Milan had direct flights from Tel Aviv in summer 2026, Wizz Air among them.

After the disruption of 2026 direct routes from Tel Aviv change often, so check the current schedule, and book the huts before the flight.