Please sign in to post.

Dolomites, Austria, Prague, Switzerland

Posted by on

Hello,

We are planning a trip to the Dolomites next September, 2018. We will start that leg of our trip in Cortina d’Ampezzo, and end at Lago di Garda (11-13 days, TBD). We would like to add some other stops on either side of trip, like Switzerland (Zurich) and/or Austria (Vienna, Garmisch-Patenkirchen, Innsbruck, Salzberg). Prague is another city we would love to see as well. I am struggling to find guidebooks and websites to assist me with this, so I am hoping some fellow Rick Steve's travelers will be up for the challenge. I've already been to Italy and Germany, and would like to have a few cities outside the Dolomites to begin and/or end our trip with for an additional 5-10 days. I was thinking something like Prague or Vienna (3 days), Salzberg (1 full day), Innsbruck (1 night, to break up the travel into the Dolomites), then head into Cortina d’Ampezzo. Maybe pass through Zurich on the way out. We are hoping to buy our tickets soon so I need to decide where to fly in and out of. Coming from Seattle, Washington.

We'll be with my family in the Dolomites, and are not planning that, but here is the itinerary I was given if you are so inclined to comment :).

Cortina d’Ampezzo: 3 nights, Alta Badia: 3 nights, Val Gardena: 3 nights , Bolzano: 1-2 nights, Lago di Garda: 1-2 nights

Thank you in advance for your time!

Posted by
11504 posts

Dolomites pair well with Verona and Venice.
I would replace Zurich with Lucerne and/or the Berner Oberland region for Switzerland.
Milan MXP is an excellent gateway.

Posted by
631 posts

Vienna -- long way out of general area
Prague -- ditto
Salzburg -- decent city and with nice surroundings, and reachable. But if you mention Halstatt I will scream.......
Innsbruck -- similar to Bolzano but prone to be wetter, probably not worth it in this scenario
GAP -- famous for ski facilities at the start of the year, more well known in USA as R&R base for US forces. A surprising amount of ugly concrete, try Mittenwald to the south or Murnau to the north.
Zurich -- why? Really? I've never understood why tourists head there. It has the airport and the trains meet there so I can see why they travel through but I've never taken to it. As said, Luzern is better.

But when it comes to flights,given the north to south sweep of the plan and the Swiss ending, Zurich would actually be the airport I'd choose. No hassle with open jaws, just get in and head straight to Bavaria and Austria, then down to the Italian section and on the Switzerland from the south.

But a question about the Dolomites itinery. Is this a walking tour? Most of the overnights are so close together it could be. The first 3 sections are only around 20 miles each, seems like a lot of hassle with reservations and repacking

Posted by
3551 posts

Ck the historical weather for Dolomites. I would suggest u go,as early as poss in Sept.

Posted by
3398 posts

I was just in the Dolomites last weekend and the weather was gorgeous...50s and 60s, blue skies and puffy clouds, not too crowded. You could definitely feel a nip in the air of autumn coming...so beautiful. Definitely try to go earlier in September. There was already a dusting of snow on the mountains.
We did a circle in 8 days...a bit fast for my taste but had to work within a few time constraints for this trip.
Venice
Verona
Ortisei/St. Ulrich (we hiked up on the Seiser Alm - so stunning!)
Lake Bled, Slovenia
Venice
You could easily extend to some other nearby cities and make a great trip of it since you have more time. I would definitely add Innsbruck...maybe consider Zagreb and Croatia...easy to get to. Or head northeast to Vienna, Bratislava, or Budapest.
Cortina is nice but a little run down and uber-touristy now. The mountains around it are really nice though. Definitely make the time to go to the Tre Cime/Drei Zinnen - my favorite group of peaks in the Dolomites.
Of all the towns in the Val Gardena I always prefer Ortisei - lots of lodging choices and good access to the mountains. There are a few nice castles and monasteries within 15 minutes and great restaurants.
Bolzano - meh. Cute town but you're almost out of the mountains - good if you want to see the "ice man" but that's about it.

This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity.