Looking at early plans for an Austrian/northern Italy trip April/May next year via train, and am thinking about basing in Bolzano in the Dolomites before venturing farther south.
Are 2-3 days enough there, with a daytrip or two to Ortisei or another of the nearby mountain villages? We are not skiers.
Would like to hear about experiences in that specific area, thanks!
Yes, 3 days is enough time. You can see Bolzano and Trentino and some valley villages without hurry. However I would not go until mid to late May at the earliest. Ortisei is at 4,000 feet and the snow will still be in some areas and the trees will not be in full leaf. Also the chairlifts will not be running for hiking and numerous services might be closed as it's between seasons.
Last year I was at 5600' ...at Fahne Alm, near Mühlbach. That is east of Brixen (Bressanone). They were down to a few drifts here and there at that elevation on May 6th. But I think the winter of 14-15 was not particularly snowy in the Alps. The 'leaf out' level was around 4k feet on that date
