Hi All,
We are planning a holiday around Christmas and NYE.
The plan is to start the holiday at Lake Como ( Bellagio) a week to 10 days before Christmas.
Stay 4-5 nights then drive to the Dolomites.
Tossing up where to stay there but narrowed it down to Sonus Alpis & Hotel Marmolada.
We are not skiing. Our preference is to visit and the local villages and towns , hike what is open at that time of year , do a day trip to Bolzano for the Christmas Market and of course visit the popular mountain ranges.
My question here is which area will provide the best base to do that.
We will stay here through Christmas then take a 3 day drive to Paris through the Swiss Alps and stay in Paris for NYE.
Is this a reasonable itinerary ?
Any thoughts, ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by
martinez, ca, usa
2593 posts
hey hey jcaponejr10516
it will be busy with many traveling during holidays for Christmas markets all over. book rooms early.
are you doing multi-city flights (into one city “milan or venice” and depart from paris? no backtracking, check flights to paris. check-in times 2-4pm and check-out 10-11am to hotels. how many is “we” traveling and total nights for this trip? seems to be overload & cramming, spending too much driving time. it’s your holiday.
you will need an IDP (aaa.com/IDP) for each driver, mandatory in italy. look at rules/laws/ signage for driving in different countries, do you need winter tires, crossing borders in Switzerland will need a sticker/vignette for window, big $$$$ fine to pick up car and drop off in another country.
do a “dummy” reservation for your car to check cost. good luck and have fun
aloha
Posted by
Maryland
957 posts
It gets dark very early at that time of the year. Ortisei is in the heart of the eastern Dolomites and is very popular among folks on the Forum. Then, if you are willing to spend three days driving to Paris with overnights somewhere you might find that taking a train from "the Dolomites" (ie. Bolzano (?) through Innsbruck (?) through Switzerland (Lucerne?) to France (Strasburg?) to Paris would be easier and less weather sensitive. Holiday festivities in each place although the Christmas Markets usually end December 24th.
Hiking will be very limited in the mountains since the ski season will have started.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Hi Princess,
We ( my wife & I ) are planning this trip well in advance. Tentative dates are December 16 2026
Jan 6 2027.
Can’t book flight yet and Hotel Marmolada has given me a quote already but Sonus Alpis doesn’t have their winter rates locked in yet for that period.
The plan is to fly into Milan and return from CDG.
I heard about the hefty fee for car dropoff and will research a better way to do it.
I always like a good road trip and thought the ride from the Dolomites through the Alps and on to Paris would be memorable one but we are not married to it.
The plan is Lake Como from the 17th-22nd
Dolomites 22nd -27th , 2 nights on the road to Paris, arrive 30th and fly home on the 6th.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Hi Nick,
Thanks for the great info.
I’ll look into Ortisei as an option for a home base.
It’s going to be a tough decision that’s for sure.
Castelrotto, Corvara or Ortisei. Might as well put them in a hat and pick out…lol.
I love a good road trip that’s why I was considering a drive but I feel you about the weather. Could always change up last minute I guess.
Thanks again
Posted by
Maryland
957 posts
Ortisei is much larger than Castelrotto or Corvara. Check out the Suedtirol website for lots of information.
https://www.suedtirol.info/en/en