My original plan was to stay in Ortisei next June as our base for visiting Seceda. But I have had zero luck finding lodging that I can afford. As I spread further away from Ortisei in my search, I am growing nervous and more confused about where I can stay that would be reasonable for easy daytrips to the Seceda ridgeline, paragliding, etc.
I have read about buses, but how frequent and how fast are they? What exactly is the gardena ronda express- is it also taking me up the mountain? How far/remote can my lodging be that I am not spending more than half an hour on a bus?
Any clarification would be greatly appreciated.
Posted by
martinez, ca, usa
2838 posts
hey hey aspalm
of course you know that you are traveling during high season, many places have been booked up to a year in advance, supply and demand is low during the season with so many people wanting to do the same thing as you. this area has "blown up" with tourists from all over, social media/instagram for snapshots to say "i've been", hiking, hope to see snow /ski.
will you think of renting car, if so will you need and IDP (aaa.com/IDP) read laws/rules about driving, vignettes needed, research.
have no clue what your budget is, how many people (adults/kids & ages),
look at booking.com, trip advisor, trivago. find a place and email hotel/apt directly if they have availabilty. may get a better deal, look at another place closer to your preferred area. once you find a place book it and don't look back. good luck
aloha & hauoli makahiki hou
Posted by
Oregon
2953 posts
You can go onto Google maps, select the transit view, and zoom in on the bus stops. Click on a bus stop and it will show which buses stop there. It will tell you the other stops on the route, and the time of the stops. It takes about 15 minutes to go from S. Cristina to Ortesei. I think they are about every 30 minutes, but it may depend on the time of year. Once you are in Ortesei, you can easily walk to the lifts that take you to Seceda, or walk to the other side of the valley and go up to Seiser Alm. From Santa Cristina, you can also take the lift to Col Raiser, then walk a bit and take a chair lift to Seceda.
The Ronda Express is an underground train that takes you from the base of the lift at one side of the valley (Col Raiser) to the base of the lift at the other side of the valley (Ciampinoi). It does not take you up either mountain. You transfer to a lift to go up.
As far as how remote you can be, find the closest bus stop in google maps. Click Directions. Enter the lodging address. This will tell you roughly how long it will take to walk. Note that S. Cristina is very hilly. You may have some steep hills to climb.
We stayed at La Tambra a couple years ago and loved it, but we had a car. We did use the bus to Ortesei one day.
Posted by
Wengen
3589 posts
You can find out public transport routes and times on the Südtirolmobil website here:
https://www.suedtirolmobil.info/
It has a journey planner, links to network maps etc...
Posted by
159 posts
Dolomites are very expensive for lodging and demand is high. If you rent a car,, your slim options will increase. You will also be able to do things on your schedule, access more trails, get away from crowds, have clean clothes and extra food/water waiting for you after hikes, etc.
I had a car and couldn’t imagine doing it any other way. It can be severely crowded during high season and public transportation means you will be part of that mess. With a car I avoided that and visited the best spots and had them almost to myself.
You want mountains and great public transportation? You’re in the wrong place. Go to Switzerland.
Posted by
Seattle
152 posts
I had similar issue when tried to book for our trip for August (no car).
Most places i liked have requirements 5 or 7 nights.
I had no choice but to increase my budget a little bit for lodging.
I booked garni snaltnerhof a few months ago.
Posted by
Boise, ID, USA
2537 posts
Admittedly, I can't get the website to work for direct booking right now, but I stayed at Hotel Dolomiti Madonna in Ortisei last June. Their minimum stay is three nights and the prices are very reasonable. No air conditioning and it was hot last June, but that was unusual. It's very near the primary bus stop. You might send an inquiry on their website.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Okay. So if it helps to rent a car in Verona, for example, how difficult is it to drive into the Dolomites? Am i better off taking the train to Bolzano and renting there for any reason?
Thanks for all the replies. I guess I have no concept of how these lifts work coming from different towns and ending in the same spots?