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Dolomites

We are looking to fly into Munich and rent a car and tour southern Germany and head to Italy and tour the Dolomites then continue to Venice . Then maybe driving to Grossglockner pass to Hallstatt and Salzburg and back to fly out of munich. We are struggling a bit to planning accommodations in the Dolomites. We where thinking to stay 3 night in Castelrotto and 2 night in Cortina.

We have thrown out a couple ideas, we thought about camping. And also considered Staying in the Refugio's. We wanted to see what travels have experienced in the region. Any suggestions. We are going to do some hiking and biking, and enjoy the views

Posted by
11247 posts

Instead of Castelrotto, try Ortisei in the Val Gardena. You don't need a car, but most accommodations there have parking. I think you could have a great time with 3 nights in Ortisei and 2 nights up in the Alpe di Siusi. We go to Ortisei every year and have done many wondrous hikes. Though non overnight, we do rifugio to rifugio hiking. Rick Steves guide has some good Alpe di Siusi hikes, and the local TI will help you a lot. What Rick Steves book does not mention are the terrific hikes in the Puez Odle, to the north of the Val Gardena and those off the Ciampinoi lift in Selva at teh other end of the valley.

WE have liked Hotel Garni Walter, Villa Aurelia and Hotel Albion in and near Ortisei. In the Alpe di Siusi try Hotel Saltria or Alpenhotel Panorama. Staying in the Alpe overnight allows you to get out super early on a long hike. The hotels there are half-pension and you will be well-fed breakfast and dinner! The Alpe is also a great place to mountain bike and there are rentals.

Posted by
101 posts

For trip planning, get a copy of Gillian Price's hiking guides for the Dolomites from Cicierone Press and the #05 Val Gardena-Alpe di Siusi 1:25,000 map from Tabacco.
http://www.amazon.com/Shorter-Walks-Dolomites-selected-Cicerone/dp/1852846585/ref=pd_bxgy_14_text_y/180-0840306-6435303
http://www.amazon.com/Walking-Dolomites-Cicerone-Guides-Gillian/dp/1852843853
http://www.omnimap.com/catalog/hiking/tabacco.htm
We usually stay in Selva because we like many of the hikes from that location. But from any of the villages in Val Gardena; Selva, Ortisei, or S. Christina you can easily hop on a bus that will take you to the lifts in any of the other villages in just a few minutes. The Val Gardena Card pass gives you access to the buses and most of the lifts without the need to purchase individual tickets.
One hike I would specifically recommend is from Selva to Refugio Puez. This can be done as a long day hike, or as an overnight at Puez. Along the way there is small mountain lake and beautiful views back down into the Vallelunga valley . More details about this and other routes can be found in Gillian Price's guides.

Posted by
32 posts

Thanks for the info.

Has any one spent time in the Cortina area. Any top recombination's for hiking. We wanted to try a Via ferrata hike to..
any recommendations.

Posted by
10 posts

i would look into staying in and around the alta badia, in particular in san cassiano. there are great value bnb's and small hotels around la villa, corvara, etc...the hotels have great advice and good transportation to hiking trail heads with suggested routes to stop at rifugios for lunch on the way back into towns. there are also good bus connections in between corvara, la villa and san cassiano, if youre not renting a car.

be aware, that even in late spring some hotels are closed and many hiking trails are inaccessible due to snow and ice.

Posted by
32 posts

We booked hotels in Compatsch for one night, June 27.

Then moving to Selva for 2 night. June 28-29
Then 3 night in Cortina 3 night June 30, and July 1,2.

It more moving around then we wanted to do, Put we like to see a lot of variety.

Posted by
32 posts

Any one stay in these areas that have hiking or food recommendations.

Thanks as always for the input. It is great.

Posted by
11247 posts

As I mentioned above regarding hikes to do:

Rick Steves guide has some good Alpe di Siusi hikes, and the local TI will help you a lot. What Rick Steves book does not mention are the terrific hikes in the Puez Odle, to the north of the Val Gardena and those off the Ciampinoi lift in Selva at the other end of the valley.

The hikes around the rifugio Emilio Comici are fabulous, above Selva, as is the terrain at Seceda.

Posted by
339 posts

La Villa is where we stayed in the Dolomites. It seemed to be pretty centrally located. We could access hiking areas and drove through numerous passes. And it was Beautiful!! We stayed at Garni Tamarindo. Very reasonable and a lovely place to stay.

Posted by
2898 posts

Were not hikers, but we stayed twice in La Villa, Alta Badia at the Ciasa Montanara, right next door to, and owned by the brother of, the Tamarindo, mentioned above. This is about a 45 minute drive to Cortina d'Ampezzo and the same to the Val Gardena and Alpe Di Siusi. Why change locations? I'd base in the one location. The passes are some of the best drives we've ever taken. Particular favorites are the Gardena and Giau passes.

For a food recommendation, we loved the Black Hill in Colfosco, Alta Badia. Ate there a few times. Best pizza we ever tasted. FYI, most eat a pizza with a knife and fork and it is not cut into triangular slices, but served as a whole pizza pie. Each person gets their own. We thought it would be way too much for one person, but it's not. It's so thin, so crispy, so good.

Paul