My family of 4 (2 kids 9,10) are planning to spend 6-7 days and would like to combine the Italian Dolomites with Innsbruck or somewhere nice in the Austrian alps
1) what is a good base to explore the dolomites through day trips (I would like to avoid booking multiple hotels if I could)
2) what is the best way to get to Austrian alps without a car rental?
Thank you
Ortisei makes a great base since there are 3 lifts/funiculars that go from town up to both sides of the the valley it sits in. Ortisei is easily reached by bus if you take the train to Bolzano.
Thanks John.
Is it easy to get to Innsbruck from Ortisei? Other than the top of Innsbruck, is there a lot to do there? I'm considering spending a day or two there.
It’s quite simple. Take Bus # 350 from Ortisei to Bolzano/Bozen (1 hour). The bus will drop you at the Bolzano/Bozen train station. Train from Bolzano/Bozen to Innsbruck in about 2 hours.
www.TheTrainline.com for an idea of train schedules and fares.
Thank you.
I have heard people suggest both Bolzano and Ortisei for base for Dolomites. Thoughts on what works best for a family like ours?
Also, I have heard people stay in Innsbruck and use that as base and take day trips to the Dolomites. Is that recommended?
I spend my August holidays in Innsbruck and we often have a day trip to Vipiteno and Ortisei and other Italian destinations. If you have a car, you better subscribe to Brenner highway as it is quite expensive and doing it multiple times drives price up. Also, Innsbruck to Ortisei by car is an hour and half, if you arrive in Ortisei at 10am in an August day you will be pressed to find a parking, so a day trip is feasible but really Innsbruck is not a base for visiting Italian destinations and vv.
Doing the same by train is possibile but much, much slower. Trains chug along the steep Brenner railway ramps and often there is a change or a long stop for crew change at Brenner station. And the only destinations in Italy with railway connections are Brunico, Dobbiaco and San Candido.
Lachera, being from Italy, has great insight on travel throughout Italy.
To me, a 90-minute drive in the most favorable conditions is more than I would want to tackle for a day trip. If you live in the area and you're driving your personal car-- that is one thing. Driving a rental car on routes you've never driven before, with traffic signs in a different language is a different animal.
At any rate, on the Innsbruck/Bolzano highway, be advised that the Lueg Bridge on the BRENNER PASS WILL HAVE CONSTRUCTION beginning at the end of March, 2025 so that the aged-out Bridge can be replaced.
The construction is expected to narrow the pass to a single lane for a couple miles, which will cause a bottleneck on the already-busy highway while construction is ongoing.
Taking trains is advised until the construction is completed.
