DOLOMITES Hiking Help!!! Alpe di Suise vs. Alta Badia vs. Cortina areas

If I were still in my late 20's and both my wife and I really enjoyed hiking I would plan on a rifugio tour in the Dolomites, moving around quite often spending one night in different places as long as you keep your bags light.
Look into that and try to map out your days at where you can get to.

I think that would be just an epic time and sounds like you both would be up for it
More of the better rifugios are in the Cortina region from what I understand but they are all over.

One 3 day plan:
Rifugio Lagazuoi 1 night,
Rifugio Scoiattoli OR Rifugio Vandelli 2nd night
Rifugio Locatelli 3rd night
These are close enough together to make it work easily but may need a rental car. Depending on time of year there may be bus options between each,
You could choose just 1 of these and then 2 closer together rifugios if you want to hike from rifugio to rifugio and avoid the need for any car or other form of transportation.

I selected these 3 because they seem the best of the best in my opinion.

My husband and I did extensive (day) hiking in the Dolomites last summer. We are early 30s and very fit. We did stay in Castelrotto to do the Alpe di Siusi and some cycling (we did a great day hike that was started in town and included the whole meadow loop with great views). We also stayed in Cortina to do hiking in the rest of the region and considered it out of the way- it was still a 30-50 minute drive back to all of the trailheads we were interested in. I would go with Alta Badia or one of the many other small towns between- all had hotels/inns that looked nice. Rifugio to Rifugio hiking is also a great option- they are nice and the food is often good. We had a gourmet lunch at Rifugio Averau. If you hike at a relatively fast pace, you may find many of the most popular routes are very doable for a day hike. I used the book Shorter Walks in the Dolomites by Gillian Price as a guide for planning. If you are really into hiking/adventure and want to climb straight up the side of a spiky ridge line consider doing a via ferrata- you can rent equipment in several towns or use a guide. As for how to divide your time, I would read the hike descriptions and rank your favorites and go from there- you have no bad options. I think Rick covers the Alpe di Siusi more because if you take a chairlift up to meadow is it a very doable hike for most fitness levels. Also depending on when in the summer you are going, there are often popup rain/thunderstorms mid to late afternoon in the mountains, so if that's not your idea of a fun hike plan to start earlier in the morning.

I haven't been to the other areas yet, so can't comment on similarities.

We have stayed in and hiked from Alpe di Siusi, Alta Badia, Val Gardena, and Tiers. Eachntimenit was a fullnweek in the Dolomites. It is all good.

Random thoughts: with just 3 nights, you should stay in one spot, or hike between Refugio's as suggested above. Don't stay one night on Alpe di Siusi and two somewhere else. You will lose hiking time to transfer time.

Cortina has the most expensive lodging and it the farthest from the Swiss Alps.

Alpe di Siusi is nothing at all like Mürren area. It is a high alpine meadow surrounded by Dolomite peaks( and no glaciers). I love the view of Sasso Longho (sp?) and Sasso Piatto from Alpe di Siusi. It is a great place for cycling, and you can do some hikes with elevation gain if you wish---up to Bolzano Hütte or the walk around Sasso Piatto, for example.

You can access Alpe di Siusi by lift from Val Gardena villages if you do not wish to spend all your time there. There are great hikes into Puez-Odle area from the Val Gardena villages, so you could hike both areas from one base.

In Val Badia we stayed in the Alta Badia village of Colfosco. The hikes from there took us to more lunar-like landscapes, if that is what you seek. Some offered views of Marmolada,,with it's glacier( so more similar to the Swiss Alps).

What you should really consider is your transport options. It is a long train ride from Mürren in the Swiss Alps to anyplace in the Dolomites. (it took us all day to get from Mürren to Colfosco with public transport----train and bus). You can get around by local bus, but renting a car ( probably in Bolzano) will give you much more flexibility.

Thank you so much for all the replies so far! This is so helpful!

We definitely expect a full day of travel from Swiss Alps to Dolomites, but are ok with that as we are planning on doing a day or so in Venice before leaving via the Verona or Venice airport. We'll be there at the very end of August/very beginning of September, so it seems like the bus system should be able to get us around, but I'm also going to look into a car since it sounds like that may be easier.

I love the hut to hut idea - is it realistic to do the Tre Cime hike by Cortina... then if needed take transportation to start a hike to a hut in Alta Badia area (I've heard good things about Fanes hut and Legazuoi hut?) ... then hike to a hut in Alpe di Suise area? I've ordered some tobacco maps to see how everything fits together but is that realistic or still too far apart?

I love the scenery I see in pics from Alpe di Suise and the large meadow with spikey mountains in back; Puez Odle seems so pretty too but similar to Alpe di Suise? ; and then it seems like Alta Badia and the Fanes/Sennes/Braies area has much more dramatic rocky peaks with gorgeous vistas and hikes along ridge lines. Is this accurate? Meaning that I would see "different" scenery in Alpe di Suise/Puez Odle vs. Alta Badia/Fanes/Sennes/Braies?

Thanks again!

We did many hikes in the town of Canazei in October of 2014. Canazei is about an hour drive from Cortina. The town was nearly a ghost town prior to ski season. Great for us as we do not like crowds. Incredible hiking in the high mountain meadows. One incredible hike took us to about 8,500' nothing but some deer and other assorted animals. A loop trip was available but did not have enough time. Out & back instead, still incredible. If interested I can dig out the map and find the trail number. Also took the cable car to 11,000' feet much hiking available at that elevation. Wanted to do more but ran out of time.
Traveling to Chamonix in fall of 2016 would love to know more about hiking opportunities there as well as Zermatt near the Matterhorn.

My husband and I have hiked all over the Alps for the past 30 years and the Dolomites is the one place we keep going back to!
Our favorite areas to hike are around the Drei Zinnen (Tre Cime) the Langkoffel Gruppe (the Langkoffelhutte is one of our favorite huttes in the Dolomites!), and up on the Seiser Alm for the most amazing views.
I highly recommend hut to hut hiking. Take a gondola up into the mountains, hike from hut to hut, spending the night, and then taking the gondola back down. The food is fantastic and you meet amazing people when staying in the huts. We have used this website for information the last couple of times we have been. It highlights the area around the Val Gardena, which is one of the most beautiful areas of the Dolomites. Cortina is nice but it is a little out of the way from the best parts of the Dolomites...opinion of course!

Hi again! Thanks all for your comments!

After more research (still waiting for my Tobacco maps to arrive), this is what we are thinking based on our limited time:

• Day 1 –Venice to Passo Falzarego in late afternoon; take cable car up to Rifugio Lagazuoi and spend night
• Day 2 – Hike Rifugio Lagazoui down to Corvara; take transportation to La Villa and take cable car up to Rifugio Gardenacia for night
• Day 3 – Hike Rifugio Gardenacia to Passo Gardena through Puez Odles; Take transportation to Ortisei and stay there for night
• Day 4 – Take morning transportation Ortisei to Verona for flight

So that leaves me with a few additional questions:

• Any thoughts on itinerary above? Do you still feel like I’ll see some of the best of the Dolomites? We took out Tre Cime because it felt out of way for our limited time. Kind of worried about hiking DOWN from Lagazuoi but this seemed like the best way to maximize our time.

• Any B&B recos in Ortisei? – reading through other Rick Forum Posts I’ve seen some mention of Garni Walter and Gasthof-Albergo Stua Catores?

• Any Luggage Transfer Recos? – If we decide we want to have our main luggage transferred from Passo Falzarego to Ortisei – any recos? So far I’ve only seen Alta Badia Taxi do luggage service

• Any Driver Recos for Venice - Passo Falzarego OR Ortisei – Verona? I think it makes most sense to use public transfer, but looking into these options too if it’s any easier.

Many thanks!

In Ortisei we like Garni Walter and also Villa Aurelia.

This question is for Anita. My husband and I are planning to travel to the Dolomites this summer . We want to do the Drei Zinnen and the Langkoffel Gruppe to Seiser Alm. We will not drive a car, therefor how do we get to the Drei Zinnen and from there is there a hike to the Langkofel Group and from there to Seiser Alm. We are 72 year of age, physically fit. Are these hikes to these places doable and in how many days. Thank you so much, Marion.

I am not Anita but I will answer part of your question in case she does not see it. The Langkofel group is at one end of the Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm. You can see the relation in this photo:

http://www.panoramio.com/m/photo/15407638

As they are in the same area, you can hike both from one hotel if you like. My first visit to the Dolomites we stayed on Alpe di Siusi and hiked some nice trails (Bolzano Hütte for one) from there. To hike around the Langkofel group, we caught the bus for the short ride to the eastern end of the road at Saltria, near the base of these peaks. A lift took us up to the trail that circumnavigated the peaks. You can also reach this trail from Selva in Val Gardena by lift, and you can reach other areas of the Alpe by lifts from Santa Cristina and Ortesei. But I recommend staying up on the Alpe as it is so beautiful up there.

I cannot answer about Drei Zinnen as I have not been there --- the transport seemed too complicated!

Hi Marion,
Lola's advice is perfect and just what I would have said.
The Drei Zinnen is a bit out of the way if you are going via public transport but well worth it. I always find that it's best to have a car in the Dolomites. We've done it both ways but a car saves a lot of time as some of the bus schedules are infrequent to some areas. The hike around the Drei Zinnen can easily be done in a day. There is no strenuous elevation gain and it's a fairly straightforward walk around the whole massif. The refugio that is right there is comfortable and a really nice place to stay. We have stayed there before and it's a great way to end the day with dinner and a sleep! Lots of big bunk rooms but I think they have private ones as well.

Thank you so much, Lola and Anita. This has been a great help. We have taken a car before in Europe, however I am not so sure about taking one in the Dolomites. I have seen the Drei Zinnen as a young girl and my husband and I spent only one day in Brunau several years ago. We love this area, however, the roads there might be a little scary to drive.

Anyhow, both of you have been a great help. Thank you so much, Marion.

We are planning to stay at least 2 weeks in the Dolomites. Has anyone been to the Nova Levante outside or near Bozen (Bolzano).
If so, is it worth while to go there first for approx. three days?

Lola, which B&B or hotel did you stay when you stayed at the Alpe di Suise? Marion