My family will be traveling to Italy /Croatia in early June and I'm looking for some info on the Dolomites, which is top on my teenagers lists of priorities. I've been reading everything I can but am still unsure of where to go becasue it all looks so beautiful. We want day hiking and would love to do 1 or 2 nights at a "Hut" or refugio but the logistics seem way too complicated.I've looked at hiking tours but they are all too expensive and too long
We'll have 4-5 days and I don't want to be moving to a new apartment every day.
Is the public transportation adequate to achieve this or will I need a car? I prefer not to rent a car.
For a 5 day visit, where should I plan to make "Home Base"....or should I plan on 2 locations?
Last, I'm stewing over whether to begin our journey in dolomites (June 1) or end it there (June16-17). My original plan was to start in the Dolomites, then through Venice, Rome, a night Ferry Ancona to Split,and fly out of Zagreb. Total time on the ground 16-17 days. Would I be better off reversing that route so we arrive in the Dolomites later in the month. Warmer weather? More bus services open?
Wendy
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11852 posts
Our favorite area is the Val Gardena. Many of the lifts do not open until well into June, so if you can delay, it is best. If you have 5 nights, try 2 in the Alpe di Siusi and 3 in the valley in Ortisei. The Alpe experience is remarkable as you can get to hikes that are hard to access from the valley. Likewise, the valley affords you access to the Puez-Odle that cannot be easily accessed from the Alpe.
In the Alpe we like Hotel Saltria and Hotel Panorama.
No car required. Bus from Bolzano to Ortisei. Or get off the bus at Seis - Alpe di Siusi/Seiser Alm and take the gondola to Compatsch and the bus to Saltria or a taxi to Hotel Panorama.
Personally I think you need to drop either Roma or Croatia. If you do 5 nights in the Dolomites, 3 in Venice, then you have only 8 nights left. Croatia alone can occupy all 8. Maybe Rome and another Italy location (Tuscan hill town? Florence? Umbria) would be a better pace.
Posted by
Long Beach, California, USA
3398 posts
It is well worth the effort it takes to stay in a refugio in the Dolomites! It would be a wonderful, unique experience for your kids. It probably isn't as hard as you think but June may be a bit early...some of them don't open until mid-late June because of the snow. One that I know will be open in June is the Langkoffel Hutte. It's one of the older huttes with very thick, handbuilt stone walls and views to die for. It backs up against the Langkoffel Gruppe of peaks and you can walk into the beautiful spires of rock behind the hutte. This hutte will rent you linens for the night, eliminating the need for a sleeping bag. It's not a hard hike to this hutte from the top of the nearest gondola so a pair of good, sturdy walking shoes are good enough to get you there. Their food is fantastic and you will get a true Dolomite experience if you stay there!
Later would definitely be better...make sure to make a reservation. Join the Club Alpino Italiano for a discount and better chance of a reservation.
Posted by
Delanson, NY
79 posts
I posted this account of my trip last year in an earlier Dolomites thread.
I stayed in a beautiful Dolomite village called Nauders last May and only paid $70 a night for a suite as ski season had ended. We stayed at a place run by a family called the Residence Hauserhof. Nauders is on the south facing slopes of the Pustertal valley near the village of Mühlbach (Rio di Pusteria). This is to the east of Brixen (Bressanone). To the north of the valley, you have a west-east range reaching 11k + feet. You can drive up a very steep, winding, but paved road to an isolated high Alpine valley called Fahne Alm at 5650 feet elevation. There you find the Gattererhütte, offering accomodations and a small restaurant. I didn't do any hiking, but certainly there is a lot around there, perhaps connecting with the Gattererhütte.
Re: the lifts. The main funicular taking you up to the Village of Meransen (the Meransnerbahn) was running, but the ski lifts to higher elevations had recently shut down with the conclusion of the ski season. They were to reopen in June they said. 2014-15 was a below normal snowfall year in the Alps and they were down to a few old drifts of snow here and there at 5600' in early May. That said, they showed us a picture of the Gattererhütte from January and the snow was up to the eves of the roof.