My wife and I are taking our 4-yr-old son to northern Italy the last week+ of April, 2024. We're spending the first half of the week in Venice (Venice; lagoon; day trips to Padua and maybe Verona).
We'd love to spend a few days in the Dolomites, but see that this is their low season and many hotels/restaurants/lifts may be closed. With our son in tow, we would only need to do some very light alpine meadow hikes. We'll rent a car after leaving the Veneto.
We'll have April 25-29th for the post-Veneto portion of our trip.
Does anyone know:
a) if a few of the (lower) gondolas/lifts will be open at that time, or if we can take the bus up to Compatsch? And will the #11 bus from Compatsch to Saltria be running that time of year? and,
b) the likelihood that the Sella Pass will be passable?
If we can reasonably expect to do Rick's "Short Dolomite Loop Drive" over Sella Pass (p. 227) and one or two of his "Easy Hikes" (p. 221-222), it will be worth our trip. We can fill the rest of our Dolomite time in the valley poking around Bolzano, Kastelruth, and maybe a day trip through Brenner Pass to Innsbruck.
Plan B is to go from the Veneto to Florence to the Cinque Terre on this spring trip, and then see the Dolomites, the Julian Alps and the Austrian Alps on a future July trip.