Dolomites in September

We can recommend the Garni Ariston in St. Christina. Breakfast buffet is included in the room price. Very short walk to the bus stop. Nice views from the balconies.

www.garniariston.com

Paul

Thanks Paul. Easy access on foot or bus to trams leading to alpine hikes? I sent a price request, looks like around $110 or so /night for 2 with breakfast--sound about right? Decent dinner options in Santa Christina?

It says up to 41 Euro per person. We had a car, but once to the bus, you can get anywhere quickly. The entire Val Gardena is rather short. Here's a link to a map of St. Christina. The Ariston is right above the TI represented by the black I in the yellow circle.

http://www.val-gardena.com/images/gardena/maps/map_scristina_2010_11.jpg

Paul, or others, have you rented a car in Italy? For our 3 week trip it looks like train fare total for 2 will be about $400. On Kayak I see that a car can be rented for about the same price, maybe $500. Any experience with Europcar? They're the cheapest.

The rental cost is just the beginning. You have to add fuel cost, road tolls (autostrada), parking, and also consider the possibility of a traffic fine for speeding or driving in a prohibited lane or zone.

A car does make sense for the Dolomites, but may not for the rest of your trip. Last time we rented a car in Bolzano for the Dolomites, then drove to our next location (Venice) and turned it in.

Where else are you going?

Yeah a car is very handy for the Dolomites ; will be a time saver for that area for sure and give you access if you desire to different parts that are not served by public transit.

As mentioned though the rental cost is definitely not the only cost.
Gas is much more expensive than the United States
Tolls are very expensive in Italy (though there are not many in the Dolomites, most of the roads there are toll free) ; the rest of the country seems to have tolls most everywhere.
Free parking is rare. Our hotel in Ortisei had a nice underground garage beneath the hotel which was easy in and out but they did charge a daily fee for using it.

If adding zero deductible insurance that adds to the price of the rental and most prefer to do that.
You should have a GPS or data plan for your phone for navigation purposes which is another expense.
Speed cameras are all over so always a fear of a speeding ticket, parking ticket or ZTL violation in other parts of the county arriving to you months later being an unpleasant surprise.
You have to get an International Drivers License in advance (can be done for about $25 at an AAA office in the US)
As useful as a car is in the Dolomites it is a major disadvantage in other parts you may be staying/traveling to, so you likely would want to turn it in at your next destination.

On our trip this fall I was very glad we had a car for the Dolomites but I didn't think of it as a cost savings option.
We drove from Manarola to Ortisei and then from Ortisei to Lake Bled, Slovenia ; from there we drove and dropped off the car in Venice before staying in Venice.

To address your question: Europcar is a very solid outfit, probably your best option quality wise. We used them (rented through Auto Europe not Europcar directly)

Thanks for the car tips folks. I had not factored in other costs (gas I did) so thanks for the heads up. Actually getting from the train station in Bolzano to S. Christina by bus is easy and our hotel (Garni Ariston--thanks Paul) is close to the bus and walking distance to the trams, so we don't feel a need for a car for just 3 days. After that it's Venice (don't need/want a car there), Ravenna, Florence and Rome. Florence is the only place we'll probably rent a car for the week we're there--to explore wine/hill country. And we don't need/want a car in Rome, so I'm pretty sure we'll do most of the trip via train and bus.

Bob: for Florence that will depend greatly on where you are staying.
It is one of the worst areas in the entire country for ZTL zones so for most not a good idea to have a car in Florence not even factoring in the extremely high parking costs there.
Rent it for the day and drive to the countryside and return the car the same day.

if you are staying on the outskirts of town and where you are staying has parking, that would be different.

We have a house rented in Barberino Val D'Elsa, SW of Florence, so a car will be practical for touring the countryside. We'll have to figure out a shuttle or bus for getting into the city.

Glad to hear you're pretty much set for the Dolomites. Yes, the Ariston is easy by public transport. It sits back and above the Main Street and bus stop. Just stop in the nearby TI for maps and lift schedules, bus schedules, etc. You won't need a car for your two full days. IF you get bad weather, maybe head to Brixen, which is a nice old town, and look around the Diocean Museum. Or head back to Bolzano, another nice old town, and visit the Ice Man exhibit at the Museum of Archaeology. Closer by, at the head of the Val Gardena, is Klausen/Chiusa.

Paul