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Dolomites in September

Posted by (Monterey County, CA (formerly Verbania Italy-Lago Maggiore)) on

Planning a trip to the Dolomites next month. Here’s what I’m thinking so far, but open to suggestions. We are renting a car and have some flexibily,

Sept 15- we will be driving from either Verona or Verbania on Lago Maggiore to Innsbruck Austria - will arrive around noon. Looked at Hall, but options are limited and more expensive than Innsbruck (with a dog)

September 16-18 (2 nights)
Thinking about two nights in Ortisei- have found a couple options in town. Good places to stop on way to Ortisei? Vipiteno/Sterzing? Reifenstein Castle?

Sept 19-22 (4 nights)
Have apartment booked in Siusi - meeting my brother there.

We have 5 full days for hikes. And some time on the day we arrive In Ortisei and day we leave. What are your favorites? We are 60, active, but not looking for strenuous hikes.

Seems there is a 3 day Gardena Card and 3 in 7 Seiser Alm Combi Card. Since we have our large dog with, we can only ride trams or gondolas, but not chairlifts. Any feedback if these cards are worth it as opposed to buying individual lift tickets. How did they work for you?

Posted by
11827 posts

Karen,
Sept is a great month in the Dolomites. We’ll be there, too.

As to the passes, they are a bargain. The Val Gardena Card only covers the lifts that have a presence in the Val Gardena plus a couple of others like at Passo Sella (the flying coffins which your dog won’t like) and the chairlift at Sonne in the Alpe di Siusi. The Seiser Alm Card (which I have not used) covers the AdS lifts including the one at Siusi up to Compatsch. There is a third option, the Dolomiti SuperSummer Points Card which covers lifts all over the Dolomites except the Val Gardena. Oy vey! Nothing is perfect! If you get the three day Val G pass, that is three consecutive days. You’ll need to pencil out which hikes which days. You might not be able to use it three consecutive days, but even if you use it two days for three lifts it will probably pay for itself and more. The DolomitiSuperSummer pass is potentially great for your time in Siusi, but it does not include buses which the Combi Card does. A nice thing about the SuperSummer Card is that you can share it among multiple people, so if you buy 1000 points, all 4 of you can use it by passing it back and forth through the turnstile.

My favorite hikes are

Ortisei: Rasciesa Ridge, Ciampinoi to Passo Sella (return by bus), The Vallelunga at Selva, and Mont Sëuc round trip to Icaro and back for a taste of the AdS without transportation complications.

Siusi and the AdS: The Hans and Paula Steger Trail (this is one hike everyone should take) which is round trip from Compatsch with a short bus ride at the end from Saltria to Compatsch), the Oswaldo Von Wolkenstein Trail from the base at Siusi (leads to ruins of Oswaldo’s castle) and the Bullaccia “Trail of the Witches” that is in the Rick Steves guide.

Posted by
312 posts

We loved Ortisei as a base for the western Dolomites. We stayed at the Hotel Gardena Grodnerhof. Not sure if they allow dogs but it was a wonderful accommodation and even has a regular guide for day hikes.

I recommend buying the book "Shorter Hikes in the Dolomites". it is accurate in estimates of times (which I find rare in hiking books for some dang reason).

Posted by
2332 posts

If I'm not mistaken, the “Shorter...” book mentioned contains very few hikes in the Val Gardena area, which is where you will be. You want Laurel's book “Walking in Italy's Val Gardena.”

Posted by
1648 posts

I checked samples of both, and for us, the Walking in Italy’s Val Gardena seemed to be the ticket and will cover hikes in both locations.. Now just need to figure out which pass(s), if any, to buy.

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