This year we were there at the end of September, from the 25th to the 30th. We had five days of perfect weather, with blue skies and sunshine; crisp and cold in the mornings and T-shirt weather by mid-day. But I think we were lucky; one cannot count on that. I believe they had rainy days earlier in the month (I saw posts here by people who were going in mid-September asking if they should cancel because the forecast was for rain every day). And it did appear that there must have been rain earlier, as the pastures were still very green. Greener than what you see in this photo of my favorite view:
https://throneandvine.com/alpe-di-siusi-hiking-guide/
In 2022 we were in the Dolomites earlier in September, from Sept. 2-13. We hiked in light rain on 3 September, and on 6 September it was raining hard enough that we chose to forgo hiking that day and went to visit the town of Brunico which was nearby. Every other day was fine, and offered great hiking.
In 2015, also in late September, we had the first 4 days of great weather, and the next 3 of light rain—-not enough to keep us from hiking, but not great for views.
So the weather can be most anything, but it is unlikely to rain for several days straight.
We stayed near Compatsch, within walking distance of the cablecar up from Seis/Siusi. I chose this location as we did not have a car, and I planned to use the cablecar up to the Alpe, after taking the train to Bolzano and a bus to the cablecar base station in Seis. As it turned out, I booked a van to take all 8 of us from the Bolzano train station directly to our hotel; it was much easier that way.
I wanted to stay up on Alpe di Siusi as it is one of the most beautiful places I know in the world. Our hotel was Chalet Dolomites. We were the only Americans there, and we spoke German and Italian to the owner and the staff. The “big boss” as he is called by the staff, is Alessandro Giacomuzzi, a very kind and friendly host. The rooms were very nice and comfortable—-our son and his family had a room overlooking the creek below, while ours had a small patio and view of the little pasture where the carriage horses were turned out for the night. The Mountain View rooms, which I did not book due to price, face the Schlern.
We took half-board and the food was superb, with a choice of appetizer and main course at each dinner. The breakfast buffet is extensive and leaning toward the Italian, with pastries and sweets on offer in addition to the usual Tyrolian bread, cheese, and ham. My grandsons really took advantage of the pastries!
https://www.chaletdolomites.com/en/
If you are interested, read the cancellation policy all the way through. Although it says “no cancellation fees” up to 2 months before your reservation, you will see lower down that your deposit will not be returned. You can get a credit for a future stay, however.
There is a farmstay place very close by, on the road down to Hotel Seelaus (the Rick Steves recommendation on Alpe di Siusi).
http://jagglschwaige.com/en/index.html
However, Alpe di Siusi, particularly the Compatsch area, may not be the best place to stay for your entire visit, as you have a limited number of trailheads there, and one cannot drive a private car on the Alpe between 10 am and 4 pm. On 2 of our days we walked the 2+ miles to the Mont Seuc lift down to Ortesei to reach the hikes we wanted to do there—-adding 4+ miles to our day. On the other 2 days, we were very happy with the hiking and mountain biking options right from our hotel. So a 3-4 night stay might be ideal for you; book another 4 nights in one of the Val Gardena villages. We like Santa Cristina, and specifically Hotel Villa Martha:
https://www.villamartha.it/en/
They take credit cards, and their cancellation policy is liberal: free no-fee cancellation until 14 days before arrival. Go to “general informations” on the menu to read it.
