Dolomites or Sicily

Have you been to either area before? There is a huge difference in what you would see and experience- have you looked at any travel videos on those areas to get ideas of what you would want to see? Do you have a preference for the mountains or the sea? Which place is easier for you to get around? Sicily will probably still be very sunny and warm in late September and the mountains will be cooler. Both are beautiful. The Dolomite area will have a lot of Austrian influence while Sicily has multiple influences: Greek, Roman, Norman, Spanish, Northern African. Do you have a food preference? Lots of German and Austrian dishes are offered in addition to Italian dishes in the Dolomite areas and the architecture is more similar to that of Austria. In Sicily food is quite diverse and is a reason in itself for visiting. Do you have any ancestral ties to either area? The Dolomites will mostly be pretty smaller towns / cities with impressive mountain views and activities. Sicily offers small towns, beaches, ancient ruins, an active volcano and large cities, with the hustle and bustle that comes with life in the big city. You can't go wrong with either choice, it's just a question of preference and the parameters of your trip.

You say you have just one week. To see the key destinations in Sicily you would need more than one week. So if Sicily is your choice, choose either the eastern or western side, or one general area and concentrate there. Fly into and out of either Catania or Palermo. In one week in the East you could see Siracusa/Ortygia, Etna, Taormina and maybe Agrigento. In the west, I'd suggest basing in Palermo and doing daytrips to Cefalu, Monreale, Segesta and Erice.

If you choose the Dolomites, consider Trento, Merano, Bolzano, Ortesei, Cortina d'Ampezzo, maybe Vipiteno. You said you are not going for the hiking so It sounds like you might be looking for picturesque scenery. I used Trento as a base last year for that area and hired a private driver one day to take us around to see the towns of Limone sul Garda, Riva del Garda and Malcesine at the northern end of Lake Garda. It was truly beautiful. I got to the rest of the places I visited by train. If you go to the Dolomites, would you fly into Venice? Verona? Train south from Munich? Those transportation days need to be considered because if you fly in you then need to get to your destination area either by car or train.

Also look to see which destination has the better flights to Croatia in terms of day, time, and price . If you do the Dolomites you could use ground transportation thru Trieste to get to Croatia. Have you been to Venice? Would you want to include it on your trip?

Making a final choice is always hard.

Since your hubby doesn't hike, it will be a pity for the Dolomites. Also, the weather will have begun to change by the end of September.

Pat, Thanks so much for the information. Yes we have been to Venice many times. We are leaning towards the Dolomites and maybe doing the Bernina Express train in Switzerland because we didn’t get to do that last year when we were there. We went in May and it was so overcast and rainy we couldn’t see many sites. Thanks again

You can certainly enjoy the Dolomites without extensive hiking. The Great Dolomites Road is a gorgeous drive offering many places to stop and soak in the mountain scenery. You can also enjoy a relaxing horse carriage ride across Alpe di Siusi, Europe's largest alpine plateau and take in the jaw-dropping sights of the Sassolungo massif and Mt. Schlern: https://throneandvine.com/alpe-di-siusi-hiking-guide/. Other beautiful destinations such as Lago di Carezza and Lago di Braies do not require much hiking to enjoy either. Have a wonderful trip where ever you decide to go!

The Dolomites have two really ideal aspects for "Sightseeing." The hotels there give you a free bus pass for your stay so getting around is easy and cheap. The bus system is very extensive. Check out the Suedtirol.info website. And, since there are so many winter ski runs there are also lots of gondola's that can be taken up and down from major mountain areas. Hike or wander around as much as you like on top, have a coffee and cake and head down. Bolzano is a three hour trip from Venice Maestre station, which can be accessed either by bus or taxi from Marco Polo airport. Cortina d' Ampesso can be accessed in a bit over 2 hours on the Cortina Express buss from the Marco Polo airport parking lot.

The Dolomites are beautiful in September. W3 have been there the last 2 September’s for 5-10 days and had great weather.

Will you have a car? The Dolomites themselves are easy to manage without a car, as explained above. But getting to Tirano for the Bernina Express would be a long process if you do not have a car. Although they are due east of Tirano and it looks close,no trains run through the mountains east-west. So from the gateway town of Bolzano you have to tak the train south to Verona, then west to Milan, then back north and east to Tirano. That is a journey of 6- 8 hours, depending on the transfer times.

Did you consider Puglia instead of Sicily? Beautiful seaside towns and lots of history going back to Roman times. It combines well with Croatia as you can take a ferry from Bari to Dubrovnik.