Dolomites-Ortisei

We spent 3 nights in the Ortisei area last September. Wonderful place for hiking. Lifts take you up both sides of the valley right from the center of town. Very dramatic breathtaking views. We had a car and stayed just outside Ortisei in Bulla........ https://www.uhrerhof.com/en/ambiance/location.html Highly recommend this place. Ortisei abounds with eating establishments of all kinds. Guarantee you'll love Ortisei!!!!

We spent four glorious nights at Hotel Grones, a family owned and fun hotel. We had half board which we weren’t sure we wanted until we had our first dinner! Fabulous food, beautifully presented. Their son in law was the chef when we visited.After a day of hiking, we were happy to stay in the hotel for dinner.
And we left our car in their underground garage the whole stay. We walked to the lifts on each side of the charming town.
Once you are at the top of the lifts, you are in a mountainous wonderland!! Stunning scenery!
We consider this one of our favorite stays.

We stayed five days in Ortisei without a car - no problem finding things to do. I think July will be perfect. There are plenty of restaurants.

We have spent up to a month in Ortisei so no problem finding activities and you won’t need a car. You will receive a bus pass from your lodging and I encourage you to buy a Val Gardena Card for the lifts.

As to places to stay, July is very busy, and August is worse. Many people reserve the same apartments every year for the same dates. Some places to try: Villa Aurelia, Hotel Garni Walter, Residence Astoria (our favorite). Or try the local site for booking https://www.valgardena.it/en/. It might be too far out, though. Usually a year in advance is about all they do. Good to do your research now!

Don’t hesitate to stay in Selva or Santa Cristina if you find a place you like. Very convenient and some prefer these villages.

You will definitely have enough to do in Ortisei without a car for 5 days! Seceda, Alpe di Siusi and all of those that others have named. We stayed at http://www.residenceladina.com/ last time and got their biggest apartment. We really enjoyed the location and independence. That said, there are many great hotels, b&b’s, etc. I would definitely book sooner than later for July 2024.

Enjoy the Dolomites!

Thank you so much for all the replies. I am glad to hear that five nights would not be too much.

I spent some time last night looking at the various recommendations. I did figure out that the reason I wasn't finding much on air bnb, vrbo, or booking.com was that dates for next year, even winter, were not loaded yet. I also saw in looking through some of the recommendations that there often seems to be a substantial nonrefundable deposit which I must admit, post covid, I am leery of, especially booking far ahead.

So how far ahead would you suggest I book? This summer? Would fall be waiting too long? The fact that next years dates are not loaded on major sites makes me think that there is not quite as much of a hurry. Or are they typically booked in other ways so only the "left overs" get loaded?

We are currently planning a month long trip to France in May of 2024. We have also experienced the accommodation's sites not booking out beyond the next 6 months or so. For a few places I have sent an email requesting confirmation of certain dates beyond their current booking schedules. For some I have received back a confirmation for the dates requested. Others have said they have noted my request and will sent me an email as soon as those dates are opened up to book on their sites. For a few others ..... no response received. So as of yesterday I have confirmations for all but 6 days of our 30 days. One last thought ....... I have found that a personal phone call often works as well. With a Verizon international plan ($5/mo) it's very inexpensive to call.

This same methodology of booking ahead also worked for our upcoming September trip to Wales, England & Scotland. All reservation have been in place since January.