Dolomites round trip

it is a shame you are taking public fransportation. Having an automobile to explore the Dolomites and the Alps would make your trip a much more meaningful experience. the roads are not that difficult to drive.
We have explored this region many times since my first visit to Innsbruck and Venice 47 years ago. The Grossglockner High Alpine Highway, just north of the Dolomites, is Europe's second highest elevation and still the most breathtaking scenery I have ever seen.

September would not be snow season anyhow. Could be rather warm actually, at least during the day.
It is possible technically. The ATVO and the Cortina Express buses cover portions of your trip from Venice. To the Val Gardena you can use the Cortina Express and the Sud Tirol bus company and others in the area. From Cortina to Ortisei you’d probably need a couple of buses with a change maybe at Corvara. However buses are not necessarily frequent and some could possibly require advance reservations.
For your type of trip, I’d recommend a rental car. Since you live in North America I bet someone in your party knows how to drive, therefore I’d rent a car in your place. It’s mountain driving, I.e. curvy roads, but in September you won’t encounter hazardous winter conditions.

Thanks David and Roberto, driving sounds like the best but may husband is against it. May I should work on an easier plan.

Only way I would recommend Dolomites without a car is to use Val Gardena as your single base, Ortisei for example if a great town in the Val Gardena area. Will be a little painful getting to and from there and Venice with public transit but doable. Once there you can take bus trips to see some other things as daytrip options and the immediate area is breathtaking and offers hikes and other things to keep you busy.

Better suggestion is to rent a car and then have multiple bases if you so choose.

No one else will be skiing on 9th or 10th Sept in the Dolomites, too early for any snowfall. It is a popular time for the area though with hikers/walkers/photographers and most if not all of the lifts should be open.
Val Gardena has a good website, simply valgardena.it
In addition to the winter skiing, the website should cover the various summer activities you can expect in Sept for your dates

Thanks good idea we will check Val Gardena

First a correction: The Grossglockner is not even close to being the second highest elevation in Europe.

I'd recommend Bolzano for 2 nights (esp. to see the "Ice Man" exhibit at The Museum of Archaeology) and 7 nights based in Val Gardena. The buses are easy and convenient. Plenty of cable car trips with everything from easy walking to hiking. In case of bad weather, visit the pretty old town of Brixen/Bressanone, which also has an interesting museum, the Diocean Museum.

Buy the Gardena Card.

https://www.valgardena.it/en/hiking-biking/gardena-card/

https://www.valgardena.it/en/hiking-biking/val-gardena-mobil-card-busses/

https://www.valgardena.it/dl/stchristina/Lifts_Summer2017.pdf

It's easy to move around the Val Gardena by bus. It's not hard to go from Venice to Bolzano by train (typically changing in Verona) then hop on a bus to a place like Ortisei. It worked well for me in 2015. In addition to the places already mentioned, the valley town of Chiusa/Klausen is worth an hour or two of wandering.

A warning about the weather: Your odds will probably be better in September, but the valley towns, including Bolzano, Bressanone and Chiusa, do not have mountain temperatures. They can be very hot, and plenty of lodgings do not have air conditioning. Be very careful in choosing your lodgings in Bolzano or wherever you choose to stay in the valley. You'd have to be very unlucky for lack of a/c to be an issue during the time you're actually staying up in the mountains (in Ortisei or another mountain village).

Cortina to Val Gardena is a glorious itinerary by car through the three most beautiful passes in Dolomites: Falzarego, Pordoi, Sella. Lots of hairpin curves, however. By public transportation you must travel through Dobbiaco - Fortezza, much flatter and it is only half as interesting.

Hi Jo,

I'm not sure this is better, but we used public transportation for this trip:

Flew into Venice
Padova (4 nights)
Moena (3 nights)
Trento (1 night)
Bologna (2 nights)
Venice (4 nights)

We took the train to everything, except the bus from Trento-to-Moena. We hiked in the Moena area & took the local bus to neighboring towns. We stayed overnight in Trento, just for convenience.

driving sounds like the best but may husband is against it. May I
should work on an easier plan.

Threaten him you will change husbands

Thanks again everyone for your helpful in put. In the past we did go from Venice to Bolzano on our way to Germany, it was beautiful. Wanting to see more of the Dolomites was the reason for going from Venice to Cortina then on to Val Gardena working our way to Bolzano and back to Venice. It sounded like a good plan but maybe just not practical.

I have skied in this area of the Dolomiti and am heading back this winter. We came in from Austria and took a bus from Balzano to Val Gardena where we stayed several days. It's a charming little village but Ortisei, also charming, is a bigger town down the valley with much more to offer in terms of restaurants and lodging. There you can take a gondola up to the Alpe di Siusi, largest alpine meadow in Europe. You can also take local transit up and down the valley. It's about 15 minute bus ride to Val Gardena, a bit longer to go up to Vallunga, which if you like to hike would be very recommended, like going through some side canyon of Yosemite is how I describe it. We looked at going to Cortina for a day but the 1.5 hour or so bus trip turned us off, ymmv. I'm sure driving all this would be more spectacular then by bus, but by what I did by bus was pretty nice and the sites are amazing anyway.

Hi RC, what town was 1.5hr away from Cortina?

Its about 1 1/2 hours from Cortina to Corvara, and about 1 hour from Corvara to Selva di Gardena.
There is bus from Cortina to Corvara operated by Cortina Express. But this year the bus's last run was September 12, and you won't get there until the 10th, and who knows what the 2018 schedule will be.

There is also a way by taking a local bus from Cortina to Passo Falzerego and changing to the 465 bus to Corvara. But I can't find the local bus schedule in Cortina. It's on the bus map, but no schedule. You could always spring for a taxi to the top of the pass. The 465 bus runs every hour until into October and connects to the 471 bus to Selva di Gardena, also on an hourly schedule.

Sam, very helpful information, I think I better forget the Venice, Cortina, Val Gardena, Bolzano and back to Venice loop. It sounds less stressful to take the Bolzano route and back track back to Venice.

Hi Jo,

Good idea. You won’t be missing anything skipping Cortina d’Ampezzo. We went to Cortina once since we were in the area a few times and weren’t impressed and had still have no desire to visit again.

Paul

We spent 8 days in Val Gardena last September. We bought the Green card and had lift access for 6 days. The hiking/walking was fantastic. We took lifts up and wandered the high meadows for hours each day enjoying the beauty of the Dolomites. Never much more than an hour from a riffugio with apple strudel.
We did not have a car and never missed it. Venice to Bolzano is easy with a change in Verona. Easy walk to the bus station and the bus to Ortisei.
Your hotel will give you a pass for the local bus(also good for the return to Bolzano).
Boun Viaggio!