We're interested in a tour that centers around the Dolomites and nearby regions. RS has a "Best of Italy in 17 Days" tour but it looks like it only spends about 1.5 days there; a drive to the Dolomites and then a full day hiking the next day.
Any tour companies you can recommend? I see that Road Scholars has a tour "Alpine Hiking in Austria and Italy" but it's sold out for 2024.
Hi John:
I was on the Best of Italy tour in 2022 and fell in love with the Dolomites immediately! So much that the following year, I took the RS Alpine My Way Tour because it included the Dolomites. But, before joining the tour group in Salzburg, I pre-tripped from Venice to Kastleruth for a few extra days in the Dolomites. I joined one of the local guides, Viktor, on his hike with a small group of other tourists from the Hotel Villa Kastleruth. (That’s the “sister” hotel of where the RS Alpine Tour stayed.) I would have never attempted such an intense hike on my own.
The hotel was half-board so breakfast and dinner included (boy, do they know how to feed their guests, even this vegan!). They have a pool, sauna and whirlpool, afternoon snacks and attentive staff. The guided hikes are 3 days a week, and they can recommend other nearby sites/tours. It seemed like many of the German visitors stay for the week. One of the couples did the 3 day hikes then used the bus to visit nearby castles and other villages. I even went there for dinner one night when the RS tour returned to the village later that week. It was that good :)
It’s easy and inexpensive to get there on public transit. I took the train from Venice to Bolzano, to connect to the (#172?) bus up into the mountains to Castelrotto. Other villages are connected to the bus. It is like a world away! I hope you find a good match for your visit!
In September 2022 my husband and I spent 10 days hiking in the Dolomites with Mountain Hiking Holidays, a small family-run company based in Portland. Everything about the trip was fantastic—-the guides, the hikes, the food and accommodations, and the camaraderie among the guests. They take 12-14=people maximum, stay 3-4 nights each in 3 villages (Dobbiaco, Corvara, and Santa Cristina), and offer hikes on 2 levels each day, one moderate and one more strenuous.
https://www.mountainhikingholidays.com/dolomites-hiking-tour-in-italy/
I highly recommend them. Their website does not say if their September 2024 trip is full yet, so it is worth contacting them. In 2022 they opened up a second tour starting one day later as there was so much interest, so possibly they are considering doing that again this year.
For what it's worth, you can get around a lot of that area quite well with public transportation. The tricky thing can be finding rooms at lodgings directly accessible by bus or lift. It's a very popular summer destination.
