Dolomites - worth the visit from Florence/Tuscany areas?

Last summer we visited both the Dolomites and Switzerland. I absolutely fell in love with the Dolomites. Even more so than Switzerland, which surprised me. It’s just a magical place. I can’t recommend it enough. Just be aware that some of the chairlifts stop operating in mid-September, but you probably wouldn’t take them with a 2 yo anyway!

We stayed at Aparthotel La Tambra in Santa Cristina Val Gardena. My husband had the best steak of his life at their restaurant, and I had the best pizza ever. Our family stayed in a family apartment and a studio unit. The balcony looked out onto Sassalongo and it was heaven sitting on the patio staring at that view.

We took various lifts (Col Raiser, Seceda, Seiser Alm) and the views were completely different at each, and breathtaking.

You might look at flying to Innsbruck and taking the train & bus from there.

It looks like there are trains from Florence to Bolzano in 3.5 hours. Then about an hour by bus. Totally worth it IMO.

Yeah, @travel4fun I'm also a bit of a foodie and have heard that area has some of the best in Italy! Just another reason to make it happen.

That is helpful information! We absolutely loved Switzerland and cannot imagine finding anywhere more beautiful, so to hear you say that makes me really want to go!

You might check flights in to Milan. It's not as close to the Dolomites as Florence, and Malpensa Airport isn't close to the Milano Centrale train station, but from some US origins flights into Milan can be quite a bit cheaper than flights into Venice, and Florence is a very secondary airport (probably limited service and higher fares).

I've just recently had a lot of trouble finding affordable lodging in Bolzano for September 6-10. I'd think late in the month would be easier, but don't get yourself locked into a schedule without making sure you can find a room when and where you want it. You'll probably want to stay up in the mountains instead of in Bolzano, but up in the mountains can be even tougher.

@acraven I'm seeing that stay prices have gone up substantially all across Europe. Just in a quick search I've found a few places available but certainly not extremely affordable. I may have to sacrifice views for affordability in the stay. 😔

Absolutely worth it. Use RS guide book for lodging suggestions. We stayed at in the Alps di Siusi in Castelrotto. Wonderful!

My favorite place in Italy. We have a hard time picking between hiking in the Lauterbrunnen area versus the Val Gardena.

However, you need to devote at least 3 nights and 5 is better. (We like to spend 10 to 14 nights.) Making the choice for time in the Dolomites to be worth the effort of getting there means not going too many other places and staying Florence and north.

The Dolomites are magical. We spent 2 days in Siusi, hiking the Alpe, 2 days in Val Gardena, up the Col Riser toward Seceda, and a drive to Marmolado glacier, knowing we were passing so many interesting places to visit, and then drove over to Cortina and up to a small village just north of Lake Braies. Our last stop in the area was at the village of San Candido, which was perfect.

Our last trip was to peaks in the Alps, 4 weeks visiting Austria, Germany, Switzerland and then the Dolomites. Was afraid they would be a disappointment after all we had seen but the Dolomites are a place unlike any other. My advice is to get to Bolzano by train and then rent a car. To hold the cost down, you might consider flying into Innsbruck or Salzburg, or even Graz, because the Austrian Alps are lovely, and it might be cheaper/easier to rent the car in Austria . We actually flew into Salzburg and did our loop from there. But Innsbruck gets you over the Brenner Pass and quickly to the northern section of the Dolomites.

We are heading to the hilltop villages of southwestern Tuscany this year, but in my heart, I'd rather be in the Dolomites (but marriage is a compromise and then our son is joining us for his first, long-anticipated trip to Italy).