Help Planning a Short Dolomites Schedule

If you are mostly interested in experiencing the Dolomites, I would not spend Day 2 in Bolzano. It is a beautiful town, but is not in the Dolomites although you can see the peaks on the horizon. Not sure which cable car you are planning to take in Ortisei, but I would recommend spending a day visiting Alpe di Siusi: https://throneandvine.com/alpe-di-siusi-hiking-guide/. It is the perfect destination for easy hikes. While in Ortisei, I would also recommend exloring the region's woodcarving tradition. In town, you will find plenty of shops and studios, as well as a woodcarving museum. Another wonderful destination that you can easily reach from Ortisei is Seceda: https://throneandvine.com/dolomites-hiking-seceda-guide/. While in Castelrotto be sure to walk to Kofel Hill for incredible views of the town and Mt. Schlern!

Day 2 - take an early bus, especially if the weather is good, so you have time for a nice walk in Ortisei. I would recommend starting with the funicular to Rasciesa and walking out to the rifugio (a mountain restaurant and lodging) at a minimum, about 30 minutes. The path is good but there are some flagstones in the first uphill bit and the trail has some rocks, so wear sturdy shoes and if you can, bring hiking sticks along. We like to have them for stability (we are 71 and 80). At the rifugio, you can decide if you want to go another 15 minutes to the chapel and views over the valley, or just stop for coffee, lunch, or a beer.

Day 3 - Ride the red cabe cars up to the Alpe di Siusi and take the walk I call Roundtrip at Mont Sëuc. LMK if you want details and I will send them in a PM. It’s about a 90 minute easy walk with a convenient stop mid way at a mountain restaurant, aka baita or hütte. I like to plan this walk for lunch or a strudel and coffee break.

Day 4 - Take the bus to Siusi and the base station of the cable way to the Alpe di Siusi at that end. A super easy walk is to follow Trail #30, the Hans and Paula Steger Trail to the bus stop at Wiedner Egg. Here you can decide if you want to walk back or take the bus back to Compatsch and descend again on the cable cars, walk on or take the bus to Rauchhütte, an extraordinary place for lunch (open 11:30-17:00), or continue another couple of hours and do the rest of the Steger Trail. LMK if you need directions on doing that. It is a bit more demanding with some uphill sections that will have you breathing hard.

Day 5 - Energy and weather permitting, walk up the Val d’Anna, an easy 25 minutes although all slightly uphill, to the restaurant there. Extraordinary location for coffee, lunch, or an aperitif. Another option would be to go to Santa Cristina and walk back on the Panorama Path, a very easy walk on paved surface. In S. Cristina you can see the WWI train tunnel and read about the history of the Gardena Railroad that was built in WWI. We also like to go all the way to Selva Plan and walk to S. Cristina for lunch, then back to Ortisei. That is a total of about 6 miles. Read about it here https://girovaga.com/2021/10/03/a-path-to-lunch/.

Seceda is a great view, not a lot of easy walking, but if you have the Gardena Pass and good weather, certainly go up if only for views or coffee or whatever. There are so many options depending on your time and weather and interests. I have tried to give you some that offer variety and are not too strenuous.

Of course you can do these in any order, skip some, adjust based on energy and interest. There are lots of cute shops in Ortisei, and I highly recommend Mauriz Keller for at least one meal. Everything I have had there over the years has been excellent. Do make a reservation as you’ll get a better table and usually a complementary glass of Prosecco. (Note, Fridays are very busy so call a day in advance for Friday.)

Be sure to check into the Gardena Card https://www.gardena-card.com/en/Default.asp as it is a good value if you will ride the various lifts several days in a row. Your lodging should give you a pass for the bus good for the duration of your stay and including back to Bolzano when you leave.

It starts to get busy in July so make your reservations soon. We just left Ortisei and can hardly wait to come back again next year!

EDITING to correct Rauchhütte hours. They are open 10:00-17:00 except Wednesday and they open at 9:00 on Tuesdays. Reservations advised in high season and on Sunday.

Laurel, great suggestions. We were in Ortisei in July and did most of the walks you mentioned. We are planning a return in fall, 2025. Is mid September too late?

Hi Simpgolf. We expect to arrive next year Sept 11 and stay two weeks. No, I do not think it is too late. A few lifts shut down, but there is still plenty to do. Many of the facilities are open longer than they were a few years ago, no doubt a response to the warmer, longer season as well as demand by increasing travelers, We’ve had worse weather early In September than later, but we all know you cannot count on the weather so we plan for the worst and hope for the best!

Thanks a bunch for the great advice!

Agree with a lot of Laurels suggestions. I wouldn't burn a day on Castelrotto. You shouldn't miss Alpi di Siusi, but we prefer Seceda which should also be seen but may involve more uphill hiking than you care to take on. Having just done the whole railway trail I'd recommend the Selva to Santa Christina segment for walking. Impressive town and scenery. On to Ortisei is ok but pales in comparison. Do see the museum before hopping on a bus tho. If you get to the DosSes area before noon a van will take you to the Col Raiser lift to check out the view from up there, maybe have lunch.

What are the "lifts" like? Are they all enclosed cable cars or are some of them more like chair lifts?
We are fine with cable cars but would have anxiety issues with chair lifts (or even small 2 person cable cars).

All of the outings I mention above are enclosed cable cars. You can look them up online for pictures.