We are traveling from U.S. to Rome, Cinque Terre , Lake Como, Dolomites, & flying home from Venice in Sept. 2014. We will travel mostly by train but may need to rent a car at some point. Does anyone have any suggestions on a mountain hut to stay in in the Dolomites? We are hoping to have 2 or 3 nights in this region before heading to Venice. We like to do easy to moderate hikes , but we are not the die hard 8 hour hiker type. We enjoy beautiful scenery , mountains, streams, lakes, meadows, off the beaten path areas. And I think after the cities we will relish the peace of being in a natural quiet setting. Any suggestions of what area of the Dolomites & which mountain hut(s) to stay. And wondering if we can get to these areas by train/bus or is it best to rent a car from Como/ Milan area to get there? Thanks~ Joan
Posted by
Green Bay
21370 posts
You can get a bus to Ortisei from stations at Bolzano, or Ponte Gardena.
http://www.valgardena.it/fileadmin/template/files/pdf/350_16062013_14122013.pdf
From Ortisei to the Alpe di Siusi take the cable car, and there are many small hotel/hut options with great hikes. I have to leave this to other posters for specific hotel rec's. I've only been there to ski, staying in Selva.
Posted by
Long Beach, California, USA
3398 posts
We have stayed here... http://www.rifugiovicenza.com/en/index.html ...aka the Langkofelhutte. A beautiful, old, thick walled hut with super thick European down comforters and some of the best soup we've ever had. The hike to get there was not difficult - bless the invention of the ski lift! We did take a hike from the back of the refugio up to the large split in the rock behind the refugio to the right that you can see in the pictures...very rugged but spectacular. Got caught in a lightning storm up there and have never been so scared in my life with the thunder rattling off the surrounding peaks! Great memory though! From this refugio we hiked to another refugio around the mountain to the south-east...the Platkofelhutte. That's what's great about the refugios in this area - you can get from one to the next in just a few hours or hike for a longer period of time and skip over to a farther one. It's really up to you how long you want to walk. There are sometimes a variety of routes you can take as well. When we went last time, the refugio custodian would call ahead to the next hut to make a reservation for you - they can't guarantee, of course, that there will be a bed but we have had good luck with this.
There is a more modern refugio at the Drei Zinnen that we didn't stay at but looked lovely. We hiked around this beautiful set of 3 peaks and it took just 4 or 5 hours with a stop at a stone hut where a farmer was selling cheese...fairly flat, lovely hike!
Take a lift up to the Seiser Alm, the largest Alpine meadow in Europe...it is very high and gives spectacular views of the surrounding Dolomite peaks. We haven't been there in a number of years but the last time we went there were still small family farms up there. Lovely. Taking the lift up to the top of the Marmolata is one of the more spectacular gondola rides I have ever taken...and the view from the top is magnificent!
On our trips to the Dolomites we have used both public transport and a rental car and we stay in Klausen (Chiusa) when we're not in a hut. We have gotten to know this little town and it is convenient for going to the north towards Bruneck and east towards Ortesei and the Val Gardena. Since we have done it both ways, I would highly recommend a rental car. Public transport does work but you are very restricted by the bus schedule which, in some of the more remote places, is infrequent and difficult to time correctly for what you want to do. You can rent a car from Milan or you can take the train up to Bolzano and rent a car there. We rented a car from that town once...some Italian agency...Maggiore rental car I think it was called. If you want a more main stream company you'll probably need to get one in Milan though.
Posted by
OP
26 posts
Thank you Sam & Anita both for your input. After more research I think we will rent a car so we can drive & see all of the beautiful scenery & passes. Esp. since we have such little time there. Anita~ that hut looks phenomenal.