St. Magdalena, Villnoss Valley - The Dolomites

I have been to the dolomites in general and it is stunningly beautiful! Since it is not the easiest to get to and seasonal for lodging alot of people have not gone. It requires advance planning as the lodging availability is low. Happy planning.The europeans however know how good it is.

Was in the Dolomites this past May and it was one of the highlights of our 3 weeks in Europe. Leaving Venice we planned on driving the Great Dolomite Road in one day. The views were stunning and we wound up taking 3 days and spending two nights in the Dolomites. Since May is the slow time for the Dolomites most lifts were closed but finding a room on a spur of the moment was no problem. By driving we were able to stop for photo ops which we did seemingly about every couple of miles.

Glad to see you have added it to your list of must sees. A decision you will not regret.

I tried to google it and come up with nothing. Can anyone give me the name of a larger town where I can start?

piggybacking on this thread for more feedback.

We will be in Venice in June. We can add a day to our itinerary there for a day trip through the Dolomites, rather than drive out into Tuscany for a day from Florence as we originally planned.

We can pay E120 each for a guided tour or rent a car and do it on our own (which would probably cost just as much). The more I read of this area, and see the photos, the more I want to go here for a day rather than drive out into Tuscany.

I'm really nervous about driving a car in Italy, but it would be nice to have that freedom rather than a day trip.

What did you do when you were in the Dolomites? Drive there? Go on a tour or by train?

We were in the Dolomites last June; and the scenery is spectacular. We stayed in Castelrotto at the Hotel Cavallino D'Oro, super nice, 44 euros/pp,including a fairly lavish breakfast buffet. We reserved a bus tour of the Great Dolomites Road at the TI office, 24 euros/pp. My advice is don't drive. The road is almost entirely 2 lane, with zillions of hairpin curves. The driver had better not be enjoying the views! The bus picked people up at a number of hotels in a number of towns. We had several photo op stops, an hour for lunch in Cortina D'Ampezzo and another hour in a second small city, (Bressanone?). I thought it a very worthwhile expenditure. To the person who is thinking of a tour from Venice: Why not stay over night? I'm pretty sure you can get from Venice to Bolzano on public transport, and I know you can get from there to many of the small towns on buses, thereby avoiding some car rental days. I'm remembering the tour went on alternate days, so check ahead.

Rosalyn- Thanks for the names of towns! While this year won't be the year as we will only have time to go to see family in Abruzo I am determined that I will see this area.

Sally, my hubby and I were in the Dolomites for 3 days this past fall and agree that it is a stunning area and well worth seeing. However, I disagree with the previous poster that taking a bus tour is the best way to go. The bus tours are scheduled only on certain days and unless you know in advance that you'll be there on a particular day you'd be better off driving. The towns are linked by buses, but then you depend on their schedule. Next time we go (and we will), we'll rent a car. We had a rental for a week in Tuscany and had no trouble driving in Italy. Of course, there will be curves and turns in the Dolomites, but it shouldn't be that big a deal to drive and the scenery is spectacular. If you drive you can pull off at scenic overlooks whenever you wish rather than relying on the bus to stop where you want.

Definately we will drive. We don't do tours. We always drive and have never had any big issues. Hubby has Italian blood so he and the autostrada get along just fine. And he loves those windy back roads.

We have been to the Villoess Valley (val di funes) this year in early July. It is a beautiful place. If you like a place less crowded and peaceful which has been hardly exploited by tourism (not well known, less tourist infrastructure, only a few tourists), then this is it. There is a lot of hiking opportunity. It is best to come in your own or rental car and explore the area on your own. Once you are in St. Magdalena, the community will encourage you to leave your car parked wherever you stay and travel by bus in order to cut down on traffic in the valley (there is very little traffic in the valley and the roads are not build for heavy traffic especially driving up to the Wuerzjoch pass). I recommend taking this bus because that way you do not have to worry returning to your car and can take tours that start in one place and end in another. The mountain peaks are the most beautiful I have ever seen. The climate is quite stable (as opposed to the Northern part of the European Alps where rain is much more likely). We stayed at a farm house called Ranuihof. Quite a charming place. It was build in the 1300s. The rooms are very unique. There are beautiful paintings of hunting scenes on the hallway walls. The breakfast is a real treat and contains items that were produced on this were farm (which is still very active. The husband runs the farm while the wife runs the bed and breakfast place). Overall this place offers a great value for what you pay. You cannot be picky about restaurant food. There are only a couple of places worth eating at. There is one grocery store in St. Magdalena and one in St. Peter. These two alternate in being open (when one is open the other is closed). We bought groceries only once in St. Martin which is on the other side of the Wuerzjoch pass. The city of Brixen is only 10 miles away. It takes about 20 mins to get there. Very scenic city. Lost of churches and culture.