 Poster: A snowHead
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@pam w,
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But it's a bit of a waste of money
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Not really, you're probably still getting your money's worth. By analogy, it's often cheaper in France to eat from the menu, even if you decide to skip a course or two, than eating a smaller amount à la carte.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Hurtle, agreed. I never make it to dessert!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| ketya77 wrote: |
Hello everyone,
So, we read everything, and all your comments were super helpful. In the end, we think that we will plan to go to Dolomiti.
The only cumbersome part of this plan is to get to Dolomiti. It requires a flight to Venice with a stopover in London or Zurich, and most likely, spending a night in one of those cities in order to arrive to Venice not too late to catch a shuttle. The flight to Munich would be non-stop but Lufthansa is expensive plus it charges for bringing skis. We think that maybe we'll continue monitor the prices for tickets and will find something. Also, we are comfortable with long drives, so if it would be cheaper to fly to Zurich and rent a car there, it could also be an option.
Do you think I am going into the right direction here? Would Alta Badia be a good fit for us? If yes, may I ask you more questions specific to Dolomiti and Alta Badia? For instance,
- would you recommend choosing the place with the half board option because the food is usually good in these hotels? Or there are so many good options that it's better not to stick to having dinner at the hotel?
- what's about ski rentals in the area? Are some better than the others? If we won't bring our skis, what would be the level of skis we could find there?
- when is the right time to book an hotel there? I see there there are no so many options for January 2024. Is it because most of of them are already sold out? Or because most of them haven't opened their availability so far in advance?
Thank you! |
Some thoughts from someone who has been in your shoes: I am based in Vancouver, Whistler is my home mountain....and yet I still made the trek to ski in the Dolomites in Jan 2020 (& may go again in Jan 24)
* Rentals are much cheaper than in N.America & your own skis may actually feel all wrong for the kind of cruise-y piste skiing in the Dolomites. This is a strong case against basing your airline choice on whether skis are free to check in. E.g. if you rent direct from the mountain in Whistler, it's US$300 for 6 days for Volkl Deacons (and that's with the 20% Epic pass discount.) The same would be EUR179 = US$190 from Sport Kostner in Corvara - which will also store your skis & boots overnight - but you could also swap to Volkl Racetiger SL or GS models, which would be much more suited for the kind of skiing you'd do there. Or you could pay a little more to upgrade to Stocklis. This is the best/most expensive option in Corvara, btw: https://www.skirentalcorvara.com/ - they offer 5 levels/grades of skis vs just 2 or 3 that would be offered in the shops at Whistler.
* For the educational/cultural experience: don't rule out taking the train esp if you are flying into Munich. The scenery is awesome and it's something you can't do in the US, plus your kids should experience first hand how an excellent public transportation system functions: They may never have the chance otherwise!! If you go this route, Val Gardena has better transit connections than Alta Badia & you'd probably want to stay in Selva or Santa Christina for direct Sella Ronda access (although Ortisei/St Ullrich is so darn cute - it has a pedestrianized main/shopping street and feels like a real village vs some accommodation strung out along a road.) ETA: if you plan to drive, I hope you can drive manual/stick because there is a serious upcharge for renting automatic cars in Europe!
* I'd go for halfboard for the convenience, but most hotels will refund you ~EUR30 per night that you opt out of dinner, should you want to check out some restaurants in town for a couple of nights
* Hotel breakfasts can be AMAZING and should not be missed, because they are part of the experience. Many hotels have studios or apts attached, so you can get the best of both worlds that way, although you have to pay for breakfast a la carte, which can add up) - I've done regular hotel room + one studio in the same hotel in the summer, which worked out perfectly. But a lot depends on how fussy your teens are as eaters.
* Hotel rooms for next winter have not been opened up for booking online. You will need to email each hotel that interests you if you want to book now for next winter. It can be quite cumbersome emailing back'n'forth so if you prefer booking online, you can probably wait till July to book your hotel rooms. You can also use the tourist office & send 1 inquiry (eg for 6 nights starting Jan 5th) and then just wait to see what offers come back. Fwiw, I was booking in mid-Dec 19 for late Jan 20 - rooms were getting a little scarce but it was very do-able still.
* The smaller hotels may not take creditcards & will need payment by direct debit. Get an account with Transferwise for this purpose (I also had to use for booking transfers between Munich & Corvara)
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| Quote: |
I hope you can drive manual/stick because there is a serious upcharge for renting automatic cars in Europe!
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not inevitably and always - I paid about 50 euros extra a week for an automatic car in Turin recently and all my recent rentals from Gva have been auto. It was having one of them in the mountains that convinced me that my next car should be automatic!!
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| AndreaC wrote: |
| ketya77 wrote: |
Hello everyone,
So, we read everything, and all your comments were super helpful. In the end, we think that we will plan to go to Dolomiti.
The only cumbersome part of this plan is to get to Dolomiti. It requires a flight to Venice with a stopover in London or Zurich, and most likely, spending a night in one of those cities in order to arrive to Venice not too late to catch a shuttle. The flight to Munich would be non-stop but Lufthansa is expensive plus it charges for bringing skis. We think that maybe we'll continue monitor the prices for tickets and will find something. Also, we are comfortable with long drives, so if it would be cheaper to fly to Zurich and rent a car there, it could also be an option.
Do you think I am going into the right direction here? Would Alta Badia be a good fit for us? If yes, may I ask you more questions specific to Dolomiti and Alta Badia? For instance,
- would you recommend choosing the place with the half board option because the food is usually good in these hotels? Or there are so many good options that it's better not to stick to having dinner at the hotel?
- what's about ski rentals in the area? Are some better than the others? If we won't bring our skis, what would be the level of skis we could find there?
- when is the right time to book an hotel there? I see there there are no so many options for January 2024. Is it because most of of them are already sold out? Or because most of them haven't opened their availability so far in advance?
Thank you! |
Some thoughts from someone who has been in your shoes: I am based in Vancouver, Whistler is my home mountain....and yet I still made the trek to ski in the Dolomites in Jan 2020 (& may go again in Jan 24)
* Rentals are much cheaper than in N.America & your own skis may actually feel all wrong for the kind of cruise-y piste skiing in the Dolomites. This is a strong case against basing your airline choice on whether skis are free to check in. E.g. if you rent direct from the mountain in Whistler, it's US$300 for 6 days for Volkl Deacons (and that's with the 20% Epic pass discount.) The same would be EUR179 = US$190 from Sport Kostner in Corvara - which will also store your skis & boots overnight - but you could also swap to Volkl Racetiger SL or GS models, which would be much more suited for the kind of skiing you'd do there. Or you could pay a little more to upgrade to Stocklis. This is the best/most expensive option in Corvara, btw: https://www.skirentalcorvara.com/ - they offer 5 levels/grades of skis vs just 2 or 3 that would be offered in the shops at Whistler.
* For the educational/cultural experience: don't rule out taking the train esp if you are flying into Munich. The scenery is awesome and it's something you can't do in the US, plus your kids should experience first hand how an excellent public transportation system functions: They may never have the chance otherwise!! If you go this route, Val Gardena has better transit connections than Alta Badia & you'd probably want to stay in Selva or Santa Christina for direct Sella Ronda access (although Ortisei/St Ullrich is so darn cute - it has a pedestrianized main/shopping street and feels like a real village vs some accommodation strung out along a road.) ETA: if you plan to drive, I hope you can drive manual/stick because there is a serious upcharge for renting automatic cars in Europe!
* I'd go for halfboard for the convenience, but most hotels will refund you ~EUR30 per night that you opt out of dinner, should you want to check out some restaurants in town for a couple of nights
* Hotel breakfasts can be AMAZING and should not be missed, because they are part of the experience. Many hotels have studios or apts attached, so you can get the best of both worlds that way, although you have to pay for breakfast a la carte, which can add up) - I've done regular hotel room + one studio in the same hotel in the summer, which worked out perfectly. But a lot depends on how fussy your teens are as eaters.
* Hotel rooms for next winter have not been opened up for booking online. You will need to email each hotel that interests you if you want to book now for next winter. It can be quite cumbersome emailing back'n'forth so if you prefer booking online, you can probably wait till July to book your hotel rooms. You can also use the tourist office & send 1 inquiry (eg for 6 nights starting Jan 5th) and then just wait to see what offers come back. Fwiw, I was booking in mid-Dec 19 for late Jan 20 - rooms were getting a little scarce but it was very do-able still.
* The smaller hotels may not take creditcards & will need payment by direct debit. Get an account with Transferwise for this purpose (I also had to use for booking transfers between Munich & Corvara) |
- I am happy to hear that somebody else made this route even though they had a great mountain close by (Whistler, wow!)
- Interesting point about "your own skis may actually feel all wrong for the kind of cruise-y piste skiing in the Dolomites". I currently use Stockli Nela and love, love, love them. The cost of renting another model of Stockli would be 200 euro. It is less than in the U.S, but there are four of us, with two pairs of adult skis, one pair of an adult snowboard and a pair of junior skis, so the cost adds up quickly.
- About the trains in Europe - yes, I know! We took some trains in Italy, UK and Netherlands in recent years. It is great experience so we definitely don't exclude it as an option. But yes, we are very comfortable driving a stick. In fact, some years ago we rented a car in Zurich and drove to Italy to Cattolica (near Ravenna), then through Tuscany to La Spezia, Milan, and back to Zurich. Renting in Switzerland had its benefits as it was cheaper than renting in Italy (at least back then)
- I am relieved to know that we haven't missed anything with the lodging yet - we are too early, not to late to book!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Your skis will handle the Dolomites just fine!
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| pam w wrote: |
| I have enjoyed a variety of lunch spots MUCH more and then really not been terribly hungry in the evening. . |
Not the case with a teenager who is hungry 24/7!
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I have traveled from the US to ski in Europe approximately a dozen times, and the Dolomites was the only trip where I didn't take my own skis. My skis are typically 100-105 underfoot and 180ish length which is unnecessary for the piste-y cruising skiing that is about all you will encounter in the Sella Ronda area. So, I rented there (took my own boots) and had no regrets.
We loved our trip (stayed in Corvara), but you should take into consideration that the skiing is not particularly challenging. If that's a negative for either the adults or kids, then it might be worth reconsidering the destination. If you are looking at this as more of a cultural opportunity, then I think it's an outstanding choice. My wife and I accessed via Venice and spent 2 nights there, which was a great experience too (my first visit there).
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Quote: |
I have traveled from the US to ski in Europe approximately a dozen times, and the Dolomites was the only trip where I didn't take my own skis. My skis are typically 100-105 underfoot and 180ish length which is unnecessary for the piste-y cruising skiing that is about all you will encounter in the Sella Ronda area. So, I rented there (took my own boots) and had no regrets.
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That was the kind of ski I thought the OP might have, given they ski at Mammouth!!! (Your skis sound like the default type of ski that I see at Whistler.) But now I understand why they want to bring their own skis; Stockli Nelas would be perfect for the Dolomites.
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FAQ
