Which airport is nearest to get to Colfosco

A snowHead

Hi all I am wanting to go and stay in either Colfosco or Corvara in the summer and just wondered which is the best airport to fly into to have the shortest transfer, i assume we may need a car in that area is that correct? Any ideas on the best deals for car hire also has anyone stayed in the Garni Delta hotel in Colfosco it has a lot of good reviews on trip adviser and is it a fairly lively place with a decent choice of bars and eateries.
many thanks
andy

A snowHead

andyarmitage, we are flying from East Midlands into Venice Marco Polo for a coach transfer to Arabba but the coach takes between 2-4 hors (2.5 hours typically). Problem is you can only use this coach for accommodation on the www.dolomitistars.com website.

I'm hoping the flights/airport will not be too busy as it's not your typical ski resort airport. If you hire a car from here though I think you would have to make sure you get winter tyres as they'll probably give you summer ones unless you ask. Failing that you could just hire snow chains from them.

In terms of near airports, then Bolzano is the nearest but you'd have to fly somewhere else and get a connecting Air Alps flight into Bolzano. Inghams fly directly into here from Birmingham and Manchester and I believe you can but flight only from them but it will be more expensive.

The other relatively near airport is Innsbruck. After that it's Verona, Venice (both airports), Milan (Bergamo) and Munich.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Hi pokeman we are going in summer would we still need winter tyres?

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andyarmitage, doh...I've got my skiing head on at the moment

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Venice Marco Polo is great - all times I have been there its been quick and pleasant. Airport to Arabba is about 2.5 hrs, or just under 2 if you are Italian, great route as well. Its then about 30 mins max from Arabba on to Corvara. The other Venice airport used by Ryanir (treviso, I think) is more of a bus-stop but is a bit closer to Dolomites. Innsbruck might be as near.

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We live in york so can get a flight to innsbruck and venice from there is a car the best way of getting there as we are just wanting to go on walks from the hotel and take in the atmosphere

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I think you can use public transport (trains and local buses) but I suppose a car would be best but agree it's a waste if you don't use it when you're there.

I suppose you could go by train all the way from York and use the Eurostar for some of it.

After all it is free

Pokeman can we go by train i would prefer that but how easy is it and how long would it take plus the cost factor!

Andy
I can't imagine you'll get close to Corvara by train. I hired a car from Marco Polo via Avis I think and if there is 2 or more of you it will be economic re cost and you have flexibility of your own wheels just in case you find you need em although the area is so incredibly scenic I guess you won;t use it. The food and drink in that region are stunning and you'll certainly need to get some walking done to work it all off....

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Tyhanks Patrick it's just Linda and myself so we will be paying for the car but if that's the cheapest way of getting from the airport so be it, is this village a good place to base ourselves as we want a bit of life good food and scenery?

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Andy - if that is what you are after you are going to be happy bunnies. Impossible to eat badly there and surely the most scenic mountain range in Europe. Enjoy.

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A warning to people who want to fly to Bolzano with Inghams from Birmingham. We arrived there 19th January 2008 only to be told every ones skis and boots were not on the plane as the plane was over loaded or they couldn't fit them on!
All i can say Inghams must of over booked the flight and there were far to many people on board.

It quite clearly said we had 15kg allowance and when i looked at other peoples luggage being weighed at Birmingham they were over that by miles. Mine was just on 15kg as i had weighed mine before going to the airport, so i was OK, but they didn't seem to be bothered about weight as they were not checking anyone's.

Anyway when we got to Selva along with everyone else going to other resorts we all had to hire skis and boots which i was not very happy about. Renting boots are never the most comfortable and they were hurting my legs after a couple of days.
After the 3rd day out skis and boots finally arrived, bliss! What a difference it makes having your own boots.

We have been going with Inghams the last 10 yrs but we have found they have let us down now in the last 5 yrs 3 times and its just not acceptable.

I think Inghams need to get there act together as apparently it happened over Christmas too with skis and boots not arriving on the flight. They either need to restict how many people are on the flights to Bolzano or fly to Innsbruck where they can fly with bigger planes.
Bolzano only seen to fly small planes such as a Dash 8-400

Here is a small clip of flying into Bolzano so it gives you the idea of how small the run way is. There is no way you could land anything bigger.

http://youtube.com/v/yrosXBpIlJo

You know it makes sense.

Best to fly to either Venice or Innsbruck - Innsbruck is a bit nearer. It's a nice driver either way though. If you want to get public transport you could get a train to Cortina, and a bus from there.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

A snowHead

andyarmitage, When we stayed in Corvara in the summer we flew easyjet to Marco Polo, bus to the station, train to Brunico then bus to Corvara. It's an easy although not superfast journey. You could fly to Bolzano then get the train from there or alternatively train to Calalzo then bus from there although I'm not sure if the bus goes anywhere other than Cortina from there.

What are you planning to do? We stayed for 5 weeks climbing and didn't hire a car. Although it would have made things simpler it's not needed as the buses are pretty good. If you really want to get there quick and visit lots of areas then a car might be the best bet though and if you wanted to spend time in the huts it would give you somewhere to stash your gear.

A snowHead

Hi Swirly we live in york and I hate flying and everthing connected with it so i just want to get there with as short or easy a tranfer as possible I know leeds/bradford fly to innsbruck and i think venice as well. We just want to go to a stunning scenic place in summer and i am sure it will fit the bill. we are planning to go walking we are keen mountain bikers but don't want the hassle of taking all our stuff so walking would be great and just takiing in the atmosphere of the place. we are thinking of staying at the Garni Delta hotel in Colfosco do you know it, what is colfosco like compared to corvara we want somewhere with a bit of life so we can go to a few bars etc on an evening which place would be better and do you know any good hotels there. I just don't know how to do it wether it's a DIY or a package with the DIY it's just putting it all together and that' the bit i can't get my head roud at all yet. We will probably only go for a week I suppose if we hire a car that sorts out our transfer although i haven't driven much on roads abroad. What did you think of the place in summer I have heard of the is it val ferrata walks but Linda is not great with heights so it would have to be not too severe, any advice you can give would be a great help, many thanks Andy Laughing

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

andyarmitage, we lived in a very small tent as we were there for so long. There's a bit more to Corvara than Colfosco although neither seemed to be very happeneing when we were there. This could be because we didn't go out much especially late on which would be the more traditional time there. One of the reasons for this is the risk of thunderstorms in the afternoon means you want to be back in the valleys or in a hut by 2pm if possible. Some of the via ferratta aren't very xposed at all the Sassongher which over looks Corvara is very easy and just a rocky walk really. Cicerone do a great guide Via Ferrata in the Dolomites vol 1 which covers the whole area. Normal walks can be planned fairly easily with a map which you can get in any of the local newsagents. I'd recommend going up the Lagazoui cable car too (start of the hidden valley run in winter) as there's a good museum through the world war 1 tunnels. If you decide to do it yourself the tourist office (email through their website) are very helpful.

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andyarmitage, I've always flown to Verona for Corvara or Colfosco, and then hired a car. It's about a 3 and half hour drive from there. BA have cheap flights to Verona if you can book a bit ahead and travel on a weekday. I shouldn't think you'd need winter tyres in the summer - usually no snow!
I think the Bolzano option is only available during the winter season.
Flights to Innsbruck seem to be more expensive than to the Italian side.
Joanne Mountainsun, Never tried the Venice transfer. How long does that take?

Help!!

Which airport is nearest to get to Colfosco

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