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Dolomites in summer

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
After a lovely winter trip to San Cassiano a couple of months ago, we are now considering the Dolomites for a summer holiday. I know some of you have been before and was hoping you could offer some pointers.

Location:
San Cassiano was great for winter, but as we can ski a lot faster than we can walk, somewhere more central/larger town with more going on would be better. I was thinking Arabba, Selva or Corvara, though I don't know that much about any of them and would be open to other suggestions. We would like easy access to walking, mountain biking and maybe some via ferrata, in a town with some nice places to eat and shops.

Travel:
What is the best method for transfers? Is there an airport bus or train service? We would prefer not to hire a car unless it is genuinely a more economical/easier option. I am also open to the idea of Eurostar plus local train services - anyone tried this for the Dolomites?

Accommodation:
Any suggestions for hotels are most welcome. As mentioned above, location is likely to be restricted by transport arrangements, so easy access to lifts for biking and walking is important. Otherwise, a nice hotel with en-suites, decent food and a pool if possible. Would also consider a b&b if there are good restaurant choices locally to eat out, though if you could give me an idea of meal prices in the area, that would be very helpful. I've had a look at the Hotel Mesdi in Arabba which was mentioned on another thread, and this looks like it would be suitable, but other ideas welcome if you know of any.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions/info snowHead
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Cortina may be a good bet - busy town; great scenery; superb via-ferrata (tofane mezzo and roses routes are brilliant) - you can fly to Venice and I'm sure there is a bus service to Cortina if you don't want to rent a car
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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?
If you want to go the Alta badia area (Corvara, Colfosco, La Villa, San Cassiano) then I would suggest staying in Corvara simply for the fact that you have access to several gondolas/chairlifts from the village or nearby

Otherwise I would stay in Ortisei or Selva. In Ortisei you have direct access to the Alpe Di Siusi gondola and the Seceda cable car. In Selva you have the Dantercepies and the Ciampinioi gondolas accessed directly in the village.

Transportation. For Alta Badia I would really suggest hiring a car. I don’t think the bus link goes to Corvara from Venice in the summer but I may be wrong. Otherwise getting there requires two train journeys and a bus from Innsbruck.

For Selva or Ortisei it is much easier by public transport from Innsbruck as it requires a train and only one bus journey. However to see the most of the Dolomites I would still suggest hiring a car as you can then go up and over all the mountain passes

Hope this helps
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Scarlet, I assume you read my current account of just coming back from walking in the Dolomites, in the Piste area of snowheads?
There are very good maps at1:50,000 of the walking paths of which there are a great many, divided into easy, moderate and difficult plus the via ferrata.
I would also urge you to hire a car, it opens up such an amazing area and gets rid of the problem of transport to the area from whatever airport you choose (Treviso with easyJet might be the closest but it depends which area you chose). It also means you don't have to stay in a village - I can strongly recommend the place I stayed about 10 minutes drive from Arabba on the Cortina road - the rooms are nice and the food extremely good (you won't have any desire to eat out) and the prices amazingly cheap.
Most of the lifts don't open till late June.


Last edited by You need to Login to know who's really who. on Mon 28-05-12 11:01; edited 1 time in total
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I visit the Dolomites every summer and it is fantastic, but crowded. My suggestion for a base would be Canazei, which is very centrally located with a telepherique leading up towards the Sella plateau and offers good bus services to the rest of the Dolomites. Corvara is also pretty good and is a smaller town. Misurina boasts the best scenery but only one lift. I think Cortina is too big.
The bus service around the Dolomites is very good but on occasions you may have to plan your days carefully. Consult http://www.dolomitibus.it/dolomitibus/jsp/index.jsp.
From what I remember meal prices are about average for the mountains (a night in a hut with an evening meal and something to drink comes to about 50 euro). It depends on how fancy you want to go.
Having never been to San Cassiano I thought I would look it up on google earth. There is a fascinating sliver of brown to the town’s north east. I must visit and see what is so secret.
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Yes, Cortina is a (small) town with a one-way system rather than a mountain ski resort, though with ski lifts around the edge. It does have several big lifts with spectacular views but even to get to some of these a car is helpful.
The main villages have websites which cover the surrounding area so just have a look at prices of Hotels.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
geoffers, Thanks, I'll have a look at Cortina. We drove through it on the route to San Cassiano, and I think it might be a bit bigger than I had in mind. I can see that a car would be useful here, as it seems a bit detached from other areas, or that was my impression anyway.

jimmybog, I'm not fixed on Alta Badia, it's just the area that I saw most of when we were there. If one of the other towns gives a better location/ better access, that's great. I'm sure they're all lovely places to stay, and I know that the scenery is pretty impressive wherever you are!

It sounds like a hire car might be the best option - a quick look at flights suggests Leeds to Venice Marco Polo would be best, as the Liverpool to Innsbruck service is winter only, so I think that idea is out.

snowball, Thanks, yes I did see your post - lovely photos! We plan to go out in July, so hopefully there wont be as much snow and the lifts will be open.

johnE, I forgot about Canazei! Is it on the Sella Ronda? If it is then I must've been through it, but don't remember at all. What's it like?

I had to look up the google earth picture to see if I could recognise your description and maybe remember what it was. All I can say is that it's the new location of Area 51. Maybe.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Quote:

forgot about Canazei! Is it on the Sella Ronda?

yes.


was nearly tempted to go back there this summer mountain biking, but elsewhere won in the end.

should be easier to see the real WW1 bits on foot, I guess. Certainly saw some WW1 stuff on the other bit of front (Italy/Slovenia).

Personally I'd take a car, as there's so much to see in such a large area. Public transport probably a bit limiting? (especially as I'd want to do at least Val di Fassa, Val Gardena, Val Pusteria as well as Marmolada)
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Scarlet, if not interested in Alta Badia then either Cortina, Canazei or one of the Val Gardena villages (Ortisei, Selva, St Christina) would be ideal. If going to Cortina or Canazei then I would definatelly suggest hiring a car. If going to Val Gardena then you can easily get there with public transport although a car would still be ideal for sightseeing.

For flights then Venice would be the choice for Cortina. For Val Gardena and Canazei, if you can't fly to Innsbruck then Verona would be the best choice. In fact Verona would be the preferred choice for Canazei anyway.

Whichever resort you choose, I'm sure you will have a great trip
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