Advice here has me zeroing in on Dolomites-Venice combo. Please advise further.
My wife and I are considering a 35th anniversary celebration in Italy during summer 2020. Based on very helpful insights and guidance from posters on my previous thread, I think at last I have some traction on planning choices, but I could use some refinement.
We are in awe of what we are seeing as possibilities to soak in the Dolomites as part of a combo platter with some time in Venice. Here's where the current thinking has us: 1. Fly into Venice 2. Rent a car; drive to Verona for 1-night 3. Proceed to Ortiesi for 3 nights as a home base for a variety of light-moderate hiking from there 4. Return car to Venice airport; take other transport to Venice lodging for 3 nights 5. Considering using 1 day for a day trip from Venice 6. Flying out of Venice home after 7 nights Ok, what have we botched here? Too much, too quickly? If we do the 1-3 part, do we come back to Venice the same way or do a different route to try take in more/see different along way back to Venice? I am sorry for being such a novice in trying to understand the realities and practicalities--even with a fair amount of research now. I would be so grateful for your assistance in helping me refine my focus more effectively/precisely. Many, many thanks to you all who respond to help clueless wonders like myself. Cheers, RD |
We've been to the Ortisei area twice but are by no means experts. We had planned a 3rd trip that never happened. Just a few thoughts:
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The Dolomites are spectacular – we spent a week there in September 2018. With limited time, it makes sense to focus just on the Val Gardena region, based out of Ortisei. I hope you are visiting in June or after, by which time the snow should have cleared and the lifts/rifugios will be operational. Have a look at https://www.valgardena.it/en/summer-.../gardena-card/ - the card itself is great value if you’re planning more than a few walks/hikes (includes lifts and transport) – Alpe de Siusi and the Seceda-Col Raiser loop were our high points (we did a few more).
I’m not sure where you’re arriving into Venice from, but I’d avoid driving immediately after a long-distance flight. You could "optimize" your arrival day (leaving Venice itself for the end) by directly taking a train to Verona and spend your first night there. The next day you could take a train to Bolzano (pop into the museum to see Otzi) and then proceed to Ortisei Using public transport : - Take a bus to Ortisei. In Ortisei, your accommodation will likely give you a free mobility card (do check when you book, we stayed here Hotel Garni Planaces - Appartments and rooms in Ortisei and they gave us one) for free use of buses, so you don’t really need a car whilst based there at all. To return to Venice, you retrace the same way you got here – bus to Bolzano, train back to Venice with a change in Verona. Using a car - Rent a car to drive to Ortisei. The only reason you’d want a car is to drive through some interesting mountain roads and passes getting to and from Ortisei. While in Ortisei itself, our car was idling in the parking for 3 days. For example, from Bolzano you could drive part of the Great Dolomite Road – see https://www.guidedolomiti.com/en/great-dolomites-road/ turning north at Canazei and heading to Ortisei via Selva instead of heading towards Cortina d’Ampezzo. When heading back to Venice, a scenic route could be : cross the Gardena Pass to the Alta Badia (Corvara, La Villa – very interesting) and then via the SP24 and SR48 to Falzarego (Lagazuoi, Cinque Torri - very interesting) to Cortina D’Ampezzo before joining the SS51 and A27 back to Venice. This would be a long and exhausting day of driving, with little time for meaningful stops – I’d break journey with an overnighter near Cortina if possible. |
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Originally Posted by ANUJ
(Post 17069163)
The Dolomites are spectacular – we spent a week there in September 2018. With limited time, it makes sense to focus just on the Val Gardena region, based out of Ortisei. I hope you are visiting in June or after, by which time the snow should have cleared and the lifts/rifugios will be operational. Have a look at https://www.valgardena.it/en/summer-.../gardena-card/ - the card itself is great value if you’re planning more than a few walks/hikes (includes lifts and transport) – Alpe de Siusi and the Seceda-Col Raiser loop were our high points (we did a few more).
I’m not sure where you’re arriving into Venice from, but I’d avoid driving immediately after a long-distance flight. You could "optimize" your arrival day (leaving Venice itself for the end) by directly taking a train to Verona and spend your first night there. The next day you could take a train to Bolzano (pop into the museum to see Otzi) and then proceed to Ortisei Using public transport : - Take a bus to Ortisei. In Ortisei, your accommodation will likely give you a free mobility card (do check when you book, we stayed here Hotel Garni Planaces - Appartments and rooms in Ortisei and they gave us one) for free use of buses, so you don’t really need a car whilst based there at all. To return to Venice, you retrace the same way you got here – bus to Bolzano, train back to Venice with a change in Verona. Using a car - Rent a car to drive to Ortisei. The only reason you’d want a car is to drive through some interesting mountain roads and passes getting to and from Ortisei. While in Ortisei itself, our car was idling in the parking for 3 days. For example, from Bolzano you could drive part of the Great Dolomite Road – see https://www.guidedolomiti.com/en/great-dolomites-road/ turning north at Canazei and heading to Ortisei via Selva instead of heading towards Cortina d’Ampezzo. When heading back to Venice, a scenic route could be : cross the Gardena Pass to the Alta Badia (Corvara, La Villa – very interesting) and then via the SP24 and SR48 to Falzarego (Lagazuoi, Cinque Torri - very interesting) to Cortina D’Ampezzo before joining the SS51 and A27 back to Venice. This would be a long and exhausting day of driving, with little time for meaningful stops – I’d break journey with an overnighter near Cortina if possible. Thank you! RD |
Originally Posted by Wekiva
(Post 17068971)
We've been to the Ortisei area twice but are by no means experts. We had planned a 3rd trip that never happened. Just a few thoughts:
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Bus Venice airport - Venice Mestre railway station: at least every 30 minutes
Train Venice Mestre - Verona: at least every hr Train Verona - Bolzano - Ponte Gardena: at least every hr connecting bus Ponte Gardena - Ortisei: every 30 minutes Bus Ortisei - Sella Pass - Pordoi Pass - Canazei - Rolle Pass - Venice (form mid June until mid September): Ortisei dp 11.16 - Canazei ar 12.55, dp 14.30 - Venice ar 19.50 |
Hello. As mentioned above, unless you want to drive, it is fairly easy to do this trip by public transportation. I took a train from Venice to Bolzano. From Bolzano, I arranged a taxi to take me to my hotel in Ortisei (Hotel Grones, which I can recommend). I found the taxi service on the Val Gardena website and the driver I had was terrific. I could have taken the busy but I was solo, had heavy luggage, and it was very hot, so decided on the taxi as a treat to myself.
Enjoy your trip. |
I'm following for a future trip. Thank you all for the great information!
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Originally Posted by neckervd
(Post 17069995)
Bus Venice airport - Venice Mestre railway station: at least every 30 minutes
Train Venice Mestre - Verona: at least every hr Train Verona - Bolzano - Ponte Gardena: at least every hr connecting bus Ponte Gardena - Ortisei: every 30 minutes Bus Ortisei - Sella Pass - Pordoi Pass - Canazei - Rolle Pass - Venice (form mid June until mid September): Ortisei dp 11.16 - Canazei ar 12.55, dp 14.30 - Venice ar 19.50
Originally Posted by Leely2
(Post 17070018)
Hello. As mentioned above, unless you want to drive, it is fairly easy to do this trip by public transportation. I took a train from Venice to Bolzano. From Bolzano, I arranged a taxi to take me to my hotel in Ortisei (Hotel Grones, which I can recommend). I found the taxi service on the Val Gardena website and the driver I had was terrific. I could have taken the busy but I was solo, had heavy luggage, and it was very hot, so decided on the taxi as a treat to myself.
Enjoy your trip. Thank you, again! |
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