Cortina in March
 

Hi all,
We are planning on going to Cortina from Venice for a few days in March with our 3 kids (ages 12, 10, 8). Can you recommend a place to stay? Any other tips?
Thanks so much!

Yes, we liked Hotel Montana for location and value.
However, Cortina is not your best location to see the best of the Dolomites.

Thanks so much. We are going in March and would like to ski for a few days after visiting Venice and Rome. Should we drive or take public transportation?
Any other place you would recommend near Venice to ski for 3 days?

If you plan to ski then Cortina is fine--but also expensive.

Well, Bob, how about telling us what IS the place to stay for the "best" of the Dolomites?????

Depends on your goals and season Dukey.
We've stayed in Castlerotto on several occasions and enjoyed it immensely but also enjoyed the Val Gardena areas--Ortisei--as well. The shoulder seasons can be problematic as snow conditions and lift operations come into play. Most people want to get up into the mountains to ski or hike and we really like the options in the Val Gardena.

We plan to visit the Cortina area in the coming year---lots of WWI history there but it takes some effort and climbing to visit.

Dukey, I suggest you read the dozens of posts on that topic and form your own opinion. We prefer Val Gardena.

We stayed in the Hotel Europa and loved it. Quaint, had a fabulous view of the Dolomites and just a block or so from the shops and restaurants. Be sure to have dinner at De Beppe Sello!

Thanks!

You do know that in March Cortina is still quite cold - and average of 36 degrees?

Is it your intention to visit in winter?

Well, they said they wanted to ski.

We do want to ski

ztrip,

I'll relate my experience since my first trip to Italy was a ski trip where we stayed in Cortina for a week.

I liked Cortina, but at the time it was my very first place to ever stay in Italy. As far as a town, I have since visited many other towns I liked better just as far as ambiance and scenery.

From Cortina we skied several famous "routes", took one of our group's chartered buses over to Kronplatz on the Austrian border, and skied the nearby areas out of Cortina. It seemed the areas nearby Cortina had a good variety of runs for various abilities, as did Kronplatz. The ski conditions were typical spring - a couple days of light snow up high, frozen moguls in the morning on the ungroomed runs and mush in the afternoon at the valley bottoms.

The scenery was gorgeous and best on the Sella Ronda (where we skied thru Val Gardena, Selva, Alta Badia and Ortesei) and Paso Falzareggio (not sure of the spelling, it's been a long time). I don't think either of these routes would be suitable for your family.

If I were to go back for another ski trip to the area, I might choose Val Gardena or Ortesei, just judging from the scenery and what we saw skiing through.

Hope this helps a bit!