Planning to visit this area in May ( I know the weather can be iffy).
Can anyone suggest 2 different villages that would serve as bases to see the most over a week long period.
Thanks

Hi FL - For one of your bases I'd certainly recommend Val Gardena. I usually stay in Ortisei - the main village in Val Gardena.

Be aware that May is relatively low season - so only a few of the Dolomites lifts will be open. But Val Gardena is relatively central - and has easy access to some of the most spectacular scenery for touring and hiking.

Will you have a car?

Steve

Yes we will have a car --we were in Austria last May near Mayrhofen and it was off season but it was great not encountering many other tourists.
We like to see the scenery and walk a lot--whenever possible we get a self catering apartment-it looks like there are a lot of options in the Ortisei area.

Any suggestions for a second place--perhaps different from Val Gardena ?

We stayed in San Lorenzo in Banale this summer, a small, cute town south of Lake Molveno, north of Terme di Comano,and east of Trento in the Brenta Dolomites, a different area. It is a beautiful, relatively untraveled, good for walking and driving tours in the Parco naturale Adamello-Brenta. The ski resort of Madonna di Campiglio is the big town there (45 minutes around the mountains) but it touristy and crowded. We'd stayed in Val Gardena (Wolkenstein) several years ago in May, and I remember it was between seasons for the lifts.

If you prefer to stay in the main Dolomites for your second base, Cortina might be your best bet.

It will be low season there and lifts will be closed - but if you don't mind that, Cortina is well-placed for touring that area and you can access some lovely hiking areas by car.

The few lifts which are open (- late May) include:

- Alpe di Siusi (- Ortisei)
- Sass Pordoi (- Pordoi Pass)
- Lagazuoi (- Falzarego Pass)

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Thank you for the great info.

FL: If I'm reading correctly and you're only staying for a week, I'm not sure you'll need a second base. We saw and did quite a bit, from Cortina to Bolzano, while based in the Val Gardena (Selva/Wolkenstein, to be exact). And there are a ton of self-catering places in the valley!

Our trip report (with pix) might be helpful:
http://www.onelittleworld.com/dolomites_1.html

I don't know why most people tend to suggest Ortisei and Val Gardena. The only thing that Ortisei has, more than other towns, is prices.

Although it's a nice town in a nice valley, you must bear in mind one thing: there is no part of the Dolomites which won't be nice to see or to live in. Nobody can say if the best sight is the one from the Lagorai mountains, or the Pale di San Martino, or the Marmolada glacier, the Tofane or the Lagazuoi, it really depends on personal taste. So, as a consequence, there is no place definitely worse than others. But there are places that are more expensive than others: examples are the towns of Ortisei, Moena, Cortina, San Martino di Castrozza, Madonna di Campiglio. They're expensive because they're renown, they're fashionable, they're comfortable like a full equipped city center. but if you plan to move through the Dolomites, you only need a base in a good position.

My suggestion is Val di Fiemme. It's in a very good position: if you follow the road east, you meet Val di Fassa and Val Badia. By going north you go to Val Gardena. By going south you go to the Val Primera with the Pale di San Martino (stunning to say the least). And Val di Fiemme itself is a lovely place, not crowded, less expensive and it keeps its ladine culture while famous resorts are beginning to "globalize". The towns of Cavalese, Predazzo and Tesero are all charming. The Lagorai mountains, on the side of the valley, are one of the wildest area of all the Trentino Alto Adige region. Hope I could be of any help

Hi everyone,
I posted similar question and several people recommended Castelrotto as a base. Any thoughts? I am researching this place and it seems quite expensive in August. We will be driving from Venice. I really like the suggestion of Val Di fieme. We don't really need luxuries of a big hotel.

We stayed in San Michele, a small beautiful town.

Castelrotto was quite crowded (with tourists) when we visited late spring several years ago. But I remember a nice walk above the town and easy parking.