Dolomites October 14-18
 

My wife and I are planning a trip for mid-late October to Venice, Lake Garda, and the Dolomites. But I am having trouble finding accommodations in the Dolomites--it appears many places start shutting down in early October. Bolzano has a lot of openings, but we were hoping to find a more rural retreat. Any suggestions?
Thanks!

Stay in Ortisei, not Bolzano.
You will not have a problem finding lodging.

As Bob says, Ortisei will have lodging but be advised that the lifts which take you up into the mountain trails will be mostly closed by the end of the first week of October. Check out the schedule here http://www.valgardena.it/en/hiking-b...rekking/lifts/

There are tons of hotels open in October, more in the German and Ladin speaking areas than in the Italian speaking one's, however.
http://www.booking.com/

If you're not locked into your other lodging, see if changing the order of your itinerary helps.

One year, we spent the third week of October in Ortisei. Finding lodging wasn't a problem, but finding a variety of open restaurants for dinner was. If you don't mind eating at the same place every night, hotels like the Adler offer half board. Some lifts were closed, but there were enough open to choose from. Really, dinner was the only issue for us that week, and it wasn't a big deal.

We stayed at the Garni Walter, a small, family-operated B&B within easy walking distance of the main streets of Ortisei. Simple accommodations, some with nice views, impeccably clean, nice breakfast. The owners are very welcoming, and the husband in particular had great recommendations for drives, hiking, etc. The hotel was a little difficult to find at first, so take a print-out of a Google Map or use the GPS coordinates.

http://www.garniwalter.it/eng/index.html

We found that many properties in Ortisei did not participate in booking.com.

BTW, we had great weather. Cool and windy at the tops of summits and cool in the evenings, but wonderful clear skies.

Bolzano is a nice, medium-sized town, but I don't think it really conveys the experience of being in the Dolomites. But I highly recommend the Iceman Exhibit at the South Tyrol Archeology Museum in Bolzano. It's fascinating.

Thank you all for your replies!
Looking into Ortisei now...

I'm sure you're aware of the weather in the Dolomites.... we were in Auronzo di Cadore (the East side) in June of '14 and it snowed. So I imagine anything can happen in October. Beautiful area. On your way to Venice, you could consider the area around Udine. We really liked the little towns around there.

We were in Ortisei the first week of Oct 2014 and things were closing down by the end of the week. You will be able to find hotels but restaurants and the lifts you take to hike were all shutting down for the season. Some were already closed.

It looks like many of the lifts will be closed by this time. But how important are the lifts for hiking? We will have a car so can drive wherever. Do you have any hiking recommendations within an hour's drive of Ortisei?

Check out hotel Uhrerhof-Deur right outside of Ortisei. Stunning inn in an amazing setting right outside of town. The views are gorgeous and it has a breathtaking rose garden....delicious meals as well. Not sure if its open in Oct but its one of the best hotels I have ever stayed at and we have travelled quite a bit. Good luck.

There are trailheads all over the place, and you don't need to take a lift to reach good-to-great hiking. We took several short hikes from the tops of several passes. If the weather looked good when we got there, we took a hike. Passo Giau, Passo Valparola, Passo Falzarego, in the Marmolada area.

I believe Alpe di Siusi cable car is open to Nov. 2nd, and the cable car from Passo Pordoi might be open year-round (but check that).

If you have any interest in World War I, there are several sights and museums.

http://lagazuoi5torri.dolomiti.org/d...sei/index.html

I agree with Jean and yes, you can hike without taking a lift to begin but that is the same as in the winter---just hike up the mountain and then ski down. There is one lift out of Ortisei that is open until Nov. 2 that goes up into the Alpe di Siusi--like any of the others, it takes you to breathtaking panoramas. There is also the large gondolas that leave from Suis and take you up to the same area.

The museum of the fascinating struggles in WW1 near the Lagazuoi Pass does close in early October as well--check to make sure. We visited on the last day it was open for the season 1 1/2 yr ago on about Oct. 3.

Always lots of trails along the lift lines but the views from the top of the lifts are the attraction.

The WWI Forte Tre Sassi Museum was open in the 3rd week of October. Troops actually living there over winter is beyond imagining.

Architect30, I know I mentioned this upthread, but I'll repeat that the Iceman Exhibit at the South Tyrol Archeology Museum in Bolzano is fascinating. Worth a stop if you can fit it in, perhaps on the way to or from Ortisei.

Saving
this for future reference...

The Mont Seuc/Seiser Alm cable car from Ortisei up to the Seiser Alm/Alpe di Siusi closes early November this year. With a car, it won't matter if more cable cars are open. The passes take you up to the peaks in some cases and you'll find places to park and walk or hike among the peaks. At the "top" of the Gardena, Sella, Giau and Pordoi passes you'll find parking along with a cafe/restaurant/gift shop. Walks and paths start out from these locations. These are all within an hour or so of one another, so easily done from a central location. On October 10th this year (always on the 2nd Mon of Oct.), Ortisei has a town wide market festival. We attended back in 20013. Stores are all open, stalls line the old town selling everything imaginable, music, food, beer and wine tent, etc. All day long.

Paul

These places are open in October and we can recommend:

In the Alta Badia:
www.tamarindo-lavilla.it/
www.montanara.it

Val Gardena:
www.garniariston.com

Here's a link to the cable car in Ortisei:
www.alpedisiusi-seiseralm.com/

Here's a link to the passes:
http://alpineroads.com/dolomites.php


Paul