barbarahood1770

Word of caution on the lift cards. We find that for us they are not a great deal. You would have to use a lot of the lifts to make them worthwhile, and we tend to use one or two per day, and then hike the rest of the day. And, as the poster above said, if the weather is not good, you end up not using them.
we find that just purchasing ride by ride makes more sense for us.

Cherthor

You might make the last week of September 2021 bus schedule to Selva. Just take a look at the past year bus schedules will give you an idea of the future bus schedule. That was the way I planned for my trip the last time. Keep checking until they have a definite bus schedule for that time frame. I also checked with the ticketing office when I arrived in Cortina. They will be able to confirm the buses that you want to take and you can get tickets ahead of time from them too.I got my bus #31/30 tickets from them to the Tre Cima a day before and confirmed all the schedules with them. A trip to the Tre Cima was the best hike for us. Hopefully you will have a good day when you visit. It's beauty is beyond words. I would suggest to stay overnight in the Misuari area so that you do not need to rush. We were lucky to secure an overnight in the Rif. Locatelli. That was one of the best stay for us in the Dolomites. I secured a private room with half board and it proved to be the best choice we had done. Dinner and breakfast were definitely delightful.

Cherthor

Rifugio Lavaredo

Mount Piccalilli

Tre Cima

The area is full of world war history.

Melnq8

Thank you Cherthor. Beautiful photos!

Cherthor

You are welcome! Your detailed traveling reports also helped me in planning some of my other trips too.
We are not young travelers, but we traveled rather quickly over areas as we did not have a lot vacation days that allowed us to do so. We like nature and hiking, so we walked and hiked when we traveled.
The hiking trails in Cortina are very accessible through local buses or just by cable cars. We took the cable car to visit Tofane do Roses. See some of my photos below:







We also went to Cinque Tori on the way to Lagazuoi mountain.
We did the strenuous hike to Nuvolau mountain which is absolutely beautiful. The WWI sites are also very good. We stayed at the rifugio Scoiatolli and rifugio Col Gallina.
It was a total rain out day when we visited Laguzuoi.






Rifugio lunch very good!


WWI historic site

Leely2

Cherthor, great photos! I really want to return to the Dolomites.

Cherthor

Me too!
So little time, so much to see and explore!
I miss my traveling days.

barbarahood1770

Dear Chertor, and Mel, I guarantee you that that bus to the Tre Cime is seasonal and won’t be there, just like the one to Falzarego and Cinque Torri, as the rifugios close much before the end of September.
The Cadore is one of my favorite areas in the Dolomites, and it’s only one hour away from my apartment, so I go every year. It’s also one of the least “organized” areas. Hopefully, some things will be better after the olympics, but I fear some things will get overdone, such as making it easier for people to get there = more people...

Cherthor

I totally agree with Barbara. It was not easy to get around without a car in the Cadore area. It is doable when the bus lines are in season. There are not many buses operating in the day when operating during the season. A lot of planning consideration when using the public transportation and it happened to fit into my traveling style. End of September traveling in that area is a bit iffy and nerves cracking.
Once you are in Selva, public transportation is very easy in most of the Val Gardena area. It is very beautiful in the Val Gardena area too. I did use the Val Gardena card as the weather was perfect while I was there. We took the cables car up and hiked in a lot of the areas there. We have such wonderful memories there, and we will be back there for sure.
Mel, I do not want to give you false hope that it will be easy to get around without a car. It is doable but a lot plannings and with back up plan when what if come up. Cheers!

theresa2234

I visited Ortisei, Bressanone, Bolzano, Selva all by public transportation early to mid-September a few years ago. I also like to not have to drive on vacation. Several lifts from Ortisei & Selva take you to all levels of hiking and gorgeous views. My suggestion would be not to travel on the buses with your luggage on a Saturday, REALLY crowded. I didn't notice crowds on buses on other days. I stayed at Hotel Grones in Ortisei which I would highly recommend.

Melnq8

Thank you theresa!

barbarahood1770

Theresa, those are all major towns in Val Gardena (and of course Bolzano which is a city), and they are all well connected even in low or shoulder season. But the buses to the passes were probably already not running in mid September, and Mel is going to Cadore which is not as organized. Different story.
if Mel were to just go to Val Gardena, she would probably be ok even though it’s not as much fun when the mountain rifugios are closed at the end of the month.

Melnq8

Actually, Mel isn't quite sure where she's going, although Val Gardena is at the top of the list. However, our latest iteration is to give the area a try in early December. Yes, I know, no one in their right mind goes to the Dolomites pre-ski season, but we tend to swim upstream and we're seriously considering it. I've compiled a rather long list of winter hikes, but haven't done the detailed research yet to see if it's even possible.

Rather than try to give you a glimpse into my spinning head, suffice to say we're now planning two separate trips; a month in Switzerland in October and a month in Italy/Austria in December. Yes, the plan is likely to change a dozen times between now and when we book, but that's where we are at the moment.

I very much appreciate all the suggestions to date, thank you.

neckervd

I second Barbara (post 52). And cold early December, when the sun may rise behind the mountains around 10am and disappear at 2pm is even much worse!

Melnq8

Understood neckervd. Not unlike our December visits to Switzerland.

barbarahood1770

This year they have a few meters of snow already in December. Actually since November. 2 meters fell just last week. If the lifts weren't closed for Covid, it would be all open for skiing and it would e a banner year. I am really sad for all those people trying to make a living there. Next year who knows?
Bring your snowshoes, you will need them in December.
I suggest you don't plan your trip around "winter hikes" because a little bit of snow will throw those out the window...ice is actually the worst...You will need crampons (the kind that go on top of your shoes at the very least). It can be fun, but darkness will be there early...

neckervd

Some mountain areas got tons of snow in early December. But now, it's melting very rapidly like at Crans-Montana https://www.bergfex.ch/crans-montana/webcams/c9042/ and other sunny places.

Weekender

Check out a new 2020 Rick Steves episode re the Dolomites. Just saw it this afternoon. He starts out in Austria and ends in Italy.

scrb11

That was nice.

Dolomites was one of my trips which was canceled by the pandemic. I'd been before but I wanted to go again, hoping for better weather. Yeah I was going to do that Seceda hike down to Santa Cristina. I went up to Seceda the first day I arrived so it was late afternoon and I had just checked in. But I got a Val di Gardena card so I was going to go up again to do the hike but it rained hard for the next 2 or 3 days that I was there. Actually went up there a second time but by the time I reached the top, it was pouring. If you got far from the cable car station, you were drenched. I waited about 10-15 minutes, it never let up. But there were some souls leaving the station, without umbrellas but some kind of windbreakers with hoods.

NeelDr

Hello Mel

I came across your post recently and would like to have your tips if you completed it . Please do not Ignore and provide suggestions. We are couple with a 4 years kid and we just like to get a feel of the Dolomites. We have 4 days to spend in Bolano in late March and as we do not possess a EU driving License yet I can't rent a car( hence Bolzano chosen for commute).
1. Will it be a good idea to be based in Bolzano and looking for some easy hiking( around 10 km) /mixed day out with my family using public transport? What are the suggested places? Like for example Lago di Braies, is it possible visit Lago di Sorapis by Public transport(/lift) and hike? St. Valentin Church overlooking Aple de Siusi or other places?

2. What is expected in terms of weather?( we are based in Belgium)
3. Renting Car with Driver/ Budget friendly Tour ?
4. What is expected in terms of phone connectivity?
5. Is there any other convenient place to stay other than Bolzano?
6. will it be worth to take any day passes for Lifts/Cables Car/Public Transports?
We will eagerly wait for your suggestions. Thanks in advance