Has anyone ever been to this area in Italy? It looks beautiful in the guide book.

donnabee - I hate telling people to use the search box, but in this case, since your question is so general, it would help if you type Dolomites in the search box.

We have a few experts on this area in this forum - Steve James from Bath is super helpful, Bob-the-Nav and Wayne also chime in. If you know when you want to go (different activities for different times of the year), how long you want to stay, modes of transportation, etc., these folks can help you quite a bit.

Donnabee, I am delighted to answer your question because my husband and I so enjoyed the Dolomiti! We had already toured a lot of northern Italy and choose the Dolomiti because we wanted to see some mountains -- plus I had a fuzzy memory of Cortina from an old Pink Panther movie made in the 60s I think. We chose to stay near Merano at the Hotel Castel Fragsburg and loved it. You can check it out at http://www.fragsburg.com/e-home.htm. The area was very Tyrolian because I believe it once belonged to Austria, and there were lots of Austrian and German tourists. We had a great time driving through the mountains and staying at the Fragsburg before we went on to Venice.

Go anywhere north and east from Bolzano, and you'll enjoy the views. I would also add Merano to that area, though it's a bit west. Anyway, there are so many beautiful valleys and mountains, it's hard to choose. My favorite drive is through the Val Gardena from north of Bolzano to Cortina. The area around Cortina, especially to the west, is full of great little villages that you can visit with a car, and great roads you can follow with beautiful views at every turn. In fact, I wouldn't go there any other way than by car. Have fun.

Donna - You'll find some nice photos here to get you planning:

http://www.dolomiti.it/eng/fototour/inverno.htm

http://www.dolomiti.it/eng/fototour/estate.htm

http://www.dolomitigallery.com/inverno/index.htm

http://www.dolomitigallery.com/estate/index.htm

http://www.dolomitigallery.com/paesi/index.htm

Steve

Sorry to say but Europeans understand Dolomiti better than Dolomites. Have a look an Corvara, I myself have been to Cortina, Selva, Sta. Christina, Merano and Bolzano and this one is my personal favourite. I have always been there in winter but it must be pretty also in summer.

Dolomiti or Dolomites - The point is that there's tons of posts on this forum describing the beautiful towns, things to do, places to stay, etc., and donnabee would benefit from reading those messages, since she's still in an exploratory stage of planning. I have posted messages on Castelrotto/Kastelruth, Val Gardena/Groden, Bolzano/Bozen, Trento, Val di Fassa and Val di Fiemme in the winter. I liked all these areas for winter sports and ambiance and we are planning to return this winter.

By the way, English is NOT my native language, but I do acknowledge that English is the primary language utilized in this forum. Sometimes, posters use the Italian name (e.g. Venezia, Firenze), but often times the use the English translation (e.g., Venice, Florence). I think you bring up a good point which is that when doing a search you should use keywords in the original and the English translation to ensure that all relevant posts are retrieved.

Thanks everyone.

One of my favorite areas--go for it.
I agree with Wayne that the drive from Ortisei to Cortina is fabulous. I prefer to stay in Ortisei or Castelrotto as a base location, but Cortina for the eastern part.

Bob,

Are you familiar with the Hotel Villa Emilia in Ortisei? It looks great on their website. I'm considering a stay there in late August, and their walks/hikes with their guide (I think his name is Pauli) look like exactly what I'm looking for.