CledTravel

Background
I will be in the Dolomites for five nights as part of a three week trip through Switzerland and Italy. For the duration of my stay, I will be in Ortisei without a car.

Itinerary

• Day 1: Travel: Murren, Switzerland to Ortisei
• Day 2: Hike: Across Col Raiser to Seceda
• Day 3: Lookout: Bus to Sella Group
• Day 4: Hike: Adolf Munkel Trail
• Day 5: Crossing the Alp di Siusi
• Day 6: Travel: Ortisei to Milan

Questions

1. Would you swap out any hikes or lookouts?
2. I've heard you can walk from Ortisei to the Adolf Munkel trail by walking over the mountains and down the other side into Val di Funes. Does anyone know the exact route over the mountains, how long it takes and any other relevant details? If someone has a link to a map with the route I need to take, that would be awesome, too.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Jean

https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopi...rentino_A.html

Double-check the transportation advice.

CledTravel

Hi there,

I actually read that thread, too. That is where I learned it was possible to do. I just don't have a map of the trail he/she talks of (track 35?), and when he/she says it takes 4 hours, does that mean it takes 4 hours from Ortisei to the end of the Adolf Munkel trail or 4 hours to get over the valley? I suspect the former.

Jean

https://www.123rf.com/photo_66245882...dolomites.html

This would seem to be the entry point on the trail mentioned in the TripAdvisor post.

Where are you staying in Ortisei? The owner of the BnB where we stayed was very knowledgeable of trail and local transport. If you're staying in a hotel or BnB, I'd shoot them an email with your questions.

neckervd

Map with the signmarked trails:
https://www.suedtirol.info/de/erlebe...activity_11088

I suppose you know that:
there is very good hiking around Muerren too,
that you can choose between tons of extremely scenic or rather ugly itineraries between Muerren and Ortisei (the most ugly one being that via Bern - Zurich - Innsbruck).

CledTravel

Thank you very much for the map. That's exactly what I needed. It looks like I take trail 6 over the mountain and then turn right onto trail 35. Looks very doable.

As for your other two comments, you have most certainly piqued my interest. If you have one or two hike suggestions for Murren, I would love to hear them. And no I didn't know there was a scenic vs ugly way to get from Murren to Ortisei. Have you made the journey before? Any suggestions?

Much appreciated.

CledTravel

Thanks, Jean. Emailing my hotel is a great idea actually. I'm right in the centre of town. I don't know why I didn't think of asking them.

Cheers

neckervd

MUERREN, SOME IDEAS FOR HIKES
https://www.schweizmobil.ch/en/hikin.../ort-0193.html
https://www.bergfex.ch/sommer/schilt...ouren/wandern/
732 Mürren - Grütschalp - Allmendhubel / Mürren
The most famous hike is that to Gspaltenhorn Hut - Bluemlisalp Hut - Kandersteg (2 days)

neckervd

MUERREN - ORTISEI
fastest way, not particularly scenic:
Muerren - Bern - Zurich - Innsbruck - Waidbruck - Ortisei, or
Muerren - Spiez - Milano - Verona - Bolzano/Bozen - Ortisei
the ride along both itineraries lasts about 10 hrs

The most scenic itineraries go through the heart of the Alps and last more than 1 day, like:

Muerren dp by train 7.06 to Interlaken - Meiringen ar 8.36, dp by Postbus 8.50 to Stein Glacier - Susten Pass - Andermatt ar 11.04, dp 11.54 by Glacier Express (with dining car) to Ruinaulta Gorge - Schyn gorge - Albula Pass - St. Moritz or Pontresina ar 16.38, dp the next day around 8.30 by Engfadin railwa to Zernez and by Postbus via Pass dal Fuorn to Mals ar 10.46, dp by Val Venosta railway 11.03 to Meran ar 12.13, dp 12.16 - Waidbruck ar 13.17, dp by bus 13.25 - Ortisei ar 13.55.

There are tons of other solutions, like via Loetschberg - Brig - Glacier Express, via Grimsel Pass - Glacier Express, via Grimsel Pass - Nufenen Pass - Lugano - Lake Como - Stelvio Pass..... etc. etc.
...and there are tons of gems along all these itineraries

CledTravel

Oh, what a shame that I didn't know multi-day itineraries existed for this journey. Unfortunately, I only have one day for this journey, so it looks like I will have to take the faster, less scenic route

I don't suppose there is a way for me to bypass the Matterhorn on the way down? I'd love to see that iconic mountain while I'm there, but it looks like I won't be able to fit it in, as I will be more than occupied with my four days in Murren.

neckervd

Everything is possible, even the Matterhorn. But frankly, it wouldn't make any sense to go to Zermatt for a few hrs only. The biggest glaciers and the highest mountains of Switzerland (up to 15000 ft) are around Zermatt; Matterhorn is just one of them. 1 cog wheel railway and 2 gondolas go to 3 different more than 10000 ft high mountains, linked by hiking trails with Zermatt, the some 20 isolated mountain restaurants and the some 30 mountain lakes. Spend at least a full day there or skip it.

The timetable would look like this:
Muerren dp 6.06 - Zermatt ar 9.14 - Gornergrat ar 10.00; Zermatt dp 13.37 - Brig 15.11/15.44 - Milano C 17.37/18.15 - Verona PN 19.28/19.50 - Waidbruck ar 21.47, dp BY TAXI - Ortisei ar around 22.10 (the last bus leaves Waidbruck at 20.27).

neckervd

If you want to see a bit more of the Swiss Alps and reach Oretisei the same day, I would rather do something like this:

Muerren dp 6.36 - L'brunnen - I'laken - Spiez ar 7.50, dp 8.12 by scenic train Loetschberger via Kandersteg - Goppenstein - Brig to Domodossola ar 9.54, dp 10.03 by scenic Centovalli Express to Locarno ar 11.55. Enjoy Locarno and Lake Maggiore. Locarno dp 13.35 - Milan ar 15.50; change at Giubiasco or Bellinzona. Milan dp 16.15 - Verona PN 17.28/17.50 - Waidbruck 19.47/19.59 - Ortisei ar 20.27
or
Muerren dp by train 7.36 - Meiringen ar 9.07, dp 9.25 by Postbus via Grimsel Pass - Nufenen Pass to Airolo ar 12.56, dp by train 13.13 - Milan ar 15.50. Milan dp 16.15 - Verona PN 17.28/17.50 - Waidbruck 19.47/19.59 - Ortisei ar 20.27

CledTravel

Thanks, neckervd!

I presume I have to book all those trains separately? It would make me quite nervous that I'd miss a connection or book something incorrectly.

Which site do you recommend I book from? I've come across three: SBB (Swiss), Trenitalia (Italy) and Omio (formerly goeuro), which I find to the easiest to use.

One thing I've noticed is you can't book some trains in July yet... For example, I can't find a direct train from Spiez to Milan in July but I can in March, April and May... When do you suggest I book, whichever route I decide?

neckervd

Neither Swiss domestic trains and Postbuses nor Italian regional trains have to be booked ahead.
Among all the trains and buses I mentioned in post 12, only the Milan dp 16.15 - Verona train needs a reservation.
I don't know whether you will arrive at Muerren with a kind of Travel Pass. If not, book a Saver Day Pass for 52 CHF about 2 months ahead. https://www.sbb.ch/en/travelcards-an...-day-pass.html
It will be valid from Muerren up to the border station of Chiasso (in all trains and buses). The Chiasso - Milan ticket can be bought at any somewhat important Swiss railway station like Interlaken, Locarno or so. There you can also get the other tickets for Italy up to Waidbruck; the ticket for the bus is sold at Waidbruck (either ticket machine or may be in the bus).
If you use a direct Eurocity train from Spiez to Milan (2 1/2 hrs journey), you will have to book ahead.
You may also buy your train tickets for Italy through https://loco2.com/en
For Ortisei etc. you may be interested in Mobilcard - museumobil Card | Mobilcard

J62

For hiking trails I frequently use the app "Alltrails" - their companion website is useful for searching for trails - i find it a bit more flexible / user friendly than searching on the app.

You download the trail maps ahead of time while on wifi, then you can use your phone GPS (does not require a data plan) to track your progress. Keeping the GPS on all the time can burn up battery, so I tend to use mine for an occasional trail / location cross check.

I do the same with google maps for driving directions when I'm outside a data signal area or traveling. Lately I've found more and more hiking trails (in the US at least) are mapped on google maps, making the Alltrails app less of a necessity.

You can check out if the trails of interest to you are listed.

CledTravel

Thanks for the links and all your help, neckervd.

What site did you use for your one-day travel itinerary from Murren to Ortisei above? I just want to see how much more expensive this will be for me.

Also, what does 'dp' stand for?

CledTravel

Thanks J62. I took a look, but there seems to be very few hikes in Val Gardena area unfortunately. Looks like an awesome app, so hopefully I'm wrong! Otherwise, I'll definitely look to use it elsewhere. Perhaps it will trails for Murren, Switzerland.

neckervd

" Also, what does 'dp' stand for? "

dp stand for "departure"
ar for "arrival"
17.28/17.50 for "arrival at 17.28 train change and departure at 17.50"

neckervd

" What site did you use for your one-day travel itinerary from Murren to Ortisei above? I just want to see how much more expensive this will be for me."
You will find all details and all links in my post 14 above. If you have no Travel Pass, the fare for Switzerland will be 52 CHF and for Chiasso to Ponte Gardena 42 EUR, plus about 5 EUR por the Valgardena bus.
https://www.trenitalia.com/

neckervd

" I took a look, but there seems to be very few hikes in Val Gardena area unfortunately."

Indeed, there are not even 500 hikes in the greater area
https://www.outdooractive.com/en/tou...,sb-sortedBy-0