seippsd

I am planning out my honeymoon in Italy and received a recommendation to stay in Bolzano for a few days. My fiance and I are very outdoorsy and like hiking so the pictures look amazing for us. I am concerned about our timing for mid-October since most sites I've looked at say September is nice but no comments about October. If that timing is still considered ok then my second question is what hikes would be recommended and easy to get to from Bolzano. I would absolutely LOVE to climb a Via Ferrata...nothing too high expertise level but we are athletic and adventurous so can handle the heights.

Jean

If you want to climb part of the Via Ferrata, you should investigate the difficulty ratings of different segments and choose what fits your abilities. Personally, I'd hire a guide with a company that provides the equipment, but I believe you can DIY. Some info:

http://www.dolomitemountains.com/en/...sources148.htm

I liked Bolzano, mostly for the Otzi (Iceman) museum, but would stay elsewhere like the Val Gardena. You'll want to have a car to see the best, most dramatic scenery.

Jean

I forgot to mention that we have visited the area in mid-October. We had wonderful weather, cool and breezy but clear and dry. If you don't stay in Bolzano and will be there after the second weekend of October, consider a hotel offering half-board. We found that many restaurants and hotels in smaller towns were closed by the third week of the month.

brdcollie

October is an off-season time in the Dolomites. We have hiked in the Val Gardena area as late as mid September. Even then, we've had snow that closed some of the higher trails. But, most of the lifts to the higher trails in that area are closed for maintenance in preparation for the ski season by early October. Here's the the 2016 schedule for lifts http://www.valgardena.it/en/hiking-b...rekking/lifts/
By the way, Bolzano is not actually in the Dolomites. It looks like you could stay in Ortisei which has one lift operating to Alpe di Siusi until early November. The trails on Alpe di Siusi are fairly easy.

jamikins

We were in Ortesei the first week of October in 2014 and a lot if things were shutting down...restaurants etc were closed. There were a few lifts open that we enjoyed but up was definitely end of season. Not sure what it would be like mid October.


You can check out our pics here

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pug_gi...57636058614266

sundriedtopepo

Very nice photos jamikins!

jamikins

Thanks sundriedtopepo!

neckervd

There are tons of hikin trails around Bolzano. But what do you call easy?