barco

We have just booked our flight to spend 15 night in Italy. We fly into Venice International Airport on the 29 Sept from Australia and plan to get to the Dolomites for a week before we work our way back to Tuscany and Venice to fly out . It seems that the Cortina Express is not running during that time of the year. Private shuttle seems expensive. If we hire a car we would only want to use it to get there. We are thinking of staying in a central location with good bus services to take us to nice spots for hiking. My husband would probably like to check out all the ski runs for the winter season. Not sure how we are going to make our way back to Tuscany or Venice yet. I will do more research. Happy to hear your expert advice though.

1.How could we get to the Dolomites from Venice airport? I can't seem to find a direct answer for that.

2. Which location is better for us without a car? Cortina or Ortisei? Of the two which is more scenic?

3. Four nights in Tuscany. Which region would you recommend? Again we would use public transport to make day trips and be in the region to do some cooking and wandering.

4. Four night in Venice-too much? We think we should stay in Venice but away from the crowd or should we stay outside Venice.

nytraveler

Staying outside Venice is just a waste of time and money - there are many less crowded places within the central part of the city itself.

Can't help with the dolomites but to tour Tuscany effectively you really need to rent a car or hire a car/driver. Granted there are some trains and limited bus service between some times - but the latter is often only 1 or 2 times a day and not practical for tourists. Trying to do so without a car will really limit what you have the time to see/do

thursdaysd

Pretty much every airport in the world has its very own web site, which tells you how to arrive/depart by all available transport.

This is Venice's:
http://www.veniceairport.it/en/transport/train.html

Take a bus to Venice Mestre train station. Then you can take a train north. I would get off in Bolzano and take a bus to Castlerotto, but you could just stay in Bolzano.

brdcollie

Getting to the Dolomites from Venice is best done with a rental car, but it can be done via bus to Cortina or Bolzano. From there I would try to stay in the heart of the Dolomites in Val Gardena. Val Gardena has wonderful trails for all skill levels and a great transportation system. If you stay in Selva, Ortisei, or S. Christina you can easily hop on a bus that will take you to the lifts in any of the other villages in just a few minutes. The Val Gardena Card pass gives you access to the buses and most of the lifts without the need to purchase individual tickets. However you are going late in the season for hiking the higher routes. In Val Gardena most of the lifts and buses operate until around the third week of September. Some of the lifts and huts stay open until the beginning of October, which can be the end of the good time hiking the higher trails. But if your interesting in checking out the ski runs definitely stay in one of the three villages.

Here's a link you for the schedules for lifts for summer/autumn. http://www.valgardena.it/en/hiking-b...trekking/lifts

Regarding Venice, everyone has their own opinion, but no, four days is not too much. We're returning this September for a week in Venice after hiking for a couple of weeks in the Dolomites and Julian Alps, and we already know it won't be enough time. And absolutely stay in Venice. The best times there are late evening and early mornings.