I am looking for some of the friendly advice and expertise that I usually see here. Our family is planning a trip - with 8yr old – for 12 days in March. Our flights are in/out of Munich, and we have a car rented for the entire period. We are planning a return visit to Mittenwald for a few days – we loved the low key skiing and relaxing town last year. We have driven the Romantic Road and toured a bit of Bavaria previously, and this year I am thinking of heading down to Northern Italy for a few days. I am looking for suggestions in northern Italy. Any ideas? Our favorite spots are usually the places either not listed in tour books, or just mentioned, so your off the beaten track favorite could be perfect for us. We love Austria and Switzerland too, but I think Italy will be more of a contrast for our daughter.

Potential itinerary:
Day 1: Arrive Munich – drive to Mittenwald
Day 2- 5: Mittenwald – ski, sled, sleigh ride, visit sites we missed previously, eat, relax
Day 6 – 9: ? Italy ?
Day 10-11: Salzburg? (We haven’t been before…)
Day 12 – flight out

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

The Dolomites are very easily reached from Mittenwald (via Innsbruck and Bolzano). There a number of charming towns there. Are you driving or taking the train?

Ooops----I just re-read, and see you will have a car. That makes it easy to get to wonderful places off the beaten path. Try posting your question again, with key words like "Dolomites in March". There are people here with far more knowledge of the area than I; you just have to get their attention!

Do you want to ski in Northern Italy? If so, Cortina is an option. Another nice place is one of the resorts in the Val Gardena (Groedner Tal). That you would reach from the Bolzano - Brenner pass autostrada. Don't forget: Austrian autobahns = a user's decal.

If you don't want to ski, check out Lake Garda, especially Sirmione. I stayed at the Hotel Ideal, nice location. Sirmione has a castle, old Roman ruins (right across from the hotel) and boats to other places along the lake, like Gardone and Malcesine.

Sirmione would be an easy drive from Mittenwald.

We love the northern Veneto around Bassano del Grappa. For a nice summary of what to do see
http://slowtrav.com/italy/veneto/bassano.htm

I also like Sirmione there is not very much going on in March. Brixen you would be able to day trip to alps or Verona would also be nice. You might find more do for your 8 year old.

The Dolomites are beautiful, and will probably still have a lot of snow in March. Castelrotto is IMO the nicest town in the Val Gardena. But the atmosphere throughout the area is decidedly Tyrolean, not Italian, so I don't know how much of a contrast it will be to Austria and Switzerland. There are lots of ski villages in the area.
A definite yes on Salzburg. It's a charming small city with many interesting places to see.

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I think we are going to stay in the mountains rather than head over towards Verona. Castelrotto sounds great from what little I can find. Can you make any recommendation for a place to stay? I agree it will still be Tyrolean, but at least it will add a little Italian to the mix. Thanks!

Scott - Hotel Zum Wolf is an excellent choice, right in the centre of Castelrotto:

www.hotelwolf.it

See also:

http://www.sciliar.com/en/winter
www.valgardena.it

Hope this helps ...

Steve

Hi Scott,
Sorry I didn't get back to you sooner but I lost this thread!
Another lovely hotel right in the center of town is the Cavallino D'Oro. Cavallino.it
I didn't stay there but some friends did and loved it. I had a look round when I was there and it did look very lovely. I stayed in Ortisei, about 15 minutes away by car, which was a nice ski village, but Castelrotto was much more charming. Lots of good hiking in the area also. Are you planning to drive the Great Dolomite Road?

Hi Scott,
We recently stayed in St. Christina (Val Gardena) and loved it! www.val-gardena.com has lot's of info.
The three towns, Ortiesi, St. Christina and Wolkenstein are small but only 3 miles apart from each other. Ortiesi has a great cable car up to the Seiser Alm. Beautiful! On the way to the Dolomites, along the Brenner Autobahn, about 30 miles south of Innsbruck is the very charming town of Sterzing/Vipitino, Italy.