OT: July in the Dolomites, Any Sightseeing/Hiking Advice?

[Tommasini53]

Greetings,

Inquiring if the Forumites have any hidden-gems or must-visit sites in this area. We will have a rental car, we won’t have bicycles, but we enjoy day-hikes and prefer the rural outdoors over the larger cities.

We’re planning a vacation to Northern Italy, namely the Dolomites. This is our third trip to Italy. The towns on our current itinerary includes Treviso, Nervesa della Battaglia, Castelrotto, Bormio, Riva Del Garda, and Ferno. Generally, it is two weeks spread over these towns; the first and last town, just for the airports.

Thanks in advance :beer:

[MadRocketSci]

Are you strictly looking to hike, or climb? Do you want to experience climbing but lack the technical training?

The Dolomites are a great opportunity to check out Via Ferrata. Give it a google if all interested in "climbing or very technical hiking for non-climbers." Places to check it out are Arco (up the street from Riva del Garda), Cortina, and Canazei in Val di Fassa. In Arco, check out the Mountime guide service, where you can get a guide for all kinds of different adventuring, climbing lessons on their giant outdoor wall. Say high to Juri if he's there, I recommend him as a guide.

Lots of Dolomiti hiking and scrambling in the Cortina area (ritzy ski resort in winter, outdoor activity hub in summer) as well. I passed through last year and got just a taste. There are bike shops that rent Specialized in town.

If you have any interest in discounted European outdoors and climbing gear, be sure to visit Arco. It's basically an outdoors technical gear outlet mall set in a traditional Italian town.

Note: Italian hikes are a bit more "sporty" than I think we're used to in the states, based on my experiences in the Sierras and Colorado Rockies. Many times there will be nothing but a steel cable separating you and death by careless slip. You'll notice the locals out hiking have nice equipment...to make up for the lower level of safety precautions on the trail. Bring sturdy shoes with sticky non-worn tread, or stop in Arco for a shoe shopping trip first.

Enjoy, it's amazing out there...

P.S. If anyone can tell me out to post pictures from Google Photos (mad face) let me know so i can post a couple pix too...

[warren128]

My wife and I spent a week in the Dolomites a couple of years ago in the late fall season. The area was almost deserted because many businesses, hotels, and restaurants were about to close for their fall vacations and breaks before the busy winter season. I can imagine that during mid-summer, the area would be packed.

We used Castelrotto/Kastelruth (places use Italian and German interchangeably, so it sometimes gets confusing) as our home base town, and we made day trips to surrounding towns and hiking places via the local bus service. Our hotel provided free bus passes, so it was very convenient not to have to drive everywhere. Castelrotto is good as a base because it is has all the conveniences that one would need to stay a while (grocery store, restaurants, and other services), and the town itself is very quaint.

If you're in the area and you like hiking, then you MUST go up to the Alpe di Suisi/Seiser Alm, which is the largest alpine meadow in the world. It is a year round national park/resort area, skiing in the winter, and hiking and biking during other seasons. The hiking is fabulous, and there are trails for hikers of all ages and families (not hardcore mountain climbing/hiking, although you can do that as well nearby).

I almost rented a mtb to ride around there, but ended up not having enough time because we ended up mostly exploring by foot.

We also did a one day side-trip to drive from Castelrotto to Cortina d'Ampezzo via a very beautiful, scenic, and twisty mountain road through the Dolomites. The scenery and drive along that road is as much an attraction (if not more) as the destination town of Cortina d'Ampezzo.

All in all, we had a wonderful time and we look forward to going again in the future.

I took this photo at twilight of my favorite Dolomite town, Castelrotto.

http://www.fototime.com/0472B78EEC31C96/medium800.jpg