Dolomites trip - routes and where to stay?

FrankGrimes

Gang of lads looking to head to the Dolomites this August or September. When organising previous trips to the Alps, Pyrenees etc. searching around found plenty of threads and guides here and elsewhere with great insights that helped form a plan on where to stay, routes to do etc.

But finding it harder to find word-of-mouth recommendations for the Dolomites, most of what I can find online is from tour companies so hard to gauge the validity of it. Have any folks here done a trip to the Dolomites and can recommend where's a good town to setup base in (preference is to stay in one place rather than moving around)? Is Cortina D'Ampezzo the best place to stay (seems pricey so want to ensure it's the best place before booking)?

Any other suggestions for routes, things to do, places to go are much appreciated.

Raam

Sella Ronda route. Beautiful. I stayed in Cavalese but Canazei or Cortina d'Ampezzo would have been better. No end of options around there for routes. Tonnes of accomodation.

Raam

Climbs I have done there, some nicer and harder than others. All good.

Pordoi
Giau
Sella
Gardena
Fedaia
Manghen
Valparola
Campolongo

Tenzor07

Can't recommend highly enough:puredolomites.com/tours

Fr D Maugire

I camped in Canazei which is very central for any number of climbs. Pordoi and easy side of Marmolada right out of the town itself whilst loads of climbs within a short distance. A fantastic 100km loop would take in Pordoi/Val Gardena and Sella which are all amazingly beautiful.

I planned my trip to coincide with the arrival of the Giro but the village was like a ghost town during the week apart from numerous German motorbike enthusiasts passing through.

FrankGrimes

Thanks for that folks, very useful food for thought. Quick search for some of those climbs shows some very spectacular scenery is in store. Just going to sort out accommodation first and then we can start looking at routes around wherever we setup base.

Lusk_Doyle

I did that trip with Raam also. It's a class place for cycling. Enjoy it!

Btw the mostly spoken language there is German, not Italian.

Raam

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

I did that trip with Raam also. It's a class place for cycling. Enjoy it!

Btw the mostly spoken language there is German, not Italian.

I can't remember where we stayed that time. First time I went it was Cavalese. When we went it was Wolf something or other I thought.

Raam

Raam wrote: »

I can't remember where we stayed that time. First time I went it was Cavalese. When we went it was Wolf something or other I thought.

Wolkenstein.

Lusk_Doyle

Raam wrote: »

I can't remember where we stayed that time. First time I went it was Cavalese. When we went it was Wolf something or other I thought.

Selva di val gardena. Very close to the sella loop and right in the mountains.

Raam

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

Selva di val gardena. Very close to the sella loop and right in the mountains.

Same place, it seems... https://www.google.ie/maps/place/39048+Selva+di+Val+Gardena+BZ,+Italy/@46.5527553,11.7598098,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x477814e5b51a73e9:0x18d0e61a4dfb813c

Lusk_Doyle

Here are two routes:

https://www.strava.com/activities/162639508

https://www.strava.com/activities/162639635

Lots of climbing!

Lusk_Doyle

Raam wrote: »

Same place, it seems... https://www.google.ie/maps/place/39048+Selva+di+Val+Gardena+BZ,+Italy/@46.5527553,11.7598098,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x477814e5b51a73e9:0x18d0e61a4dfb813c

Let's agree that we are both right!

Raam

Lusk_Doyle wrote: »

Let's agree that we are both right!

Yeah but I was right twice.

FrankGrimes

This lads trip to Cortina D'Ampezzo is coming up in a few weeks so we're now planning cycling itinerary. Underestimated how long it was from Cortina to Stelvio and Mortirolo climbs (top 2 can't-miss climbs on our hit list) as it didn't look that far from a glance at the maps. But Google Maps is estimating the journey as a 4 hour drive.

Wanted to check if anyone has driven this route and can estimate how long it really takes (e.g. sometimes online estimates are accurate, but sometimes they overstate it)?

Even an early start on the road at 6am to Stelvio, then doing Mortirolo in the afternoon and then home to Cortina sounds like a gruelling day getting home around 11pm, but would be good to know if anyone's done similar and if it's feasible.

Monte Zoncolan seems like a 2hr drive, would it be worth the trip?

Will definitely do Passo Giau and a few others in that neck of the woods, not sure yet if we'll do the full Maratona Dles Dolomites route.

Raam

You are really in the wrong area to be going over to Stelvio and Mortirolo. Better off riding around where you are staying. Plenty of climbs to keep you satisfied there.

FrankGrimes

Raam wrote: »

You are really in the wrong area to be going over to Stelvio and Mortirolo. Better off riding around where you are staying. Plenty of climbs to keep you satisfied there.

Thanks, looking at there further now, it does seem the roads are narrow so very little opportunity to shave off major time from the online estimates. Might still look at overnighting in Bormio/Tirano to give the Stelvio and Mortirolo or Gavia a lash, but might also leave them for the future as it's clear there's any amount of amazing climbs closer to Cortina (good map: http://www.cycling-challenge.com/dolomites-map-and-trip-summary/). Spoilt for choice in one way, but would be a pity to be so close to Stelvio and not give that beast a go. Anyone done Monte Zoncolan and can comment on whether it's worth a bit of a journey?

Looking at that list linked above and Strava, seems there's many climbs I've never heard of that have serious gradients, and plenty of well-known climbs too, so doubt we'll run out of options!

If anyone's been in Cortina D'Ampezzo in August, would be great to hear how busy it is, any nightlife etc? Seems big enough and quite popular with Italian holiday-makers so hopefully there's a bit of life to it as while there's loads of outdoor pursuits to keep us entertained, a good spot for a few blowouts would be great too.

Raam

Something worth doing in the early evening is to take a trip up one of the ski lifts. Super views and the one we went up had a bar/food place at the top.

brownian

If you're going before September, then bear in mind that the popular passes (Pordoi, Giau, anything very close to Cortina) tend to be mobbed with German and Dutch motorbike groups. They are safe enough, but they are really loud and unpleasant as they roar past.

The Dollies are fantastic, but September is certainly better than August, for traffic.

Great climbs I really liked included Giau and Fedaia, but the scenery everywhere there is fantastic.

Stelvio is of course a super-classic, but as noted elsewhere, it's not handy for the rest of the climbs mentioned. I think it's best from the south, so you go up all those endless classic hairpins. That said, the other sides are good too 8-)

Lucky you - enjoy!

irishrover99

FrankGrimes wrote: »

This lads trip to Cortina D'Ampezzo is coming up in a few weeks so we're now planning cycling itinerary. Underestimated how long it was from Cortina to Stelvio and Mortirolo climbs (top 2 can't-miss climbs on our hit list) as it didn't look that far from a glance at the maps. But Google Maps is estimating the journey as a 4 hour drive.

Wanted to check if anyone has driven this route and can estimate how long it really takes (e.g. sometimes online estimates are accurate, but sometimes they overstate it)?

Even an early start on the road at 6am to Stelvio, then doing Mortirolo in the afternoon and then home to Cortina sounds like a gruelling day getting home around 11pm, but would be good to know if anyone's done similar and if it's feasible.

Monte Zoncolan seems like a 2hr drive, would it be worth the trip?

Will definitely do Passo Giau and a few others in that neck of the woods, not sure yet if we'll do the full Maratona Dles Dolomites route.

can you tell me who you are flying with from ireland and to where? cheers

fat bloke

If ye drove to Bormio you could spend the day doing stelvio from the three sides. All quite different, all difficult and one brings you down into Switzerland where you could.... I dunno.... sample their cheese, or visit a bank account or something