Upon return from their third Alpinehikers self-guided tour, Tami & Christophe Dinello had much to share about their Dolomites Traverse. Pictures and rave reviews abound.
The Dolomites are a mountain range located in northeastern Italy and were declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 2009. We run both guided and self-guided tours in this incredible location. Check out our 2015 guided tour Great Dolomites Traverse – Gardena to Cortina
Hi Troy,
First of all I wanted to say that this was our best trip in terms of people, food, the hiking, and NOT 1 drop of rain during the day (a true miracle).
1. The hotel at Canazei was excellent with wonderful food and you were right it is better to just start hiking the day after arrival rather than hanging out.
2. The autosella Taxi service that drove us from Bolzano to Canazei was quite professional.
3.. The second day we hiked to the Schlernhaus hut which again was a winner. The trail there was quite stunning. We did hike to the top of Monte Pez, which was excellent.
4. We hiked to Ortisei via the Alpe di Siusi rather than the other way. When we got to Ortisei, we did the Day hike to Brogles hut as well because we heard that it was going to storm the next day. Brogles Hut was like all the ones before… quite accommodating. We loved the hotel and food in Ortisei as well.
5. It didn’t rain the next day so we figured out via various lifts how to get to the Plattkofel Hut in the minimum amount of time so that we could hike to the top of the mountain. We hiked to the top and got back down before a storm threatened; it was awesome. We had a bit of trepidation but nothing overwhelming.
6. Your adjusted hike going to Regensburger Hut via Pic was right on. That was quite the elevation gain to the top and well worth it. On the way down from Pic we decided to incorporate the High Loop into our walk rather than going to the Hut first. We stopped at Troier for lunch (based on a recommendation from a local) and found it to be amazing in terms of food and ambience and finished our walk afterward.
7. The hike from Regensburger Hut to Selva via the Furc dis Piza was a great recommendation because it was exciting to broaden our hiking abilities. In Selva we ate lunch at a place called Costobella across the street from the hotel (great venison sauce with noodles and the best Tiramisu EVER). The hotel was great.
8. We loved the Refugio Lagazuoi but we were so beat from the hike the day before we wimped out and took the Tram to the top rather than hike. Also it was quite foggy. It was eerie up there in a cool way to know the history and feel what transpired up there in terms of war. One of our favorites Huts.
9. The next day was supposed to be quite stormy which never materialized. When we started hiking it was quite foggy but we took our time and eventually we were below the fog and walked through one the most magical places ever (Travenanazes Valley). Wow! We never saw one person. Sometimes the trail meandered but we found our way. Guido (the owner of the hut) told us that rather than taking trail #10, we should take trail #908 or #909 because we wouldn’t have to walk next to the highway so much. BIG MISTAKE! We ended up climbing 600 feet more and thus descending 600 feet, which put me the “RED” with my wife. The only consolation is that we made the bus by 4 minutes!
10. Bolzano was a fantastic place to hang out in for a couple of days. We ate at a restaurant called VOGELES which was quite good. The staff at Hotel Citta couldn’t have been more accommodating and we would go back there in a heartbeat. The Otzi museum was quite interesting.
Again thank you for planning another great trip
Sincerely,
Tami and Christophe Dinello
