Originally Posted by
handspring088
Anyone have either personal experience or a good source for information on hiking in the Dolomites? I would like to take a few days away from Rome (3-5 days) in order to see northern Italy. Ideally, I'd like to spend a day or two in Venice and then the same in the Dolomites hiking. Generally, I prefer train travel, but the logistics from TrenItalia seem to not make this a doable plan. Getting to Venice is easy, but it looks like the trip to the Dolomites is a few hours by train to Balzano, and then a bus further into the peaks- so two days of travel. Has anyone tried the trains, or, alternatively, driving? Any recommendations for accommodations in the mountains? (Venice I can take care of just fine.) Many thanks!
Train travel in this area is generally a delight. The main railway line through this area runs from Verona - Trento - Bolzano - Fortezza - Brennero (and on to Innsbruck), with branch lines from Bolzano to Merano (and on to Malles) and from Fortezza to Brunico and San Candido.
One of the reasons that Trenitalia might not be giving you all the answers is that on the mainline (Verona - Bolzano - Brennero) many of the trains are operated by a joint venture between German and Austrian railways (
DB-ÖBB EuroCity) which are very comfortable. One or two of these trains run to/from Venice daily.
The DB-ÖBB EuroCity service has completely separate ticketing from Trenitalia and tickets of one company are not valid on the other.