Dolomites
 

After ending a cruise in Venice in mid-August, we want to spend a few days exploring the Dolomites. I'd appreciate any suggestions about places to stay, especially the advisability of either Merano or Bolzano.

Best regards.

We have done a couple of trips to the Dolomites & have had a fantastic time. We are totally reliant on public transport and have found the train & bus services to be plentiful & reliable. We are keen walkers and have found plenty of options in the Fasa (more Italian), around Dobbiaco (more German) and Ortisei (more Italian). The lifts/cable cars at all spots have let us enjoy walking at high altitudes with fantastic views. We rented apartments and they are a great option and fantastic value-the best info for them is usually in the village web site. Look for apartments on the sunny side of town & you can get some great views.
We transited through Bolzano but did not stay there. It seems a nice enough place but I would be strongly recommending getting to a village in one of the valleys to really enjoy the Dolomites.

Bolzano is considered by some to be the best city in Italy. The OECD and other rating groups has had it right behind Trento, a nearby city, as second best overall in livability, and in things just working well and being organized. The Alto Adige/Sud Tirol is gorgeous, and Bolzano in particular is a place that ranks towards the top in quality of life. If you like the outdoors but are not a hiker, there are three chair lifts that will take you up to three different mountains. The Colle one is the first chair lift in the world. I don't know exactly when you'll be there, but there is also a great wine festival. I don't remember the name, calci silva, or something like that. Alto-Adige is semi-autonomous from Italy. It doesn't have to send a lot of its money to Rome, as do most other places, so it is rich and different. It's a mixture of German, the small local Ladino culture, and Italian. Bolzano is considered the jewel of the region. I haven't been to Merano, but I believe it's more German, much smaller, more famous for health spas, not the highest functioning city in Italy.

outstanding wines. do a vineyard search. it is not overwhelmed like chianti country.

One caution about Bolzano in mid-August: it lies in a valley that's kind of a bowl, and it gets notoriously hot and humid in summer.

Not true. In Venice it is hot and mosquito filled and I wouldn't go there in August. Bolzano is 1,800 meters above sea level. It peaks at about 25C. It is the place where Venetians go to escape the heat. It you can't deal with 80F in August, then you can't visit anywhere in Italy, or anywhere in the USA except perhaps Alaska

The 1,800 m elevation is about right for the higher peaks in the Dolomites. Bolzano is more like 260 m. More significantly, it's in a valley almost surrounded by mountains. That effectively keeps the air pretty still and traps the heat (I just looked up the temps: average high in August is 29 C, with recorded highs of over 36 C) and humidity, which averages about 80% in summer. I'd think it's entirely possible to be uncomfortable in those conditions without being a scorn-worthy wimp.

Between 232 and 1616 m within city district is correct... ;)

If you look up the temps, average daily temp is 71F in August. It goes up to 80F and down to 60 on a typical day. That makes it a little bit cooler than New York City or Boston, and about the same as Chicago in August. I've never heard people say that you shouldn't visit Chicago in August because it's too hot. The climate is perfect in Bolzano. It's where people in Venice go to escape the summer heat. All that I'm saying is that Bolzano has a lot to offer, and people shouldn't be told not to go there because it is too hot, because that is just not true.

First of all rent a car, drive to Corvara via Cortina d'Ampezzo for the scenery. Corvara is centrally located in the "Sellaronda" sector of the Dolimites with fantastic walks. The Sporthotel Panorama, a family run 4 star hotel, will not disappoint you. Fantastic view, pleasant rooms, great spa with indoor pool and lovely food in half board with an extensive reasonably priced wine list. (I am skiing there for many years and they never disappointed me). Mike and his parents are the most charming hosts you can imagine.

The last two nights to visit Bozen and Meran, stay at Michelin starred Castel Fragsburg a Relais & Châteaux property overlooking the valley in between those cities.

Don't stay down in the valley during the summer month.

Thanks for all the input. This gives me a good perspective.

I personally don't like to rewrite people's itineraries and tell them that they have to visit the places where I carved out my memories. I believe that everyone should discover their own, instead of me telling them where to go so they can relive my mine.

Some people would rather go for a long, sweaty hike than to stay at a Michelin star place.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I thought OP was primarily interested in Bolzano vs Merano. My vote would be Bolzano. If it's too hot, which I doubt it will be because in Italy in July it's hot and everyone is still enjoying themselves, he can take the tram from the center of Bolzano to Soprebolzano, a city on a plateau whose name translates as, "over Balzano." It's around 4,000 feet high. The tram is a spectacularly scenic ride.

At Soprebalzano he can take the Ritten train, one of the oldest trains in Europe that was built for the Austrian Emperor. It's old, like traveling on a train from 125 years ago in an old black and white movie, spotlessly clean and maintained, that soars over alpine peaks and valleys, then he can be back in Bolzano by sunset.

Not everyone is comfortable getting off a cruise ship, renting a car in a foreign country, has the requisite international drivers license, and will be comfortable driving around the mountainous regions of rural northern Italy where they don't speak the language.

OP's research led him to Bolzano or Merano. It's his itinerary. I know he's open to other suggestions, but I'd recommend Bolzano over Merano. He can top off his cruise with a wonderful hotel stay and dinner where the cool mountainous temperature in the Bolzano evening will require a sweater or a jacket, in a place that is recognized as one of the classiest cities in Italy.

Thanks to all who replied. We have settled on Bolzano and Castelrotto. We are the hot, sweaty hike kind of people and will have just gained significant weight on the cruise! Thanks again.

caL

Would love to hear how your trip went and where you were. I am considering visiting the area next month.

Sadly, I don't have an int'l drivers license so not sure Italy car rental spots will rent to me (although I do have a valid California license) so perhaps they will?

You can rent a car with just a CA license. Nevertheless, it is worth getting an international drivers license because if you get stopped by the police, they can hassle you about it. It takes about ten minutes to get an international drivers license. There is no test, and it costs about $8. Just go online to AAA and find the nearest office. Go there, fill out a form that takes about one minute, and show them your drivers license. They will take your picture, and you will be out in less than 10 minutes.