Autocaravan in the Dolomites

Hello! I am planning to go in the Dolomites next week and I want to camp with my own tent. I tried to contact the campsites but they hardly answer the messeges of the phone. One of them doesn’t make bookings and you really need to show up early, another one answered it’s full and the others don’t answer.

Based on your experience, what would be the best options? Are there many places where you can just show up on the day?

Any suggestions are more than welcome.

Thank you!

Just looking for some additional advice or recommendations - here is what we have so far;

8/26 - Arrive at FCO 745am, will take car service to our hotel (Hotel Martis Palace) to drop luggage and start exploring Rome.

8/27 - Rome. Vatican museum.

8/28 - Rome. Colosseum tour.

8/29 - 710am Fresciarossa train to Milan. Arrives 1050am. Already booked the tickets. Pick up car rental and drive to Lake Como. Staying in Diamond Apartments in Bellagio.

8/30 - More Lake Como. Staying same place.

8/31 - Driving to the Dolomites. Staying at the Hotel Angelo Engel in Ortisei.

9/01 - Dolomites. Won’t bore everyone with the list of hikes, but the hikes and scenic pass drives are the main reason for coming to the area. That and some of the lakes in the area.

9/02 - Dolomites

9/03 - Dolomites

9/04 - Dolomites, then driving back to Milan, staying at the Sheraton airport hotel that is literally in the terminal.

9/05 - 1020am flight back to US.

I think having basically 3 full days/nights in Rome is this plenty. Not sure that a day and a half (2 nights) will give us much time in Lake Como, but we’ve never been and would like to check it out unless someone has a better option. I think our time in Dolomites will give us enough time to do some hikes and explore the area. Obviously I’d rather have weeks to spend in each area, but unfortunately that isn’t an option haha.

Any suggestions or recommendations for these areas?

I am planning a 13-day trip to the Dolomites this Sept and will arrive from the East Tirol side of Austria (direction of Lienz) by car. So, naturally, my first stop is to visit Tre Cime, after which I will travel to see the Odle Group of the Dolomites. How many days shall I spend in this area? I am thinking of about 3-4 days, to account for likely rainy days that renders hiking along the Tre Cime di Lavaredo loop trail impossible. In this case, I can also enjoy some of the Alpine lakes and smaller towns. My questions:

1. It seems that Cortina is the most popular choice of a home base in this region. However, there is no accommodation choice that fulfills my requirements and budget (at a low level of about $170 per night max). Also, I am worried about potential construction noise and dust from construction for the future Olympics. Where else is a good base for 3-4 days? For example, is Padola too far? My next stop will be in the Val Gardena or Val di Funes area. I will have a rental car, but have not driven in Alpine mountains much.

2. Which cable car or gondola rides do you recommend in the Tre Cime area?

3. Beside the loop trail, what are the other easy and enjoyable Tre Cime trails?

4. What other nice places should i visit in this area? Lake Baies is one.

5. Will I need hiking poles for the Tre Cime loop trail? Should I buy some here in the US or buy them in Austria? I don't hike much, if at all, in the US. Even when I do, I won't need any poles.

Once this segment of my Dolomites trip is planned out, I will plan the Val Gardena/Val di Funes part. This is a bigger area and there appears to be more moderately priced lodging options.

Any further advice is appreciated. Thanks!!!

Hello,

We are visiting the Dolomites next week and will be staying in campings with tent. I e-mailed 5-6 camping places, but they do not take reservations for tents. Anyway, we are only two people with a small tent and car so we should probably be fine with finding places.

In terms of itinerary, can you please share your thoughts and if we are missing something/should include something etc. Any advice will be useful.

Day 1: Driving up from Venice. We are going to base ourselves in a camping near Cofosco for 2-3 days (do not want to assemble/disassemble a tent each day) Probably will arrive around 13:00 - 14:00. Any ideas how to fill this day with some sights/short hikes in the region ? Seiser Alm ?

Day 2: Drive to Val di Funes - St. Magdalena - Adolf Munkel Trail, drive back to Colfosco. Should we include anything else for this day, or this is plenty ?

Day 3: Seceda with the cable car from Ortisei. Doing a loop hike to Pieralonga and Refugio Firenze.

Day 4: Drive to a camping near Cortina. Hike to lake Sorapsis in the afternoon. Should we include something else?

Day 5: Cinque Torri + Gaiu Pass + Falzarego Pass + Castello

Day 6: Tri Cime loop hike + Cadini di Misurina hike.

Day 7: Leaving the region and heading back to Bulgaria with 1 night in Croatia.

I would love to squeeze in Lago di Braies somewhere in the plan, so we are thinking of having 2 nights around Colfosco and 4 nights near Cortina.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions on how we can improve our trip! I am pretty sure that some of the days it will be raining so we have to accommodate and try to have back-up options for rainy weather.

Hello,

My husband and I will be arriving in Florence on November 30 after 4 nights in Rome. On our trip booked for last September we were planning one night in Siena at an Agriturismo. Now that we are coming during late Fall would you recommend just staying 4 nights Rome/4 nights Florence and just taking a day trip to Siena/Tuscany? Is there anything still growing or in bloom in late November? I already have a voucher for 2 nights at San Firenze Suites but have not rebooked with them yet.

Thank you for sharing your travel wisdom. This will be our first trip to Italy.

We are planning to visit Italy this September, going to Amalfi and Capri. We are planning on flying to Naples airport and from there going to Amalfi to stay for a few days and take a day tour to Capri. Another option would be going from Naples to Capri and from there to Amalfi. Which of the two would be a better choice? Woukd appreciate anh input

My wife and I had an a trip planned from Oct 17-25, flying into Florence, traveling up through Cinque Terre, and ending in Lake Como, then flying out of Milan.

But due to airline issues we now have to begin our trip in Milan. I thought "who cares, we'll just reverse the trip" and rebooked our lodgings with that in mind, but (silly me), I've just realized flying out of Florence back to our US-based airport will be a significant headache based on the airline we're locked in with (multiple flights with really tight layovers, so any delay along the chain of flights would completely screw us. That's my nightmare!)

That's causing me to re-evaluate the whole trip! We're already locked into our Como stay from Oct 17-20 because we can't get a refund. But I started thinking, instead of going south maybe we head west from Como into the Dolomites and end our trip in Venice/fly out of Venice?

My wife and I love mountains, hiking, historic architecture, and great coffee/wine. The westward trip ticks those boxes but our travel dates might be a really bad time to visit the Dolomite range, as it looks like most things are closed. Anyone have any experience or insight about those areas at that time of year?

Hi,

Looking into putting together a great itinerary for 10days this September flying in and out of Verona. We’ve been to Venice and Bologna so not too fussed about going there. We would like to go to lake Garda for a few days, the Dolomites for a few days + visit a few vineyards. Our interests are culture, scenery + food/drink.

Any suggestions are most welcome as the options appear to be endless.

We are planning a 3 Day Trip to Lake Garda at the beginning of September - so just a few days away. This will be our first time there. What are your thoughts on staying in Riva vs. Desenzano? We have narrowed it down to two accommodations, but would appreciate some insight which town you would recommend. We have a car but would prefer not to drive multiple hours each day. Thank you!

Hello:

I am considering a trip that covers both the Austrian Alps and the Italian side. Cost-wise, I understand that Austria is in between Germany and Switzerland. What about northern Italy (the Dolomites)? In the past ten years, I have only been to Rome and the Amafi Coast, neither of which offered cheap lodging. It seems that Italy is an affordable country for locals, but not for tourists. I was in other parts of Italy before, but those trips were in the pre-Euro days. I also understand that northern Italy is more affluent than the southern part, and therefore wonder what travel costs are compared to the Austrian side.

I have not decided upon the mode of transport yet. However, should I choose to rent a car, I will do so in Austria or Germany to save $.