That time of the year when the ski trip comes is one of the best moments of the year for me. For sure because of the hype, you can’t really ski during any time of the year (at least in Europe) and you always think for many months before the next winter, but also because of how great I feel gathering with some of my best friends for a few days, enjoying the mountains, exploring the slopes, and having some drinks at the après skis, almost every day (ouuuups).
The Dolomites are made up of 15 ski resorts and more than 1200 km of slopes and 450 lifts (crazy!). You can buy a ski pass for either dedicated resorts or for the entire domain (called Dolomites Superski), but I’ll detail a bit more about the ski pass below.
It’s probably difficult to go wrong with any of the regions in the dolomites you would choose to base in but based on the things I read before planning our trip, I went for Val Gardena, more specifically staying in Selva di Val Gardena. The main arguments: Val Gardena is one of the biggest ski regions (almost 200kms of slopes), it’s a very popular region (one of the most popular, if not the most popular in Italy), and also found a great accommodation satisfying all our needs. Everything ended up being far better than expected and I would recommend Selva di Val Gardena for sure for a ski trip in the Dolomites, from great food to easy access to the slopes.
The weather was …. at least perfect. We had 5 skiing days, and not even a single time we were scared by clouds. The weather was perfect, sunny days only, with no wind and incredible snow. The slopes were excellent and to be completely honest, I don’t think I’ve ever skied on better snow. For sure this depends on experience to experience, time of the year, and many other factors, but as a reference, our 5 days were 6-10 February, so my experience says the beginning of February is a good time for skiing in the Dolomites.
Transport
The tricky part now, is how do you get to Selva di Val Gardena? There’s not really an airport close to the area and the ones that have quite expensive flights. The most affordable flight option would be to fly into Bergamo (close to Milan) and then either rent a car or use public transportation (which is a bit complicated all the way to Val Gardena).
After doing some math on the flight tickets, our comfort, the schedule we wanted, and other things, my group and I decided to go by car from Romania all the way to Selva di Val Gardena (quite a few km, but worth the experience). The main advantages:
• We could be the ones choosing the schedule
• We could take our boots with us and rent the skis only, saving some money we would have paid for either renting the boots or a bigger checked-in baggage
• We would have a bit more freedom to see some more things on our way
This was also advantageous because we were completely fine with having some days waking up at 5 in the morning (big thanks to my driver friends who focused for the hundreds of km).
We didn’t cover Romania – Val Gardena in one single road, it’s quite a journey so we split that in two:
• When we left Romania, we first droved all the way to Vienna and stopped there for one night. On the second day, early in the morning, we left for Selva
• When we left Selva, we drove to Venice first, because on the weekend we left Selva, there was the Carnival of Venice happening (here’s a great new thing on having your own schedule and being in Italy in February) and then to the border with Hungary in the evening after spending some time at the Carnival
Here are some pictures from the Carnival and maybe more details about it in a different post.
Skipass and skis
As I said before, you can either buy a ski pass for dedicated resorts or for the entire Dolomites domain, called Dolomites Superski (so more than 1200 km of slopes). The price difference is not that big between them and honestly, it is worth it to buy the Dolomites Superski one. Even though it may seem like it’s impossible to cover so many slopes (and it’s true, you can’t) in a few days, many circuits in the Dolomites go through the different resorts and you would need the Dolomites Superki ski pass to cover it. I’ll detail that a bit below.
Here comes a tip, if you buy the ski pass online, you get a 5% discount if you buy it at least 2 days in advance. You can buy the ski pass here. We paid 300€ for a 5-day Dolomites Superski ski pass, which was 20-25€ more than If we were to buy the dedicated Val Gardena one. Looking back now, it was the best decision to get the Superski one, especially for such a small difference, but honestly, it’s worth taking it even more.
You can find maps of the resorts almost at every gondola, but if you want to have a look in advance, you can find dedicated maps for each resort here or a compact map for the entire Dolomites domain here.
Talking about renting the skis, we had a super great experience with Ski Olga.
The staff was incredibly welcoming and nice, I exchanged some emails with them before arriving in Selva and was able to get some details about the price, and availability and even book in advance some pairs of skis. Their prices were great for what else we saw in Selva di Val Gardena and like their website says, you get a 10% discount when booking online (trust me, the price is super fair!). We arrived in Selva with our own boots, however, you can find some to rent at Ski Olga as well, and only took the skis from the shop. It’s better to reach out to them in advance and I’m sure they’ll offer you all the details you need, a 10/10 experience with the shop.
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How were the slopes?
In one word: amazing. I’m repeating myself, but the snow was just perfect. You can find slopes for every level and difficulty (it would be weird not to in 1200kms of slopes), but one interesting here is you can find ski circuits, that take you through different domains in a circular way: you start in one point, follow the signs and you finish the circuit in almost the same point. It’s a fun way to explore the area, with many signs to follow for guidance. These circuits can be done in both clockwise and anticlockwise ways, I recommend reading some more details about each of the options depending on your ski level, as they don’t go through the exact same slopes.
The most popular circuit is Sellaronda, a circuit taking you through 4 resorts and about 27kms of pure skiing. You end up taking ski lifts and gondolas quite often, but it’s a great way to cover more slopes and domains, enjoy great landscapes, and not get bored by following the same path for a full day. It’s super manageable to do the full circuit in one day, but I would recommend starting with the green one (anticlockwise), instead of the orange one (clockwise), as it’s a bit easier to start with. There are many articles on how long it takes you to finish the Sellaronda circuits depending on your ski level and to catch every single gondola before the installation closes, we did both the orange and green ones at a decent pace, stopping for lunch and some drinks in après skis, totally manageable.
A bit longer and more complicated circuit is Grande Guerra, a circuit taking you around Col di Lana, a mountain that is iconic for being an important place during the First World War. This circuit takes you through some of the great views over the Dolomites and some incredible key things to be experienced in the Dolomites:
- Lagazuoi – by far, my favorite slope in the Dolomites, incredible views here
- Marmolada – stunning view over the mountains from higher than 3000m, with a slope down Malga Ciapela which is the longest slope in the Dolomites
- Alta Badia – incredible experience here. You’ll reach a point that implies about 2kms of walking, but instead of doing that, you can pay 3E for a “horse lift”, a unique experience where horses take you to the next chairlift using a rope.
To cover this circuit, we woke up really early, and took a taxi from Selva to Arabba (we paid 150€ for an 8-people taxi + skis), one of the starting points of the circuit, to save some time on our way we also had to take two buses to navigate to our next points in the circuit. It was quite a busy day, and it will be for you as well if you want to cover it in one day only, leave prepared with some sandwiches, snacks, and water as you won’t really get time for breaks.
For both these circuits, you need the Dolomites Superski ski pass, and trust me, it’s worth it. You can find out more about the two circuits here.
Hotel
As I was saying, I booked our accommodation in Selva di Val Gardena, where you can find quite a few options to stay in, depending on your budget, needs, and group. We chose Antares Hotel, which ended up being a great choice due to:
-
- Covered parking for our cars included
- 3-minute walk to the closest gondola, Ciampinoi
- With heated lockers for our skis, we found our boots warm and cozy every single morning
- Super tasty buffet-style breakfast, with many available options
- A pool and a small gym included
Restaurants and après skis
Everybody knows Italy is a great place for food and the culinary history in their pocket and I have to admit, I love Italian food. Some places I recommend:
La Bula
Super tasty pizza, amazing pasta/risotto, and the perfect tiramisu. We ate here 3 times in 5 days, totally not disappointed.
Rifugio des Alpes
One of the coolest après skis on the slopes, a small party starting around 15:00, nice music, great vibes, and the perfect place to end your ski day with some drinks (almost, ‘cause you also have to ski back to Selva).
Luiskeller
Nice place for some nightlife in Selva di Val Gardena. The only place we found to be open until 1-2 in the morning, with a super cool and friendly DJ, taking music recommendations from everybody. Super nice place for some dancing after a day on the slopes, having some drinks and enjoying the evening/night.
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This article does not contain any paid promotion on hotels / rental car companies / restaurants etc., everything is documented based on my experience.
Salut! Sunt interesat sa merg si eu anul viitor. Sunt curios de o chestie. Sunt toate statiunile interconectate prin partii, sau trebuie mers cu masina / transport in comun ca sa ajungi la diferite statiuni? Ma astept sa fie un mix. Sunt curios daca esti doar pe schiuri si cu telecabine/telescaune, cam la cate statiuni ai acces din Val Gardena? Presupun ca nu doar la acei aproape 200km de partii.
Salut! Nu sunt sigur daca toate toate statiunile sunt conectate doar pe partie, dar garantat grupuri de statiuni sunt. Spre exemplu Sellaronda (circuitul pe care l-am mentionat si in articol) trece prin 4 statiuni si il faci complet pe schiuri, nu ai nevoie de transport in niciun fel. La fel ai putea sa mergi in acele statiuni, sa te abati de la traseu in sine si sa te dai pe partiile din acele statiuni, evitand circuitul in sine. Se aplica si pentru alte statiuni in afara celor 4, plecand din Val Gardena. Cu skipass-ul Dolomites Superski ajungi lejer in mai multe statiuni, fara a folosi transportul in comun. Sper sa te ajute!
Da, ajuta. Multumesc frumos! Si felicitari pentru postare, informatiile sunt foarte utile.
Super, ma bucur! Spor la planificare!