The Well Designed Travel Guide: The Dolomites
Less than a century ago, what is now the Italian Alps, or better known as the Dolomites, was Southern Germany. Along a two-hour stretch of blade-sharp mountains, there are hundreds of quaint villages frozen in time. The most well-known of the bunch is Cortina d’Ampezzo, which hosted the 1924 Winter Olympics and will do so again in 2026.
For years, however, the Dolomites went overlooked by foreign tourists, who often recognized the Alps only in France or Switzerland. However, the Ikon ski pass is making an effort to bring Italy's charm and vast expanse of ski terrain to the American market, adding the chain of mountains to the list of resorts they support as of the 2021-22 season. I was quick to jump aboard and see what the European powder was all about and let me just start by saying I was more than blown away.
Dolomiti Superski, a chain of 13 mountains connected by an amusement park of gondolas, costs around $60 a day for a pass, or if you're going the Ikon route, free. As for the lodges - it's a very different scene—there are museums on mountaintops, Italian women making homemade pasta at 10,000 feet, and you can get an Aperol Spritz anywhere for less than $3. Whether you stay at a ski chalet or a 5-star resort, you won't pay more than $250 a night, which includes breakfast, dinner, and multi-room sauna spas. Let's just say you could spend two weeks in the Alps for less than two days in an American ski resort.
stay - alpen testin
Enjoy a seven-course meal and buffet breakfast as well as over 18 saunas with 360-degree views of the mountains.
LOCATION: Plan de Corones/Kronplatz, Val Pusteria/Pustertal | Dolomites – South Tyrol
WEBISTE:https://www.alpentesitin.it/en
stay — hotel hubertus
This panoramic hotel has everything you need from an expansive infinity pool to a state of the art spa to unwind after a day on the slopes.
LOCATION: Via Furcia 5 / 39030 Sorafurcia - Valdaora / Italy
EXPLORE — MESSNER MOUNTAIN MUSEUM
This incredible mountain-top museum project is focused on Italian mountaineer and extreme climber Reinhold Messner. Make sure you come prepared as you’ll take a gondola to get to it.
location: MMM Corones on Kronplatz between the Puster and Gader Valleys
EAT — alpinn food space
Order the truffle pasta and look into the vast abyss of snow. I promise you won’t regret it.
LOCATION:Kronplatz, 39030, Marebbe BZ, Italy
WESITE: https://alpinn.it/en/
eat —
rienzbraeu
Pizza, pasta, and everything Italian in between, stop here as per local recommendation.
location:Stegenerstrasse 8, 39031 Bruneck (BZ)
website: http://rienzbraeu.bz.it/#kontakt
