FORBES – Travel 2022: 10 Best Trips For Next Year And Your Post-COVID Vacations

Skiing The Dolomites With Dolomite Mountains: Bigger is not always better, but when it comes to skiing, size does matter, and the interconnected resorts of the Dolomiti Superski pass comprise the largest ski area in the world you can ski entirely on lifts and trails - around 900 of them! - without having to transfer. This system not only connects many charming towns, including Val Gardena, Alta Badia and Cortina, host of the 2026 Winter Olympics, but also is set entirely within a UNESCO World Heritage Site many believe to be the most beautiful mountains on earth. There are a slew of amazing hotels at every price point, from mid-range to 5-Star, but unlike most ski destinations, just about all of them are ski-in/ski-out. Ski options include World Cup courses, terrain for all abilities, town to town and hut to hut skiing, and what is widely considered one of the greatest days in skiing, an epic tour known as the Sellaronda that circumnavigates the Sella massif, all in-bounds with lifts. Finally, this is Italy, perennially the top dream choice for American travelers, with all the great food, wine and welcome you expect. I wrote much more in detail about why the Dolomites is one of the world’s best ski vacations here.

Many of the best travel agents I know use a local company called Dolomite Mountains to handle their clients, so I used them and was very impressed. The company offers both scheduled group “ski safari” tours and totally private custom vacations for various budgets. In either case you get local expertise, highly trained and certified mountain guides, and insider access to the best hotels and restaurants. You can choose from hotel-based trips to skiing from rifugio to rifugio, staying in the gourmet-driven high mountain lodges the area is known for. But why not mix? In addition, ski touring (aka alpine touring or AT skiing) grew exponentially in the pandemic and years preceding it, and the Dolomites are arguably the best place in Europe to ski tour, so Dolomite Mountains has strong programs for those who want to go under their own power as well.
By Larry Olmsted

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