So after a short trip through Hungary, to Lake Balaton, and a few days through Slovenia, we landed in Italy for more than a week. We didn't go straight to the mountains, because Venice was on our way and we couldn't miss it, but once we got to the Misurina area, we wouldn't have left.
First encounter with the Dolomites - Passo Tre Croci
The Italian Alps are absolutely impressive no matter where you choose to go, whether it's Cortina d'Ampezzo, Val Gardena or any other small place. The peaks reach over 3000 meters altitude, and at their feet their green pastures, lakes in unreal colors and small and charming towns delight the traveler.
Because off-camping is allowed in Italy, we alternated days in the campsite with those spent in nature and for all of them we used the Park for Night app. So the first night caught us in the middle of the forest, at Passo Tre Croci.
We relaxed with a walk along the water's edge, past tall firs and pastures with cows straight out of milk commercials, and then we found a really nice place to enjoy a coffee while watching the kids enjoy one of the wonderfully designed playgrounds all over the Alps to encourage outdoor play.
Lago di Misurina and Tre Cime di Lavaredo
The second stop and one of the most spectacular was on the shore of Lake Misurina. We opted here for a service area created especially for motorhomes and close to the bus that goes to the starting point for Tre Cime di Lavaredo.
We slept surrounded by high mountains, the lake stretches charmingly at the foot of the mountains and is home to dozens of quarrelsome coots, and the cowbells from the nearby parking lot made our stay even more fairytale-like. We didn't miss the playground on the lakeshore, with a super zip line that we, the parents, also tested, and a small bakery where we bought the best bread we ate this holiday.
The reason we chose to camp near Misurina was, of course, the hike to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. The original plan was to spend the night up there, near the starting point of the hike, but the places were already occupied when we arrived with the camper at the park entrance (around 11:00 am) and we later understood that the entrance fee allows you to park only until midnight.
Basically, you pay the entrance fee twice (somewhere around 50 euros) to stay overnight in an asphalt parking lot without any facilities for motorhomes. So camping near Misurina turned out to be more than suitable. From Misurina there are buses that take you up and come very often, so that no tourist is left waiting too long.
The cost is 10 euros per person, round trip, including for children over 6 years old. And once you get up there, you can choose the short version of the hike, to Rifugio Auronzo (30-40 minutes) or the long version, which goes around the three peaks and can take 5-6 hours.
We enjoyed the short version, to which we added a short walk to one of the monuments erected to the heroes of the First World War, when Italy and Austria disputed the territories in the Dolomites.
The hike to Tre Cime made us crave more short hikes, so we headed to Cortina d'Ampezzo, where Camping Rochetta was our home. From here we wandered on foot, by bike, and by camper van and discovered a lot of beauties and absolutely sensational landscapes: Lago di Landro, Lago Pianozes, Lago di Alleghe, Passo Giau, Passo Gardena.
Merano - discovering South Tyrol
And since the plan was to cross into Switzerland through the famous Stelvio Pass, we headed gently towards South Tyrol and stopped for a few days in Merano, a town we hadn't even heard of and which turned out to be an extremely pleasant surprise.
The town, surrounded by vineyards and apple orchards, is steeped in history and culture, and the days we spent there allowed us to discover a multitude of interesting places, vestiges of a tumultuous past.
South Tyrol was annexed to Italy after the First World War and countless attempts were made to completely remove the Austrian population from the area. The names of the towns were changed (Bozen became Bolzano, Meran became Merano), and for a long time Austrians were forbidden to buy houses and property to discourage them from settling here.
But the efforts were in vain, and the visible result today is a bilingual area, the inhabitants speak mainly German, even the food has Tyrolean influences, and absolutely all the points of interest speak of the history of the place and the suffering endured by South Tyrol over time.
We also started our walk in Merano with a visit to Empress Sissi's palace. As her daughter's health was always precarious, the empress would flee the harsh winters of Vienna and take refuge in Merano, where the climate was much milder, the thermal waters abundant, and the empress could spend her time surrounded by nature, as she had done from childhood until she faced the strictness of royal life.
The palace has been transformed into a museum and the children loved the interactive areas where they discovered all sorts of things about the lives of the inhabitants. The gardens, however, are the ones that impress, the empress insisted on bringing here hundreds of species of plants grouped by climatic zones, but also labyrinths, ponds, small waterfalls and lakes that you can't get enough of admiring.
We ate really good pasta at the palace restaurant, and the cold, flavored lemonade was perfect for the heat outside. Between a dip in the pool and a play at the campsite, we also visited Tirol Castle, which also won us over on the spot.
The steep climb to the castle battlements passes through a passage through the mountain and as you climb through the castle courtyard and then into the nobles' rooms, you leave behind, far below, the city bathed in the setting sun. Absolutely delightful.
In Merano we camped in a space dedicated to campers, at Schneerburghof, where we had all the necessary facilities (water, space for dumping waste water, toilets, showers, electricity) and a swimming pool with playground, which we really enjoyed.
It was hard to say goodbye to these places, but a dream route awaited us towards Stelvio Pass, a route with emotions, many hairpin bends, a real challenge for motorhomers. It was worth it, though, all the more so as you can camp right up there, in the pass, and from there you can do easy hikes up to over 2800 m altitude.
Some useful information:
- Campsites in the Dolomites-South Tyrol area were somewhere around 60-70 euros, and parking spaces with service areas for motorhomes around 20-30 euros. We found them all using Park for Night. You can also do off-camping, but since we were traveling around the mountains and also needed a washing machine, we only chose off-camping twice.
- We did our shopping at Coop, Conad (very common in the area) and more rarely Lidl, and the prices are not much higher than ours, but the products seemed much more varied and of better quality.
- In season the Alps area is quite crowded, so reservations are necessary at campsites if you're not tempted by off-camping. We were lucky to find available spots, but being few we couldn't choose our location in the campsite.
- To discover everything the Italian Alps have to offer, I would say you need a minimum of three weeks. We had seven full days at our disposal and we barely tasted everything the area has to offer.
Until next time, we carry with us the memories of this spectacular adventure, knowing that the Dolomites and South Tyrol will always hold a special place in our hearts. Safe travels, and may your own journey through these magnificent mountains be just as magical!
