Getting to Cortina d'Ampezzo

Despite being one of the oldest and most famous of the Dolomites ski resorts, Cortina d'Ampezzo doesn't have the best travel connections (which is possibly why the other resorts feature more heavily in ski package holiday brochures).

It no longer has a train station and, at least from the north, can have some 'interesting' passes to negotiate if visitors are driving in bad weather.

Nonetheless, it's a favourite resort for independent skiers and should certainly be near the top of anyone's list who is looking for a ski holiday that is a little bit different.

How to get to Cortina d'Ampezzo by car

Part of the attraction of Cortina is the mountain scenery, but that also means that it is surrounded by high mountain passes.

From the north, it is probably easiest to take the motorway from the Brenner Pass border with Austria and then leave just before Bressanone (Brixen) and head into the Pusteria valley. The road here, which also serves the East Tyrol in Austria, is mostly single carriageway, so in busy periods traffic can be quite slow-moving.

Dobbiaco (Toblach) is the town to aim for - from here the road goes up and over the

From the west, Arabba can be reached via Selva and then over various passes, or by leaving the motorway at Bolzano and heading via Canazei (again involving passes). The route from the south is motorway for the majority of the way and then a single main road for 90 minutes.

Distances
Innsbruck 165km - north over the Cimabanche and Brenner passes to the Austrian motorway junction at Innsbruck
Venice 132km - south through the mountains to Belluno and Treviso before hitting the motorway system
Verona 257km - there are plenty of different options for this route. Either of the above routes might be the best choice for the winter months (obviously once hitting the motorway head in the direction of Verona rather than the destinations above). Alternatively, adventurous motorists could head out west over passes to the Sella Ronda or, alternatively, head cross-country to the southwest after reaching Belluno in the south.

Travel to Cortina

Where is the nearest airport to Cortina d'Ampezzo?

Probably the best options for Cortina are going to be the airports down at Venice and Treviso with their public bus services and transfer taxis. An alternative, because of the large range of charter flights, would be Innsbruck Airport in the Austrian Tyrol.

Bolzano - because of the lack of flights - and Verona - because of the greater distance - are probably less attractive alternatives.

Distances
Treviso Airport (just to the north of Venice) - 137km
Marco Polo Airport (located on coast of Venice lagoon) - 148km
Bolzano Airport (just outside the city in the South Tyrol) - 138km
Innsbruck Airport (over the border in the Austrian Tyrol) - 164km
Verona Airport (on motorway interchange to south of city) - 265km

How to get to Cortina d'Ampezzo by public transport?

Once, Cortina had its own small-gauge rail connection which went north over the mountain to Dobbiaco and south to Calalzo. These still represent the closest rail connections to Cortina - the choice for the visitor depends on whether one is arriving from the north (Dobbiaco) or from the south (Calalzo). Both stations are just under 35km away.

The local coach service for the north is SAD (website www.sad.it - timetables available as PDF downloads). This not only provides the bus service from Dobbiaco to Cortina, but also runs the train service along the Pusteria valley.

Dolomiti Bus (website www.dolomitibus.it - only in Italian) operates a service in the south to Calalzo di Cadore and further afield.

Cortina Express (website www.cortinaexpress.it - Italian only with timetable PDF downloads) operates services to Treviso airport, Marco Polo airport and Bologna. Their offices are located at the bus station in Cortina.