Three villages, one valley: where your transfer ends
Val Gardena is a long, narrow Ladin valley climbing from the Isarco valley towards the Sella and the Sassolungo. Its three villages follow one another along the same road: first Ortisei, the largest, with its pedestrian centre and the lifts up to Seceda and the Alpe di Siusi; then Santa Cristina, at the foot of the Sassolungo; and finally Selva, the last village before the Gardena and Sella passes. Ortisei and Selva are about 10 km apart.
Many hotels are not on the main road at all: they sit on the slopes, at Monte Pana, in the Vallunga or at Plan de Gralba, up steep, narrow lanes. We take you right to the door, snow or no snow. If the address is unusual, we check the access beforehand with you or the hotel.
From Bolzano to Val Gardena in under an hour
From Bolzano the road follows the Isarco valley to Ponte Gardena, then turns up the Val Gardena road: about 36 km and 40–50 minutes to Ortisei, a good quarter of an hour more to Selva. If you arrive by train at Bolzano station or fly into Bolzano airport, you are in the valley in less than an hour.
Coming down from the Brenner, we leave the A22 at the Chiusa exit, where a well-signed mountain road reaches Ortisei in about 20 km. We choose the route according to the time of day and the traffic, and allow extra time on winter weekends and peak summer days.
Which airport is best for Val Gardena?
Distances and times are approximate, without stops and in normal traffic. If you are still choosing a flight, Innsbruck and Verona are usually the quickest; Venice and Milan offer a wider choice of flights, including long-haul.
- Bolzano (BZO): about 40 km, about 45 min – 1 h
- Innsbruck (INN): about 115–120 km over the Brenner, about 1 h 30 – 2 h. See our Innsbruck airport transfer
- Verona (VRN): about 190 km, about 2 h 15 – 2 h 45. See our Verona airport transfer
- Venice (VCE) and Treviso (TSF): about 3 h – 3 h 30, depending on the route. See our Venice airport transfer
- Bergamo (BGY): about 270 km, about 3 h 15 – 4 h
- Milan Linate: about 3 h 45 – 4 h 30; Milan Malpensa: about 350 km, about 4 h 15 – 5 h. See our Milan airport transfer
Train plus transfer: from Bolzano station to the valley
Val Gardena has no railway station of its own. The nearest are Ponte Gardena and Chiusa on the Brenner line, but the fast trains from Rome, Milan and Verona stop in Bolzano. From there the public bus 350 runs up the valley: fine with a rucksack, less so with suitcases, skis and children.
If you come by train, we meet you at Bolzano station, or in Verona, Trento or at the Brenner if you prefer, and drive you to your hotel. Once there, guests staying at accommodation that belongs to the Val Gardena tourist associations receive the free Val Gardena Guest Pass (formerly the Mobil Card), valid on almost all buses and ski buses in the valley, so you often will not need a car at all.
Val Gardena ski transfers: winter, the Saslong and changeover days
From December to April the valley revolves around skiing: Dolomiti Superski, the Sella Ronda circuit, the slopes of Ortisei, Santa Cristina and Selva. We carry skis, boots and snowboards, and in winter the V-Class runs on winter tyres.
In mid-December the Ski World Cup on the Saslong brings crowds to the valley, and Saturday is often changeover day at the hotels: on those days we plan the timings with more margin. If you arrive early and your room is not ready yet, we can stop at the hotel to drop the luggage and then take you straight to the lifts.
Hotel to hotel: Alta Badia, Val di Fassa, Alpe di Siusi
If you are splitting your holiday between two valleys, we move you and your luggage from one hotel to the next. From Selva, Passo Gardena (2,121 m) leads to Alta Badia and Passo Sella to the Val di Fassa: in summer these are the shortest links, roughly half an hour to three quarters of an hour to Corvara or Canazei. In winter the passes can close for snow or avalanche risk: we check conditions that morning and, if needed, take a valley route instead.
For Passo Gardena, the Province of Bolzano is planning a seasonal limited-traffic zone from 2027, subject to final approval: before every journey we check the rules in force and plan accordingly. If you are moving on to Alta Badia, see our private Alta Badia transfer. And if you would like to see the Alpe di Siusi without thinking about roads and car parks, there is our private Alpe di Siusi and Val Gardena tour.
