Vigo di Fassa was our chosen base town while exploring Val di Fassa and the Catinaccio Group — more commonly called Rosengarten — in the south-west region of the Dolomites. We did two multi-night treks: Unusual Itinerary: 5 Night Rosengarten Trek and a 2 Night Grand Finale Rosengarten Trek. The lively hamlet of Viga di Fassa at the base of Rosengarten is known for its proud Ladin culture: language, clothing, architecture, culinary and festival traditions that are “not quite German, not quite Italian”. Traditional farmhouses intermingle with modern Inns in a rustic setting nearly 5,000 feet above sea level.

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The town is hilly. For the few nights we stayed in town, we lodged at B&B Bucaneve, a family-run inn at the bottom of town. Grocery stores and restaurants were within short walking distance —> up! It was a good location, though, because the village center gets rowdy at night, when the sun has set and the beer taps start flowing. We learned the hard way that restaurant dinner reservations are essential in Vigo di Fassa and traffic snarls are the norm. Pack your patience and your headphones when staying here!

Fortunately, we were mostly in the mountains, rather than in town. Francesca, the owner of B&B Bucaneve, allowed us to store our extra luggage during our Unusual Itinerary: 5 Night Rosengarten Trek and our 2 Night Grand Finale Rosengarten Trek. In between, we got a taste of local life during the town’s annual wine and food festival, treated ourselves to an upscale stay in nearby Tamion at Hotel Gran Mugon with a Michelin star rating, and did a few leisurely day hikes.

South Tyrol’s public transportation system is excellent and that extends into Val di Fassa. We were able to move our base from Ortisei in Val Gardena to Vigo di Fassa in Val di Fassa via buses and trains; we did not need a car (at any time during two months in the Dolomites - more details in Budget & Logistics). Similar to Val Gardena, Val di Fassa has a nice perk wherein visitors lodging in the valley receive a virtual transportation card to ride buses and cable cars for free. Traffic in Val di Fassa is bumper-to-bumper and parking is scarce, so this was a real sanity saver! Using the bus card, we traveled over Passo Costalunga for an easy day hike around Lake Carezza. Although the road was congested, we sat in a comfy seat on an air-conditioned bus and just enjoyed the scenery!

Next Base Town: After our 5-night trek in Rosengarten, we headed to the north end of Val di Fassa to Canazei, which is just on the other side of the Sassolungo Group and Val Gardena. Canazei was our base town to explore Marmolada - the KING of the Dolomites! - and check off a few more spectacular via ferratas, including Via Ferrata Trincee and Via Ferrata Finanzier.