For anyone looking to maximise their time on the slopes this winter, short queues at passport control and quick transfer times are key.
Cue Italian boutique airline SkyAlps, which has increased its London Gatwick to Bolzano route to three times a week. The airport, just outside the South Tyrolean capital, which is known as the gateway to the Dolomites, is less than an hour’s drive from some of the region’s top ski resorts (it has a short runway, making it impossible for regular-sized jets to land).
Bolzano also features in Audley Travel’s expanded lesser-visited Dolomites offering, which includes a 10-day tailormade self-drive around the Sella Massif, with visits to craft breweries and a cheese workshop, and stays in Val Gardena and Alta Badia.
The latter is home to the much-loved, family-run Rosa Alpina, which will reopen after refurbishment as an Aman property this summer.
Further south, in Val Rendena’s Madonna di Campiglio, Casa Cook is launching its first Alpine escape in June, with earthy interiors and a restaurant menu curated by three-time Michelin-star chef winner Jacob Jan Boerma.
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