In earlier videos we’ve shown you how our plans to thru-hike the Alta Via 2 (AV2) got temporarily derailed by bad weather, not just once but twice. First we got stormed off the AV2 in 2017. Then the weather was once again bad when we returned to Italy in 2019. We dodged the bad weather by going to Bulgaria and Romania for a week each before returning to Italy in mid-September.
We flew Ryanair from Bucharest, Romania, back to Milan, Italy on September 12 at a cost of 125 euros each.
Our initial plan had been to return to the fabulous Hotel Cir and rejoin the AV2 there, but we were running out of time so we figured it would be better to start where we’d left off two years ago, which was the Hotel Arnika at Passo San Pellegrino.
We’d also hoped to spend a night in Bolzano so we could visit the Ötzi, Iceman, museum prior to returning to Hotel Arnika, but when we called the Arnika they told us that they were closing for the season on September 14. The day after we returned to Italy was the last night the Hotel Arnika was going to be open.
Therefore, we spent one night in Milan and then, with no time to spare, the following day we caught two Trenitalia trains, a FrecciaRossa (Red Arrow) bullet train to Verona and then a regional train, to Bolzano. Then we caught 3 buses to return to Passo San Pellegrino and the Hotel Arnika. The total cost of the 2 trains and 3 buses was just under 50 euros each.
The Trenitalia fares are very dependent upon the time of day but we bought the cheapest tickets that got us to Bolzano with enough time to catch the three buses. The cost of the Frecciarossa, high-speed train, journey was just 26 euros each. Buses journeys in Italy typically cost just a few euros each.
We almost missed the last bus. We thought the bus stop was on the wrong side of the road in Moena until we went to the nearby bar to buy our tickets. The guy there set us straight.
The bus, when it appeared, wasn’t a bus at all. It was an unmarked minivan. The driver stopped at the bus stand and asked us if we were going to Passo San Pellegrino. When we said yes, she said the minivan was the bus and we should jump in! There was only one other passenger. We’d have missed it if we’d been waiting on the wrong side of the street and it was the only bus of the day.
At Hotel Arnika the receptionist welcomed us back. It’s ironic that both times we’ve stayed here it was on the last night they were open at the end of the summer season. Both times we benefited from their least expensive tariff, 71 euros each for Mezzo Pensione, that is dinner, breakfast and the room.
Mezza Pensione prices at Hotel Arnika
29 Jun – 27 Aug: 71 Euros
27 Jul – 10 Aug: 81 Euros
10 Aug – 17 Aug: 94 Euros
17 Aug – 24 Aug: 81 Euros
24 Aug – 4 Sep: 71 Euros
Winter is even more expensive; the price goes up to 109 Euros.
After relaxing, and being very well fed, we were ready to return to the rigors of the Alta Via 2 which we’ll be serializing starting next week.