Home › Cortina vs Val Gardena

Cortina vs Val Gardena

Disclosure: this page contains affiliate links (Booking.com, GetYourGuide). If you book through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change what we recommend. Pages are drafted with AI assistance and checked against official sources; see how we work.

Two Dolomites classics: Cortina, the glamorous Olympic town, and Val Gardena, a big linked ski area at the start of the Sellaronda.

Short verdict. Choose Val Gardena for variety, a big linked area and the Sellaronda. Choose Cortina for the elegant town, the scenery and a more relaxed, upscale atmosphere. This verdict rests on the figures below plus our own judgement, not on a single official ranking.

At a glance

	Cortina	Val Gardena
Lifts	Not stated for Cortina alone on the official page	59 ski lifts
Slopes	Not stated	115 alpine slopes
Link to Dolomiti Superski	Yes (Dolomiti Superski has 460 lifts)	Yes, one pass covers the 12 Dolomiti Superski areas
Sellaronda	Not the starting point	The famous Sellaronda begins here
Local pass, 6 days, adult 2026-27	€421 (high season) · €378 (shoulder)	Not retrieved
Local pass, 1 day, adult 2026-27	€84 (high) · €76 (shoulder)	Not retrieved
Dolomiti Superski pass, adult, high season	6 days €453 · 1 day €89	same pass

Data checked 5 Nov 2026: Cortina ski passes, Val Gardena ski resort (South Tyrol tourism), Dolomiti Superski 2026/27 prices. The Cortina page does not state its high-season end date clearly. Piste kilometres, altitudes and Val Gardena's own pass prices were not available on the official pages we could read; check them before booking.

Skiing

Val Gardena officially counts 59 lifts and 115 slopes and is the start of the Sellaronda, the famous ski loop around the Sella massif; its pass links to the 12 areas of Dolomiti Superski. Cortina is also part of Dolomiti Superski, with its own local pass and a different feel: scenic, sunny and less of a lift-hopping destination.

Price

Cortina's own pass is 6 days for €421 in high season and €378 in shoulder season. The Dolomiti Superski pass, which covers both areas, is €453 for 6 days in high season (provisional announcement), so the Cortina-only pass is the cheaper option if you stay in the Cortina area.

Atmosphere

Cortina is an elegant, upscale town with a strong Olympic heritage; Val Gardena's villages feel more like ski-focused Alpine villages with Ladin culture. Pick Cortina if the evening scene and the town matter more than the lift count.

Who should choose which?

Val Gardena if you want a large linked area, variety for mixed abilities, and the Sellaronda.

Cortina if you want a glamorous town, big scenery and a more relaxed week, and you don't need the biggest lift network.

Where to stay

Cortina

Grand Hotel Savoia · 5-star, centre of Cortina
Central, with wellness facilities including six types of sauna, a large indoor pool and Turkish bath, and Dolomites views.
Check availability on Booking.com

Val Gardena

Hotels in Val Gardena · Search by village
We have no vetted pick here yet. Browse Selva, Ortisei and Santa Cristina and filter by distance to the lifts.
Check availability on Booking.com

Hotel details from SkiSolutions' guide to the best ski hotels in Italy, checked 5 Nov 2026 (upscale pick only). Affiliate links: we may earn a commission at no cost to you.