Every time the Giro goes into the Dolomites I think about riding there. Need to do it in the next couple of years if it’s ever going to happen. Looking for recommendations(or warnings) for companies that lead tours there. Don’t need luxury accomodations, simple is fine. Thanks!
Gradient Blue cycling tours are amazing and extremely affordable. They run tours in Italy every year focusing on the Dolomites area.
My recommendation would be to skip the tour operator and to go on your own. Pick any hotel or apartment in Corvara, rent a bike (if you don’t bring your own) and ride the numerous mountain passes in all directions to your heart’s content.
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My wife used to lead Dolomites trips for Backroads. Those are fairly expensive, all (or most) things included trips.
One of her friends runs a smaller trip company, Vitality Active Travel. There are plenty of smaller companies like this. EDIT: looks like she only has a Dolomites hiking trip next year. Two trips to Slovenian alps, but that’s not what you’re looking for.
My wife and I have planned our own trips when we’ve done international things. Not usually relying on her prior work experience, either.
I’ve done a couple trips with TrekTravel and really really liked the ride leaders. The trips have been a good value particularly when you factor in the cost includes a rental domane with ultegra di2 so you don’t need to travel with your bike if you don’t want to. You end up staying at a pretty conventional hotel and eating at kind of standard restaurants, but there are lots of niceties like great support and clear GPS routes with multiple options.
I also did a tour of the Apennine mountains with Cinghiale (Andy Hampsten’s tour company) and it was a radically different experience. The food is amazing and the places you stay are super cool. You also get to ride with Andy and he’s a minor celebrity in Italy. The downside was support was more sparse and the routes weren’t clear (paper maps) and I found it stressful when the group got broken up on long climbs ensuring I hadn’t missed a turn.
It really depends on what you are looking for. Not sure where you will be traveling from, but one of my takeaways for European adventurers has been to opt for a slightly lower difficulty trip than I would in the US. It’s a long journey from Seattle to Europe and the food is delicious but different. Between the jet lag, diet adjustments, and a desire to actually experience the place, it’s better take it slightly easy and have time/energy to smell the roses and eat the gelato. If you are traveling from the UK, this is probably less of an issue.
Just came back from Thomson Tours Epic Trans Dolomites trip three weeks ago. Amazing. IMHO no one does tours better than Thomson. Have a gander at this itinerary:
I stayed at the hotel Funavia Bormio at the bottom of the Stelvio for six weeks they have bike hire and group rides most days food very good close to all the main climbs did not need a guide
Check out Bike Dreams (Dutch company). They run an awesome and affordable trip called Tutti Dolomiti every few years. It just ran this year. You can get a feel for it at Tutti Dolomiti by EAT MORE LARD
+1. Just got back from our third trip to the Dolomites and you really don’t need a tour company or guide for road riding unless you want the reassurance of a support van or the social angle of a group. All the classic climbs and routes are readily available online and are really obvious - climb pass, descend pass, turn right, climb next pass…..
IMHO it’s the most beautiful mountain range in Europe, only negatives to road riding there are the motorbikes. We stay at Ustaria Posta in Badia which is run by a crazy ex CX racer and his family, along with Gered Gruber he created Yolomites 5000 (search YouTube) which is why we were there.
And to another responder, I’ve alerted Daniel Friebe and the Dolomiti Police because the Stelvio isn’t the Dolomites 
(it is only 4 hours from Badia/Corvara so doable on the same trip). The Funivia hotel mentioned elsewhere in comments is owned by Stelvio Man of GCN fame.
+1, plenty of excellent bike hotels in Corvara and that’s a primary hub to get to most of the epic Dolomites climbs. If you’re unfamiliar with the routes and area, Cyclist magazine subscription includes online access to archive of “big rides” with routes that you can download.
That said, I’d been trying for 5 years to ride the Maratona dles Dolomites through their lottery registration, kept stroking out, so splurged on package your operator with guaranteed entry-Cycling Hero. Pricey, hotel was great but more than I needed, but they did a great job. Beyond that one day event, they put together daily rides of varying lengths/levels, had a sag van for support.
LOL James, Bormio’s 4 hours west of Dolomites but also epic. If doing Bormio, there are three big climbs from there. Stelvio Is most famous, Gavia and Mortirolo less famous but great climbs. There’s a popular Stelvio router ascending from Bormio, but hanging a right to descend into Switzerland, roll down through the valley circling to Prato, then ascend Stelvio from that side. It’s hard to believe you’re on the same mountain. Descend to Bormio and you’re back home at 100km.
Follow that up with another double dipper, South from Bormio to attack Mortirolo from the south (much harder), descend to the southern base of Gavia for that climb, then down the other side of Gavia into Bormio.
I did exactly this format in July this year - rent in Corvara and rode all the loops in the area. Plenty of nice hotels in La Villa or Corvara. they convert the ski rooms into bike rooms…. We had a blast. With no sag wagon, one has to be a little wiser about the routing. But there is plenty of food and water along the way. And with DIY, you get to be more flexible.
I’ve done several cycling trips in Europe with Alpine Cadence https://alpinecadence.com/ and they run really good trips with options for longer or shorter days depending on your level of fitness. The groups are small - max 12 riders plus 2 ride guides and van driver, staying in smaller hotels. I did my first European trip with John about 10 years ago and keep going back. Highly recommended.