Road trip
Dolomites road trip: a ready-made 7-day summer itinerary for two
Italy’s most spectacular mountain roads, emerald lakes and peaks rising straight out of the meadows. This is a summer trip for drivers, photographers and day hikers, not skiers. You can book every step right here, day by day.
Honest note: we haven’t been to the Dolomites ourselves, so this trip is based entirely on other travelers’ experiences and well-known routes. We say so plainly, like everywhere on this site.
The trip at a glance
- Who it’s for: couples or two friends who want great mountain drives, photos and day hikes
- When: late June to late September, when the passes and lifts are open and the snow has melted. The ski season is a different trip
- The route: three nights in Cortina d’Ampezzo and three in the Val Gardena valley. In and out of Venice
- Getting around: a rental car. In the mountains, drives are short in miles but long in time
The trip takes place in the marked area.
Flights and the car
Fly into Venice, nonstop in summer from some US cities or with one connection, and back the same way. Pick up the rental car at Venice airport and return it there on your last day. Returning it somewhere else can add a big one-way fee.
⛺ Where to sleep: besides hotels and guesthouses, you can stay in a mountain hut, a rifugio, along the trails. It’s the classic Dolomites experience, but book the popular ones months ahead. The valleys also have campgrounds. Wild camping is mostly not allowed, so camp at campgrounds.
Day 1: To Cortina d’Ampezzo
From Venice airport, about two hours north to Cortina d’Ampezzo. In the last hour, the plains turn into mountains. For a travel day, an evening on Cortina’s pedestrian street is plenty.
Stay: Cortina d’Ampezzo, 3 nights.
Day 2: Tre Cime di Lavaredo
The most famous hike in the Dolomites loops around three peaks: about 6 miles (10 km) and 3 to 4 hours, mostly gentle. Book the toll road and the parking lot at the end online ahead, and pick a morning slot. Have lunch at one of the mountain huts on the way.
Day 3: Lake Braies and Lake Misurina
The emerald Lake Braies is one of the most photographed places in the Dolomites, with an easy walk around it. Come early in the morning and check the seasonal access rules. On the way back, stop at Lake Misurina, with views of the Tre Cime peaks.
Day 4: Mountain passes to Val Gardena
The most spectacular driving day of the trip. From Cortina over Passo Giau, whose hairpins and peaks are loved by motorcyclists and photographers, then over Passo Falzarego and the Sella Pass into the Val Gardena valley. Only a couple of hours of driving, but with stops it takes the whole day.
Stay: Ortisei in Val Gardena, 3 nights.
Day 5: Seceda
Take the lift from Ortisei up to the Seceda ridge, whose jagged rocks and green slopes are among the most iconic views in the Dolomites. Up top there are easy trails and mountain huts for lunch.
Day 6: Alpe di Siusi or Val di Funes
Pick one. Alpe di Siusi is the largest high mountain meadow in Europe, and you go up by lift, because private cars are restricted on the meadow during the day. Val di Funes has a small church in front of the mountains, one of the best-known photo spots in the area.
Day 7: Home
From Val Gardena to Venice airport is about three hours. If you have time, a short detour at the start to Lake Carezza, a small green mountain lake, adds about an hour. Return the car and fly home.
🗣 Good to know: Val Gardena is in South Tyrol, where people speak German and Italian, and many places have two names. Ortisei, for example, is St. Ulrich in German. The food is Tyrolean: knödel bread dumplings, speck and apple strudel.
What it costs
A rough estimate for two in July or September, flying from the East Coast. From Toronto or Montreal, flights usually cost a little more:
- Flights: about $1,700 to $2,600 for two, round trip. July is the most expensive
- Rental car: about $275 to $450 for the week
- Stays: about $1,000 to $1,650 for six nights
- Lifts, tolls and parking: about $165 to $275
- Food: about $100 to $145 a day for two
All in, roughly $3,700 to $5,900 for two (about C$5,100 to C$8,100). Cortina is the most expensive stay on the route. Prices change a lot with the season and how early you book, so treat these as a ballpark.
Cook the Alps at home with our Dolomites recipes.
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