Help Fine Tune My Itinerary (Salzburg, Dolomites, Lake Como, Lauterbrunnen)

Do you favor lakes or mountains? Is hiking aa priority? What month are you going?

This is first two weeks of June. Like lakes and mountains equally. My parents are coming with us and they are in their mid 70s. So strenuous hiking is out for them. They will take in the sights driving and riding up gondolas etc. Maybe some easy hikes.

That is very early for the Val Gardena. While some of the lifts open as early as May 14, some of them do not open until mid-June, so plan accordingly. Here is where the schedule will be posted closer to opening. https://www.valgardena.it/en/summer-holidays-dolomites/lifts/

Are you aware the trains from Salzburg only go as far as Chiusa and you need a bus or taxi from there to Ortisei?

Some of my favorite places in the world!
I would give Lautetbrunner two nights; if you were going to Grindelwald or Murren I would add a day there.

Thanks Laurel, I did not know that about the train. I haven't researched that part of the trip yet. I may rent a van in Salzburg and drive to the Dolomites. I want to have a car while there, but we have 6 adults so that's presenting a challenge. I haven't found a plane that rents 6 passengers vehicles in the Dolomites so it's either get a van in Salzburg or rent two cars for the group.

As far as the lifts and gondolas, it is what it is. It seems to me that even if they all aren't open we should still be able to find plenty to do. In each area we want to plop down at a hotel and explore from there. I'm open to suggestions as far as picking our base in the Dolomites. I've been looking at hotels from Ortisei on up to Selva. In Lake Como I'm trying to stay in Varenna. And in Lauterbrunnen area I plan to stay in Murren then day trip out from there to all the sights in the area.

Did you try Bolzano for your rental car/van? We rented our car there for visiting the Dolomites for a week, then turned it in at Venice.

If you rent in Salzburg and turn it in in Italy, you may face a huge drop fee one-way rentals between countries usually are a problem in this respect).

Yeah I've been trying Bolzano but none of the websites I've looked at have cars for more than 5 passengers.

For what it's worth we enjoyed Munich more than Salzburg because it has more to offer. Also, consider staying up in the mountains above the Lauterbrunnen Valley in either Wengen or Murren.