We are 3 friends who will have a car and are looking for something different than the rest of our trip. We'll be in Italy in May and have 3 nights "free" between a week in the Pienza area and our final stop, Venice. Our first stop is 4 nights in Praiano on the Amalfi Coast. I've never been to the Dolomites but I have been to Lake Como and Verona, so I'm thinking high mountain meadows and possibly a bit of hiking rather than lakes with mountains in the background. For those who know the roads and travel times, would it be possible to get from around Pienza to a town around Bolzano in say a 4 to 5 hour drive? Does anyone have favorite towns to stay in around that general area? I also want to be careful not to stay too far from Venice as I want to drive there, return the car and have the afternoon of that day in Venice. Thanks!
Posted by
Bainbridge Island
3302 posts
May could be early for green meadows in the mountains. Early or late in the month?
Posted by
OP
A tiny island in Puget Sound WA, USA
168 posts
Our free dates are May 13, 14, 15
Posted by
Washington DC
28965 posts
You can explore routes and projected driving times (which do not include stops) on ViaMichelin.com.
It appears that driving up into the Dolomites above Bolzano will push your drive from Pienza over 5 hours. The trip to Venice can be quite a bit shorter, but you'll give up some of that advantage if you prefer to take a more easterly route in order to see a different area.
There are many pretty villages in the Dolomites, but I enjoyed my day-trip to Ortisei, which is a bit larger and has more lodging and restaurant options than some of the other villages.
Posted by
Granite Bay, CA
1994 posts
We stayed in La Villa/Stern and loved it. I don't think it is too far from Venice, but Pienza to La villa might be far. It is very beautiful! We were there early June and it was quite cold in the evenings. Driving the passes and gondola rides up the mountain were awesome! Very few people around since it was between seasons.
Make sure you get up into the mountains, far enough out of Bolzano.
Check on google maps or viamichelin for drive times.
Posted by
Granite Bay, CA
1994 posts
Looks like about 6 hours from Pienza to La Villa and 3 hours back to Venice. But, I'm sure there are other nice places not so far.