Hello!
Spending four nights in northern Italy after spending time touring the West coast from Sorrento to Cinque Terre. We'd like to stay in one location for the four nights and perhaps rent a car for a day or two to tour the Alps. Also, would like some time in the lakes region. We'll be arriving and departing by train. Would love to drive Passo Dello Stelvio and/or see Cortina d'Ampezzo, but this may be a stretch as we don't want vacation to be a chore (driving all day long). Would love advice from people that have traveled the region.
Thanks!
Posted by
San Francisco Bay Area (USA)
16206 posts
Ortisei in the Val Gardena for Dolomites.
With 4 nights you may not have time for the lakes, but Lake Garda isn't far so you could spend a night or two there. The North lake area is more beautiful IMO
Posted by
Forest Grove, OR
11838 posts
April will still be chilly in the Dolomites and it is definitely between seasons, i.e. too late to ski and too early for hiking. You can drive but the lifts won't be open and many trails up high will probably still be snow packed even if you can access them by driving. Personally I think the lakes would be a better choice in April, much as I love the Val Gardena.
Posted by
Trieste, Italy
175 posts
Another idea: you could use Trieste as your base. The Dolomites are about 2.5 hours from here. Perhaps do a day trip. Slovenia is also close by. For instance, Pirano is about an hour by car and makes. nice day trip. Abbazia, in Croatia, is also lovely and pretty close by. There's an 11 km or so walk (not hike) from Abbazia to another town - (sorry I forgot the name) - that is supposed to be quite nice. Venice is about 90-minutes west via Trenitalia. Easy to get to and fro. Lastly, Bolazano is lovely and it's in the Dolomites. I just checked the temperature and it's 57%. If that's accurate, it's warmer than it is in Trieste!
Posted by
Washington DC
28450 posts
Bolzano is down in the valley, not up in the mountains. Very pretty city; can be very hot in the summer. Might be fine in April; I haven't checked the weather stats myself.