Car versus bus/train in the dolomites foothills

Do #2. #1 is definitely too much driving for a day. Enjoy!

Hi Fred, Bolzano isn't "in" the Dolomites, so I wouldn't recommend driving from Venice to Bolazno and back (#1) plus I wouldn't recommend staying overnight there (#2) if you want to experience the Dolomites. I suggest spending a couple of days exploring the Dolomites! They are spectacular! Less than an hours drive from Bolzano, I'd head to the Val Gardena. Base in one of the 3 towns/villages and explore! The 3 towns/villages (Ortisei, St. Christina and Selva) are just a few minutes drive from one to the next, with St. Christina being in the middle. This means any of the 3 makes a good base. www.val-gardena.com We stayed at the Garni Ariston in St. Christina. Nice place in a good location. www.garniariston.com There are plenty of lifts and cable cars from the Val Gardena up into the amazing Dolomites. We liked the Mont Seuc (Seiser Alm) cable car trip from ortisei. www.alpedisiusi-seiseralm.com/index.html The passes in the area (Gardena, Sella, Pordoi, etc.) are fantastic drives and are another way to get up close to the peaks. Here's a link to an "interactive map" of lifts: www.valgardena.it/en/walking-and-trekking/page50.html We have photo's (in 3 pages) of the Dolomites at: www.worldisround.com/home/pja1/index.html Paul

Many thanks, or to get in training Grazie mille! Fred

Hi Fred, Perhaps "vielen Dank" would be more appropriate. The Val Gardena, and Dolomites in general, are bilingual. You'll find German is spoken as much or even more often than Italian. Paul

My wife and I have been to Venice five times, and absolutely adore the place. We started our last trip in Innsbruckgoing east then turning south through the 14,000' Grossglockner Highway into Italy. This is the second highest mountain range in Western Europe. The scenery is absolutely breathtakingsimply put. We came through Lienz and ended up spending the night @ Udine, Italyabout an hour NW of Venice. We came into Venice the next morning and stayed a block from the train station. This would also be a great itinerary to reverse. We have traveled extensively in Northern Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Colorado and California mountains. The sights just north of Lienz, Austria takes them all. Venice will be pretty hot the middle of the Summer, and air conditioning in Italy is not great . I think going to the mountains for a few days would be a great eye candy for you.

We went by train to Bolzano 4 years ago. The ice man is in his own museum there and it is pretty awesome. We took a funivia up the hill to another town then walked about 15 minutes up to an outstanding B&B which we were told about upon arrival. We hiked 8 hours one day from the B&B (Missed a mark on a boulder...so it was a long hike), we enjoyed the hiking/walking/stopping in for a drink of whatever and more hiking. The Dolomites were in the distance and beautiful. We stayed 2 nights (our minimum anywhere), then rented a car and drove into the Dolomites. It's beautiful...food is more Austrian/German than Italian...and language is often a mix of Italian+??.

Thanks for the tips. I am begining to see that Italy is one of those places that you could take a lifetime to explore. I suspect that this first trip of ours will be the first of many visits. Fred