We will be disembarking from a cruise in Trieste early June.
We want to visit the Dolomites for 3 nights and 1 night in Bassano del Grappa, flying out of Venice.
We are not hikers. A few miles walking a day is fine. Thinking of taking the train from Trieste to Venice, renting a car, driving to Cortina d’ampezzo. A couple of questions…
Is it easy to get from the port in Trieste to the train? Do we need to reserve the train in advance? Can you rent a car at the train station in Venice? Is Cortina d’ampezzo a good base?
Any recommendations for lodging? I’d like a jacuzzi and possibly a pool. If you have any other towns you think are better but not too far from Venice please let me know.
Thank you, happy travels
Posted by
Bay Area, California
1638 posts
If you do a search in this forum about the Dolomites, you will find lots of discussions about it. Cortina will host the 2026 Winter Olympics and the construction may be an issue. Some members here are shying away from Cortina as a result.
Just remember that driving in the mountains is nothing like driving on wide, multi-laned freeways in the US.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17562 posts
According to AutoEurope, you can pick up a rental car at the Venezia Mestre train station. That would be simpler than going into Venice itself, where you would have to get from the Santa Lucia train station to Piazzale Roma, on the other side of the Grand Canal, to pick up,a car. Confirm that the pickup address I’d actually at the Mestre station when you book.
You can return the car ro a different Venice location (airport or Piazzale Roma) if you like, but I believe there is a surcharge for return to Piazzale Roma. At least we paid €12 extra when we did that a few years ago.
When we stayed at Bassano del Grappa the night before flying home, we just drove straight to the airport and returned the car there. That was easy.
Trenitalia has frequent direct regional trains from Trieste Centrale to Mestre, taking 2-3 hours; and ones departing at 12:16 and 13:16 that take under 2 hours. These trains do not take reservations and do not fill up, so no need to buy in advance.
There are also faster Frecce and inter City trains (/under 2 hours), but the Frecce trains are at inconvenient times for you (9:39 and 17:05). The InterCity at 13:27 could be a few €€ cheaper if you buy well ahead, but then you lose flexibility.
Posted by
11608 posts
We stayed in Ortisei in the Dolomites at a wonderful family owned hotel, Hotel Grones. We could easily walk into town to access the mountain lifts. The hotel has a garage,
Bassano del Grappa is a favorite of ours; we have stayed there twice. . Enjoy it all!
Posted by
Sidney, BC, Canada
993 posts
Venice is car free so no rentals at station. You will need to go to the airport, so when you get to Venice, cross the Bridge over the canal to Piazzale Roma and take one of the two buses that go to the airport. I think there may be rental places on the Piazzale. Your cruise line will likely have transport to the airport. Have you considered renting a car in Trieste?