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Dolomites "Loop Drive" -- Budget one whole day?

Posted by (Bay Area, California) on

Hello folks:

First of all, thank you again for being so helpful and responsive to my posts.

Second, for those who did the "loop drive" (Selva-Corvara-Arabba-Canazei-Selva) in summer or fall (i.e., non-snow weather):

  1. Which passes are the riskiest to drive along?

  2. How long did it take you? I understand that everybody did get off their cars to take photos, enjoy a coffee at a local cafe, and eat lunch; so this added to the total time. I am just wondering if I need to start this drive right after breakfast and plan to return to the hotel in late afternoon/early evening.

My spouse and I enjoy being "wowed" by great scenery, but may get too exhausted from the driving. We are not used to mountain driving at all, though we have driven in other European countries.

  1. Along these passes, are there gondolas or cable rides that you recommend?

  2. These are areas are in general pretty safe, correct? So, no need to get paranoid about leaving a little bit of belongings in the car, correct? I won't leave backpacks in the car, but simple things like thicker jackets and water bottles.

Posted by
500 posts

I did the circuit maybe thirty years ago so memory is a bit fading. You should allocate, say, an hour per pass, but stopping at the top is a pleasure and so the circuit may easily take all the day. The roads may be a little tiring but not scary or risky; the Campolongo pass is the easiest and the other three are fairly equivalent.

The gondola to the Sassolungo mountain, already quoted, is very nice (you can get back descending on foot making a turn around the peak on the right, exceptional lunar landscape at the beginning, but takes some hours and sure foot). Also the cable car at Passo Pordoi is very scenic. You need a good weather day to do the ring, is the weather is bad you are not going to see anything.

Posted by
6883 posts

If you have a full day, you can extend the loop all the way to Passo Falzarego, which is very scenic - but it does make for a tiresome driving day if you do so.
You list your location as Bay Area: you have your fair share of twisty and steep roads there so you should be fine; roads are narrower but so are most cars.

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