Driving Dolemites/Como/Etc

Before we dive any further in details, could you clarify how many nights on the ground you have available in total for this vacation?
It sounds you have no more than seven in total, if the second half is 3 or 4 nights? If that's the case you don't have enough for your plans.

My husband and I drove around northern Italy in June 2013. Drove from Munich Germany into the Dolomites. We stayed two nights Castelrotto (great hotel-Cavelino d'Or), and did one day hiking in the area-would have loved a second day. Then we drove 4 hours south to Ravenna for the mosaics and continued onto Lake Como (another 4 hours). It was a long day but very rewarding. Beware that unless you are staying in Como, the narrow road around the lake will add another hour to get you to your charming small lakeside town.

As for researching, AAA can help, but I used Rick's book and Mapquest to figure out driving distances.

Also, watch out for expensive tolls road in Italy. On our fast Castelrotto-Ravenna-Lake Como day, we spent close to 80 euros on tolls because we needed the fast motorways.

Driving is a wonderful way to Tuscany, or any part of Italy. I love it. Italians have the best drivers and worst roads, and Americans have the worst drivers and best roads! You will like it. Eazy Peazy.

Here's a tip for you, buy Microsoft Autoroute and play with your itineraries. I love the program and have used it four times planning European driving trips and three times for Italian trips. Google it.

Cortina d'Ampezzo in the heart of the Dolomites. Check it out.

Not small but nice, Padua. Verona on the way to Lake Como. Bellagio on Lake Como, or Menaggio. Of course, Venice is close to Padua and the Dolomiti.

Here's one for you, Sirmione, on Lake Garda. Quaint, castle, and interesting.

Rick's Italy book covers selected portions of the Dolomites, Lake Como, and Lake Maggiore, which would be enough to see in 3-4 days. Driving will allow you to stick to a scenic mountain route, instead of dipping back down to the main train and highway corridor; the flat route from Milan to Verona to Venice has road tolls and no worthwhile scenery. For more route detail, try www.viamichelin.com.

Do remember that all drivers require a mandatory IDP, and there are a series of ways that cameras can catch you breaking laws you may not be aware of and you get home and a year later find you are somewhat poorer than expected.

It is worth becoming familiar with local driving laws before you leave home.

There are three or more very pleasant villages on Lake Com around the fork in the lake.

Driving around Italian lakes is often not as productive as you would like - fences, walls, narrow winding street and lots of traffic mean you don't see much. The best way is to park the car and ride the boats and ferries and see the lake from the water. Beautiful.

Great wealth of information here! Our total travel time in Italy will be 2 weeks. Still haven't sat down to divide up the days yet, but will probably end up being 3-4 days of driving around northern Italy. Again, thank you for the suggestions and keep them coming!

You could do lake Como, Passo dello Stelvio, Merano, Val Gardena, Val Badia, down to Lake Garda. It's kind of rushed if you have less than 5 days.

Be sure to research potential weather for the places and times of your drive. Rain, fog and maybe even snow at higher elevations could make the driving less relaxing than you anticipate. Been there, experienced that in late June 2011.

We loved the back roads drive through small towns and orchards from Merano to Lake Como, and the lake was more beautiful than we imagined, even though it is highly populated.

Hi Michael,

I'd look at staying in either the Val Gardena or the Alta Badia for the Dolomites. One cable car opens in mid May in each of these areas. With a car, driving a few Dolomite passes, such as the Gardena, Sella, Pordoi, Giau, Campolongo, Falzarego, etc. makes up for the lack of cable cars as a way to get up close and walk among the Dolomite peaks. All these passes are in a relatively small area, so choosing either the Alta Badia or Val Gardena as a base will be pretty good. The best Dolomite scenery, in my opinion, is between Cortina d' Ampezzo and Ortisei, Val Gardena. The drive between these two towns is around 2 hours non-stop and the area between Cortina and the Val Gardena includes all the passes I mentioned.

For the Alta Badia, we loved our 2 stays here:

www.montanara.it
www.altabadia.it

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pjbassplyr/sets/72157646609535108/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/pjbassplyr/sets/72157646798948951/

For the Val Gardena, we liked our stay here:

www.garniariston.com
www.val-gardena.com

https://www.flickr.com/photos/pjbassplyr/sets/72157646363588198/

My preference would be the Ciasa Montanara and the Alta Badia. I think the Alta Badia has the most quintessential Dolomite scenery in the area.

Paul

Also, if you are looking at the Ciasa Montanara which is in La Villa, we were unable to get accommodations in September of this year and stayed at Garni Tamarindo. They are owned by brothers. We were very happy with our accommodations and delicious breakfasts. The view from our room and deck included mountains and lift lines to the top.

Michelin guides have specific itineraries based on area and number of days, you could look at that for ideas as well.

I will check out those Michelin books!