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Driving to the Dolomites

This summer sometime after July 5th my cousin and I will be going up to Cortina. We would also like to go to Lago di Garda. We would have until about July 12th before my cousin has to return home (although I can stay longer) How long would it take to drive from Venice to Sirmione, up along the lake, over to Trento and across to Cortina and then down to Treviso? We would like to spend at least 3-4 days in a place at a time... Or would it be better just to drive up to and around Cortina? Also, how scary is the driving up there? I would rather take the train if the mountain roads are narrow with a lot of switchbacks...

Posted by
1212 posts

Hi ..lucky lucky you.
The Dolomites are the most stunning mountians I've seen.
You could do that circuit in aday..but miss the scenery.A couple of days is fine planning by you.the roads are excellent flatland quality but 6000ft up.
We passed through Cortina and went over to Sesto/Sexten, that was my favourite bit of the trip, could happily spent the day going back and forward.

Posted by
144 posts

If you are going from Venice directly to Sirmione, you should take the train. It's a short trip to Desenzano and then the bus or taxi to Sirmione where you don't want to have a car anyway. Why waste money on a car and a place to park it in either Venice or Sirmione? Then when you are ready to leave Sirmione, pick up a rental car in Desenzano (if they don't have them in Sirmione) and do your driving tour. Drop it wherever you end up and train to your next big city. I always avoid driving cars in big cities if I can help it. It's a nightmare trying to navigate the streets & locate the rental car drop off, even with Garmin. FYI: You will LOVE Sirmione! It's one of my favorite places in Italy.

Posted by
54 posts

Richard I would like to know where Sexto/Sesten is since I will be traveling to this region.Thanks!