Great Dolomite Road

That is a great drive you have laid out. Fantastic scenery. I drove it in 2007 and would do it again in a second. The only negative that I would tell you about your plan is that you are not giving yourself enough time. We were going to do the same thing in a day but enjoyed the area so much we took almost 3 days and spent 2 nights. Fortunately we had a very flexible itinerary at that point in our trip so we adjusted it to spend more time in the Dolomites. We stayed one night in Canazei and one in the Alpe di Siusi. If one day is all you have however then go for it. You will still enjoy the drive and can decide if you want to go back later when you can spend more time in the Dolomites. As far as a "must see" pass or town you are passing through several good places. Paul from New York who is a contributor here travels the Dolomites frequently and should be able to offer some ideas for you. Perhaps he will weign in on this.

Hi Marcus, I had responded to an earlier post of yours a few weeks ago. The drive you have laid out seems rather over ambitious. The back-tracking to Val Gardena from Canazei... you mean driving the Sella Pass back again? That's the only way to do it. Just my honest opinion... I wouldn't want to do all that driving. You must remember, the passes are winding, climbing roads that, while not long in distance, they're long regarding the time it takes to drive them. After just one or two, it can become very tiring and monotonous. Plus you'll start driving them after 4 hours or so of driving just to reach them. How long will you be in Castelrotto? Where are you heading afterwards? If you plan to be there a few days, take a drive over the Sella another day. If not, I'd skip it. Just to clarify something... The Valparola Pass heads into the Alta Badia (La Villa, Corvara). The Falzarego Pass does start off the Valparola (just before the Alta Badia), yet the Falzarego Pass heads south to Arabba. Just a few more opinions... the Gardena Pass is the best pass (scenery-wise). I'd also suggest staying in Alta Badia instead of Castelrotto. You won't really see the Dolomites from Castelrotto. La Villa/Corvara/Colfosco are "in" the Dolomites. I'd even go with somewhere in the Val Gardena before Castelrotto. Just my opinion and what we like. Hope this helps. Paul

Thanks for the info! Judging from the feedback I might cut it back a bit (or perhaps minimally play it by ear as the day goes on). If I cut out going all the way down to Canezei would we miss much? I've see pictures from the top of Sellapass and it looks fantastic - so perhaps drive to the top and then backtrack down? One more thing: According to Google maps, the drive from Venice to Cortina takes just over 2 hours. Is that correct or is Google way under estimating things?

BTW Paul, thanks for the feedback again. Seeing as how I changed the itinerary so much I decided to repost. I did a ton of research in the meantime and the route I originally selected, though nice, missed some of the things that I really wanted to see.

Hi Marcus, Venice to Cortina d'Ampezzo is more like 3 hours (or more). Yes, the Sella Pass is a great drive, but so are the Valparola and Gardena Passes. Play it by ear... the Sella branches off the Gardena (as you get close to Val Gardena), so you don't have to go out of your way to drive a bit of it. If you have the time, drive to the cafe/restaurant/gift shop and then back. You won't miss a thing by not driving to Canazei. You really won't miss a thing if you don't have time for the Sella either. There's also a cafe/restaurant/gift shop at the "top" of the Gardena pass. To sum it up... if I had to pick just one pass to drive, it would be the Gardena Pass. It's a fantastic drive with simply amazing scenery. It takes about 40 minutes to drive just the Gardena Pass. Add time if you stop along it (very hard not to!). Hope this helps. Paul