How’s fun!! Sounds like a great focus area for two weeks. From Venice, Have you ventured over to Burano by boat, or an easy local train (€4) to Padua?
Back in 2022, I visited Bolzano with the BOI tour group before we made our way up to our Alpi di suisi hotel. Bolzano does not warrant an overnight stay in my opinion (my focus was walking amongst the wildflowers and expansive views), but seeing Otzi the iceman and having lunch or gelato in town was great.
I went back the following year on my own, in between Venice and Salzburg. I suggest staying up toward the mountains too, bc summer temps are usually cooler there than down in Bolzano. I liked public transit for ease of use. FYI its very tight, twisty roads. Its straightforward to take the train from Venice to Bolzano, via Verona connection, then bus connection (#172?) up to Castelrotto/Kastelruth.
I splurged on Hotel Kastelruth and it included very hearty breakfast and seated dinner plus daily snacks. And a pool! They are near the bus that’s takes you to the chairlifts for hiking. They also offer a local guide, Viktor, who drove a small group of us over beyond Ortesei for a rather strenuous hike. Maybe Ortesei is nice too bc you can walk to the chairlifts? It’s connected to Bolzano by bus as well. Be aware of annual weekend long music event/concert in Alpi di suisi that may interfere with your hotel stay.
Id suggest to take the bus down to catch the train to Milan, and transfer for the local train up to Lake Como? Or rent the car in Bolzano if you prefer to drive to the lake, but parking is probably a burden there.
Plenty of planning time for you. You can look up hikes etc on the alpi di suisi website.
You’ll enjoy yourselves!
