Innsbruck(dolomites) to Venice to Cinque Terre

Bolzano would make sense to rent a car since that would be your jump of to Castelrotto. Depending upon your route you only have a 3 or 4 hour drive to Venice from Castelrotto.
You should consider just a bus to Castelrotto, then bus back to Bolzano and a 3 hour train ride to Venice. Then a 4 - 5 hour train ride to Varenna from Venice. Saves on the hassle of renting a car unless you are keen on driving.

I've posted a reply in your other thread with some suggestions.

Flying to Innsbruck may be difficult as it is a small regional airport with a lot of charter flights and relatively few long term connections. You would probably have to connect in Zurich or Vienna. Verona may offer more options, Munich much more but it is a bit more distant.

Coming from north, you could try to rent a car in Bressanone or, probably better, Bolzano. Arriving in Verona you could rent directly at the airport.

I still think that Venezia and Cinque terre do not belong to the same trip, but, well, it is your holiday.

You could stay in Castelrotto, Ortisei or maybe St. Cristina (near Ortisei). If you prefer a place no American knows, it could be Canazei or Pozza or Vigo. Doing the drive to Cortina from Ortisei or Castelrotto is not a bad idea - you would be doing three passes (Sella-Pordoi-Falzarego) between some of the most spectacular landscapes Dolomites can offer; cable cars at each pass climb on mountains for incredible sights. Of course when you arrive in Cortina the day will be gone but the point is not seeing Cortina but driving the route. It depends much on weather: on a clear and sunny day the drive would be one you will remember fondly; on a rainy day, it would be miserable driving. - If you are afraid of hairpin curves, do not even try.

Another option would be staying in Castelrotto or Ortisei all the time and doing the four passes circuit (Sella-Pordoi-Livinallong-Gardena). Again, have a look to weather forecast and choose the better day. The drive to Venezia will be longer but actually faster.

Lachera: curious about the mountain pass route you mentioned.
The faster route from Ortiesi to Cortina uses the Gardena Pass and does not go on the Pordoi or Sella Passes.
Would you recommend for more scenic drive to take the way you mentioned Pordoi and Sella instead of Gardena if the time difference does not bother me (it is not a huge difference in KM or time)
I have read from others they prefer the Gardena Pass the most and was only going one way on this trip so need to choose 1 route.

also, I think the time to get from Ortisei to Cortina taking up a full day really depends on how many stops you make?
I say this never having driven it but on a map the route I mention is only 65 km and rated at 1 hr. and 40 min.
Even if that took double the time it still seems like it could be done in just a morning or afternoon obviously can be a full day with stops in route to go up cable cars to the summits or hikes, etc...
Honestly curious if my assumptions are incorrect more than anything since I have not driven this drive only researched it.
My plan in slightly more involved going from a hotel in Ortisei one morning over to Cortina stopping for 10 minutes at Gardena Pass and probably a half hour at Passo Giau which is a little out of the way, then stopping in Cortina for an hour to walk the square have a quick lunch and same day drive from Cortina to Lake Bled in Slovenia arriving hoping at our hotel there around dinner time. I was estimating my day at roughly 8 hrs. from Ortisei to Lake Bled with stops included.
If weather is not good, we would go West out of Ortisei and take a completely different but faster more highway route skipping these stops.

To the OP:
I think your biggest challenge with this plan is your night 1.

Getting a flight from the US to Europe is likely going to be an overnight flight so you will fly into a larger airport in the morning, and then likely have a 4+ hour delay waiting to catch an evening short flight into Innsbruck.
if you get into Innsbruck at 7 PM, you still then have to wait for the next train or bus which at night may not be frequent, your plan is risky to continue on after such a travel day, car rental place in Italy may not be open when you could reach there, etc...
An overnight somewhere not needing a car may be required.

Verona presents some similar challenges but likely is more realistic to be able to make it to Castelrotto or Ortisei the first evening in that I suspect since it is also a small airport the times will work similarly, at least there you could rent a car at night and drive onward, as long as it does not bother you to drive a couple of hours in the evening after a long travel day and arrive at 10 PM to your hotel in the Dolomites?

Night 3 you are probably best staying where you are, makes the drive to Venice a long one but checking in and out again is going to make the trip more rushed overall I think.

Your last day, you may need a night closer to your airport when flying out. If the only options are morning flights, reaching the airport from CT could be impossible or very risky. Similarly if reaching the US from Pisa, Genoa, etc... you need a small inter Europe flight to start so you departure from Italy is likely in the early morning.

Well, considering that the four passes are laid in a circular layout around Mt. Sella, you either drive Gardena and Campolong passes or Sella/Pordoi. As Campolongo is a little less scenic, the most scenic couple is Sella/Pordoi.

At the top of Sella, Pordoi and Falzarego passes there are cable cars. The one at Sella leads to a very narrow fork, very scenic but little to do on top, but descending on one of the two sides (both quite long hikes). The cable car from Pordoi pass leads to Piz Boè, that is very exposed with endless landscape. The cable car at Falzarego leads to a plateau in the middle of peaks, almost a lunar landscape. Long hikes possible and worthwhile, but also half an hour walking under the peaks is quite worthwhile.

Times on google maps look quite optimistic. The descent from Pordoi to Arabba has 33 hairpin curves.

Thank you folks

Lachera, if I go in the second week of September, will call the cable lifts still be open in Dolomites?

Please refer to my last comment in your previous thread:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/italy/only-8-days-to-spend-cinque-terre-tuscany-bolzano-venice-how-to-do-this

I do not recommend flying to Innsbruck. It has limited flights, almost all seasonal for the summer and the ski season.

It is preferable that you fly to Venice first, and visit Venice first. Then you rent a car from there and do a loop of the Dolomites. The Dolomites are really close to Venice.

Finally you would drive to your last destination in your list (Cinque Terre or Tuscany, not sure if you have made up your mind).

If you drive to the Cinque Terre, you could return the car at La Spezia, as you won't need it while at the Cinque Terre. Then to fly home, you would fly out of Pisa or Genoa, either of which is about 1.5 hours from the Cinque Terre. If your flight home is early in the morning, you might have to spend the last night closer to the airport.

I also agree that Venice and the Cinque Terre don't belong in the same trip. If you want to see pretty villages on water, just spend those extra nights on a village on the north side of Lake Garda (Malcesine, Limone, etc.), which is near the Dolomites. Then you'd fly home from Venice again.

Hi,

The drive from Ortisei to Cortina d'Ampezzzo via the Gardena Pass, non stop, is under 2 hours. I think the Gardena Pass is the best drive with the best scenery in the entire area. Giau Pass would be second on my list. The Lagazuoi cable car at the beginning of the Falzarego pass takes just a few minutes to ride to the top station. All you'd need is maybe an hour to enjoy this trip.

To the OP,

Do you have your airfare booked to fly into Innsbruck? It's a small airport.

Have a look at these for dates of cable cars:

www.valgardena.it/en/hiking-biking/walking-trekking/lifts/
www.val-gardena.com/en/lifts/page65.html

www.altabadia.org/en/summer-holidays/trekking-hiking/summer-lifts-in-alta-badia.html

Spend nights 1-3 in the same place. Castelrotto is not in the Dolomites, but on the outskirts with no real Dolomite views. With a car, the Alta Badia (next valley over from the Val Gardena) is spectacular and very central. Adds maybe 40 minutes to the Cortina to Venice drive. Maybe 3.5 hours total from the Alta Badia. The Val Gardena and Alta Badia are connected by the Gardena Pass.

I've read that you can only pick up rental cars at the airport in Bolzano.

Paul

Thank you for all the wonderful suggestions. A question: will the cable lifts be open in second week of September? We are travelling in the second week of September but from Sept 7 to 16 or so

I mean the cable lifts in Dolomites

Telecabina Sassolungo (Sella pass) runs till Oct. 2nd
Funivia Sass Pordoi (Pordoi pass) runs till Oct. 23rd
Funivia Lagazuoi (Falzarego pass) runs till Oct. 23rd

I took these dates from Italian web sites. Keep in mind that dates could change according to prevalent weather conditions.

You should decide on how to spend your time in the Dolomites, do you want to drive mountain passes, hike, walk around a town and take lifts for easy walks, etc... You only have limited time so cannot do everything and should choose a town/area.
In addition to the lifts on the passes which are listed and intended more to be visited if driving a car through the passes thus taking up a full day.
From the town of Ortisei which people have recommended there are 3 lifts to 3 different areas which is why many recommend staying there. You can leave your car parked at your hotel and easily reach 3 different elevated areas (Alpe Di Suisi, Seceda and Rasciesa)
All 3 of those lifts are open all month.
No other town has 3 lifts in town. Nearby Santa Christina is very close and has a couple of lifts to the same areas I believe.

Others want to stay somewhere with a great view, in that case there are very nice resorts on top of Alpe Di Suisi, cannot imagine a better place for a view other than mountain top rifugios in the area but usually if staying In/on Alpe Di Suisi you probably would not leave that area for your short amount of time since visiting other areas from there would be inconvenient.

Castelrotto is close to Alpe Di Suisi and probably has a lift up there but is the only area it has a lift to and is not on Alpe Di Suisi. The town is smaller than Ortisei so less to do so for most I think either staying in the towns of Ortisei/Santa Christina or on the Alpe Di Suisi would be preferred to Castelrotto depending on what your interests are.

In the town of Cortina the lifts which is on the east side and definitely closer to Venice (further from Verona) that are there all close sometime in early Sept so if intending to stay there you would want to check the lift schedule/dates closely.

This is a ritzy town but I thought most places there look a little dated, it is closer to more World War I historical areas and much closer to the famous Tre Cime which is national park with great hiking and a toll road. There are nice lakes near Cortina as well.

If you are really into nature and hiking, a rifugio stay would be really unique and more memorable than a hotel but at this late date I doubt you could get a private room so envision a bunk style hostel type sleeping arrangement, shared bath maybe without hot showers, etc... very rustic.
if I were traveling solo staying in the Rifugio Locatelli right at the base of the Tre Cime a decent hike from civilization would be a dream stay for me but not happening with wife and daughter with me.
I would recommend picking one town/area to stay your time in not break it up.

thank you for all the help. appreciate it