Itinerary check - Lakes, Dolomites and Venice

If you don't already have your flights, I would change the order of your trip and fly in to Venice and out of Milan. Flights from Venice to the US usually leave in the morning, and it is difficult to get to the airport early in the morning from Venice. Venice is also a lovely place to get over jet lag. It worked well for us to fly in to Venice and out of Milan.

I agree that flying into Venice is your best move. Yes, you can avoid the crowds to some extent: get up and out EARLY for great light, lighter crowds. This is the time of day to see Piazza San Marco, for example. Make advance reservations for museums, the Basilica, etc. Go to the islands. Follow Rick Steves' excellent self-guided day to Murano, Burano, and Torcello.

Ortisei (note spelling) does not require a car but with 4 people, I can see why you might want one to get from Venice to there and on to the next stop. It will stay parked a lot during your stay as you will receive passes for the buses that take you to trailheads. Another night there won't go amiss. I've not heard of anyone who would not have stayed longer if they could.

By contrast, I think your teens will be bored at Stresa. We spent 3 or 4 nights a few years ago after admiring it so often from the train passing by on our way to Switzerland. We were a bit bored after two full days. We liked Lake Como, staying in Varenna, much better. Milan is an excellent departure airport so spend one night there before flying out. Dump the car before you go into town. You could even get rid of the car on arrival in Stresa and take the train to Milan.

If you stay away from St Marks Square/ Rialto area, you can enjoy Venice without the crowds. We love the Canneregio area, on the quiet back canals. This area has a nice energy, shops, and restaurants , but no crowds. You can take sunset pix without a soul spoiling your frame. Yet, you are a 15 minute walk from the train station and an 8 minute walk to a vaporetto stop on the Grand Canal.
Your family may enjoy Row Venice, rowing lessons on the back canals, about 100 euros for 90 minutes total. See who picks up the technique faster!
We often stay here and never go to StMarks Square, and will return.
As folks say, if you don't like Venice, you have stayed in the wrong areas, and tried to do too much in too little time.
Have a great trip.

During our recent four night stay in Ortisei, we did not feel like we needed a car. We took the train from Venice to Ponte Gardena Laion/waidbruck Lajen. I arranged for a taxi to pick us up at the station, and the driver drove us to our B&B. Many of the accommodatins will provide their guests with a complimentary Val Gardena Pass which provides you with free access to their bus system. The Dolomites was a highlight of our trip to Italy. Enjoy!

It occurs to me that Ortisei can also get relatively busy (obviously it's smaller than Venice) and that the journey to/from Stresa takes a good 5 hours by car, probably longer, even if you use the autostrada and skirt around a lot of the mountains.

What was planned for the time in Stresa?

Thanks all for the feedback so far! We haven’t booked flights — it does look like the flight times are better if we start in Venice so we will likely do that.

me.crewe, I chose Stresa as the lake areas looked beautiful. Based on a little research I figured we would do day trips by ferry to the nearby islands. I’m open to other lake towns if they have advantages.

A car really is a big advantage if you want to see the most spectacular scenery in the Dolomites in a time-efficient way.

If you fly into Venice, you could pick up a car rental out of Venice and then drive north on Highway A27 and the SS51 toward Cortina d’Ampezzo.— a drive of 2 to 2.5 hours. You can stop to take the gondola to spectacular Cinque Torri ( “Five Towers”) about 20 miles from Cortina. You could overnight in the Rifugio Cinque Torri or the mountain village of Colle Santa Lucia. With a car rental you will have the flexibility to stop where you want and see the best scenery located in the Eastern Dolomites.
From the Cortina area, the drive to Ortisei takes about two hours without stopping. But, of course you will want to stop off at the breathtaking viewpoints along the way to take some photos and stretch your legs— another big advantage of a car rental.
This drive is how to see the Dolomites without limiting yourselves to just the Western Dolomites and Ortisei. Ortisei can often seem overcrowded by those who only see portions of the Dolomites they can access by public transit or on bus tours.
The nearby towns of Selva di Val Gardena and Santa Cristina Gherdeina are good alternatives to Ortisei for accommodations.
Have a great trip!

I just completed a similar trip where I flew into Venice and out of Milan MXP from Stresa. I would agree with others to flip your arrival and departure.

We had a car in Stresa, having driven from Bologna. We used it to drive up the hill to La Rampolina for dinner, a day trip to Milan (where we parked at Rho-Fiera Milano and took the Metro in), and to the airport. Otherwise, it sat. We had contemplated driving north to Locarno but it never materialized. We ended up doing all day excursions on the ferries to the Borromean Islands and Laveno for the cable cars.

Something you should know is that rail service between Stresa and Arona is suspended for maintenance work and is replaced by bus service. Whether or not that will still be the case in Summer 2027 in unknown. So using public trans between Stresa and Milan might require more work.

I might suggest doing a day trip to Milan just to save time not having to check into a new hotel. It's an easy 50 minute drive from Stresa and the airport is a convenient location to return your car. And there's plenty to do around the Lake Maggiore.

Originally one of my goals was to avoid crowds. Venice goes against that

Last month, we stayed in Cannaregio. It felt lively but never mobbed like San Marco/Polo. Peaceful place to watch Venice sunsets too. Dorsoduro had a laid back vibe as well.

If you really want quiet by Venice standards, I would recommend Castello. I was susprised how different it felt than the other sestieri. A bit more wide open. Seemed like everyone who lives in Venice walks their dogs there. Via Giuseppe Garibaldi was bustling but wide, so it never felt like you were packed like sardines. Accomodations are a bit cheaper. There's also the advantage of catching vaporettos before they hit the busy spots (train station/St Marks).

For Venice, I highly recommend staying in the Dorsoduro district. It is wonderful! So much quieter and less crowded than St. Mark's Square. Dorsoduro is a lively and beautiful neighborhood with many museums, churches, canals, lanes, etc. Take a gondola ride in Dorsoduro; much better than around San Marco. You can tell the gondolier to stay in the smaller, quieter back canals.

We stayed at Hotel Agli Alboretti, which I highly recommend. It's a one-minute walk from the Accademia vaporetto stop and Accademia Bridge, about a 5-minute walk to the Guidecca Canal, where you can stop for cicchettis (snacks) and drinks. And about a 20-minute walk from St. Mark's Basilica.

And you are correct that you should see Venice. It really is like no other!

if Stresa isn't crucial to the plan try researching the towns and villages around the southern half of Lake Garda for alternatives locations. There's plenty of scenery and boat trips - and it fits in the MXP - Venice - Dolomites travel plan much better than Stresa.

Easiest way to begin research is Google Maps. Zoom in until clusters of pink (accomodation) and orange (cafes and restaurants) pins have popped up to give an idea of where might be logisticallly possible then switch to the Streetview option to have a look around the town. The areas in a beige/cream colour on the map are usually the more important/older parts of towns. And if you click on the coloured pins it usually gives info and links. You don't have to choose from a dozen places in a guide book..