Please sign in to post.

Venice to Milan via Dolomites in 4 days - do I need to rent a car?

Posted by (Melbourne) on

Hi all

My wife and I are planning our honeymoon (Turkey and Italy for 3 weeks), we've got most of it down pat but are struggling with the final leg/legs. It might be because we are trying to do too much, but I was hoping someone might have some ideas/hacks. We want to ideally visit Tre Cime and Lago di Braes for some hikes (usually out of Cortina D'Ampezzo) but also see Alpe di Suisi (Ortisei). I've read with the number of days it's probably better to just pick one base and do either the Western or the Eastern Dolomites, but was thinking it might be doable if we rent a car from Venice and stay 2 nights at Cortina, then 1 night at Ortisei, before dropping the car off at Bolzano or Verona (if possible), or otherwise even in Milan on the way out. Is this crazy???

Any recommendations? If better to just cut something, which would be better for first time visitors to the Dolomites (taking into account cost/comfort/stress)?

Fri, 20 Sep - leave Venice for Dolomites (locked in)
Sat, 21 Sep - Dolomites (flexible)
Sun, 22 Sep - Dolomites (flexible)
Mon, 23 Sep - Leave Dolomites and try to arrive in Milan by mid-afternoon/before dinner so we can fit in a quick stop by the Duomo (flexible)
Tues, 24 Sep - Early morning flight out of Milan back to Australia (locked in)

Posted by
11858 posts

Your sense that it might be too much is right. Stay one place or the other for your three nights and in the future, spend more time as this is an amazing area. Weather is fickle in the mountains. If you wake one morning and it is raining, it is likely to be better in the PM. Conversely, if the AM is beautiful, get out as early as possible as gathering clouds may spoil the afternoon.

Posted by
1072 posts

No, you don't need a car if you don't mind travelling slowly. You can just catch a train from Venice via Verona towards Bolzano, then local buses to get to smaller places.

My sister (we are Australians) is married to someone whose family is from Pozza di Fasso. When they visit the relatives in Pozza (from Australia) they catch public transport from Milan.

Posted by
17603 posts

You need to plan carefully for your Tre Cime hike, whether by private car or by public transport.

https://www.moonhoneytravel.com/rifugio-auronzo-toll-road/#:~:text=Cortina%2520d'Ampezzo%2520to%2520Rifugio%2520Auronzo,-From%2520the%2520Cortina&text=This%2520bus%2520ride%2520takes%25201,to%2520D%C3%BCrrensee%252FLago%2520di%2520Landro.

Traffic on the access road to the parking at Rifugio Auronzo is restricted at the tollgate, and once the parking lot is full, they stop cars there to wait for spaces to open up. So if you are driving from Cortina, you will need to get an early start on the day.

Without a car, the bus from Dobbiaco sounds the best to me, as you can buy a reserved seat in advance. The bus from Cortina apparently does not offer that option, and I can imagine it might well fill up.

That is what happened on my first visit to the Dolomites, 25 years ago. We were on Alpe di Siusi and wanted to ride the first morning bus to the other end at Saltria. We got to the stop early, the first people there, and others formed a line behind us. But when the bus pulled up, it did not align with the bus stop sign, and no one respected the queue. People just kept crowding on and filled the aisle as the driver kept waving them on. We were the last to board (not willing to be pushy) and I ended up standing uncomfortably close to the driver, with nothing to hold on to but my partner who was standing beside me, wedged in by two more people, all of us in the illegal standing area by the front door. I was afraid I would topple into the driver’s lap on every turn.

He seemed to regard this crowding as the usual order of business. And with the huge increase in the number of visitors to the area post-pandemic, I can only think it is even busier now.

This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity.