Verona to Dolomites itinerary

There’s no train service to the Dolomites. You can go to Bolzano, then take the bus. You could rent a car in Bolzano. A car is definitely easier, but you could travel by bus between towns. We stayed in Santa Cristina Val Gardena. We had a car, but took the bus to Ortesei one day. You’ll definitely encounter ZTLs. Basically just avoid driving into the center of town. The towns are pretty small, so it’s easy to park on the outskirts or in marked parking areas.

It depends on how much you want to explore the area. We spent three nights, but could have been there a week. It is a stunning part of the world and we will return someday. Every gondola takes you to a new and completely different jaw-dropping view. The food is fabulous, with both Austrian and Italian options. We had the best steak and pizzas ever at La Tambra, where we stayed.

The closest airport is probably Innsbruck, but we drove from Munich and it was not too far. Easy drive, just be sure to get the Austrian vignette before crossing the border from Germany.

If you intend to visit Verona first, then I recommend flying into Venice or Milan. It's an easy and beautiful drive from Verona to the Dolomites so I suggest picking up your rental car in Verona. In terms of the amount of time to spend in the Dolomites, I recommend a minimum of 3 days. This will help ensure you get to enjoy the peaks. Less than 3 days and you risk visiting on a day when the weather is poor and the mountains are obsured by clouds.

The valley cities near the Dolomites (Bolazano, Bressanone, etc.) can be extremely hot in the summer (upper 80s or 90s F). You might consider staying at a town higher up, though the sightseeing options will be mostly scenery and more scenery. If you opt to stay down in the valley, read a lot of summer reviews of the hotels you're considering on booking.com to be sure they have good air conditioning. There are still some places that don't have air conditioning at all.

The archaeological museum in Bolzano, with the Otzi exhibition, is a good bad-weather-day option if you are staying in that general area and get a day that's so rainy or has such bad visibility that hiking isn't in the cards for you.

Verona has quite a list of sights, so one can stay busy for several days. I had three nights there (I was running out of time, or it would have been longer), and I didn't have time for any of the churches on my list. I did enjoy just walking around the historic area, looking at the pretty architecture.

Hotel rates are high in Verona during opera season and even higher in Bolzano in the summer. I'd guess the popular mountain villages like Ortisei are no less expensive for conveniently located hotels. If you decide on a rental car, you'll have the option of staying somewhere that's not right on a bus route, which might make considerable difference. In any case, I'd recommend investigating lodging in those areas sooner rather than later.

We have been to the Dolomites 5 times, for a week or 2 each time. Three times without a car, one time with, and once with a small group for guided hiking. It’s all good, but depending on your travel style and goals, one transport mode might be better than others.

We go to hike and stay IN the mountain villages (or up on Alpe di Siusi), not in Bolzano or other valley. We like to stay where we can pretty much hike from our door, or walk to a lift that takes us to the trailhead. For a hiking-focused visit of a week or less, I suggest going straight to the Val Gardena and staying in one of the villages there (we like Santa Cristina but it is too small for some). No car needed; just take the local bus from Bolzano (bus station right outside the train station).

For this type of visit, I highly recommend you get a copy of this guidebook, which will give you complete information on transport, lifts, hotels, trailheads, suggested hikes, etc. The authors make it easy to plan a good visit with minimum hassle or complicated logistics.

https://www.abebooks.com/products/isbn/9798374791570?ref_=pd_detail-1-d_

(I did not post the Amazon link because it is too long, but you can buy the book there).

If, on the other hand, you are thinking of a visit fueled by Instagram photos of the Tre Cime, Lago de Brailes, and other over-hyped sites (my opinion is showing), you will need a car and a good bit of time planning where to stay and how to reach these places. For example, the parking lot at the Tre Cime is at the end of a toll road. The parking lot fills up early, and once full no more cars are admitted until another car leaves. Or you can take a bus from Cortina or Dobbiaco, but the buses fill up too. . . .

We have reached the Dolomites in various ways, by flying into Munich, Milan, Bologna, Venice. Then take the train to Bolzano, where we rented a car the one trip we did that, or caught the Sudtirol bus, or, when there were 8 of us, booked a private shuttle. You can pick whichever airport offers the best price or fits best with your plans. If you are starting in Verona, then probably Milan or Bologna would be my pick. (I am not a fan of the Venice airport).

HI Travel4fun.. thank you for that info regarding ZTL and Aurstrian vignette info... Our itinerary is very fluid right now.. so it can change.. for example, we might fly from Munich to Dolomites and then finally goto Verona at the end..If we do fly into Munich.. did you visit Innsbruk or other Austrian town on the way?? How do one get Austrian Vignette??

Hi Kate... yes planning around one week in Dolomites.. we just did Swiss Alp trip this summer.. how do you rate Dolomites vs. Swiss?? Swiss was very expensive.. are Italian Dolomites similar in cost??

Hi acraven, good point regarding AC.. saw many youtube video and was informed don't expect any fan or AC in old lodging.. we are thinking of renting a car and staying somewhere in Orteisei and Cortina D'Ampezzo - should we get hotel away from these tourist sites- if so where would be an optimal place?? If we don't have car, and we wanted to goto tourist places like Tre Cime, Seiser Alm, Lake Braies.. etc.. how do we do that.. re there bus or train that can take us there??

And hi Lola.. 5 times?? wow.. have you been to Swiss?? how do they compare?? we totally enjoyed hiking in Swiss alps near Jungflau and Matterhorn region and it's one reason we want to experience Italian side of the alp..
Where are good hotel suggestions that you can hike right from the door.. I know there are many mountain huts on the dolomites.. do you recommend those??

Thanks everyone for those wonderful suggestions.. I am in preliminarily stages of planning now.. we welcome any and all suggestions..

Dolomites are a bit lower in elevation than most high Alpine areas, so hikes tend to be a little easier and more forgiving. The landscape is somewhat different and in some points more "characteristic". The "Dolomites" name comes from Dolomieu, the French geologist that first described the somewhat pinkish rock, rarely found outside the area, that under the right sunlight looks almost unreal. - Apart from landscape, IMHO the general ambience of Dolomites - I mean houses, churches, shops, festivals, restaurants, hotels - is more refined and festive than the relatively severe Swiss ambience: in summer the flowers on balconies are way richer in Dolomites than in Switzerland and almost all churches sport the overwhelming baroque decorations. Even the local traditonal attire, routinely worn, has 18th century forms. Austrian north Tirol is as decorative as the Italian one, even if its mountains are not as interesting.

We just got back from Verona where we spent 3 nights. Two recommendations; take a day trip to Vicenza and see the fabulous Teatro Olimpico and in Verona visit the San Fermo church with its extraordinary wooden ceiling. It’s a lovely city!

We are doing the same thing in July and returning to the Dolomites for a second time.

We found a good fare into Verona and out of Venice that was very affordable so check that out as well. We are only spending a night there before heading to the wine region between Verona and Lago di Garda.

We were able to rent a car in the city center of Verona and returning it to the airport in Venice. Similar in price to renting in Venice but very convenient.

For our first trip, we stayed four days in Ortisei and I would highly recommend this as a base. Save the eastern Dolomites for another time if you are limited but we felt our time there was enough for just the Val Gardena area. We are heading into the next valley for a five day stay after Verona this year. I wanted to do Cortina but will save this for a time when we can go in September rather than the peak season of July.

You did not mention what you wanted to do in the Dolomites so I would suggest that a few (3-4) days would be enough if you are not an avid hiker. If you are a hiker, 3-4 weeks is not enough.

Have we been to Switzerland? Yes, more times than we have been to the Dolomites. Often we combine the two, a week or 2 in Switzerland, then a week in the Dolomites. Our focus is hiking.

How to compare them? Basically, the peaks of the Dolomites are rockier, and less snowy.

You have seen Switzerland, so take a look at the photos of the Dolomites hiking trails on this website (showing the 10-day guided hiking trip we did 2 Septembers ago):

https://www.mountainhikingholidays.com/dolomites-hiking-tour-in-italy/

Jasonindenver just above has given you great advice for a 3-4-day Dolomites visit: don’t try to see them all unless you have a lot of time.

Thank you Lola for that link..
yes we are avid hikers, and that 10 day itinerary referenced in the link, looks very promising..

The article do reference many rifugios. Do you recommend those accomodations?? if so, can i book via Bookings??
Rifugios looks so charming, but I question how do we get to them with our luggages..

On that hiking tour we stopped at a number of Refugio’s for lunch. We did not overnight in any. There are guided and self-guided hiking tours that include overnights in Refugio’s, but we do not go on those—-my husband and I prefer private rooms with ensuite bathrooms. Generally rifugios have shared accommodations with bathrooms down the hall. They may have a few private rooms as well, but still with shared bathrooms. Not for us at our age.

Rifugios are remote off-road inns designed for hikers (and in the Dolomites, also mountain bikers). Many involve a lift and then a hike of 1-4 hours. People who stay overnight leave their luggage behind at a hotel or storage depot and hike with just a light pack with their overnight needs. You get breakfast and dinner and the food is generally quite good.

I doubt you will find any listed on booking.com. Most have their own website and only take direct bookings. They want to be sure that the people booking there know what they are getting into in terms of access and amenities. Here are a couple of websites from rifugios we have been to in the Dolomites (for lunch), so you can see what they look like and how you reach them:

https://www.rifugiofirenze.com/it/

https://www.schlernhaus.it/en

Scroll down to the bottom of that website and you will the names and links to a number of others in the area.

This one can be reached without hiking, using a crazy gondola with tiny 2-person cabins dangling from a cable. (The nickname is the “coffin cablecar”). You ride standing up.

https://www.tonidemetz.it/en/index.php

I have been up to Tony Demetz hut twice, by hiking up from the other side and riding the telecabine down to Passo Sella. Last time was 2022 on that hiking trip. It is a challenge to my vertigo but I can do it. You can see photos and reviews on Tripadvisor:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g194912-d1951094-Reviews-Telecabin_Forcella_del_Sassolungo-Selva_di_Val_Gardena_Val_Gardena_Province_of_So.html#/media/1951094/?

As crazy as the gondola may look, I am old enough to remember riding it as a child maybe 50 years ago. At the time it was not "egg-shaped" but in form of open baskets for two persons, closed only roughly to your chest. That was really crazy...

The original “Skyway” in Disneyland (Anaheim CA) had open-sided gondola buckets like that. We rode in them 68 years ago. It was considered a novelty.

https://www.yesterland.com/skywaymk.html

But they were close to the ground. I cannot imagine riding in an open bucket like that down the steep drop from the hut at Forcella Sassolungo. That would be terrifying!

The cable car is never very distant from the ground. Forcella Sassolungo has not a real drop but two steep but walkable descents on both sides.