At a glance
- The full itinerary includes 2 nights in Milan, 1 in Vigo di Fassa, 1 in Ortisei, 1 in Santa Maddalena, 1 in Cortina d’Ampezzo, and 2 in Venice.
- Pick up the rental car near Milano Centrale around 08:00 on day 3 and return it at Venezia Mestre between 17:00 and 18:00 on day 7. That is about 105–106 hours, so check whether the booking is priced as a 5-day rental.
- Estimated driving distance is about 820–920 km. Compare the total, including a one-way drop-off fee, automatic transmission, insurance, additional driver, tolls, mountain parking, and fuel.
- A compact car is convenient on mountain roads and in parking lots if two people are traveling with carry-on bags only. For four people with two large and two small suitcases, compare Intermediate SUVs or wagons first. Cargo space varies even within the same class, so confirm your luggage needs with the rental company instead of relying on the model name.
- Including all nine stops in four nights and five days means changing hotels every day in the Dolomites. If repacking feels like too much, use Ortisei and Cortina as two bases and skip either Ciampedie or Santa Maddalena.
Day by day
See all 9 days
See each day's route, highlights, background and stay together in one place.
Leave your bags at accommodation near the station and explore just one area, such as the Duomo or Brera. Don’t rent a car after a long-haul flight.
Travel from the airport to the central station by airport train or bus. Check the actual service that matches your arrival airport and time. Google Maps 길찾기
Explore the Duomo, Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, and Sforza Castle on foot and by public transport. If you want to see The Last Supper, cut back on the rest of your itinerary to fit your reserved entry time.
Check how to get to the pickup location the next morning and when it opens. Collect your large bags from the hotel, then go straight to the rental office. Google Maps 길찾기
Pick up the car near the central station around 08:00. Record a video of the exterior, wheels, windows, and fuel level, then drive to Lake Carezza. Spend about an hour on the lakeside path and at the viewpoints, cross Costalunga Pass, and stay overnight in Vigo di Fassa.
About 330 km and 5 hours 30 minutes to 6 hours 30 minutes, including breaks. Parking at Lake Carezza cannot be reserved in advance. If you arrive late, see the lake only and leave Ciampedie for the next day. Google Maps 길찾기
Take the first cable car up to Ciampedie in the morning and go for a short walk with views of the Catinaccio range. Come back down around 11:00 and drive through Canazei and over Sella Pass to Ortisei. Even if you arrive around 14:00, work backward from the last downhill ride of the Mont Sëuc gondola on your visit date to allow for parking, tickets, and boarding lines. During periods when service ends at 17:00, such as May 30–June 5, don’t lock in a 2–3-hour hike; keep to a short visit around the upper station or move Alpe di Siusi to another day.
In 2026, the Vigo-Ciampedie cable car starts at 08:00 or 08:30, depending on the season. The Ortisei–Alpe di Siusi gondola is scheduled to run until 18:00 from June 6 to October 16. If you reach Ortisei after 14:30, shorten your walk on the plateau. Google Maps 길찾기
Take the first gondola to Seceda and walk for 2–3 hours around the upper station and scenic ridge. Come down around noon, then drive to and from Gardena Pass via Selva. In the afternoon, head to Val di Funes, park in a designated lot, and walk to the viewpoint by Santa Maddalena Church.
In 2026, an adult round-trip ticket for Seceda costs €74, and service starts at 08:30. Only residents’ vehicles are allowed on the road to Santa Maddalena Church. It is about a 30-minute walk from the Putzen parking area, so arrive 60–90 minutes before sunset on your travel date. Google Maps 길찾기
Leave Santa Maddalena in the morning and drive to Lake Braies. Allow about 1 hour 30 minutes for a relaxed walk around the entire lake. Drive to Cortina around lunchtime, then rest in the afternoon after checking the return route, where to refuel, and the rental office’s closing time for the next day.
From July 1 to September 15, 2026, between 09:00 and 16:00, you need an online reservation or a valid access permit to drive into the Lake Braies valley. Arriving before 09:00 does not guarantee a parking space. Google Maps 길찾기
Don’t schedule the 4–5-hour Tre Cime loop hike today. Drive from Cortina to the rental return office in Mestre and return the car before the deadline in your contract. If you want to hike Tre Cime, add a night in Cortina and another day with the car, or first secure a contract that actually allows a later return.
The Tre Cime access reservation and 12-hour pass are separate from the Mestre return deadline. Don’t commit to Tre Cime today unless you have written confirmation that you can satisfy the requirements for the reserved access point and license plate registration, and reach the return garage at its specified address during opening hours, all on the same day. Google Maps 길찾기
If you’re staying in Mestre, take a regional train to Santa Lucia station. Connect Rialto and San Marco, leaving time for the lanes and vaporetto rides.
Get around the historic center on foot and by vaporetto. If your accommodation is in the historic center, check a luggage route with fewer bridges and stairs first. Google Maps 길찾기
Choose an airport bus or water transport based on your flight time. If you leave late, walk around just one area near your accommodation before heading to the airport.
Mestre and the historic center have different airport connections. Check the first leg from your accommodation to the airport and your luggage arrangements again the day before. Google Maps 길찾기
숙박비는 2인 1실 검색 범위입니다. 전체 숙박 평균은 숙소별 표시 금액이며, 실제 결제 전에는 총액, 도시세, 조식, 욕실 형태와 무료 취소 마감을 같은 조건으로 비교하세요.
History and context
The Dolomites are a mountain range uplifted from carbonate rock formed in a shallow sea. The pink glow on the peaks around sunset is called Enrosadira, a word from the Ladin language.
In Val di Fassa, Val Gardena, and Alta Badia, place names in Ladin remain alongside Italian and German. That’s why you’ll often see signs with several names.
Tre Cime and the surrounding high mountains were on the front between Italy and Austria-Hungary during World War I. Trenches and traces of military structures remain along the mountain trails.
Food and restaurants
- In Val di Fassa and Ortisei, look for Tyrolean and Ladin foods such as canederli and schlutzkrapfen.
- Casunziei and polenta are familiar local dishes in Cortina.
- Plan meals and fuel ahead on the rental car return day, and allow enough time to reach the office before it closes.
A regional dinner option for the evening before Ciampedie. Check opening hours and reservation availability for your visit date.
Vigo di Fassa Google MapsA dinner option in central Ortisei for pizza and local dishes. Check the wait time that day.
Ortisei Google MapsA regional dinner option before or after sunset in Santa Maddalena. Schedule your reservation so it doesn’t overlap with sunset.
Funes Google MapsA dinner option in Mestre after returning the car. Check for closures and kitchen closing time that day.
Mestre Google MapsHow to fit it in
Mid-June to mid-September is the most reliable window, when summer lifts overlap and the risk of snow on mountain passes is lower. After two nights in Milan, rent a car for four nights in the Dolomites, return it at Mestre, then spend two nights in Venice.
Reality check
In the booking form, select Milano Centrale for pickup and Venezia Mestre for return. Even at the same company, the office and actual garage entrance may be in different places. Check both addresses and opening hours, and confirm one-way returns in your contract. If the Mestre office closes early, compare the total cost with returning the car at Venice Airport.
You’ll use the rental car for about five days, from around 08:00 on day 3 until the return deadline on day 7. Don’t commit to both the Tre Cime hike and a Mestre return on the final day; first confirm the actual closing time of the return garage. Add Tre Cime as a 4–5-hour outing only if you can extend your stay and return the car a day later.
Add the one-way drop-off fee, automatic transmission, insurance, tolls, and fuel to the basic five-day rental rate. Check separately how the deposit is temporarily held on your card and the conditions for an actual deduction or refund; don’t add the full deposit to your final trip cost. Separately calculate lift costs for Ciampedie, Alpe di Siusi, and Seceda, and parking fees at Lake Carezza, Santa Maddalena, Lake Braies, and Tre Cime. In 2026, an adult round-trip ticket for Seceda costs €74; recheck the total for the rest with the official sellers for your travel date.
Drivers from South Korea need a valid original Korean driver’s license and either an international driving permit or an official Italian translation. Do not drive with only an international driving permit. On mountain roads, drive at a speed that lets you stop within the distance you can see. Shorten your pass and ridge plans if rain, snow, high winds, or thunderstorms are forecast.
If plans change
Leave Vigo di Fassa early for Ortisei instead of waiting around. Enjoy a longer walk at Alpe di Siusi and keep the Seceda plan for the next day.
Check the official route’s direction, elevation change, and duration before choosing the variation that continues on foot toward Col Raiser instead of just visiting the upper station and returning. The section described as 3.5 km and about 1 hour 35 minutes is an uphill route, so don’t use that time as the downhill travel time to Santa Cristina. Check the visit-date schedules for all of the following: a lift or walking route down to Santa Cristina, the last service, and the bus to Ortisei. This option is a day plan that replaces the drive over Gardena Pass.
Skip Lake Braies and, on day 6, drive from Santa Maddalena to Falzarego Pass for the Lagazuoi cable car, then stay overnight in Cortina. In 2026, service is scheduled for June 6–October 18, with the first ride up at 09:00 and the last ride down at 17:00. Adding both Braies and Lagazuoi can make the drive to Mestre the next day exhausting, so choose one.
Head early to Gardena Pass and Santa Maddalena. Extend your walk in Val di Funes before sunset, but don’t drive onto the restricted road to the church.
Don’t push yourself to drive all the way to the lake after the vehicle access restrictions end just because you couldn’t get a reservation. Check whether the official bus has availability; if not, skip the lake and rest in Cortina.
Don’t park on the roadside or attempt a hike that would be unsafe under the circumstances. Take a short break at Lake Misurina, then head down to Mestre in time for the car return.
Small tip
If two mountain outings in one day feel like too much, choose just one. If you take a longer walk at Ciampedie, skip Alpe di Siusi; on the Seceda day, you can shorten your stop at Gardena Pass. The Tre Cime loop hike is not part of the base itinerary on the return day.
Final check before departure
- Save the exact address and opening hours of the Milano Centrale pickup location and the Venezia Mestre return garage.
- Check that the pickup and return times fit within the 5-day rate, and whether a late return adds another day.
- Check the one-way return fee, unlimited mileage, deposit, insurance deductible, automatic transmission, and additional driver terms in the contract.
- Write down the number of passengers and suitcase sizes before booking. At pickup, make sure all bags fit below the windows, even in an alternative car in the same class.
- Bring the original valid Korean driver’s license, international driving permit, passport, and a payment card in the primary driver’s name. Check the rental company’s document requirements again.
- Get written confirmation that all four Dolomites accommodations provide private or partner parking.
- Check the operating hours, last ride down, and weather for Ciampedie, Alpe di Siusi, and Seceda the day before your visit.
- Check Lake Braies access and parking rules. Check Tre Cime access and parking reservations and license plate registration deadlines separately only if you extend your stay to add the hike.
- Save the sunset time at Santa Maddalena and the walking time from the Putzen parking area to the viewpoint.
- Keep your highway toll ticket until you exit and avoid lanes marked for Telepass only.
- Watch for ZTL signs. Don’t drive into central Milan or the historic center of Venice.
Based on official pages as of August 28, 2026. This route assumes the summer mountain lifts and the Tre Cime access road are operating at the same time. In 2026, Ciampedie is scheduled to operate May 30–October 4, Seceda May 22–November 2, and Ortisei–Alpe di Siusi May 1–November 2. So this itinerary cannot be followed as written on or after October 5; you will need to skip Ciampedie. Service may also be suspended on the day due to snow, high winds, or maintenance.
Information checked: 2026-08-28