For 3 days in the Dolomites, base yourself in Cortina d'Ampezzo or at Lake Misurina: day one for Cortina's cable cars, day two for the Tre Cime loop and the lake, day three for Lake Sorapis or Lago di Braies. With 5 to 7 days, add the Lagazuoi war tunnels, then drive west to Val Gardena for Seceda.
This Dolomites itinerary starts in the east, around Cortina d’Ampezzo and Lake Misurina, because the Tre Cime, Lake Sorapis and Lake Misurina are all within about half an hour’s drive of Cortina, with Lago di Braies not much further. The 3-day plan stays there. The 5 to 7 day road trip adds the First World War sites west of Cortina, then crosses the passes to Val Gardena.
It is written for mid-June to late September, when lifts, huts and summer buses run (see the best time to visit). Drive times come from route planners and are free-flow estimates: on mountain roads with summer traffic, add a quarter or more.
Venice is the nearest big airport. Cortina is about 156 km by road, roughly 2 hours by car, or 2 hours 10 to 2 hours 30 on the Cortina Express bus from the airport or Mestre. Details are in Venice to the Dolomites. Ortisei, at the west end of this route, is about 213 km from Venice, well over three hours.
Base: Cortina d’Ampezzo, or Misurina if you want quiet nights by the lake. Misurina has about ten hotels around the shore (our Lake Misurina hotels guide covers them) and is 14 km from Cortina over Passo Tre Croci.
Arrive by lunchtime. Ride the Tofana cable car to 3,244 m, or the Faloria lift straight from the centre, while you still have afternoon light. Walk Corso Italia in the evening. Our list of things to do in Cortina d’Ampezzo has the lift seasons and fares.
This is the day the trip is built around. Get to Misurina early. Either drive the toll road to Rifugio Auronzo (€40 per car in 2026, booked online in advance) or take the Dolomitibus shuttle (€10 for the day; the first bus leaves Misurina at 7:30).
Walk the Tre Cime di Lavaredo loop: about 10 km, 400 m of climbing, three to four hours, via Rifugio Lavaredo, Forcella Lavaredo and Rifugio Locatelli. If your legs allow, add the short, exposed path to the Cadini di Misurina viewpoint, about 30 to 35 minutes each way from Rifugio Auronzo.
Come down to the lake for the late afternoon. The flat path round Lake Misurina is about 2.6 km; walk it at sunset when the day-trip groups have gone, and stop at Lago d’Antorno on the way down for the Tre Cime reflected in the water.
Pick one:
Drive back to Venice in the afternoon, or stay on for the longer trip.
Follow the 3-day plan, then:
Drive about 16 km west of Cortina to Passo Falzarego. Take the Lagazuoi cable car to 2,732 m and explore the First World War tunnels and trenches, free and open-air (bring a helmet and torch for the tunnels). In the afternoon, ride the chairlift from Bai de Dones to the Cinque Torri and walk through the restored trenches by the top station. Via ferrata fans can swap one of these for an easy route such as Averau.
If you did Sorapis on day 3, do Braies today, or take the jeep shuttle from Misurina up Monte Piana (in 2026 it ran from 1 June to 31 October), where the front line ran through the plateau and the trenches and tunnels are still there.
Drive west over the passes to Ortisei, about 65 km from Cortina. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours plus stops. Passo Giau, about 16 km from Cortina, is a possible detour on the way. In the afternoon, ride the lifts from Ortisei to Seceda (they ran from 22 May to 2 November in 2026), walk to the summit cross at 2,519 m, and come down via Pieralongia to Col Raiser, about 9 to 10 km. Since 2025 a short stretch of trail 6 has carried a €5 charge from landowners; trail 1 avoids it.
Take the gondola from Ortisei to the Alpe di Siusi, which its official site calls the largest high alpine pasture in Europe. The road is closed to most private cars from 9:00 to 17:00 in summer, so the lift is the easy way up. On the way out, Lago di Carezza (about 54 km from Ortisei, roughly an hour) is a short stop: watch the Latemar reflected from the fenced path. From here Bolzano is about 20 km away.
With only five days, cut day 5 and squeeze day 7 into a morning before leaving.
The east works by public transport in summer: Cortina Express or ATVO from Venice to Cortina, Dolomitibus line 51 from Cortina over Passo Tre Croci to Misurina (hourly in summer 2026, about 35 minutes), then the Tre Cime shuttle. Outside summer it gets hard: the 2026 winter timetable had no Cortina to Misurina service. For the leg to Val Gardena, a car is far simpler than piecing together buses. If buses do not fit, a guided day from Misurina with the toll road included solves the Tre Cime; see the tours.
From December to March, swap hiking for skiing. Base in Cortina for the Dolomiti Superski area, see the frozen Lake Misurina (signs ban walking on the ice), and visit Braies, where in winter only one side of the shore path is open. The Tre Cime toll road is closed until late May.
5 hours
Meets at Misurina and drives you up the toll road (fee included) for the classic 10 km loop around the Tre Cime from Rifugio Auronzo, with a guide who covers the geology and First World War history.
from$146
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A private day that starts in Misurina, hikes for about two hours from Rifugio Auronzo for a Tre Cime view, comes back down for lunch in a Misurina hut, then circles Lake Braies.
from$426
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A small-group hike above 2,000 m around the Cinque Torri near Cortina, through the open-air First World War trenches, adjusted to your fitness.
from$224
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A demanding guided hike straight from the lakeshore into the Cadini spires, 12.7 km with 870 m of climbing, stopping at Rifugio Città di Carpi for lunch.
from$112
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Three days is enough for one area if you pick the east: Cortina and Lake Misurina put the Tre Cime loop, Lake Sorapis, the Cadini viewpoint and several cable cars within about half an hour's drive. It is not enough to see both the east and Val Gardena properly, because the drive between them over the passes takes 1.5 hours or more each way.
For the Tre Cime, Lake Misurina, Sorapis and Braies, stay in Cortina d'Ampezzo or at Misurina, which has about ten hotels around the lake. Cortina has more choice and the long-distance buses from Venice. For Seceda and the Alpe di Siusi, move to Ortisei in Val Gardena for the second half of a longer trip.
A car makes it much easier, especially outside July and August. In summer you can manage the east by bus: Cortina Express from Venice, Dolomitibus line 51 from Cortina to Misurina, and the €10 shuttle to the Tre Cime trailhead. The 2026 winter timetable had no Cortina to Misurina bus at all, so outside summer you will want a car.
Ortisei, the main town in Val Gardena, is about 65 km from Cortina over the passes. Route planners give about 1 hour 15 minutes, but on narrow mountain roads with summer traffic and photo stops, allow 1.5 to 2 hours. The Great Dolomite Road between Bolzano and Cortina covers about 110 km over the Costalunga, Pordoi and Falzarego passes.
Start in the east. Spend two nights in Cortina or Misurina, walk the Tre Cime loop on your first full day, see Lake Misurina at sunset, and hike to Lake Sorapis or visit Lago di Braies the next. If you have more time, add Lagazuoi and Cinque Torri, then finish with two nights in Val Gardena for Seceda.
The Tre Cime di Lavaredo loop is a walk of about 9.5 km and 400 m of climbing around three peaks, taking most people 3 to 4 hours.
The best things to do in Cortina d'Ampezzo are riding the Tofana cable car to 3,244 m, walking the First World War trenches at Cinque Torri and Lagazuoi, and strolling Corso Italia.
The best time to visit the Dolomites for hiking is mid-June to late September, when the lifts, mountain huts and summer buses all run.
The easiest way from Venice to the Dolomites is the Cortina Express bus, which runs five times a day all year and takes 2 hours 10 minutes to 3 hours 10 minutes from Venice to Cortina d'Ampezzo.