cheweydan

I am looking for a scenic route through the dolomites from salzburg to venice.
I am looking for the best combination of easy driving and wonderful views.
The route suggested by via michelin takes me past villach austria and udine, and seems to go around the dolomites.
Has anyone driven this route?
If so, do you go through the dolomites or do I need to take a different route?
Any thoughts are welcome

Cowboy1968

Viamichelin suggests that route for a reason: It's the only way to go from Salzburg to Venice only on motorways.
I would say that no matter what other (more scenic) route you will choose, it will turn your half-day drive Salzburg-Venice either in a really long full-day drive, or you want to think about a night in between. Even though the roads are easy to drive, all day mountain driving can wear you out more than the same number of hours on a motorway.

IMO, the most scenic option for crossing the Alps is still in Austria: the Grossglockner Alpine road. It has a pretty stiff extra toll, though.

To incorporate the Dolomites in that itinerary you could take the following routing:

Salzburg - A9 - Bischofshofen - B311 - Bruck - B107 (Grossglockner Alpine Rd) - Lienz - B100 - (border Austria/Italy) - Dobbiaco/Toblach - SS51 - Cortina - SS51/A27 - Venezia

To get a good impression of the Dolomites, you may want to roam around a bit it the Cortina section, and use some byways with a good map.

Cowboy1968

Sorry, forgot to mention that I was assuming a drive in summer. Otherwise you may want to check road closures for winter if you plan to drive a pass.

Steve_James

Hi Chewey - Cowboy's route via Cortina is nice - but if you want to include the best of the Dolomites I'd second his suggestion of an overnight stop enroute.

That way you could include the beautiful Alta Badia/Sella area west of Cortina - and do some of the spectacular high passes.

Steve

cheweydan

Thanks for your reply cowboy.
Have you driven the suggested michelin route before?
I am leaning towards taking it but would detour if it would only add an hour or two.
Does anyone have any experience driving in this area.
Is it still a scenic drive?
Keep in mind I will be driving around salzburg for a few days, and will be in switzerland for 6 days on this trip.
I guess my question is. Is it worth going out of my way to see the dolomites given the previous information.
Thanks

cheweydan

Thanks for your reply also Steve. We must have been typing at the same time.
Any additional info to add based on my other post?
thanks

ira

Hi C,

If, at www.viamichelin.com, you change the route from "recommended" to "discovery", you will get the route through the mountains.

It includes Cortina.

Your driving time increases to about 9 hr.

>Is it worth going out of my way to see the dolomites.

That is entirely your decision.

basingstoke2

I have driven most of the route recommended by Cowboy and thought it fantastic - a highlight of our trip. We overnighted in Dobbiaco/Toblach and found it to be an enjoyable town. The border runs right through town hence the double name. It is a jumping off point for hiking the Dolomites and there were many hikers in town when we were there. Many were in Tyrolian hiking clothing.- it made for an interesting ambiance.

Steve_James

'Is it worth going out of my way to see the dolomites'

Absolutely! When are you going?

I'd follow Cowboy's route to Cortina via Dobbiaco (- with a detour to Lake Braies) - then head west (- Falzarego/Valparola passes) for an overnight stop in the Sella area.

From there you could plan an extremely scenic drive to include Gardena/Sella passes - and down to Venice via San Martino.

Make time for some of the superb cable-car rides en route.

This is not a drive to do in a hurry

Steve

lvillinois

We will be doing the reverse of this drive in Sept. in 2 vans. We are interested in the Grossglockner Alpine Drive...how long does this drive take if done straight through? Once we know that we can plan how many stops to make. Thanks!

Cowboy1968

Hey cheweydan,

First, a correction: the motorway leading south from Salzburg is the A10, and not A9.
I have driven both A10, as well as the other mountain roads I mentioned.

The suggested route by viamichelin past Villach and Udine may be a motorway but it is still a scenic drive (at least until you get to Udine, when terrain will get flat again). Yet, you will cut through the major mountain ranges in tunnels, so your overall driving experience is less spectacular as if you climbed those ranges on pass roads.

But A10 (or "Tauern-Autobahn&quot is also one of the most important transalpine arteries, connecting Northern Central Europe not only with Southern Austria, but also with Slovenia, Croatia, etc.
So don't expect a lazy drive on a quiet road. During vacation time, traffic backs up easily, especially on weekends.

Yet, for going from Salzburg to Venice there is no other route which will get you there in a comparable amount of time.

Seeing the Dolomites is definetely not in the vicinity of a one or two hour detour from that straight route via the motorways, unfortunately. But since you will see a lot of mountains and nice vistas during your stay in Salzburg and later in Switzerland I would not say that you will miss something completely different or unique. But that is more a matter of your taste than mine.

cheweydan

Thanks for all the great information.
We will be making the drive June 10th. I assume all the roads will be open?
Ira, thanks for that info on the discovery route on viamichelin, that gives me good info on not only a recommended scenic route but also the time difference between the two.
Steve and Cowboy, thanks for the suggestions. Can you explain the road for most of the route?
Are there a lot of switchbacks? constant climbing and descending? many straight open parts?
I am somewhat concerned about the drive wearing me out.
I will also consider your suggestion of staying overnight in the area. Would it be wise to steal a day from Venice(3 days planned) or beschtesgaden(3 days planned)
Thanks again

Cowboy1968

The drive from Salzburg to the beginning of the Grossglockner Alpine Road is mostly straight and follows the valleys and rivers.

Real mountain driving will be on the Grossglockner Alpine Road yet it is not demanding.
http://www.grossglockner.com/

After Grossglockner, going via Lienz to Dobbiaco/Toblach is mostly straight driving again.

After Toblach, driving through the Dolomites is again more real mountain driving. As others also said, seeing the Dolomites is not to follow one road from A to B, but more like exploring a region, driving around on byways and highways. This will be up to you to decide how long or short you want to keep your stay in that area.

basingstoke2

When I drove that route it was mid June and the weather was perfect. We were three people in a Fiat Panda so there was lots of shifting but I like that. Some of the sections as mentioned were more challenging than others with switchbacks and such but IMO that adds to the adventure. I found it invigorating rather than tiring.