scenic car routes to/from Dolomites
 

Hello,

We will be traveling on 6/24 to Castelrotto from Verona and wondered about the best route in terms of scenery, possible nice stops on the way, as well as good roads. Any suggestions?
Also, we will be traveling a few days later from Castelrotto to Varenna, and I wondered about the best route in terms of the same factors (though not necessarily where to stop on the way), more about scenic route with good roads. Thank you!

Heading to the Dolomites from the Piedmonte, we drove up the west side of Lake Garda, overnighting in lovely Saló. On tne way down, enroute to Bologna, we stayed overnight on tne east side of Lake Garda in Malcesine. Both towns on Lake Garda were wonderful and totally different.

Assuming you meant to drive the main road (E45/A22), Verona to Castelrotto isn't particularly scenic until you make the turnoff for Castelrotto. This is the main north-south route between Bologna and Innsbruck, and there are many, many trucks/lorries. There are alternate routes depending on how much time you want to spend on this drive.

You could drive the eastern shore of Lake Garda and then continue on secondary roads north of the lake (Molveno, Fondo) before turning toward Castelrotto. Summer traffic could make the lakeside portion very slow. There is some good mountain scenery north of the lake if you stay on secondary roads. Overall, it could take upwards of 6 hours.

In about the same amount of time, you could head east from Verona to Vicenza and then approach Castelrotto from the east (Feltre, Moena, Canazei, Ortisei). This would take you through some of the dramatic Dolomite scenery.

If you take the highway, all three main towns along the way are interesting. Rovereto, Trento and Bolzano. I particularly recommend the Ice Man Museum in Bolzano. You could also make a day trip to Bolzano from Castelrotto.

IMO, your goal while in Castelrotto should be to drive as many of the mountain passes as possible. They are all different and incredibly dramatic in their own ways. If you have any interest in WWI, there are some interesting sites in the area, especially near Cortina as well as a museum in Rovereto.

For the drive from Castelrotto to Varenna, I would head to Merano and Passo dello Stelvio. You'd reach Lake Como at the northern end. It would be another long driving day, probably 6 hours. You could possibly shave off an hour if you skipped Stelvio, but to me it's the highlight.

We concur on spending time driving the mountain passes.