We'll be driving from Venice to Bolzano and are looking for a scenic but not torturous driving route. Our only stops would be to eat and to take phtos of scenic outlooks. We've driven in the Rockies in the US and other mountainous areas but on this trip prefer not to drive on very narrow roads with lots of switchbacks, if possible. Rick Steves suggests the following route but parts of it look like it has lots of what we'd like to avoid:

Venice to Belluno to Cortino d' Ampezzo to Pordoi Pass to Fassa Valley to Bolzano (Google Maps says this route is 175 miles, 5 hrs 30 minutes).

Google Maps suggests driving to Verona and then turning north to Bolzano but I have read that this may not be as scenic as al alternate route - Venice to Belluno to Cortina d'Ampezzo to Dobbiaco Toblach; take S 549 to A22 to Bolzano (listed as 174 miles, 4 hrs 13 mins). This looks like a less challengingbut scenic drive.

I'll add that if we take the second route, we would be repeating part of the A22 when we head to Innsbruck after staying in Bolzano, where we plan to take some scenic drives in that area.

If there are other suggested routes, we'll look at those, too.
Thanks!

The route via Cortina would be my preferred route, but I'd make a detour specifically to go over Passo Giau. Just FYI, you'd be missing the Marmolada Glacier. This route would take most of a day, and in summer there could be some traffic delays in spots.

The second route, no... skip Verona and the boring, truck-filled A-22. Going via Dobbiaco could be made a little more scenic if you took a slight detour to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Also, after Cortina, you'd be passing Lago Misurina which is beautiful. And there's an interesting German cemetery from World War I just on the west side of the road to Toblach, a couple of kms. south of Toblacher See. Kriegerfriedhof Nasswand. This route would take ALL day, and in summer there could be some traffic delays in spots.

You wouldn't have to repeat any of the second route on the way to Innsbruck... unless you wanted to. You could drive through Castelrotto to Ortisei, east through Selva to Corvara and turn north through La Villa, Badia, etc.

I would do the 1st route and the alternate route to Innsbruck. I would avoid the A22 as much as possible.

I hope you're planning to visit the Otzi Museum in Bolzano!

Thanks for the suggestions. The detour to Passo Giau looks VERY twisty-turny. We did those kinds of roads easily when we were younger but are more cautious now that we're in our mid-70's. If we took that detour, would we just have to turn around and come back to Cortina before continuing to Dobbiaco and Bolzano?
Would the detour to Tre Cime di Lavarado just be for the view? We aren't planning to stop anywhere excpet to take photos.

Are the Google Maps times much faster than the actual time it take to do the drive? It gives Venice to Cortina to Dobbiaco to Bolzano as just over 4 hrs. We'll be driving the last week of April. Is there a chance we'll run into snow? We love to look at it but don't want to drive through it!

I've read reference to the Great Dolomite Road. Can you explain what rout that is?

We definitely plan to go see Otzi!

I'm "only" 72 and husband 74, but we haven't found roads in the Dolomites to be difficult at all. (I admit my husband loves to drive.) Driving speeds are low, and roads are very well maintained. Anyway, it would be hard to drive over passes, down into and out of valleys, while also avoiding twisty roads, switchbacks, etc. That's the nature of road engineering in the mountains.

No backtracking if you detour to Passo Giau, although it would mean not seeing Cinque Torri and Passo Falzarego. Pass Giau is my #1, and you'll be "missing" several other passes in the limited time you have.

Tre Cime... You can drive to Rifugio Auronzo and get a pretty spectacular view.

But if it's a choice between the route via Dobbiaco or the route via Giau, Pordoi and Fassa, it's a no-brainer for me. I'd do the passes and Fassa.

IMO, the drive time estimates on Google Maps are optimistic, almost without fail. I always add 10-15%.

Weather is usually a wild card in the mountains, but I think it's unlikely you'd see snow showers in late April.

The Great Dolomites Road:

https://www.guidedolomiti.com/en/great-dolomites-road/

As a compromise between mountain roads and motorways, you may check:
SS47: Basssano del Grappa - Val Sugana - Trento
SS249/45biseschiera - Garda - Torbole - Vezzzano - Trento (during the season, there will be much traffic alongLake Garda)
SP235/90/14/SS42: Trento - Mezzocorona - Lago Caldaro - Bolzano

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I've mapped each of the routes and saved them so we can decide which to take.

We did most of your first option in 2019. We were staying in Vigo di Fassa, so we didn't go all the way to Bolzano. The first part is mostly highway. From Cortina on, it is a beautiful drive in good weather. We stopped near Passo Falzarego and took the lift at Lagazuoi for the great views. There are switchbacks in some areas, but as Jean says, the speeds tend to be slower. Google Street View shows most of that route, so you could use that to get a sense of what the road between Cortina and Bolzano looks like in various spots.

I recall that when we drove back to Venice from Vigo in the Val di Fassa, we took a different route that went through Passo San Pellegrino and Falcade and then to Belluno (from the map, I think routes 346 and 203). There were some switchbacks in one portion, but not as many overall. A lot of it is in a valley and follows a river. It is a pretty drive although the scenery isn't as dramatic as the other option via Cortina. I think it is also shorter, which is why we chose that route. Again, Google Street View can give you an idea of much of that route.

Thanks for your help. I'm keeping a link to each of these routes.