One Verona night, two each in Ortisei and Cortina, then Riva del Garda: a week of mountain walks and a lake finish.
Begin with Verona’s Roman Arena, then drive into a landscape of pale rock towers and pastureland. Ortisei brings you into Val Gardena, where Ladin language, woodcarving and local cooking make the town as interesting as the views above it. A full day can take you towards Seceda’s Odle peaks or the meadows of Alpe di Siusi.
Continue to Cortina for the Ampezzo valley’s traditions and a separate Tre Cime walking day. The Regole’s shared management of forests and pastures adds a human story to the mountain scenery. At dinner, spinach-filled crafuncins and beetroot casunziei introduce different local pasta traditions along the journey.
The six nights are divided into one in Verona, two in Ortisei, two in Cortina and one in Riva del Garda. June–September is the walking season used for this plan. After the two full mountain days, Riva changes the mood with open water, harbour streets and a final evening at the northern end of Lake Garda.
Choose Seceda for the sharp Odle peaks above grassy slopes, or Alpe di Siusi for a meadow day. Ortisei gives you two nights, with one full day for the outing and evenings in a town where Ladin culture and woodcarving remain part of everyday life.
Give the Three Peaks a full day from the Cortina base. The circuit from Rifugio Auronzo takes you towards Forcella Lavaredo and the north faces, then around the western side. Returning to Cortina leaves a second evening for the town and a plate of local casunziei.
Finish among Riva’s old-town streets and beside its harbour, with steep slopes framing the northern lake. The change from mountain valleys to open water gives the week a lovely closing scene. A waterfront walk or short boat outing can be part of the final morning.
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StartBooker answer
Spend one night in Verona, two in Ortisei, two in Cortina and one in Riva del Garda. Collect the car on day two and return it on day seven. The two mountain bases each give you a full walking day: Seceda or Alpe di Siusi from Ortisei, then Tre Cime from Cortina. Between the outings, enjoy Ladin woodcarving, local pasta and the Ampezzo valley’s traditions. Riva finishes the journey with an evening by Lake Garda. The route covers seven days and six nights, with summer walking planned for June–September.
Explore tours, attractions and local experiences in Verona, Ortisei, Cortina d’Ampezzo, Riva del Garda along this route through Italy.
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Start with one night in Verona, then spend two nights in each mountain town before the final Riva stay. Ortisei and Cortina each have a full day for a main walk, with arrival afternoons and evenings for the towns themselves.
4 stops · swipe
1
Roman Arena and a walkable first evening
Stay near the historic centre for an evening around Piazza Bra and the Roman Arena, or near your car collection point for the next morning. This first night introduces Verona before the drive into Val Gardena.
Read the Verona guide →
2
Val Gardena lifts, Ladin culture and woodcarving
Ortisei’s centre and lift stations suit a two-night mountain stay. A room in town gives you walks to local restaurants, woodcarving displays and the first lift, with a full day above the valley in between.
3
Ampezzo traditions and access towards Tre Cime
A central Cortina stay brings Corso Italia and Ampezzo cooking into the arrival evening. Two nights give the Tre Cime outing a full day, with another evening to enjoy the town afterwards.
4
Northern Lake Garda harbour and cliffside walks
Stay within an enjoyable walk of Riva’s harbour and old town. One night gives you an evening by the water and a final morning before departure, a lake setting after the two mountain stays.
Day three and day five are the two full mountain days. Days two, four and six change overnight base; day seven ends the trip without another hotel night.
Begin around Piazza Bra and Verona’s Roman Arena. The amphitheatre gives the first evening a memorable centre, with its surviving exterior standing beside the broad square. Walk through the nearby streets, settle into your accommodation and enjoy dinner in the city. An early arrival can include an interior visit, while a later one can be a simple walk and meal. This is the route’s one Verona night, introducing an urban setting before tomorrow’s mountain drive. Keeping the first day on foot makes the change of pace easy: the car is collected on day two for Val Gardena. Enjoy the square as an evening place as well as a monument, then return to the hotel ready for the journey north. The next two nights will be in Ortisei, with a full day to spend above its valley.
Overnight: Verona
Collect the car and drive into Val Gardena, allowing most of the morning with breaks for the journey from Verona. After settling in, walk through Ortisei’s centre. Its three names—Urtijëi, St. Ulrich and Ortisei—reflect Ladin, German and Italian language use, a first glimpse of the valley’s cultural life. Woodcarving is a living local craft: take time with the carvings and workshop displays around town. Museum Gherdëina offers another way into the valley, with collections connecting its art and natural history. For dinner, look for crafuncins, half-moon pasta filled with spinach, or tëurta de furmenton, the local buckwheat cake. These dishes give the evening a character of its own after the drive. Tomorrow is the full mountain day, while this arrival belongs to the town and the traditions that make Val Gardena more than a scenic base.
Overnight: Ortisei
Take the Ortisei lifts to Seceda for views of the sharp Odle peaks above grassy slopes. Follow the Seceda–Pieralongia–Odles route along the upper panoramic path to Pieralongia’s two rock towers, then pass the World Heritage Terrace and Odles hut to the lower Fermeda chairlift. Ride Fermeda uphill and walk the final ten minutes back to Seceda’s cable-car station. This lift-assisted circuit is 5.8 km, with about 1½ hours of walking and an easy technical grade; allow extra time for lifts, lunch and photographs. The route gives you several perspectives on the peaks as you move between the upper paths and the grassy slopes. A meadow day on Alpe di Siusi is another option from the same Ortisei base.
Overnight: Ortisei
Drive east to Cortina, then spend the afternoon on foot around Corso Italia. After Val Gardena’s Ladin culture and woodcarving, the Ampezzo valley adds another story of mountain life. The Regole d’Ampezzo are a continuing institution for collective ownership and management of forests and pastures. Their Ethnographic Museum explains that relationship through objects, craftwork and traditional dress, connecting the town’s cultural heritage with the landscape around it. Enjoy the town walk in its own right, with a museum visit as an option during its opening season. At dinner, look for casunziei, the local half-moon ravioli whose red version has a beetroot filling. A meal in Cortina makes a pleasing contrast with the spinach-filled crafuncins in Ortisei. Two nights here leave tomorrow for the Three Peaks and another evening in the valley.
Overnight: Cortina d'Ampezzo
From Rifugio Auronzo, follow trail 101 past Rifugio Lavaredo to Forcella Lavaredo for the Three Peaks’ north faces. Continue below Monte Paterno, then join trail 105 via Lange Alm and return around the western side to Auronzo. The signed circuit is 8.8 km, about four hours of walking, with 550 m of ascent and descent. The tourism board gives it an easy technical grade; the optional Rifugio Locatelli spur is a separate addition. Give the circuit the full day from Cortina, with time for breaks and the drive. The changing views of the towers are the point of the outing: enjoy the walk between them as well as the famous north-face view. Afterwards, return to the same Cortina base for the second night.
Overnight: Cortina d'Ampezzo
Drive south to Riva del Garda, where the northern lake opens beneath steep slopes. After the journey from Cortina, park and enjoy the old town and harbour on foot. The change of scene is part of this route’s appeal: from Val Gardena’s grassy slopes and Cortina’s rock towers to open water and compact waterfront streets. Spend the evening by the harbour, with dinner and a walk near your accommodation. The Ponale path offers a separate walk above the shore when you have more time. Its former road leads towards Ledro and retains traces of Austro-Hungarian fortifications, adding a historical layer to the views. For this arrival evening, the waterfront itself makes a lovely main visit. One Riva night gives the week a lake finish before the final morning and car return.
Overnight: Riva del Garda
Enjoy a final waterfront walk in Riva, with coffee and a last look at the harbour before the onward journey. A later departure can allow a short passenger-boat outing, returning to the same shore before collecting the car. The Ponale path is another choice for a morning with enough time to walk out and back. Keep the outing close to the length of the morning you have: the final day also includes refuelling and the rental handover. Collection on day two and return on day seven complete the six-day driving part of the route. After six nights, the journey has linked Verona’s Roman Arena, the languages and crafts of Val Gardena, Cortina’s shared mountain traditions and Lake Garda’s waterfront. Finish with the part of Riva you most enjoyed the evening before, then leave for your agreed return depot.
Base: Riva del Garda
Follow the route from Verona into Val Gardena, east to Cortina and south to Lake Garda. These three drives connect the overnight bases, with full walking days between the two mountain arrivals.
3 transfers
Verona Ortisei
Collect the car on day two and drive from Verona to Ortisei, using most of the morning with breaks. An afternoon in the town introduces Ladin culture before the next day’s main mountain outing.
Ortisei Cortina d’Ampezzo
Drive east to Cortina on day four. Spend the afternoon around Corso Italia and the Ampezzo valley’s traditions, then give Tre Cime the following full day from the same two-night base.
Cortina d’Ampezzo Riva del Garda
Give much of day six to the drive from Cortina to Riva, with breaks along the way. The harbour and old town make a pleasant arrival visit after the mountain journey south.
For two adults sharing double rooms over six nights in June or September, plan estimated spending of €2,470–3,730 (≈ US$2,779–4,197) for the full week. July, August and event dates can cost more. The table includes the car, mountain outings and the lake finish.
Booking tips
The four markers show six overnight stays: one Verona, two Ortisei, two Cortina and one Riva. The accommodation search starts in Ortisei; move the map to compare the other bases.
Dolomites and Lake Garda route stops
Yes, this sequence uses a rental car between the four bases and for the approach towards Tre Cime. Collect it after the Verona night. South Tyrol also has public transport and local guest-pass options; a car-free holiday can work well with a different route and fewer bases.
Yes, for this combination of two full mountain days, time in Ortisei and Cortina, and an evening beside Lake Garda. The six-night split gives a taste of several landscapes and local cultures. Add nights for more long walks or a longer lake stay with visits to several towns.
Choose Seceda for its ridge, grassy slopes and Odle views. Alpe di Siusi suits a meadow-focused day. With one full day from Ortisei, choose the landscape you would most like to spend time in and enjoy a local dinner back in town afterwards.
Ortisei’s craft displays and Museum Gherdëina offer art and local history; Cortina has its town walk and, when open, the Regole collections or Caldara agritourism. For thunderstorms or severe weather, choose an indoor day. Snow or poor visibility can also favour town-based plans. Both Seceda and Alpe di Siusi are mountain environments. The easy technical grades still include uneven alpine ground; stay on marked paths away from cliff edges and carry food and water when huts are shut.
Riva’s harbour and old town make the simplest lake outing after the drive. A short passenger-boat trip can fit a later departure. The Ponale path offers views towards Ledro on a former road, shared with cyclists and exposed to rockfall; it is a walking route rather than a paved promenade. Its Austro-Hungarian military complex is normally closed. Choose it for a morning with time to walk back as well as out.
Reviewed by StartBooker
Last reviewed 2026-10-19
Updated
How this route was checked: Tourism, lift, museum, road-access and ferry sources below cover the route’s walks, local culture and practical arrangements. The budget gives estimated spending for two adults, with USD equivalents using the stated ECB reference date.
20 references reviewed
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