Great Dolomites Road from Bolzano: Private car tour

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Free cancellationTravelers' pickLikely to sell out

1/10

Duration6h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN · IT

PickupAt your hotel

Drive through hairpin bends to a high mountain pass, then descend into Gardena Valley

A private six-hour car tour from Bolzano through the Great Dolomites Road, crossing the Ega Valley and climbing to Pordoi Pass before descending into Gardena Valley and Ortisei. Hotel pickup and drop-off are included, with a driver-guide speaking English or Italian. The cable car to Sass Pordoi (open May through October and Christmas to Easter) is optional at extra cost.

Step-by-step itinerary

Dolomites scenic drive and valley visit

Cross the Ega Valley from Bolzano
Stop and walk around Carezza Lake
Pass by Costalunga Pass and Grand Hotel Carezza
Drive through Vigo di Fassa and Canazei
Ascend 27 hairpin bends to Pordoi Pass
Optional cable car ride to Sass Pordoi
Stop at Sella Pass for photos
Descend into Gardena Valley
Lunch and visit Ortisei town

The Experience

The drive starts in the Ega Valley east of Bolzano, a road built in 1895 that cuts through a canyon carved by the Ega River between the Rosengarten and Latemar mountains. Your first stop is Carezza Lake, the most beautiful lake in the Dolomites—30 minutes to walk around it or simply stand at the water. From there the route climbs to Costalunga Pass, where the 1893 Grand Hotel Carezza sits near the road, a landmark that once hosted Empress Sissi, Winston Churchill and Agatha Christie.

The real climb begins after you drop into Fassa Valley through Vigo di Fassa and Canazei. A series of 27 hairpin switchbacks leads up to Pordoi Pass at 2,239 meters. If the cable car is running (late May through mid-October, or Christmas to Easter), you can ride it to Sass Pordoi at 2,950 meters for an hour—the cable car ticket is separate. From Pordoi you backtrack a few kilometers to Sella Pass, where the vertical walls of the Sella Group rise directly in front of you and the Marmolada glacier and Sassolungo peak come into view; a 10-minute photo stop is built in.

The descent from Sella Pass enters Gardena Valley, the most visited valley in the Dolomites. The tour ends in Ortisei, the valley's largest town, where you have an hour for lunch and to walk around before the return to Bolzano. Your driver-guide speaks English or Italian throughout, and bottled water is provided in the car.

What’s included

Hotel pickup and drop-off in Bolzano.
driver-guide in English or Italian.
bottled water during the drive.
all taxes and fees.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfant seats availablePublic transport nearbyNot for heart conditions

Operated by ItalyDolomites by AS SERVIZI di Scacchetti A.

Is this one for you?Book this tour if you want to see the Dolomites' most dramatic peaks and passes in a single day without navigating the mountain roads yourself—a private car means the driver handles the 27 hairpins and switchbacks while you watch the landscape change from valley to alpine pass to Gardena Valley.