Dolomites: Val Gardena, Cortina and Tre Cime

The first day is a pure transfer, so count on a full day behind the wheel and allow yourself a buffer for the tailbacks before Linz and Salzburg. For the night head into the Inn valley around Innsbruck — the Brenner is then within reach in the morning and you will arrive in the mountains rested rather than wrung out. The last stretch already climbs, so do not be surprised by higher fuel consumption.

Beyond the Brenner everything changes within a single hour — the language on the signs, the shape of the roofs and the colour of the rock. Above Bolzano turn off into the Val d'Ega valley to Lago di Carezza, a small lake beneath the jagged wall of the Latemar; a marked footpath leads to the shore from the roadside car park. In the evening drop down below the Sciliar massif, where you will have your base for the next three nights.

You will not reach the broad upland pasture of the Alpe di Siusi by car during the day — the road up is closed to private traffic between nine in the morning and five in the afternoon. With a motorhome it is simpler anyway to leave it free of charge at the lower cable car station in Siusi and ride up in the cabin; that spares you both the narrow mountain road and the hunt for a space on the plateau. The plateau is almost level, so even with smaller children you can walk for hours there without a single steep climb.

Give the whole day to the valley itself. In Ortisei the woodcarving workshops and shops are worth a stop — carving is an old craft here, not a souvenir backdrop. From Selva you can walk up the Vallunga valley, which is flat, wide and lined with limestone walls on both sides. If you want the view without the effort, the cable car from Ortisei will carry you up to Seceda.

The loop around the Sella massif links four passes — Gardena, Campolongo, Pordoi and Sella — and it is the most demanding day of the trip behind the wheel. The hairpins are narrow, the climbs and descents steep and the places to turn around few, so set aside a whole day for the loop and certainly do not leave it for the afternoon, when the passes carry the most motorbikes and coaches. At Passo Pordoi a cable car carries you up to Sass Pordoi, a stone plateau with a view of the Marmolada. Check the date of the Sella Ronda Bike Day in advance — on that day the passes are closed to motor vehicles from morning until evening.

Two roads lead to Cortina: the high one over Passo Falzarego past the Cinque Torri rock towers, or the low one through the Val Pusteria. The upper option is more spectacular, the lower one considerably calmer for a longer vehicle — decide according to how the previous day suited you. Cortina is an elegant little town with a promenade rather than a mountain village; it hosted the Winter Olympics in 1956 and again in 2026, so part of the infrastructure is new.

The three rock towers above the Rifugio Auronzo are the icon of the whole Dolomites and also the most closely controlled place on the trip. The capacity of the upper car park is usually taken by late morning in the main season, so either set off at daybreak or leave the vehicle down at Misurina and ride up by bus. A comfortable loop on a surfaced track runs around the massif — children manage it too, and the reward is the towers seen gradually from every side.

The last mountain morning belongs to Lago di Braies, a turquoise basin below the wall of the Croda del Becco. In the main season, from the beginning of July to the middle of September, the access road into the valley is closed to private traffic roughly from half past nine until four in the afternoon — you get in only with a reserved parking space, an arrival before the closure or by bus. After lunch head down the Val Pusteria and back over the Brenner into Austria; you will spend the night across the border so that the last day is not endless.

All that remains is the run home through Austria. Plan two longer breaks and allow yourself a time buffer — the return tends to be slower than people expect, especially at the weekend. Before you park the vehicle up, it pays to fill the tank while still in Austria.