What the Great Dolomites Road is
The Great Dolomites Road is the historic scenic road linking Bolzano with Cortina d’Ampezzo: roughly 110 km through the Val d’Ega, over Passo Costalunga, through the Val di Fassa and over Passo Pordoi and Passo Falzarego. It opened in 1909, when these valleys still belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and it is regarded as the first great touring road of the Dolomites.
Our private tour follows its western half, the most varied part, as far as Pordoi. There, instead of dropping down to Arabba and Cortina, we turn towards Passo Sella and Val Gardena and close a loop back to Bolzano. No stretch driven twice and no overnight stay: in a single day you see the lake, the passes and the Ladin villages that made this road famous.
From central Bolzano the loop is about 140 km, with a little over three hours of actual driving; with a pick-up outside the city or a detour or two it grows to around 190 km. If Cortina is on your wish list, you reach it on the Cortina and lakes private tour over Passo Falzarego, or on the Dolomites in one day, a long loop that joins west and east.
Suggested itinerary, hour by hour
- Pick-up in BolzanoAt your hotel, or any address in South Tyrol.
- Lago di CarezzaThe emerald lake beneath the Latemar. A quiet loop walk before the coaches arrive.
- Passo Costalunga & Val di FassaDown into the Ladin valley: Vigo, Pozza and Canazei.
- Passo Pordoi, 2,239 mHairpin after hairpin up. Optional cable car to Sass Pordoi, the ‘terrace of the Dolomites’.
- Passo SellaFace to face with the Sassolungo. The best photo of the day.
- Lunch in Val GardenaA mountain hut or a restaurant in Ortisei, your choice, our booking.
- Return via Ortisei & CastelrottoBack in Bolzano around 16:00, or later if you prefer.
Cable cars, meals and drinks are paid on site. In winter the route adapts to pass closures and becomes a Val Gardena and Alpe di Siusi day.
The route: what you will see along the way
Leaving Bolzano, the road climbs the Val d’Ega between walls of red porphyry; the narrowest part of the old gorge is now bypassed through tunnels. Beyond Nova Levante lies Lago di Carezza, at about 1,519 m. An underpass leads from the car park to the shore, and the loop around the lake takes around twenty minutes. The water changes colour with the light and mirrors the Latemar; legend calls it the rainbow lake.
At Passo Costalunga the Rosengarten, or Catinaccio, feels close enough to touch, then the road drops into the Val di Fassa, a Ladin valley in Trentino, as far as Canazei. From there it climbs to Passo Pordoi, 2,239 m, through a long series of hairpins across the meadows. At the top, when it is running, the Sass Pordoi cable car lifts you in a few minutes to about 2,950 m, the so-called terrace of the Dolomites.
A few kilometres back down, the road to Passo Sella, 2,244 m, branches off, and here the Sassolungo fills the entire windscreen. Then comes Val Gardena: Selva, Santa Cristina and Ortisei, the wood-carvers’ village, where we stop for lunch. The way home runs via Castelrotto, with the Sciliar ahead of you.
Why take a private tour with a driver
Whoever drives this road mostly sees hairpins, motorbikes and full car parks. At Lago di Carezza and on Pordoi, finding a space on a summer day can take longer than the visit itself. With a private driver you step out at the entrance, take your photos calmly and move on when you are ready.
Ferjy knows these passes well: where the morning light is best, which lay-by lets you get out safely, and when it pays to swap the order of the stops to stay ahead of the coaches. He speaks English, Italian, German and French, so mixed groups of friends or families feel at home.
You travel in a clean, well-kept black Mercedes V-Class with room for seven guests plus rucksacks, pushchairs or camera bags. The vehicle is yours alone for the whole day, a relaxed way to see the passes instead of a taxi or a coach tour, with no one else’s timetable.
- Pick-up at your hotel in Bolzano or any address in South Tyrol
- Stops whenever you like for photos, coffee and short walks
- Lunch at a mountain hut or in Ortisei, booked by us on request
- Child seats on request
- Fixed price per vehicle, confirmed in writing before the day
Season, weather and mountain passes
We run this route from May to November. In winter the high passes can close after snowfall or because of avalanche risk, sometimes for several days. That is why, in the colder months, the day becomes an Alpe di Siusi and Val Gardena private tour, on quieter roads and through snowy landscapes.
In summer the passes are quietest early in the morning, so we set off early and reach Carezza before the coaches. July and August bring heavy traffic to the passes, especially at weekends; September and October often bring clear air and, late in the season, golden larches.
Traffic rules on some Dolomite passes are under discussion and may change in the coming seasons. Before every tour we check the rules in force and the road conditions for your date, and adapt the route if needed.
How to book the tour
Send us a message on WhatsApp, by email or through the booking form: date, number of guests, hotel, and whether you would like the Sass Pordoi cable car or lunch at a mountain hut. Within hours you receive a plan with the pick-up time and a fixed price for the whole vehicle, not per person.
Cable cars, meals and drinks are paid on site; payment terms are agreed at confirmation. If you are staying in the Val di Fassa or Val Gardena, we collect you from your hotel and adjust the order of the stops.
