01Italy
Venice, then the Dolomites
- Destination
- Venice & the Italian Dolomites
- Duration
- 8 days
- Travel style
- Culture & heritage, Nature & landscapes, Private journey
- Guide price
- By quotation
Three nights on the water, four at the tree line, one road between.
Eight days that give Venice its evenings and the Dolomites one well-chosen base, with a private guide for the paintings and the walking, and a long lunch as the fixed point of every day.
Along the way
- 01Three Venetian evenings, with the Tintorettos and the lagoon seen in quiet
- 02A private boat to Torcello and Burano across the outer lagoon
- 03Four nights at one mountain base, chosen for the walks you want
- 04Rifugio lunches at the top of the morning’s walk
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The itinerary
- 01
Days 1–2
Venice, after the crowds leave
Arrival is by water taxi with the luggage handled, and the first evening is kept to a short walk and a table in Cannaregio, away from the Piazza. The next day your guide concentrates on one theme, the Tintorettos of San Rocco or the Bellinis of the Accademia, rather than crossing the city for every sight, with lunch from the Rialto market and the late afternoon left open.
Discuss this chapter - 02
Day 3
Out onto the lagoon
A private boat leaves after breakfast for the outer lagoon: the Byzantine mosaics of Torcello, lunch on the island and Burano’s painted houses on the way back. Those who prefer stone to water stay in the city for a specialist viewing arranged in advance, and the last dinner in Venice is given the time it deserves, at a table booked before you left home.
Discuss this chapter - 03
Day 4
North, into the pale mountains
A private car takes the road north through the Veneto and into the Dolomites, with a lunch stop in the foothills and no ambition for the afternoon beyond arriving. The base is unpacked for four nights, and the evening is spent with your guide over the map, choosing the first morning’s walk by the forecast and the light.
Discuss this chapter - 04
Days 5–7
The tree line and the table
Three days in whatever proportion suits: a guided walk to a rifugio above the tree line, a day of meadows and lifts for the views without the climb and a day with nothing planned but lunch. The order follows the weather. Speck, canederli and a glass of Lagrein at altitude are as much the point as the summit views, and the base makes every evening an easy return.
Discuss this chapter - 05
Day 8
Down from the right side
The departure airport is chosen with the base in mind, so the last transfer is part of the plan rather than an afterthought: Venice for the Adriatic side, Innsbruck or Munich for the north. Those who find four nights too few add a second valley, or return in October for the larches.
Discuss this chapter
Venice is a city of evenings, and most visitors leave before they begin. Three nights allow the day’s crowds to depart and the campi to empty, and they allow a guide to take the Tintorettos of San Rocco or the Bellinis of the Accademia at the hour they are quietest, so that the last light can be spent on the water rather than in a queue. A morning at the Rialto market shapes lunch; a private boat takes the afternoon out to Torcello, where the lagoon’s history began, and back past Burano’s painted houses. Then the road climbs north for two or three hours into another Italy: the pale towers of the Dolomites, the meadows of the Alpe di Siusi, rifugi that serve speck and dumplings at the top of a morning’s walk. One base for four nights keeps the days open, and the September light does the rest.
To your measure
The base in the mountains is chosen for the season and the walker: Alta Badia for the high meadows and the Ladin kitchens, Cortina for the grand hotels and the Tre Cime, Val Gardena for the woodcarvers and the Sella. Guides, routes and lifts are matched to experience, with the via ferrata and anything technical arranged separately. Venice can take another night for a specialist viewing or a rowing lesson on the canals, and those who would rather end at altitude can reverse the order, arriving through the mountains and finishing on the water.
Confirmed in writing
This journey is an illustration rather than a fixed departure. The written proposal confirms the dates, the addresses, the guides, the transport, the tables and the appointments, together with the price; each is arranged for the season and subject to availability and local conditions.
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What is included
- 01A personal itinerary with a written quotation for the addresses, private transport, guiding, dining and experiences it contains.
- 02Only what the proposal lists is included; flights, visas, insurance and personal expenses appear where they are expressly written in.
05
Scenes from the route
Venice & the Italian Dolomites: a bearing for your own route.
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Further journeys
01Iceland, paced by the light
Reykjavík & the south coast · 8 days
One road east from Reykjavík, with the day’s length setting the day’s distance.
02Yunnan, on the Tea Horse Road
Dali, Shaxi & Lijiang · 10 days
Three old towns, one ancient caravan road and the lake light of Erhai.
03Japan, closely observed
Tokyo, Hakone & Kyoto · 11 days
Tokyo by the neighbourhood, Hakone from the bath, Kyoto by the garden.
The route is yours to set.
One of the five routes, a chapter that caught your eye or a country you have long meant to see properly is enough to begin. The reply comes from an advisor, and a written proposal follows once the idea has taken shape.