5 Days In The Italian Mountains

Venice - Mori

We arrived in Venice in the evening, where we were picked up by Firefly (a car rental company that I wouldn’t recommend for various reasons) and went to go pick up our car for the trip. Having booked a Fiat 500 online, I was quite surprised to receive a Renault Megane estate, however the power actually came in handy for getting around the mountains. We then headed North-West to a small town called Mori, where we had booked an apartment through Airbnb with an Italian chap called Franco (you can find Franco’s place here). Franco was an extremely welcoming and accommodating host who lived in a 300 year old building filled with treasures from his travels all over the world (very jealous of his lifestyle). As we arrived around 10pm, we chose to settle in for the night and get ready for the exciting days ahead of us!

Mori - Riva Del Garda

Waking up at Franco’s was amazing as we had driven over in the dark so didn’t get to see what the town of Mori looked like! We opened the shutters from our bedroom and were blown away by the view – our bedroom faced straight onto vineyards and mountains and the sun was shining! Feeling inspired to get outside and see more mountains, we had a quick breakfast and set out to Riva Del Garda – a tourist town at the very North of Lago di Garda. Here we walked around the lake and chilled out, admiring the gorgeous views. We also bought some gelato (of course) and flew the drone for a bit to get some pics of the beautiful location.

 Then we headed South, down the East coast of Lago di Garda, which was a beautiful coastal drive. We drove all the way to San Vigilio, where we parked up and hiked up the side of a mountain to find some rock engravings from the past. After a tiring hike, we drove back up the East coast of Lago di Garda, stopping in Pia for some much deserved dinner with a sunset view – a beautiful way to end the day..

Lago Del Garda - Molveno

From Franco’s we headed North to Molveno, stopping at an ancient castle ruin in a small town called Belfort, called Castelle Belfort. We walked around the castle and saw some incredible views of the surrounding mountains and valleys. We found out that we were in an area of wildlife including bears, wolves and deer, but unfortunately we didn’t see any, we didn’t even see a rabbit through our entire trip!! We then continued along the road until we reached Molveno – a beautiful town sat on the edge of a turquoise lake. We stopped here for a bite to eat, where Smurf was complemented by an Italian bar maid who spoke no English, but from what we could decipher, she loved his hair and his ears! We then went for a wander around the lake, watching the paragliders soar over our heads.

Molveno - Trentino

From Molveno, we headed North to our next Airbnb (you can find Monika’s place here) – a farm located in the middle of nowhere, with the most spectacular views (we had to use coordinates to find it). The apartment was part of a converted barn owned by a lovely lady called Monika. We arrived late at night with some supplies we bought from a local supermarket, ready to cook dinner and head to bed.

Waking up at 6am, we walked out from Monika’s to watch the sun come up. Annoyingly the trees were in the way, but we still got to watch the mist roll in through the valleys and the sky filled with warm hues. I then noticed that Monika had two little goats who had decided that the roof of the nearby barn was going to be their new home!! They were funny little guys and spent most of their time up on the roof.

Trentino - Lago Di Braies

We then drove to Lago di Braies, which was about an hour away from Monika’s place. Stupidly we didn’t think about the fact it was a Saturday, so the lake was swarming with visitors, however the further you hiked around the lake, the less tourists you encountered and it became peaceful yet again. The lake was absolutely beautiful and we were both a little snap-happy on our walk round!

Lago Di Braies - Tre Cime De Lavaredo

After Lago di Braies, we planned to head over to Tre Cime De Lavaredo for a 4 hour hike up the famous Italian mountains! However, our sat nav was absolutely useless (probably didn’t help that it was in Italian) and we ended up driving to some random little town in the middle of nowhere!! We couldn’t complain, as the views were to die for, however by the time we managed to find Tre Cime it was 4pm and we didn’t have time to hike up there before the sun went down, so we found a little pizzaria in an Austrian/Italian town called Sexten and watched the sun set on the peaks of the nearby mountains.

Terino - Lago Di Carezza

After trying (and failing) to extend our car hire so we could stay at Monika’s for longer, we set out early in the morning to drive along the ss242 – The Great Dolomite Road. The roads were narrow, with over 30 hairpin bends, meaning we hardly ever drove over 30mph, but the views were incredible! Our first point of interest that we were both excited about was Lago di Carezza – a favourite of the Queen of Austria, for which I do not blame her. This lake was mind blowing – beautifully crystal clear, emerald green water, with giant rocks that looked almost HD and then a backdrop of pine trees and the Dolomiti. We may have unknowingly trespassed and got told off in Austrian, but we both fell in love with this lake. It may have been the smallest lake we visited on our trip, but it was definitely the most impressive!

Lago Di Carezza - Passo Sella - Venice

From here we drove East along the road, taking a detour North to Passo Sella. The road was steep, with 1 degree bends, but we made it to the top and were greeted with snow and a little Austrian trinket shop! It had been the cloudiest day of the trip, but that just made the mountains even more dramatic. When we looked at the time, we suddenly realised that we wouldn’t have time to continue along the road, as we still had half of the road left and needed to get the car back in 3 hours, with Venice being a 2 and a half hour drive from where we were, so sadly we had to head back. We were gutted, but the drive back down to Venice was beautiful – we drove through endless valleys filled with autumnal trees and mountains rising in the backgrounds. We even drove through an abandoned ski resort, which was very old and creepy.. We slowly crept out of the North and back towards Venice, saying goodbye to the mountains as we went..

 The time we spent in the Dolomites was way better than I could have ever imagined. I knew I’d fall in love, but not quite as much as I did! 5 days wasn’t enough time, as we wanted to spend hours everywhere we went, so will definitely be heading back again and again, as there is just so much to explore! I think I can even go as far to say that it’s my new favourite place!

Total miles driven: 1036

Total times I cried from the beautiful views: 100+

Would I recommend it? DEFIN-ITALY!!!!