There are 2 main ‘areas’ to the Dolomites: the Cortina side and the Ortisei (Urtijëi) side.

The easiest area to get to from Venice, is to go to Cortina d’Ampezzo. That’s what I’ll be talking about in this post.

How long does it take?

Approximately 2.5 hours one way from Venice to Cortina d’Ampezzo.

There is no train from Venice to Cortina d’Ampezzo. If you want a direct route, you have to take a bus.

Another option is to take the train from Venice (Santa Lucia) to Calalzo di Cadore. But then you’ll have to transfer to a local bus for the final 35km into Cortina anyway. What a pain when you have luggage, and another opportunity for a missed connection or something to go wrong and be stuck in a small town. It’s much easier to just get a direct bus.

Some of the scenery on the way to the Dolomites!

Where does the bus to the Dolomites depart from?

The bus stop for the buses to the Dolomites is right out front of the Venice airport terminal (if you’re inside the terminal facing the exit doors to the carpark, go left). The buses only show up just before leaving so you might be waiting with a bunch of other people and not a single bus is there yet. There was basically no signage so give yourself plenty of time to find the right spot.

You’ll need to walk further beyond where the buses drop people off who are coming to the airport.

I’ve marked the bus stop location in yellow highlight on the map below.

You can get on the bus sooner from Piazzale Roma on Venice island and from Mestre on the mainland, but the bus will make a stop at the airport anyway. So it makes more sense to get on the bus and go to the Dolomites as soon as you arrive in Venice, then do Venice afterwards. Would be nothing worse than getting the bus back from the Dolomites and getting held up in traffic then missing your flight out.

How frequently does the bus depart for the Dolomites?

I’m a very cautious person. My first instinct is to run through all of the scenarios of what could go wrong, all the possible reasons something could be delayed. So I could’ve actually got an earlier bus but that’s ok, not every day actually goes according to plan so I just waited a bit longer for a later bus. If they had spare seats you could always ask to move to the earlier bus. It can depend not only if there’s availability, but also on the mood of the bus driver if they’ll let you do that or not.

Each bus company has different departure times. The Cortina Express has 5 departures per day (every 2-3 hours), but the frequency also depends on the season.

The timetable for the Cortina Express is on their website.

How many bus companies operate this route?

There are 3 companies to choose from to book your journey: Cortina Express, Flixbus, and ATVO. I chose the Cortina Express but I’ve also used Flixbus many times throughout Europe and never had a problem. I only booked the Cortina Express because it was quicker and the Flixbus times I wanted were all sold out.

Some helpful links:

• Cortina Express bus schedule for Venice to Cortina (and visa versa)
• Flix bus schedule for Venice to Cortina (and vise versa)

How far in advance do you need to purchase tickets?

Like with anything when it comes to booking a holiday, book things as soon as your dates are locked in!

I visited the Dolomites in a last minute trip and only booked the bus to the Dolomites 3 weeks in advance (in peak time in July / August). I think I got the last seat on the bus. There were no spare seats at all.

The bus cost €25, one way. I paid another €5 extra to put a second bag in the hold underneath the bus, so the total cost was €30 each way. I took the Cortina Express.

I also took the Cortina Express from Cortina back to Venice for the same price.

This is only 2.5 hours from Venice…

How much luggage can you bring on the bus?

Depends on what you’ve purchased with your ticket.

The overhead compartments inside the buses are too small to fit a carry on bag with wheels, you can get a small duffel bag or other soft bag like a handbag up there only. So if you travel with a carry on suitcase and a checked suitcase like I do, you’ll need to pay to stow 2 bags underneath the hold.

When booking they have this warning ‘it is allowed to carry additional hold luggage subject to availability of seat and upon payment of the fee of €5.00.’ The ‘subject to availability part had me stressing, but there was plenty of room so I needn’t have worried. There were actually quite a few people that only had large backpacks.

The bus driver won’t help you with your luggage. When they pull up it’s basically a free for all to get your luggage in the hold of the bus, and then the bus driver just checks your ticket before you board.

There are weight and luggage size restrictions but in all the buses I’ve taken in Europe, I’ve never had a bus driver pull out a tape measure or scales, I really don’t think they care. You just need to be able to lift it in and out of the hold yourself.

The bus drops you off right in the main square of Cortina (Piazza Roma). To get the bus back to Venice, the pickup is the exact same location as the drop off (the main square).

Cortina d’Ampezzo

Ideally you’d get a bus straight from Cortina to Ortisei (the other side of the Dolomites) but it was surprisingly difficult to find a bus route that worked. Too many connections to risk!

So I just got the bus back to Venice, then made a journey out of it by getting the train to Verona, exploring Verona in the afternoon and staying there overnight. Then continued onto Bolzano via train the next day.

Download my entire itinerary from this trip in this post.

What is the bus like?

The seats on the bus were comfy with a 2 seat – aisle – 2 seat configuration. You can pay more to reserve specific seats, including the very front seats if you want to take pictures.

The bus was modern and it’s a relaxing scenic drive from Venice to the Dolomites.

Are the Dolomites too far for a day trip from Venice?

If you’re really pressed for time you can visit parts of the Dolomites on a day trip via bus. I considered doing this not because of the time crunch, but because they take you to Lago di Braies which is logistically very difficult to get to via public transport without a car. I unfortunately couldn’t get there during my visit. I visited Lake Karersee instead (on the Bolzano / Ortisei side of the Dolomites).

I don’t think a 1 day ‘taster’ of the Dolomites is enough. I spent almost a week there and it wasn’t enough! There are so many scenic walks and gondolas so one day (including all the travel time to get there and back) is a bit pointless in my opinion. You definitely need a few days.

Lake Karersee

More posts to help you plan your trip to Italy

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• Italy’s Amalfi Coast: Amalfi & Positano Day Trip from Sorrento
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• Italy’s Amalfi Coast: Amalfi & Positano Day Trip from Sorrento
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