Cortina & Dolomites Small Group Full-Day tour from Venice

Lovely trip with a great guide. Simone was a pleasure to spend time with on the roads up to this beautiful area. The trip was spoiled just a little by the selfishness of one young couple thinking it was all about them....but that didn't take away from the worth of being there. Simone was funny, informative and friendly....he is also ruthless in teaching you Italian grammar : ) Well worth doing.

If I was rating this tour based on the scenery and beauty of the Dolomites and surrounding lakes, it would be 5 stars, but unfortunately the tour itself fell far below expectations (especially for the price). My husband and I were extremely excited for this day tour, but at the time there were no ratings for this particular tour company (and the other similar tours were completely booked with the other companies). We were hesitant to book this day trip, but decided that our desire to see the Dolomites outweighed the risk- and our fears were right. The day started with everyone in our tour group showing up by 8am and waiting at the designated meeting/pick up location. We were all beginning to worry when there was no sign of the van or the driver. We kept looking for the sign with the name of the tour, as well as the orange umbrella, but sadly we never saw either. I was about to call the tour company to make sure there was someone coming, when the driver finally made himself known at 8:25am (5 minutes before departure time). He simply pointed at all of us, asked "Dolomites?" and then opened the van door (which was literally parked right in front of us- with no sign and looking like the other 10 black large vans parked in the lot). He never told us his name, what the schedule/agenda for the day was going to be, or any other information. We all boarded the van, hoping the tour would turn around, but it didn't. The driver said maybe 4 sentences to us the ENTIRE trip (other than telling us the meeting time once he dropped us off in each location). It made for a VERY quiet and almost uncomfortable day, especially since 6 hours of it consisted of driving and being in the van. The only redeeming aspect of this tour was seeing the Dolomites and the lakes. They were simply breathtaking and awe-inspiring. I would highly recommend to anyone to take the time to see this spectacular region of Italy, but do yourself a favor and find a tour company that is established, has high ratings, and many reviews. I wish we had been warned about this specific tour, and maybe in the future they will work out the kinks and issues, but until then- be wary, be very very wary.

We had a great time on this tour as we were exploring the beauty of the Dolomites and visiting small mountain towns. It was a great tour to get away from Venice's crowds for a day and enjoy open spaces and beautiful scenery. We also had a great lunch at a restaurant serving delicious local food. Our tour guide Simone was great and very knowledgeable with unbeatable sense of humor. Highly recommend this tour to anyone!