Italian Dolomites 10 days?

[mjojom]

Hi Guys, after excellent advice here for last year's European trip, I`m thinking Dolomites. 
First question, would the beginning of May be too early,  with the weather and snow etc. ?
Second q: 10 days trip, maybe plus a day or two, is it doable, and enjoyable? 
and third, not question really; please give me some tips and route ideas on what to see, and where to ride to have another epic tour- pretty please  .
I don't need the accommodation as I will sort that ad-hoc as I did last year. 
thank you
joe

[wessie]

10 days will be fine. I would have 2 overnight stops in each direction giving you 6 nights in Italy.

Early May can be fine but also can be very cold and icy. I did a fly drive in mid May to Verona then went to Limone on Lake Garda which was lovely all week. We took the hire car up into the Brenta Dolomites on a day trip and I was glad I was in a Clio as it was -4C at lunchtime in the ski resort at Madonna di Campiglio.

If you are going to book accommodation on the fly then you can be flexible and go where the weather is best. You always have the option of heading to the Lakes or a bit further south in Italy or Croatia.

When I went to the eastern Dolomites we picked a base near Corvara as it is at the nexus of several road so you can do loops in different directions. Arabba is also popular as a base.

[RyanGTXR]

Depending on what roads you want to take to get there . . . . motorways or more scenic roads will determine how long it takes. Blat on boring motorway, you can be there in 2 days easily. Or 3-4 days on more interesting non motorway routes depending just where you go.
Myself and a mate have done from near Nottingham 2500 miles, no motorway after Calais across France, through Swiss Alps, Austrian Alps into Italy (Bolzano) and return back over Stelvio, only doing motorway last day in France to get back to tunnel, all in 7 days.

Here's a site I found which has lots of good routes Dolomites area - https://www.trentinoinmoto.it/EN/motorcycle-travel-holiday-italy/

[brickit]

Thanks for posting that website Ryan.
It looks a great guide and I found it a few years ago, but couldn't remember where I'd put it.
A bunch of us are going there next year, so interested to gather info. and peoples experiences.
Looks spectacular.

[mjojom]

yes, thanks guys, thank you for the info. and to get there and back would be a mixture of scenic and motorways, depending on conditions. indeed that website is a good find, shame it does not have a downloadable gpx files :)

keep them coming please
joe 

[wessie]

lots of info on the Dolomites on the GS forum https://www.ukgser.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/230-Alps-and-Dolomites

no subscription needed to see that part of the forum - many of the posts will have GPX files, or just make a request.

[brickit]

Originally Posted by mjojom

yes, thanks guys, thank you for the info. and to get there and back would be a mixture of scenic and motorways, depending on conditions. indeed that website is a good find, shame it does not have a downloadable gpx files :)

keep them coming please
joe

There are .gpx files for all the routes, but they are hidden away.
Hover on the green route box at the top of the screen and then click on a route from the dropdown. Lo! .gpx files appear with each route. 

[mjojom]

Originally Posted by brickit

There are .gpx files for all the routes, but they are hidden away.
Hover on the green route box at the top of the screen and then click on a route from the dropdown. Lo! .gpx files appear with each route. 

epic. thanks :)

[Salem]

you almost can't go wrong in the dolomites... This website has a collection of routes including GPX, pics etc all over the world. Nice setup too, just zoom in on where you want to be and the routes show up. Free access, but you do need to log in

https://motorcycle-diaries.com/en/home

[bobdave]

I am headed down to Lake Guarda (just south of the dolomites) in mid May. Perfectly doable in 10 day. Im doing 2 weeks as we are taking the long route down with stop off days en route via Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and then into Northern Italy. Heading back the shorter route via Switzerland and France.
Some of the alpine passes don't open until mid to late May (depending which pass) and that is dependant upon the snow conditions at the time. If the passes are shut then you will end up doing the less scenic routes of main roads and tunnels (and for the Furkha pass in Switzerland there is a 'drive on train' that you sit on the bike while the train takes you through).
If travelling in Switzerland and using the major routes you will need a travel vignette (a sticker that has to be attached to the bike) which can be bought at the border or nearest petrol station or can be bought beforehand via the internet for between £35 and £40. There is an on the spot fine if stopped and checked and you don't have one. Apparently if you don't want to stick it where visible (it sticks well and is a bugger to get off) you can get away with sticking under the seat as long as you can quickly detach the seat and show it.
All the riding in and around that region is beautiful and if you wanted a day out of the mountains either Lake Como or Lake Guarda are scenic and a good day out.

Enjoy your trip.