Every Seren Mont journey begins the same way: our founder drives the route first. In summer 2026, that meant a week in the high passes of the Dolomites — and a question we've been asked ever since: is this the finest driving destination in the world?
the road as the destination
Most travel destinations are places you drive to. The Dolomites are a place you drive through — and the distinction is everything.
The UNESCO-listed peaks of northern Italy are threaded with mountain passes that seem, genuinely, to have been engineered by people who loved driving. Hairpins are cambered with intent. Sightlines open precisely when a driver needs them. Elevation builds in rhythms rather than grinds. On roads like these, the car stops being transportation and becomes the point of the trip.
We have driven routes across four continents. Nothing else we have scouted delivers this particular combination: technical driving, alpine scenery, and a culture built around the drive itself.
the passes
Our scouting route was built from two bases. Cortina d'Ampezzo — the Queen of the Dolomites, freshly returned to the world stage as a 2026 Winter Olympic host town — anchors the eastern passes. Auronzo di Cadore, quieter and set on a turquoise alpine lake, opens the routes toward the Tre Cime.
From there, the roads that define the region:
The Sella Ronda. The celebrated circuit of four passes around the Sella massif — Passo Gardena, Passo Sella, Passo Pordoi, and Passo Campolongo. A complete loop takes a morning; driven in reverse after lunch, it becomes an entirely new road.
Passo Giau. If the Dolomites have a signature drive, this is it. Twenty-nine hairpins climb from the Cortina side to a summit meadow where the Ra Gusela face rises straight from the grass. Arrive late afternoon, when the rock turns gold.
Passo Falzarego. The gateway to the Lagazuoi cable car and one of the region's great terrace stops, connecting Cortina to Alta Badia.
Beyond the Dolomites proper. For clients who want a full-day expedition, the route can extend west to Passo Gavia — narrow, wild, and one of the great high roads of the Alps.
what sets the dolomites apart
tarmac you can trust
Road surface is the detail most travel guides never mention, and it is the detail that defines a driving vacation. Tuscany — a region we know intimately and offer as a journey — has beautiful roads with honest, weathered country pavement. You drive it at a relaxed pace, and that suits Tuscany.
The Dolomite passes are maintained to a different standard. The surface is smooth, consistent, and clearly marked, which means a capable car can actually be driven the way it was engineered to be. Grip is predictable. Braking zones are trustworthy. For a driver, that reliability is the difference between admiring a road and truly experiencing it.
a landscape built for stopping
The passes are lined with viewpoints and laybys positioned exactly where you would want them — pale limestone towers behind, valley floor far below. Few places on earth offer this many natural moments to pull over, step out, and take in where the road has brought you.
lunch above the clouds
Mountain rifugios and terrace restaurants sit directly on the pass roads, most with panoramas that would headline an ordinary vacation. On our scouting drives, Ristorante Rifugio Ospitale — an inn on the Cortina–Dobbiaco road serving travelers since the 1100s — earned a place in the roadbook, alongside the Lagazuoi Terrace Bar, perched at 2,732 meters above Passo Falzarego with the entire eastern Dolomites spread beneath the terrace. Exceptional espresso at unpretentious prices, the Italian way. The rhythm of a Dolomites day is its own pleasure: morning passes, a long lunch at altitude, afternoon passes, and an aperitivo as the light turns the rock faces pink.
the community of the passes
Arrive in a driver's car and you will be welcomed into a quiet fraternity: headlight flashes on the climbs, nods at the summit pull-offs, conversations that start over parked cars. On one climb, a pink 911 GT3 swept past with a wave. The Dolomites attract people who came for the same reason you did.
when to go
The season is short, and that is part of what keeps these roads special. Many of the high passes close under snow for much of the year, typically reopening in late spring. The reliable window runs from June through September, with early September offering warm tarmac and quieter roads. If the Dolomites are on your list, they must be planned around summer — this is not a destination that forgives improvised timing.
the right car
Our founder scouted the passes in a Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo, and the fit was almost unfair: instant torque out of hairpins, no performance loss at altitude, and silence at the summits. The Dolomites reward communication over horsepower — precise steering, strong brakes, composure over crests — which is why our fleet pairings for this journey center on Porsche. The roads are generous enough that any properly sorted driver's car will shine. What they punish is a numb one.
who this journey is for
Think of the Dolomites as Aspen for drivers: genuine alpine adventure wrapped in quiet luxury. Days are active — passes in the morning, trails or via ferrata if you want them, a second run at your favorite road before dinner. Evenings are slow — wine, mountain cuisine, and hotels with the peaks outside the window in Cortina d'Ampezzo or on the lake at Auronzo.
If your ideal vacation blends driving, scenery, and an active pace with real comfort at the end of the day, we have not found a destination that does it better.
the verdict
Is the Dolomites the world's finest driving vacation? After a week in the passes, our answer is simple: it is the benchmark. Every road we scout from now on will be measured against it.
Some experiences resist description. The only honest recommendation is the one our founder gave when he came home: you have to feel these roads through the steering wheel yourself.
Our Dolomites journey is built on the exact passes from this scouting trip — vehicle, route, hotels, and reservations arranged before you arrive. The season is short and availability is limited.