Delta DL288 / DL289 — Joey
Confirmation
HU43KOTicket
0062446180141Chapter One
Venice.
Slow days on the water. Canal light in the morning, spritzes before dinner, and no reason to hurry anywhere. Three nights in a canal-view room, Aug 1 through Aug 4.
Jul 31The overnight flight east
Delta DL288, JFK → Venice. Wheels up in the evening, and Italy by breakfast.
Track DL288 liveAug 1 – 4Santa Chiara Hotel, canal view
Land, breathe, and take the ATVO express from Marco Polo straight to Piazzale Roma. The room looks over the canal, which is exactly the point. The stay runs three nights, Aug 1 through Aug 4.
Three nights$1,076.76Ava booking
ATVO express€11 pp · €22 for two
Santa Chiara Hotel
ATVO airport express
Aug 1Fresh cuts, then Japanese Venice
4:30 PMSalone Bler — haircuts, side by sideBooked
Simultaneous chairs: Ava's cut & style, Joey's trim. Pay at the salon. Free cancellation until Fri Jul 31, 4:30 PM Venice time.
Ava€55order T2187578435
Joey€25order T2187578576
7:00 – 9:00 PMOsteria Giorgione da MasaBooked · 2
Dinner where Venice meets Tokyo. €80 card pre-authorization; free cancellation until 1:00 PM that day — inside 6 hours, or a no-show, runs €40 per person.
Must order3 picks + dessert
- Variation of 7 chef's cicchetti — the best first move, and the clearest view of the Japanese–Venetian crossover.
- Prawn gyoza — handmade ravioli with grilled prawns, ponzu and shiso mayo.
- Eel chirashi — mirin-vinegar rice under grilled, glazed eel.
Split the cicchetti to start, then one each of the gyoza and chirashi.
Dessert — save roomTHERAMISÙ — deconstructed tiramisu: mascarpone mousse, coffee reduction, crunchy ladyfingers, matcha and seasonal fruit.
Aug 2The spiral staircase, then Cannaregio
11:00 AM – 12:00 PMScala Contarini del BovoloBooked
Venice's hidden spiral staircase, and the rooftop view it earns. Ticket PDFs are on the calendar — flash them at the door.
7:00 PMOsteria Anice StellatoBooked · 2
Canal-side Cannaregio cooking, well away from the crowds. Free cancellation until 8 hours before; inside 8 hours, or a no-show, runs €45 per person.
Must order3 picks
- Spaghettone, "Mitilla" mussel ragù — Malamocchina-style, the table's anchor. €22
- Calamari with pea cream — lime powder, green salad and nut ragù. €28
- Beef skirt steak — jus, long purple eggplant, apricots and ras el hanout. €26
One pasta, one seafood, one meat — split all three down the middle.
Aug 3Palace, long lunch, Correr
9:15 AMDoge's PalaceBooked · 2
In before the crowds. One €70 booking covers both museums today — non-refundable, ticket PDFs on the calendar; the confirmation code lives in Booking Details below.
Palace + Correr€70 · 2 ticketsnon-refundable
12:30 – 2:30 PMRistorante Al CovoBooked · Ava
The long Castello lunch between palaces.
Must order3 picks + dessert
- Bigoli mori in salsa — the traditional Venetian anchor.
- The day's Adriatic catch — ask for the local market fish special.
- Spaghetti with local clams — lagoon vongole, kept simple.
Share the bigoli, let the kitchen steer the fish, and split the clams.
Dessert — don't skipBuffalo-milk ricotta cheesecake with blueberry sauce — on the official menu, and the plate recent diners specifically rave about.
3:00 PMMuseo CorrerBooked · included
Second act of the morning's ticket, across the Piazza.
Aug 3 – 4One more Venice night — Papadopoli
On Aug 3, check into the Papadopoli Hotel Venezia MGallery for a one-night stay. Superior single, city view, gardens below.
One night$267.70
Papadopoli Venezia MGallery
Chapter Two
Joey in the Dolomites.
Five days of pale limestone, high passes, and a convertible with the top down. The mountain chapter.
Aug 4Top down, north to Val Gardena
Check out of Papadopoli and stroll over around 11:50 AM — the SIXT garage at Piazzale Roma (Rio Terà S. Andrea 466e) is a two-minute walk. At noon, pick up the BMW Z4 Roadster or similar — unlimited mileage, collision protection — and point it at the mountains. The autostrada gives way to switchbacks, and the air gets cooler with every kilometre into Selva Val Gardena.
PickupAug 4 · 12:00 PMFree cancellationuntil 6 h before pickup
Aug 4 – 6Giardin Boutique B&B, Selva
Two nights in a classic room with breakfast, parking, and a spa for tired legs.
Aug 5 — a full day on the trails.
- Seceda & Puez-Odle — the ridgeline that looks painted
- Sassolungo Circuit — the classic loop, if legs vote for it
- Sunset at Passo Gardena — either way, end here
Two nights$588.86
Giardin Boutique Hotel B&B
Aug 6Two passes to Cortina
The scenic route: over Passo Gardena, then Passo Falzarego, toward Cortina d'Ampezzo. First mountain stop on the far side: Cinque Torri, five towers of rock standing in a meadow.
Optional detour on the way out of the valley: the Forcella Sassolungo "coffin lift" from Passo Sella — a standing two-person gondola up to the notch between the Sassolungo towers. Roundtrip, no reservation needed; ride up, take in the view, ride down, drive on. Runs 8:15 AM – 5:00 PM in summer 2026.
Coffin lift roundtrip€45no reservation
Aug 6 – 9Franceschi Park Hotel, Cortina
Three nights at the loveliest address of the trip — a single room with breakfast, parking, and a spa, in a park just off Cortina's centre.
Aug 7 — Torre dei Scarperi Circuit. The quieter, less-touristy way to see Tre Cime, with Cadini di Misurina on the horizon: 16.7 km, about 6h20, 1,157 m of gain and loss, moderately difficult, with one secured scramble and no exposure. Start from Antoniusstein Car Park in Val Campo di Dentro — arrive before the 8:45 AM summer road closure, or park at the lower Val Campo di Dentro lot and take the shuttle.
Aug 8 — Lago di Sorapis. The impossibly turquoise one — start from the trailhead. If weather or energy argues: Croda da Lago & Lago Federa from Ponte di Rocurto instead — 8.4 km out and back, about 3 hours, 469 m of gain.
Three nights$978.87
Franceschi Park Hotel
Trip toolkit.
Every link the trip needs, in one place.
Stay
Eat
See & do
Hike
The drive, drawn out.
From the Piazzale Roma garage to the alpine valley, over two of the great Dolomite passes, and back to the lagoon. Open it in Maps and follow along.
Navigate the full road trip- Piazzale Roma, VenicePick up the roadster · Aug 4, 12:00 PMPickup map ↗
- Selva Val GardenaGiardin Boutique B&B · 2 nightsMap ↗
Navigate from Venice ↗ - Cortina d'AmpezzoFranceschi Park Hotel · 3 nightsMap ↗
Navigate from Selva ↗ - Piazzale Roma, VeniceReturn the car · Aug 9, by 12:00 PMReturn map ↗
Navigate from Cortina ↗
Chapter Three
Venice, return.
Back where it started. One last evening on the canals before the flight home.
Aug 9Back to the lagoon
Leave Franceschi by 8:30 AM — it's about three hours down from Cortina, which puts you at the SIXT garage at Piazzale Roma by 11:15–11:30 with time to fuel up and hand back the keys before the noon return. SIXT's Sunday hours are 8 AM–4 PM; if plans stretch, extend the booking before noon or risk a late fee or an extra day. Then return to central Venice for the final night at Hotel Acca, small, central, and exactly enough.
Car returnAug 9 · by 12:00 PMOne night$124.40Ava booking
Hotel Acca
7:30 PMRistorante Local — the final dinnerNot booked yet
The one reservation still to make. Tasting menus only — 7 courses €160 or 9 courses €190 per person, and the whole table orders the same menu.
Book final dinnerWatch foron the 9-course
- Blue crab lukewarm spaghetti — the lagoon's invasive species, turned into the menu's signature.
- Tuna with blackberry and shiso — the kitchen's sharpest raw course.
- Valdobbiadene guinea fowl — the main to look forward to.
The menu is fixed, so nothing to order — these are the courses to savor. Dessert arrives as part of the progression.
Aug 10Across the water, and home
Alilaguna Orange line from San Stae at 9:37 AM, arriving at the airport dock at 10:26 AM — the only airport transfer in the world worth waking up for. Be at the San Stae pier by 9:20 AM. Then Delta DL289, VCE → JFK, 1:20 PM.
Alilaguna€18 pp · €36 for two
Alilaguna fares
Track DL289 live
The addresses.
Every bed of the trip, in order of appearance.
Venice · Aug 1–4
Venice · Aug 3–4
Selva · Aug 4–6
Cortina · Aug 6–9
Venice · Aug 9–10
Booking Details.
Updated July 13, 2026
Flights
Delta DL288 / DL289 — Ava
Confirmation
GN974FTicket
0062445688345Hotels
Santa Chiara Hotel
Expedia itinerary
72076488500193Papadopoli Venezia MGallery
Confirmation
1313AH20524Expedia itinerary
72076703918172Giardin Boutique Hotel B&B
Confirmation
1783960279725Expedia itinerary
72076705264322Franceschi Park Hotel
Confirmation
OK_ERICSOFTExpedia itinerary
72076706421528Hotel Acca
Expedia itinerary
72076559902770Car
SIXT BMW Z4 Roadster or similar
SIXT confirmation
9944191352Expedia itinerary
73495212731663Unlimited mileage · collision protection · free cancellation until 6 h before pickup
Experiences
Salone Bler — haircuts
Ava · €55
T2187578435Joey · €25
T2187578576Free cancellation until Fri Jul 31, 4:30 PM
Scala Contarini del Bovolo
Doge's Palace + Museo Correr
Confirmation
VIVATK165550372113Ticket PDFs on the calendar