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Distances · from Italy

From Trieste to Sappada

From Trieste to Sappada you enter from Friuli. You leave the A23 motorway at the Carnia exit, and that is where the slow part of the journey begins: about 75 min between the main road and Val Degano, up to the Cima Sappada pass.

From Trieste, among the resorts compared, Tarvisio and Zoncolan are closer than Sappada; Cortina is further away.

Times measured on 6 October 2026, by car, without traffic

By car

about2 h 45 min

By road
164 km
On a clear road
2 h 20 min
You enter by
Val Degano, from Friuli
Measured from
Piazza Unità d'Italia

The cautious estimate is the routing engine's time plus fifteen per cent, rounded up to five minutes.

The route

The road, stretch by stretch

  • Udine1 h 50 min
  • Villach2 h 20 min
  • Tarvisio
  • Zoncolan
  • Forni di Sopra
  • Piancavallo
  • Cortina
  • Tolmezzo
  • Belluno
  • Lienz
  • San Candido (Innichen)
  • Calalzo di Cadore
  • Klagenfurt
  • Carnia exit · A2375 min
  • End of the A27 · Pian di Vedoia80 min
  • 1
  • 3
  • 5
  • 6
  • Sappada

Relief calculated from Copernicus DEM GLO-30 elevations (© DLR and Airbus, provided by the European Union and ESA). Roads and borders © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. The times beside the cities are the cautious estimate to Sappada.

  1. DepartureTriesteabout 2 h 45 min left164 km
  2. As far as the mountainsA4 · A23A4 towards Venice, then A23 towards Tarvisio as far as the Carnia exit. Those leaving from Monfalcone or Gorizia follow the same route from the A4 onwards.
  3. You leave the motorwayCarnia exit · A23about 75 min left53 kmThe signs read “Carnia, Tolmezzo”.
  4. Tolmezzoabout 70 min left46 km
  5. Villa Santinaabout 55 min left38 km
  6. Ovaroabout 40 min left28 km
  7. Comegliansabout 35 min left24 km
  8. Forni Avoltriabout 20 min left11 km
  9. PassCima SappadaThe highest point of the road from Friuli. No scheduled winter closure; in heavy snow it has been closed (December 2020, January 2021).
  10. ArrivalSappadaThe town hall, in Borgata Bach: it is the arrival point of all the measurements.

From the Carnia exit to Sappada

From the exit you follow the SS52 “Carnica” to Villa Santina, passing beside Tolmezzo. There the SR355 “della Val Degano” begins, climbing along the river through Ovaro, Comeglians, Rigolato and Forni Avoltri. After Piani di Luzza the road rises to Cima Sappada with four hairpin bends and two short rock tunnels, and from there it descends into the village.

Where to stop

The last town before the valley is Tolmezzo. From Villa Santina upwards there is one road only, and the villages come one after the other: Ovaro, Comeglians, where the road for Ravascletto and Zoncolan branches off, then Rigolato and Forni Avoltri. Beside each name you will find how much is left to Sappada.

The times beside the villages are the cautious estimate from there to Sappada's town hall (OSRM measurements of 6 October 2026).

Before setting off

What to know about this road

OpenVal Degano

Between Comeglians and Cima Sappada, Val Degano is one road only, with no parallel route. If it is interrupted, the detour runs through Forni di Sopra, the Passo della Mauria and Comelico, and it is long. It has happened twice because of landslips, in 2022, and in two winters because of snow and avalanches, in December 2020 and January 2021; today the road is open. From 15 November to 15 April you need winter tyres, or snow chains on board.

Read on 7 October 2026The state of every road and every pass

Without a car

From Trieste Centrale there are direct trains as far as Carnia; from there you continue by bus to Tolmezzo and then on line 120 to Sappada. Direct trains for Carnia also leave from the Trieste airport station.

Airports, trains and buses

The same journey

From Trieste to the other resorts

From Trieste, among the six resorts compared, Sappada is fifth by travel time. The closest is Tarvisio.

From Trieste, by car: cautious estimate (the bar), the routing engine's time on a clear road and kilometres by road. In order of time.
ResortCautious estimateOn a clear roadBy road
Tarvisio2 h 10 min1 h 52 min165 km
Ravascletto · Zoncolan2 h 10 min1 h 53 min143 km
Piancavallo2 h 30 min2 h 06 min155 km
Forni di Sopra2 h 30 min2 h 08 min160 km
Sappada2 h 45 min2 h 20 min164 km
Cortina d'Ampezzo3 h 25 min2 h 56 min237 km

The full comparison between the resorts: prices, pistes, altitude

  1. Tarvisio: about 2 h 10 min by car, 165 km by road, 96 km as the crow flies
  2. Ravascletto · Zoncolan: about 2 h 10 min by car, 143 km by road, 117 km as the crow flies
  3. Piancavallo: about 2 h 30 min by car, 155 km by road, 109 km as the crow flies
  4. Forni di Sopra: about 2 h 30 min by car, 160 km by road, 125 km as the crow flies
  5. Sappada: about 2 h 45 min by car, 164 km by road, 132 km as the crow flies
  6. Cortina d'Ampezzo: about 3 h 25 min by car, 237 km by road, 160 km as the crow flies
The region redrawn around Trieste: the direction is the true one, the distance from the centre is the driving time (cautious estimate).
The Sappada basin seen from above Borgata Bach: the roofs of the hamlet, the meadow plain, the forest and, behind, the still snow-covered peaks of the Clap group.
Real footage · Sappada
Above Bach, looking south: the hamlet, the plain, the Col dei Mughi ski run at the end of the season; on the left the flank of Monte Siera, on the right the Creton di Culzei and Creton di Clap.

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