Private Lake Braies Tour from Venice with MoveNow Travel

Included, Excluded and Paid on Top

Private transportation with a private driver, parking fees, bottled water, snacks and panoramic photos are included. An optional breakfast stop at a mountain pastry shop appears in the includes list but is marked at your own expense, so treat it as paid on top.

Not included are meals, the chairlift at Misurina, boat rental at Lake Braies and the $5.57 (€5) Venice access fee that applies to day visitors on certain dates.

Money and Food

The tour price is $614.03 per person, and parking is covered. Bring cash or card for lunch, the Misurina chairlift at $18.92 (€17) return, the wooden boat at Lake Braies and any pastry stop. Meals are excluded.

Euro figures on this page convert at the European Central Bank rate of 1 EUR = 1.1130 USD. Note that the Tre Cime shuttle, if you ever use it independently, does not take cash.

Meeting Point and Bags

You meet at Piazzale Roma in Venice, with details sent a few days before departure. If you stay outside Venice, tell the operator, as pickup from your hotel can be arranged on request. No bag rule is stated.

Public transport options are available nearby for getting to the meeting point.

Season, Weather and Who Can Join

No season or winter changes are published, so ask the operator whether your date runs as described. The tour can be cancelled for bad weather, which is worth knowing when you book non-refundable plans elsewhere. Ages run from 2 to 120 and all fitness levels are welcome.

No wheelchair access is stated. Wear shoes you can walk in, since walking is the main activity at every stop, and bring a layer for the chairlift above 2,000 meters. If your date is out of season, the Private Dolomites Winter Day Trip is the cold-weather version at $661.39 per person.

The Round Trip in Numbers

The operator publishes no drive time and no time per stop, so the 10 to 11 hours cannot be split into driving and stops. The one official road figure is that Cortina is 162 km from Marco Polo airport.

For comparison, the Cortina Express bus takes 2 hours 10 minutes from Venice airport or 2 hours 30 minutes from Mestre to Cortina, and its tickets start from $13.91 (€12.50) each way. The private car adds the route to Lake Braies and the other stops, which the scheduled bus does not.

If you would rather trade money for fewer hours in the car, look at a tour that skips the northern lakes, such as the Dolomites Day Trip with Cortina and 2 Lakes at $107 per person.

Meeting and Route

You meet at Piazzale Roma in Venice. The exact spot and the departure time are sent a few days before departure, and hotel pickup can be arranged if you stay outside Venice. The vehicle is private, with your own driver, so the day bends to your group.

The route runs Venice to Lake Auronzo, then Lake Misurina, then Dobbiaco, then Lake Braies, ending with Cortina d'Ampezzo before the drive back. On the Tre Cime option, the Cortina stop is replaced by a panoramic distant view of the Three Peaks, which is offered because of heavy construction and traffic in Cortina. No stop time, walk length or return time is published.

The Regulation Window

From 1 July to 15 September, between 9:00 and 16:00, access to Lake Braies is only permitted by public transport, on foot, by bicycle, or with an online reservation or a valid transit permit. Arriving before 9:00 does not guarantee a parking space. Outside that window the road works as usual.

The Combined Ticket and the Buses

The combined ticket costs $48.97 (€44) and covers a full-day transit permit, a guaranteed parking spot and a $24.49 (€22) voucher for local restaurants and shops. It is advance booking only. The public buses, lines 439 and 442, also need prepaid online booking during the regulation, and once a bus is fully booked you can no longer reach the lake by bus. Mobilcards and guest cards are not valid on those buses.

The valley tourism board says the same regulation will return in summer 2027, with details due in spring 2027. If you would rather not manage any of this, a private day like this one or the Exclusive Private Dolomites and Braies Trip at $1,118 per group up to 7 is the alternative if you would rather not drive yourself.

• Regulation window: 1 July to 15 September, 9:00 to 16:00
• Combined ticket: $48.97 (€44) with guaranteed parking and a $24.49 (€22) voucher
• Buses 439 and 442 need prepaid booking and sell out

Lake Auronzo

A first panoramic stop with time for photos and a walk along the shore. The Tre Cime toll road to Rifugio Auronzo costs $44.52 (€40) for a car and requires an online reservation with your plate added by 23:59 the day before. The toll road is not part of this route.

For a day built around the Three Peaks, see the Lake Braies and Tre Cime Minivan Trip at $110 per person.

Lake Misurina

The stop with the biggest optional spend. The Col de Varda chairlift runs 18 June to 20 September, 9:00 to 16:45, and an adult return costs $18.92 (€17). It lifts you above 2,000 meters, where the listing suggests lunch in a traditional mountain hut at your own expense.

The Tre Cime shuttle also connects Misurina toward Rifugio Auronzo from 30 May, at $11.13 (€10) per person for a day ticket, cash not accepted on board.

Dobbiaco

Dobbiaco station is 31 km from Cortina, according to Cortina's tourism board. No activity or time is published for this stop.

Lake Braies

The main draw and the reason the tour carries its name. You can walk the lakeshore and, when the seasonal service is active, rent a traditional wooden boat at your own cost. In summer the access regulation above applies.

Parking is included in the tour price, so ask the operator how access is arranged on your date.

Cortina D'Ampezzo or the Tre Cime View

The last stop before Venice. If you pick the Tre Cime option, you skip the town for a panoramic distant view of the peaks, a swap offered because of heavy construction and traffic in Cortina. Cortina itself is 162 km from Marco Polo airport by road, and its bus terminal is at the Ice Stadium.

The Dolomites, including these peaks, have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since their inscription on 26 June 2009.