Pusteria Valley Day Trip From Venice: Lake Braies, Misurina and Cortina

Included, Excluded and Paid on Top

The $110 covers transport from Venice to the Dolomites and back and a professional English-speaking driver-guide. Food and drinks and tips are excluded, and the operator adds that food and drinks are not allowed in the vehicle. Lunch is on you at one of the stops.

No entry fees, chairlifts, boat rides, tolls or snowmobile rides are mentioned anywhere in the listing, so none should be assumed. The Col de Varda chairlift near Lake Misurina runs separately, from 18 June to 20 September, at $18.92 (€17) adult return, but this tour does not include it.

One contradiction is worth naming plainly. The listing's includes block lists 'Best views of the impressive Dolomites' and 'Food and drinks' side by side with no labels, while the operator's own notes exclude food and drinks. Treat only the transport and the driver-guide as certain and confirm anything else on the booking page before paying.

Season and Winter

The listing states no season and no winter changes, so check availability for your date. If you want a dedicated winter day, there is a separate Private Dolomites Winter Day Trip from Tronchetto.

Money and Lunch

The euro is the local currency and the European Central Bank rate used on this page is 1 EUR = 1.1130 USD. Lunch is not included and food and drinks are not allowed in the vehicle, so eat at a stop. Tips are not included.

Meeting Point and Bags

Meet at Trattoria Al Vinatier, Piazzale Roma 463, Venice. There is no hotel pickup. Standard-size luggage is accepted, and the operator asks you to bring comfortable shoes and warm clothing.

Who Can Join

Children under 6, wheelchair users and people with back problems are not suitable for this tour. Pets are not allowed. The guide speaks English.

Clothes and Shoes

Wear sturdy shoes with good grip, because the lakeshore walks include unpaved ground. The operator asks for warm clothing, so bring a warm extra layer even in summer. A waterproof jacket covers sudden mountain rain.

In Your Day Bag

Pack sunglasses and sunscreen. Bring a water bottle and a small backpack, keeping it standard size since that is what the van accepts. Remember food and drinks cannot be consumed in the vehicle.

Stop by Stop

The day opens with a 2-hour van transfer from Piazzale Roma to the first stop at Lake Auronzo. There you get 20 minutes at the lake dam, where water can sometimes be seen rushing through the gates. A 30-minute drive follows to Lake Misurina, the so-called Pearl of the Dolomites, where you have 70 minutes for a walk and photos with the Tre Cime di Lavaredo reflected in the water on clear days.

From Misurina a 45-minute drive takes you to Lake Braies, the longest stop at 1.5 hours, with free time to walk the lakeshore and see the wooden pier and rowing boats. Then a 1-hour drive brings you to Cortina d'Ampezzo for 45 minutes of free time and shopping along Corso Italia. The final 2-hour drive returns you to the meeting point in Venice in the evening. Only durations are published, not clock times.

Lake Auronzo, 20 Minutes

A short photo stop at the lake dam, where the water sometimes rushes through the gates. Twenty minutes is enough for pictures, not for walking far.

Lake Misurina, 1 Hour 10 Minutes

The listing calls it the Pearl of the Dolomites. On clear water the Sorapiss group, the Cadini and the Tre Cime di Lavaredo are reflected in the lake. This is where you see the Three Peaks on this tour.

The nearby Col de Varda chairlift runs 18 June to 20 September at $18.92 (€17) adult return, and this tour does not include it.

Lake Braies (Pragser Wildsee), 1 Hour 30 Minutes

The longest stop. The lake sits below rock walls, with a wooden pier and vintage rowing boats, and the listing calls the shore walk the most accessible short walk in the Dolomites. If you drive here yourself in summer, the rule matters: from 1 July to 15 September, between 9:00 and 16:00, access is only by public transport, on foot, by bicycle, or with an online reservation or a valid transit permit.

The combined ticket costs $48.97 (€44) and bundles a full-day transit permit, guaranteed parking and a $24.49 (€22) voucher for restaurants and shops. Buses 439 and 442 need advance online booking and prepayment, and once a bus is full you can no longer reach the lake by bus. Arriving before 9:00 does not guarantee parking.

On this tour the van and driver handle the access, so you do none of that.

Cortina D'Ampezzo, 45 Minutes

A quick visit to the village that has hosted the Olympic Winter Games, with a walk along the Corso Italia pedestrian street. Forty-five minutes covers a stroll and a coffee. If you would rather have a longer town stop with Pieve di Cadore added, the Dolomites Day Trip with Cortina and 2 Lakes from the same operator spends 4 hours at its stops and skips Braies.

Tre Cime Di Lavaredo, Seen from Misurina

This tour does not drive the Tre Cime toll road, so no toll or reservation applies. For reference, if you take a car up yourself, access to Rifugio Auronzo is only with an online reservation with the plate added by 23:59 the day before, at $44.52 (€40) for a car, and the road is normally driveable from about the end of May to the end of October. If you want a tour that actually reaches a Tre Cime viewpoint, the Lake Braies and Tre Cime Minivan Trip adds a viewpoint and Monte Piana in 9 hours for the same $110.

What the Dolomites Are

The Dolomites were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List on 26 June 2009. This day trip crosses both Veneto and South Tyrol.

• Lake Auronzo: 20-minute dam photo stop
• Lake Misurina: 70 minutes, Tre Cime reflections
• Lake Braies: 1.5 hours, shore walk and pier
• Cortina d'Ampezzo: 45 minutes, Corso Italia

About 6 H 15 Min Behind the Wheel

Adding the listing's own legs gives about 6 h 15 min of driving in a 10-hour day: 2 hours out to Auronzo, then 30 minutes, 45 minutes, 1 hour, and 2 hours back to Venice. That leaves about 3 h 45 min at the stops.

Cortina is 162 km from Venice Marco Polo airport. On the Cortina Express timetable the bus takes 2 h 10 min from the airport or 2 h 30 min from Mestre to Cortina alone, so the van is not a faster way there. It adds the lake stops a scheduled bus does not link.

Is the Day Realistic?

The longest single sit is the 2-hour first leg, and the 2-hour return is the only other leg that long, and the drives in between are 1 hour or less with a stop after each. If six hours in a van sounds like too much, look at tours that cut the driving, such as the 9-hour Lake Braies and Tre Cime Minivan Trip, or go private with the Private Dolomites Tour with Lake Braies, where the pace and stops are yours.

Which Weeks

Travel guides generally put late June through September as the best stretch for the lakes. The Col de Varda chairlift near Misurina runs 18 June to 20 September, and the Lake Braies traffic rule covers 1 July to 15 September. The listing states no season for this tour, so check the dates you want.

Weather Risk

Mountain weather can change within hours, so check the forecast the night before and again on the morning of the tour. Low cloud can hide the Tre Cime reflections in Lake Misurina entirely, which is the peak-viewing moment of this day. With free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead, a bad forecast the day before is not a money problem.