DAY TRIP TO THE DOLOMITES WITHOUT A CAR

The nearest airport to Braies is Bergamo Airport.

FROM BERGAMO TO BOLZANO 🚍

We took a Flixbus to Bolzano and stayed at BBHotels, which was very clean and spacious.

FROM BOLZANO TO BRAIES 🚂

From Bolzano, we caught a train from Bozen Sud – Messe to Niederdorf – Prags (with a stop at Franzensfeste). The journey took around 2 hours and 45 minutes. From Niederdorf – Prags, we walked to the bus stop and took bus 442 to Ferrara, Scuola, which brought us to Braies. The total cost was about S$50 (Return).

Highly recommend visiting in March—it wasn’t crowded, very peaceful, and you can even walk on the frozen lake! If you're looking to see the lake in its full beauty, summer is ideal, but be prepared for larger crowds.

Pro tip: If you're planning to hike, visit in summer as the trails are closed in winter due to icy conditions. (We learned this the hard way, slipping around in jeans and sports shoes while everyone else was in proper winter gear!)

We spent a few hours in Braies before heading back to Bolzano for lunch. Afterward, we took bus 180/184 to Karersee.

For train tickets, use websites like Rome2Rio, and bus fares can be paid in cash.

In my opinion, Karersee was a bit underwhelming compared to Braies. You’ll probably spend around 30 minutes there, but it’s still beautiful and just as quiet. During our visit, there were only about six other people.

These activities can all be done within a day! We started at 6:30 AM and returned to our hotel by 8:00 PM.