A Family Guide to the Dolomites: Tips for Traveling with Kids to South Tyrol

The Dolomites sounds more intimidating than it is. Once you get there, you realize just how accessible and kid-friendly the whole region can be. Hikes are made magical with themed paths, playgrounds sit on mountaintops, and every drive is scenic just by nature of the surrounding dolomite rock faces. We took our four kids aged 2 to 10 years old for a 3-night stay, and here is what I wish I knew before we went.

Just to start off on the right foot before we get to the travel guide, here is a quick overview of the local lingo you will hear and why it all seems to overlap. The Dolomites are a UNESCO-listed mountain range in northern Italy spanning five provinces, known for their steep cliff faces. One province in particular stands out within the Dolomites: South Tyrol. Except you will also see it written as Süd Tyrol and Alto Adige, and that is because the area officially recognizes three languages: Italian, German, and Ladin. To give it an even more unique feel, it operates under its own semi-autonomous governing structure, which gives it a culture unlike anywhere else in Italy. Talk about a unique place to visit.

The Dolomites are well known for both summer and winter activities. You could equally enjoy skiing, winter hiking, and toboggan runs in the winter, or you could hike, mountain bike, swim in alpine lakes, and use the summer mountain coasters in the summer. All of those options are pretty incredible, especially when you see the views. We visited in April, which is the shoulder season, meaning there were hardly any crowds, but a few places were closed in the transition between seasons. Most summer activities are open May through November.

Situated in the northern Italian Alps along the border to Austria, this area is easier to get to than I imagined.

I pictured hour-long tunnels like in Switzerland or endlessly winding mountain roads, but the Brenner highway passes right through the valley with sheer cliffs on either side and a wide, well-maintained toll road for most of the route. There were tunnels along the way, but none longer than a couple of minutes. Worth noting: Innsbruck, Austria is just north of the Dolomites, and a bit further north near Füssen in Bavaria sits Neuschwanstein Castle, the castle that inspired Disney, right near the German-Austrian border. If you want to make that a stop on your way there or back, it is very doable.

One practical note: driving through Austria requires a motorway vignette (which is essentially a prepaid road-use sticker or digital pass linked to your license plate) that costs only €9.90 for a week, and the Brenner pass itself carries a separate toll in both directions (currently around €11 each way). The easiest option is to purchase the digital vignette in advance at go-maut.at, which links directly to your license plate so you drive straight through without stopping. If you skip it, the fines are steep.

If you are taking the train instead, Bolzano has direct train connections from Innsbruck and Munich, making it an easy and scenic arrival by rail. The journey from Innsbruck takes under two hours, and the views of the peaks as you descend into the valley are worth the trip on their own. From Bolzano’s main train station, regional buses and local trains connect to the smaller towns throughout South Tyrol.

The Dolomites are incredibly accessible from this direction and the roads are straightforward and well-maintained. It took us 4.5 hours from Piran, Slovenia to arrive near Bolzano, which is the main hub of the region. From the Venice area it is around 2.5 to 3 hours to Bolzano.

If flying in and out of Venice, a Venice Dolomites Venice loop makes for a perfect dual-destination itinerary.
Traveling by train from Venice to Bolzano takes around two and a half hours with a connection in Verona, and it is a straightforward journey. If you are not renting a car, Bolzano itself is very walkable, and the Südtirol Guest Pass covers regional buses and trains once you arrive, so getting around without a vehicle is doable, but will include more logistics if you stay outside the city.

Once you arrive in the area, some mountainous roads begin as you make your way to your lodging or day trip destinations, so be prepared if winding roads are not your thing.

When you are in the Dolomites, farm stays are the way to go. Kinderhotels and kids-focused all-inclusive properties exist, but they are not necessary when farm stays already offer playgrounds, animals, and outdoor space in a far more authentic setting. There are several ways to find them: Agriturismo listings, the Roter Hahn network, and Booking.com all have options. Look for places with fewer than ten guest rooms for a less touristy feel.

Our stay was about 30 minutes up the mountain from Bolzano, and when you arrived it felt like an entirely different world. Just a beautiful South Tyrolean farmhouse, a working farm, and a perfect playground with a place for my kids to run free. We stayed at Mongadui and would recommend it without hesitation.

A few things worth checking when comparing farm stays:

• Does the farm have animals available for the kids to interact with?
• What breakfast or meal options are included?
• How far are you from the nearest town?
• Do they participate in the Südtirol Guest Pass program? (More on that in the next section.)

Hotels and farm stays in South Tyrol come with a Südtirol Guest Pass included in your room rate. There is a website and an app, but I found both more difficult to navigate than I would have liked. In practice, we found the pass most useful for free cable cars or seilbahn. We took the Ritten cable car from Bolzano (the provincial capital) up to the Ritten plateau (which is detailed below) which offered a gorgeous view of the surroundings.

Two museums worth highlighting that are covered by the pass that kids would enjoy: the South Tyrol Museum of Archaeology in Bolzano Italy, home to Ötzi the Iceman, one of the oldest and best-preserved human mummies ever found. And DoloMythos in Innichen, a Dolomites nature museum with dinosaur fossils, crystals, legends, and a children’s treasure hunt area.

I recommend looking at the guest pass options before you arrive so you have a plan in place, and confirming with your lodging that they participate in the program.

I am working on a full dedicated post covering everything the pass includes, but here is a quick overview in the meantime of how we used it in Ritten.

Here are two easy and worthwhile day trips from the Bolzano area to complete your Dolomites itinerary:

Take the cable car from Bolzano up to Oberbozen (also known as Soprabolzano) on the Ritten plateau. The cable car is free with the Südtirol Guest Pass, as is the scenic narrow gauge train and the buses at the top, meaning you can make a full day of it without spending anything once you are up there. The main draw is the earth pyramids: boulders perched on top of tall mounds of packed earth. More impressive to see than to write about, so I will leave it at that. There is a visitor center right where you exit the cable car with maps, and they were helpful in finalizing our route for the day. The train toward all the main sites stops there as well. We loved how well the cable car connects with the other forms of transportation. The cable car takes just under 20 minutes.

The plateau also has two family friendly hikes worth knowing about:

• Die sagenhafte Welt des Toni is a themed adventure trail based on local Dolomite legends. To get there, take the Rittner Horn cable car from Pemmern up to the Schwarzseespitze summit, also covered by the Südtirol Guest Pass. At the top you will find a panoramic tower, a giant eagle’s nest climbing structure, Kneipp pools, and water channels for kids to splash in, all with sweeping mountain views. A perfect half-day if your kids have the energy for it.
• The Wald-Wild-Wunder-Weg (Forest-Wildlife-Wonder-Trail) is another option on the plateau, but be aware it is not a loop. You hike out and return the same way over several kilometers and we read there are bikers whizzing past on the trail as well. We skipped it in favor of the earth pyramids, but it is worth knowing about if your group would rather go for this type of a hike.

This is an easy hike for families with a breathtaking payoff. Drive toward Tuffalm until you reach an obvious parking area along the road where the driving ends. From there, follow the path toward Tuffalm for about an hour to arrive at a beautiful alpine hut with a full menu, a playground, and plenty of space to spend your afternoon.

After your hike, take a short detour by car to Schloss Prösels, a well-preserved castle in the Völs am Schlern area. It is a low-effort add-on that rounds out the day nicely.

• The last 30 minutes of the drive to most farm stays transitions from highway to country road, and that is where the magic happens. The views from the highway are already incredible, but the peace comes from getting off the main path entirely.
• Ask your farm stay about helping on the farm. It is not always a formal offering, but our kids ended up collecting eggs from chickens, ducks, and quail, milking cows, and cleaning animal pens. It was one of the most memorable parts of the whole trip.
• Even in summer, pack a light jacket. Mountain weather in the Dolomites can turn cool and rainy without much warning.
• On a clear night, step outside and look up. Light pollution is minimal this far from any major city, and the stars are worth staying up for.
• Do not stress too much about which hike or day trip you choose. With kids there will always be some complaining, some moments when everyone is happy, and a very good night of sleep at the end of it.