The Südtirol Guest Pass: What’s Included and How to Use It

When we stayed in Südtirol (South Tyrol) in the Dolomites, we were given access to the Südtirol Guest Pass (South Tirol Guest Pass) and had to scramble to figure out how to actually make it work for us. If this is you, or if you’re planning ahead, this guide will help you make the most of the pass to access free things while you’re in the area.

The guest pass is available at no charge at participating accommodations in the South Tyrol area. Many accommodations in the area include it (we stayed at a farm stay and it was included), but it’s always worth confirming before you book. Every guest aged 6 and up receives their own digital guest card, and children under 6 travel free.

Building a full Dolomites itinerary? Check out our full guide!

This post was written in May 2026, and all information is valid to the best of my ability at this time. Things do change, so be sure to check the official websites or call to confirm specific benefits with the provider directly.

The Südtirol Guest Pass is usually issued at check-in, but many accommodations will send it via email before you arrive. It’s worth asking in advance so you can download it to your Apple or Google Wallet before you travel and hit the ground running on day one.

The pass covers your full stay and is valid from the day you arrive through the day you depart. If you are there for more than a week, your accommodation will issue a renewed pass automatically. Just check with your lodging depending on your situation.

One important thing to know: the pass is only available free of charge through participating accommodations. You cannot purchase it separately, so if your lodging does not offer it, the pass is simply not available to you for that stay.

This is huge. The Südtirol guest pass covers all city buses, regional trains, and cross-country buses across South Tyrol: Brenner to Trento, Mals to Innichen, and even the Swiss PostAuto between Mals and Müstair. The ability to explore the entire region without buying a single transport ticket is unreal value for families, and we used it constantly throughout our stay.

To put it in context: the alternative for visitors without the guest pass is a 7-day Mobilcard, which costs €50 per adult and €25 per child. For a family of four on a week-long holiday, that’s €150 before you’ve taken a single cable car or visited a single museum.

To use your pass, simply have the QR code ready on your phone and scan it at the blue validation machines on buses and at train stations before boarding. It was a simple process once you know what to look for.

We loved that cable cars were included too. Specific cable cars are covered by the Südtirol Guest Pass, including the Ritten (Renon) cable car above Bolzano, the Mendel funicular railway, and the public cable cars to Vöran (Verano), Mölten (Meltina), Kohlern (Colle), and Meransen (Maranza). This can vary by region and does change from time to time, so check closer to your travel dates to confirm what applies to your area.

Taking the Bolzano cable car up to the Ritten plateau was one of our favorite outings, and it was completely free with the pass (including the connecting Ritten tramway and buses along the plateau).

There are so many museums included that it can be a little overwhelming to know where to start. The Südtirol guest pass covers over 80 participating museums across the region, and we were a bit lost at first figuring out which ones to prioritize. For the Bolzano area, here are four worth putting on your list with the guest pass:

• Museion — Bolzano’s modern and contemporary art museum, housed in a striking glass building on the Talvera River. Older kids who engage with visual art will find the rotating exhibitions interesting, and the building itself is worth seeing.
• Naturmuseum Südtirol — A natural history museum covering the geology, flora, and fauna of the region. It’s hands-on enough for younger kids and interesting for all ages, especially if your family has been out hiking and wants context for what you’ve been seeing.
• Messner Mountain Museum Firmian — One of six mountain museums created by legendary climber Reinhold Messner, built into a dramatic hilltop castle just outside Bolzano. Older children drawn to adventure and extreme landscapes tend to find this one surprisingly compelling.
• Schloss Runkelstein — A medieval castle on a rocky outcropping above Bolzano, known for one of the best-preserved cycles of secular medieval frescoes in the world. Kids who are into castles will enjoy exploring it, and the views over the valley are worth the walk up alone.

If you are venturing further into the Dolomites, Dolomythos in Innichen is also included and well worth the trip. You can reach Innichen by regional train directly from Bolzano in about two hours on the Pustertal railway line, fully covered by the guest pass, and the mountain scenery along the way is spectacular.

A few things to keep in mind: some museums close in winter, so check opening times before you go. Guided tours and special museum events are generally not included unless specifically noted.

Note on provincial museums: South Tyrol’s provincial museums operate under a separate system and are not covered by the Südtirol Guest Pass. This includes the famous Ötzi the Iceman Museum in Bolzano. But we are planning to cover it fully in our guide to things to do in Bolzano (coming soon).

It can feel like everything is included, but there are some important exclusions to know before you travel. The pass does not cover:

• Long-distance trains (Railjet, Eurocity, Frecciarossa, Italo)
• Nightliner buses
• Specific alpine shuttle lines in summer (e.g. Alpe di Siusi shuttles, lines 439, 442, 444)
• Bicycle transport (a separate day ticket is required)
• Pet transport, except small animals in carriers and guide dogs
• South Tyrol provincial museums
• Guided tours and special events at museums, unless specifically noted

Remember to validate the QR code from your digital Südtirol guest pass at the blue machines before every journey, including cable cars. The blue machines are obvious once you see them, and there were plenty of staff around to ask if you have any questions.

On trains, validate at the station before boarding, not on the train itself. No re-validation is needed when changing trains.

The digital pass can be downloaded to Apple or Google Wallet, or you can save the PDF version if you prefer. For journey planning, the

For journey planning, the südtirolmobil app and the official Südtirol Guide app are both available, but I found them less than intuitive in English when it came to understanding exactly what was and was not included in the guest pass. Which is exactly why I decided to write this guide.

Since the pass itself comes at no charge, the real question is whether it is worth choosing an accommodation that includes it over one that does not. To give you a sense of what the savings can look like, here is a sample calculation for a family of two adults and two children on a four-day stay, using some of the most popular things to do in the area:

Activity	Without Pass
Ritten cable car return + Ritten tramway (€20 per person x 4)	€80
Regional train day trip, e.g. Bolzano to Brixen return (approx. €8 per person x 4)	€32
Naturmuseum Südtirol (approx. €8 adult, €4 child)	€24
Schloss Runkelstein (approx. €8 adult, €4 child)	€24
Sample total	€160

That is a conservative estimate based on four activities over four days. Families who use the buses daily, take multiple train day trips, and work through several museums will see considerably more value. For a family on a week-long holiday, the savings would be substantial.

Note: The Ritten cable car is currently out of service until approximately July 31, 2026, for maintenance. Check current status at ritten.com before planning around it.

While you’re planning, it’s also worth knowing that some of the best experiences in the Bolzano area are not included in the pass but are well worth adding to your itinerary. The Bolzano old town walking tour and a Bolzano food and wine tasting tour are two of our favorites for getting to know the city beyond the museums. Neither is covered by the guest pass, but both are a great use of an afternoon.

It is really important to ask about this benefit before you book, since you cannot purchase it separately. The main reasons an accommodation might not offer it are that they are a smaller facility not officially registered, or that they sit just outside the geographic boundaries of South Tyrol.

To find participating accommodations, check the official guest pass portal at guestpass.suedtirol.info before you book. You can also shop around for stays in the area on Trip.com or Klook — just confirm the guest pass is included with your chosen property before finalizing your booking.

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This post was written in May 2026, and all information is valid to the best of my ability at this time. Things do change, so be sure to check the official websites or call to confirm specific benefits directly.