Table of content
II. What to do
- Day 1 – Klausberg-Klitzer alpine coaster
- Day 2 – Parco Natura Olperl
- Day 3 – Cascade/Acquafun
- Day 4 – The Dwarf Village and The Giant’s kingdom
- Day 5 – Otzi, the Iceman
- Day 6 – Lago di Braies
- Day 7 – Fly-line Wasserfall
- Day 8 – Cycle into Austria
- Day 9 – Villabassa and Kurpark
- Day 10 – Mondo Bimbi and Kinderwelt Olang
III. Bonus Ideas
Planning a trip to the Dolomites can be a daunting task when you look at all the options you have. We packed a lot in our 10 day stay in the Dolomites and, although hard to believe, we only covered a bit of what this area has to offer.
Perhaps the most confusing aspect for me was that all the towns/villages in South Tyrol have two names: an Italian one and a German one (and most of them don’t even look or sound similar – take for example San Candido/Innichen. Yeap, same place, two different names).
I won’t go into all of the details of the history of the Dolomites, but I will mention that this area belonged to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and you can still see the Austrian influence today in the languages spoken, the names of places, the food, the architecture etc.
Once I started to figure out the names, I had to begin narrowing down the activities we could fit in 10 days. And trust me, that was no ease feat! We left the Dolomites with the absolute conviction that we would have to go back one day and discover more of its wonders.
*Note: You will need a car to be able to do all the activities on this list. The Dolomites are pretty rural and, although there are buses connecting the villages and towns together, I can’t imagine how uncomfortable it would be to try to do all this with kids, while trying to catch a bus.
I. Where to Stay
If you want to follow this specific itinerary, it would be most convenient for you to stay somewhere between San Candido and Brunico, so you avoid driving too much. We stayed in one of the condos at Apartments Oberhollenzer by Lago di Braies, which is approximately midway between those two towns, and the locations was perfect for everything we wanted to do. We LOVED the apartment we stayed in! It was sparkling clean, very well equipped, spacious and in a quiet area. On top of that, the villa had a trampoline for the kids and a ping-pong table.
It might be worth it to note that the Dolomites offer a whole range of agriturismi (farm stays), where the owners usually raise animals and grow their own food. Most agriturismi are geared towards families, so they offer other amenities like pools, playgrounds, trampolines, pony rides etc. You can find them on generic search engines, like Booking.com or you could try searching websites that are specifically geared towards farm stays. One of them is Agriturismo.it
II. What to do
Day 1 - Klausberg-Flitzer alpine coaster and playground
Begin your trip to the Dolomites with an adrenaline rush! Get on the longest alpine coaster in Italy and experience its speed, its turns and its twists. Fun, giggles and squeals are guaranteed! Then spend a few more hours playing at the fantastic natural playground they have by the mountain coaster and take in all the views.
The mountain coaster can be reached via the Klausberg Cable car (a 10 minute ride) or by foot, via a forest path that starts at the valley station. The hike is supposed to take between 1.5 – 2 hrs, but we all know that, with kids, that’s more like 3 hrs.
Once you make it up the mountain, buy the tickets for the alpine coaster. You can buy one ride, 5 rides or 10 rides. We initially purchased 10 rides, then 5 more. This was the total between the 4 of us, so about 4 rides/person. This was our kids’ favorite activity in the Dolomites and they still talk about it.
*Note: do not set up your GPS for the Klausberg-Flitzer Alpine Coaster. It will take you all the way up to the actual mountain coaster, via a forestry road, which is illegal. Once you get up there, you won’t be allowed to park your car and you’ll have to drive back down to the point where the cable car starts. Ask me how we know! 😀
Set your GPS to Skiarena Klausberg and that will take you to the Klausberg Cable Car.
Day 2 - Engage your senses at Parco Natura Olperl
The wonderful Parco Natura Olperl sits at the top of Monte Elmo. To get there, you need to take the cable car from Sesto/Sexten. But before I dive into telling you about Olperl, I will give you some extra info about the combo tickets you can get for several mountain in the Tre Cime/3 Zinnen area.
There are 4 mountains you can choose from – Monte Elmo (where Parco Natura Olperl is), Baranci (where the Dwarf Village and the Giant Baranci is), Croda Rossa or Stiergarten.
You can get one ticket and visit one mountain, or you can choose a package for a discount. We chose 2 mountains/3 days (Monte Elmo and Baranci), which meant that once we used our first ticket, we had two days to use the other one. Similarly, you can do 3 mountains/4 days or 4 mountains/5 days. You can purchase your tickets and get more info on the official 3 Zinnen website.
Back to the play areas – the idea behind Parco Natura Olperl is based on a local myth of the Dolomites that tells the story of Olperl, a being that was not human, nor beast. It was just a playful creature, friend of all animals in the woods, that hid during the day and came out at night to play tricks on humans.
At Parco Natura Olperl, you go on a sensory journey to find…well, Olperl. The circular path is about 2 km long and it is wonderfully constructed, with different materials, to engage all of your senses.
At the beginning (or the end) of the circular path, there’s a mini village with cute, little houses. The kids can go inside to play, slide and hammer nails. The hike itself took us about 1 hour and, surprise-surprise, we couldn’t find Olperl. But we did have fun looking for him 🙂
Day 3 - pool day (Cascade or Acquafun)
I don’t know about you, but for us, there is only so much hiking we can do with our kids before it gets too much. A break is always welcome, especially if it involves water play. Our kids love swimming, so pools are usually our favorite go-to when we want a nice, relaxing day.
There are two options for indoor pools in this area. One is Cascade, in Campo Tures and the other one is Acquafun Innichen.
We went to Cascade and spent three wonderful hours playing and swimming in the indoor and outdoor, heated pools. We got the 3 hour family card and paid 28 euros.
Cascade is open Wed-Sun (closed on Mondays and Tuesdays), while Acquafun is open Thur – Mon (closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays).
Day 4 - The Giant's Kingdom and The Dwarf Village
This massive playground sits at the top of Mount Baranci. To get up there, you need to take the Chairlift Baranci. To get back down, you can take the chairlift again or the Fun Bob.
At the top of the mountain, you will be met with an amazing playground, consisting of 3 areas: The Dwarf Village, The Dwarf parkour (it was closed at the time of our visit) and The Giant’s Kingdom.
The Dwarf Village (El Villaggio degli gnomi) is a wonderful play village that has treehouses, hanging bridges and pretend, miniature buildings like a church, a school, a grocery store etc.
The Giant’s Kingdom (El Regno del Gigante Baranci) is a loop route that takes a couple of hours to complete. Along the way, you will find the giants’ possessions, like eye glasses, toothbrush, his throne, his cooking pots or his body parts, like his nose. There are many benches along the way, where you can rest and take in the views.
There is also a restaurant on site and a playground with trampolines, slides, swings and a sand pit.
Plan to spend at least 5-6 hours at Mount Baranci.
Day 5 - Visit Otzi, the Iceman
If your children are fascinated by death, the afterlife and mummies like mine are, they will be delighted to visit Otzi and learn more about who he was.
Found in 1991 by a couple of hikers in the Otzal Alps, on the border between Italy and Austria, Otzi the Iceman is believed to be the oldest naturally preserved mummy ever found. Supposedly, he lived more than 5000 years ago, between 3350 and 3105 BC, during the Copper Age. Due to the nature of his wounds, scientists believe that Otzi was killed.
Because his body froze immediately after dying and it remained covered by ice, Otzi only partially deteriorated, allowing scientists to find a lot of details about his lifestyle, through scientific research done on his organs, his stomach contents, his hair etc.
Otzi and his belongings are exhibited at the South Tyrol Museum of Archeology in Bolzano, so about 1.5 hr drive, if you’re staying in the San Candido/Brunico area. For more information on how to make a reservation, check out the official website of the museum here.
Day 6 - Lago di Braies
Visiting at least of of the stunning lakes of the Dolomites is a must. Because we were located right by it, we decided to hike around Lago di Braies, but I read wonderful reviews of Lago di Dobbiaco as well.
The hike is a loop route and it took us a few hours to sloooowly walk it with our kids. They stopped many, many times to throw rocks in the lake, or dig holes in the woods or build rock towers. The hike it’s manageable with kids, but not stroller friendly.
We visited Lago di Braies mid October and there were no crowds, but I do believe that it gets packed in the summer, so plan accordingly. Maybe do the hike early in the morning, or late in the afternoon.
Day 7 - Cycle into Austria
If your kids are old enough to be confident bicycle riders or if you can still pull them behind you in a carrier, you can rent bikes in San Candido and cycle into Austria.
Sadly, (I really dislike missing out on things) we did not do this activity. Our kids were at an age where they couldn’t have cycled that much on their own, but they were too big for us to pull them behind for 50 km. So this activity is at the top of my list for when we go back to the Dolomites.
The Drau cycle path is an almost 50 km, mostly downhill, cross-border path that connects the villages in the Tre Cime area with Lienz, Austria. There are rest areas and playgrounds along the way. The path is most crowded on Sundays and it is not recommended to ride the opposite way (from Lienz to San Candido) for two reasons: you would be cycling slightly up hill and most of the traffic would be coming from the opposite way, so you’d have to dodge a lot of people.
The most popular way to get back to San Candido is by train. The train station in Lienz is called Lienz in Osttirol Bahnhof and the bike path will take you right to it. Trains to San Candido run every hour from Lienz and the ride back is around 50 min. Tickets cost between 7 – 11 euros. For more information on prices and hours, click here.
Day 8 - Hike to the Fly-line Wasserfall
I had no idea what a fly-line was before we went to Italy. But let me tell you, it is so much fun ”flying” down between trees!
A fly-line is different than a zip-line in the way that it doesn’t go straight and above the trees, like zip-lines usually do. Fly-lines slide down on metal rods, anchored with metal cables to the trees and they twist and turn and do loops. There’s even more of an adrenaline rush than a zip-line, because sometimes it really does feel like you’re going to hit a tree, but then the fly-line twists at the last moment and you’re suddenly safe. We are a family of thrill-seekers and we all loved this activity!
I believe that there are several fly-lines in the area, but the closest one to our accommodations was the Fly-Line Wasserfall. I am so happy that we went to this one, because it has a playground and a small cafe right by the parking lot and the hike up to the fly-line is wonderful, with gorgeous views of 3 different waterfalls. The kids played at the playground for a good hour and the hike took us close to two hours, so plan to spend at least 3 hours altogether here.
Day 9 - Walk around Villabassa and play at Kurpark
Villabassa is a small village located between Brunico and San Candido. We loved going there to walk around and eat at one of our favorite restaurant in the area, Restaurante Winkelkeller.
Villabassa is also home to an amazing playground – Kurpark. There are several areas where kids can play in this park. One has a zipline and a very tall tower with slides and another one is an obstacle course.
Day 10 - Slide down the biggest slide in the world at Kinderwelt Olang
Last, but not least – the wonderful Mondo Bimbi at Kinderwelt Olang. A Facebook reel of this park is what drew my attention to the Dolomites for the first time. I’ll admit it, I knew very little about this part of Italy before we went. But that reel, of a child going down this looooooooooog slide, in a beautiful, natural park made me think of freedom and kids in nature, and I knew right then and there that we had to change our plans and include the Dolomites in our Eurotrip. Little did I know then that the Dolomites would become our favorite place in Europe for family vacations.
Back to Kinderwelt Olang – this is a massive playground, with different play areas scattered along a hike path. As you enter the park, you can go left to the little play houses, swing sets and zipline or you can go right and make your way to THE SLIDE and the natural play area.
I’m not kidding you – this slide is the longest I’ve ever seen in my life. When I took a video of my kids going down, I had to zoom in a couple of times, just so I could see them at the top, that’s how far up they were.
We spent about half a day playing at this park.
III. Bonus ideas
If you have extra time in the Dolomites or some of the above mentioned activities are not appealing to you, there are a couple of other things you can do in the area, especially if you travel with older kids.
1. Visit a castle – there are castles and fortresses everywhere in the Dolomites. Two that can be visited in this area are Bruneck Castle and Taufers Castle.
2. Paragliding – we saw people paragliding in Sand in Taufers and at Monte Elmo. Although our kids really wanted to do it (they loved parasailing in Costa Rica), they were not allowed, because they were still too young.
IV. When to visit
We spent the first two weeks of October in the Dolomites. I don’t know if we got lucky, but it only rained once during our entire stay. However, I should note that all of the cable cars end their activity for the season mid October and reopen again in December. So I would not advise to go during that time.
Also, summer (especially August) is when Italians go on vacation. so if you don’t like crowds, avoid a vacation to Italy during that time.
I think that late spring (May, beginning of June) and early fall (September, beginning of October) are the best times to visit the Dolomites.