Where we stayed, loved and explored as a family in The Dolomites, Italy.

A dream trip, that’s a thousand times better in real life.

I have put this mini guide together as I have had so many people asking, and to be honest, it did take a beat or two for me to get my head around it all when I was planning it out. Especially trying to understand what order to do things in, and whether to have one base or move around.

So I hope this gives you a good start.

So first things first, it’s a big area and you absolutely need a car. Hire one from wherever you arrive in the region. We caught a train from within Italy to Bolzano so we began and ended here with our hire car.

We chose late June, and it was a lovely window. It’s before the European school holidays hit, (I read it gets particularly busy over the July / August school holidays). The weather was perfect, it didn’t feel unbearably hot, the mornings and evenings cooled, which made mornings hikes lovely. I probably wouldn’t push much later into peak summer, as the well-known spots get considerably busier and that early-morning stillness we loved would be harder to find. Late June also meant wildflowers carpeting the meadows, everything was still very green, and long daylight hours that meant we never felt rushed.

Other great times to visit

• September - crowds thin right out, warm days and golden light without the summer bustle.

• Late September–October - larch trees turn golden against the grey mountain peaks, this would be so beautiful to see, though some cable cars and refuges start closing for the season.

• Winter (Dec–March) - a different trip entirely, built around skiing rather than hiking.

• Late spring (May–early June) - quieter, but higher trails may still have snow.

Now, I’m normally a big fan of one base and explore from there, that’s how we’ve done many other big regions. However, because many of the hikes are best experienced early in the morning or in the evening, I decided that this time, we would move around and stay in a few locations close to different attractions. Trying to get kids up, fed and then a 1 - 2 hour drive before a hike seemed impossible, so we stayed in 4 different locations in total and I would absolutely do that again. It worked fabulously.

Below I have listed the locations we stayed in, and how I would do it if I planned the same trip again.

An absolute must for families visiting The Dolomites, it was incredible. A beautiful place to recover from a long journey before jumping into adventure (or you could finish your time here to decompress and relax after lots of walks and adventures). I recommend 4 nights (or more).

Highlights

• Relax and enjoy the hotel (it deserves it)

• Indoor and outdoor pools

• Farm animals and nature based kids activities

• A kids club that was simply incredible, and meant parents can have a few hours to relax

• Gentle alpine walks nearby (we did the Wurzjoch walk from here)

• Absolute relaxation, in a lovely nature based setting.

Best for

• Families

• Your first few days after arriving OR your last few days (or even a week if you could) in The Dolomites

Drive to Lago di Braies: ~1 hour 20 minutes

Probably the most photographed lake in the Dolomites, and worth every bit of the hype. I chose to book and stay right on the lake after reading about how busy it gets during the day, and it was worth it. The mornings and evenings were magic. In hindsight I would do the Wurzjoch walk from here after breakfast one morning instead of while at Sonnwies.

Highlights

• Lago di Braies - waking up to this view

• Rowboats on the lake

• Walk around the lake ^{(easy family walk)}

• Wurzjoch (Passo delle Erbe) ^{this is a really easy, fairly flat walk with two play areas for children and a cafe at the base of the mountains. We also saw highland cows and big wildflower meadows. We did this from San Sonnea but in hindsight I would do it on one of the days here.}

• Nearby alpine meadows and mountain drives

• The history of the hotel, Pip became utterly fascinated with history on this trip, and we all loved learning about it. The hotel meals were also really wonderful.

• Sitting with a spritz on the hotel balcony (tourists seeing the lake are out of sight and you just soak in the incredible scenery)

Best time

• Sunrise or before 8am. We did the boat first thing in the morning and it was heaven!

• Sunset is also beautiful once the day visitors leave.

Drive to Cortina: ~45 minutes

Our base for some of the most dramatic mountain scenery. There’s quite a lot to see around here so I would actually plan an extra night or two if you have kids and want some rest time after walks. We really liked this hotel (there wasn’t much available when I went to book, and upon arrival we realised there was some huge world marathon event on starting in Cortina on the day we arrived, which explained why there was nothing available when I tried to book). So it was hard to find something available, but we ended up loving this hotel. The food at this hotel was delicious (we LOVED our meals here), the room was great (recently renovated and the family room felt so spacious with a loft bedroom), but there was no aircon (and on booking.com where we booked it, it was listed as having aircon). However, with the doors open at night (no bugs) and the ceiling windows open, it was absolutely fine and I would happily book it again.

Highlights

• Tre Cime di Lavaredo - ‼️^{pre-book your car park pass as far in advance as possible, we didn’t and had to get the shuttle up, which wasn’t so bad. But wish we had pre-booked a carpark. If you don’t know your hire car number plate, don’t worry you can change later.}

• Cadini di Misurina viewpoint ^{the walk to this viewpoint starts at the above location - Tre Cime}

• Cinque Torri

• Passo Giau

• Misurina

Best Time

• Tre Cime & Cadini: as early as possible ^{please be aware that by mid-morning, the car park is heaving and the shuttle queue can wind on for what feels like a small eternity, but moved faster than we expected. But, once you are walking it all feels so big and open, utterly breathtaking and absolutely worth it.}

• Passo Giau: sunrise or sunset.

Drive to Val Gardena: ~2 hours 15 minutes

This was probably our favourite base. There is just so much to explore in this area, the local town is so beautiful, and I really wished we had more time here.

We changed to Hotel Niblea last minute. I had hunted for an affordable hotel or airbnb with a washing machine (to get all that end-of-trip laundry done before we flew home), however, the one I had booked had no pool, and we were craving one in the heat. So a few days before we looked online and found this one for the same price. It hadn’t come up originally as I had set “washing machine” as a must-have on my search. Honestly, we were so so surprised by how amazing this hotel was and so glad we switched. Everything about this hotel was done impeccably, and it still felt small and welcoming. I would say if you could do 5 or 6 nights here as a family, you wouldn’t regret having the extra time. And they did all our laundry for us for 30 Euro. Once we were there and loving it, this fee seemed absolutely worth it.

Highlights

• Seceda ^{(tip - prebook your cable car)}

• Alpe di Siusi (Seiser Alm) ^{(tip - prebook your cable car)}

• Santa Maddalena

• St Johann Church viewpoint

• Monte Pana ^{(PanaRaida Adventure Trail starts here - great for kids with wooden climbing structures, ball runs, streams etc. and pram friendly)}

• Ortisei ^{a lovely little town, you could plan to explore after Seceda as you get the cable car from the town.}

Best time

• Seceda: first cable car of the day.

• Alpe di Siusi: morning or golden hour.

• Santa Maddalena: late afternoon/evening for beautiful light.

I would follow the same loop, but in reverse so that we ended our time at San Sonnea.

• Val Gardena

• Cortina d’Ampezzo

• Lago di Braies

• San Sonnea Family Hotel

It keeps the driving manageable (generally under 2½ hours between stays), means you’re close to each region’s biggest attractions, and lets you experience the mountains when they’re at their absolute best, early in the morning and late in the afternoon, before and after the crowds.

1. Seceda at first cable car ^{(just pack jackets as it was unbelievably cold up there early but it quickly warmed up by around 9am)}

2. Alpe di Siusi ^{We spent a few hours meandering and read our book up here, we only left because a storm rolled in. There’s also a playground near the cable car at the top, and lots of huts you can get lunch in along the trail.}

3. Lago di Braies at sunrise. ^{And then get one of the first row boats in the morning.}

4. Tre Cime. ^{Incredible. Simply incredible.}

5. Santa Maddalena at golden hour.

And that's the loop, more or less. Four bases, and a trip that turned out to be far more incredible, and more doable with little ones than I'd braced myself for. In fact, the way we slowed down on hikes, and especially the way we stopped and stayed a while at the peak for much longer than we would have ordinarily (because we were reading books and letting them have a play before we began the walk down), was what made it even more magic. We were reading The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe to the kids, and we promised a few chapters at the top of each walk, which they loved. And, there were moments when I felt welled with emotion, reading about Narnia and watching the kids become utterly enchanted by it, and then looking up and being surrounded by some of the most breathtaking scenery on Earth.

We moved slowly, and we did smaller walks than we would have without kids, but we took it all in through their eyes and ours, and it felt unexplainably magnificent. It was a trip that sparked all the awe and wonder I hoped it would, for all of us.

If you're planning your own trip and have questions I haven't covered here, drop them in the comments. I read every single one, and I'll do my best to help. And if you do book any of the stays above, you'll find the links just below. Buon viaggio! 🤍

SAN SONNEA FAMILY HOTEL - Luson

HOTEL PRAGSER WILDSEE - Lago di Braies

HOTEL VILLA ARGENTINA - Cortina d’Ampezzo

HOTEL NIBLEA DOLOMITES - Val Gardena