Dolomites & Austria

Ortisei + Alpe di Siusi. Ortisei (Urtijëi, 1,236 m) is the valley's lively main town — car-free centre and centuries-old woodcarving tradition (the shops are worth a browse). From the south side of town the cabin lift glides up to Alpe di Siusi / Mont Sëuc, Europe's largest high-alpine meadow. At the top, horse-drawn carriage rides leave from near the top station, and easy paths lead to mountain huts with playgrounds — Baita Sanon (~35 min gentle stroll: ponies, farm animals, big playground) is the classic family target.

PanaRaida Adventure Trail on Monte Pana above S. Cristina (10 min drive up, or take the Monte Pana chairlift — included in the Gardena Card). A 2.6 km stroller-friendly loop with ~10 play stations: linked tree houses with rope bridges, a giant forest swing, a log labyrinth, a mini wooden cable car and a water playground. Do the 3-cache treasure hunt — tell the secret words at the S. Cristina tourist office afterwards for a small prize. Also at Monte Pana: pony rides, minigolf and the Pana Kids playground. Count 2–3 relaxed hours.

Seceda + Val d'Anna. Drive to Ortisei (~15 min, parking at the valley station) and ride the Ortisei–Furnes–Seceda cableway to 2,500 m — be up by ~9:00 before the crowds. The Odle/Geisler ridgeline from the top is the Dolomites postcard. Right by the top station, Baita Sofie (Sofie Hütte) has a sun terrace for drinks and a playground for the kids. Back in the valley, walk into the Val d'Anna from Ortisei: hammocks strung along the stream, and Café Val d'Anna with its playground and petting zoo — the perfect low-effort afternoon.

Check-out & travel day to Valle di Casies. Either the scenic route over Passo Gardena through Alta Badia (+40 min of hairpins and views), or the Pusteria route with a stop at Kinderwelt Olang (Valdaora) — a large free forest adventure playground right off the road, the ideal leg-stretcher.

Lago di Braies (~30 min). Road permit, parking and a restaurant voucher are already arranged — just make sure the permit carries the rental car's plate (the road is controlled 9:30–16:00 and enforced by plate). The west (left) bank path is the stroller-accessible side with the best photo angles; the full loop adds a rooty, stepped stretch on the far shore. Rent one of the iconic wooden rowboats at the 19th-century boathouse — note they're rowing boats (Braies has no pedal boats), and the first hour of the morning on still water is the magic one.

Check-out & travel day to Tux. Best en-route stop: the Gustav Mahler Wildlife Park (Wildpark Toblach, ~20 min) — 11 hectares with deer, ibex, lynx, raccoons and snowy owls; buy feed at the entrance so the kids can feed the goats; small playground too. €10 adults / €5 kids 3–14 / under 3 free, open 9:00–18:00 — Mahler's restored composing hut sits next door. The alternative, Lake Misurina, is lovely but ~40 min in the opposite direction and adds over an hour to an already long driving day — the zoo is the easier call. Possibly meet up with Roy Halstead, who's travelling in the area. Once over the border: buy the Austrian vignette at the first petrol station.

Mayrhofen & Mount Ahorn (~20 min down the valley). Ride the Ahornbahn — Austria's largest cable car cabin — 6.5 minutes up to the Ahorn plateau at ~2,000 m. Go up in the morning; latest sensible ascent 13:00. Up top: the AlbertAdler PlayWorld (Ravensburger indoor play world with climbing wall, right at the mountain station), a stroller-friendly plateau trail and the small Ahornsee lake. Then the highlight — the Birds of Prey Show at 14:00 at the Adlerbühne, Europe's highest falconry station (15 min walk from the top station, ~400-seat natural amphitheater; daily except Fridays, so your Sunday is confirmed). Eagles and owls skim inches over the audience. Bonus: 10:00–12:00 you can visit the falconers and their birds for free before the show.

Zell am Ziller (~25 min). Start at the Arena Coaster — the Zillertal's alpine roller coaster (1,450 m, with 360° and 540° loops) starting right at the Rosenalmbahn valley station (Rohr 23, free parking) — go early to beat the queue; kids 4+ ride with an adult, 10+/1.30 m alone, and there's a big playground with trampolines and a tube slide at the base. Then ride the Rosenalmbahn up to the Fichtenschloss — a giant wooden fairy-tale castle with climbing towers, slides, an 18 m lookout tower, a separate toddler tower and a water play area — plus the Fichtensee swimming lake next door (shallow toddler bay, rowboat and SUP rental, stroller-friendly path). If there's time and energy left: the Spieljochbahn in Fügen (~25 min down-valley) — barrier-free cable car to a free mountain-top family park: adventure playground, trampolines, water-play park with rafts and wooden dams, petting zoo and a barefoot trail to the 1,920 m summit. Cable car ~€28/adult, ~€13/child, under-7s free.

Zillertal steam train. Board at Mayrhofen station (the terminus, ~20 min away) for the historic 1902 narrow-gauge Dampfzug — wooden carriages, 35 km/h, and a dedicated Kinderwaggon full of toys where the mascot Zilli-Bär rides along; strollers come aboard without a problem (there's a barrier-free carriage with a lift). The stretch Mayrhofen → Kaltenbach (~45 min) is plenty for the kids — return €32.50 / single €20.80 per adult on that segment; hop the regular (much faster) railcar or the train back.

Travel day over the Gerlos road. En route, stop at the Durlassboden reservoir (the "Gerlos lake", just past Gerlos village at 1,400 m) — surprisingly warm for a mountain lake, with a beach area, boat rental and space to run around; the Krimml Waterfalls thunder into view as you descend the far side. Check-in from 16:00 — then straight out to the Maisiflitzer, Kaprun's alpine coaster at the Maiskogel valley station five minutes away: an all-weather rail coaster the kids can repeat until dinner.

Großglockner High Alpine Road — the big one. Toll entrance at Ferleiten (~25 min; day ticket ±€50 per car, valid for every stop; a few euros cheaper online). Stop #0, right at the toll gate: Wildpark Ferleiten — an alpine wildlife park where the kids warm up before the drive. Then, as planned, drive straight to Stop #11, Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe (2,369 m) while the morning air is clearest: the visitor centre terraces face the Pasterze — Austria's longest glacier — beneath the Großglockner (3,798 m), and famously cheeky marmots beg along the walls. Work backwards through #5 Fuscher Törl (2,428 m — café with the double-hairpin view), #4 Edelweissspitze (2,571 m — the highest point reachable by car, up a short cobbled side road; park and walk the last meters to a 360° platform over thirty 3,000 m peaks) and #2 Piffkar (exhibition + valley view). Bring warm layers — it can be near freezing up top even in July; road open roughly 6:00–20:00 in summer.

Kitzsteinhorn, then onward. Leave the hotel ~9:00 for Kaprun centre and ride the MK Maiskogelbahn + 3K K-onnection + Gipfelbahn chain to Top of Salzburg at 3,029 m — about 40 minutes up, fully gondola-based and stroller-accessible, and free with the Summer Card. Bring the coats: up top it's winter. Panorama platform first, then down one section to the ICE Arena at ~2,600 m — a summer snow beach with snow slides the kids won't want to leave. Lunch on the mountain, then down and on to Großarl.

Resort day. No car, no plan: the hotel's 7,000 m² Mountain Spa, the water-slide park with its five slides, kids' club and the alm meadows right outside are the programme.

Horse-drawn carriage ride (~40 min) through the Großarl valley — arranged by the hotel concierge. Reconfirm the