In recent years we have enjoyed our walking holidays. It always sounds a bit corny to me, a walking holiday. However, in recent years we have noticed that these kinds of family holidays are really the best for us. I am already looking into my next holiday, namely to South Tyrol / South Tyrol with the children. It will not be years anymore that we go on holiday with our children (read:the oldest will drop out in a few years), so we will take it as long as we can.
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I became interested in South Tyrol because one of the girls Lotte meets regularly this year went to this northernmost region of Italy for a holiday with her family. She was so enthusiastic about that holiday in the Dolomites region Seiser Alm/Alpe di Siusi that Lotte and I were both hanging on her every word. In addition, a few weeks ago we had a dinner with friends, with an Italian cook and Italian (South-Tyrolean) wines. So I'm totally in the mood to explore this northern province of Italy.
Read here more about a great holiday in South Tyrol
With an average of 300 sunny days a year, South Tyrol is an excellent destination for a family holiday. The Dolomites (since 2009 UNESCO World Heritage) are not only beautiful to walk through (yeah, we want that!), but there are also countless mountain lakes where it is wonderful to stay.
The South Tyrolean Dolomites are home to a beautiful nature reserve where you can enjoy an active holiday. In total there are 7 different nature parks in South Tyrol and one National Park. Do you like walking and cycling? Then you must have really been here, I read.
Learn more about the Seiser Alm region in South Tyrol?
As mentioned, it is the 'place to be' for walkers and cyclists, among others. Did you know that they have about 16,000 kilometers of marked hiking trails in South Tyrol, 450 kilometers of which are in the Seiser Alm region? And for me as a plant lover… many different types of flowers and ferns! But that alone doesn't make my children happy, of course, so I started looking for other activities in South Tyrol.
This one is still on my wishlist. Not a simple round at a holiday park with your son or daughter, which you have to walk next to. No, I would really love to go on a horse riding tour with my family. Of course under supervision. Because even though I have years of experience, the rest of my family does not 😉 . Safety first, but oh boy I would love to see my teenager sitting on a horse for an afternoon.
Would you like to take a walk with your children but also offer something extra in between to keep the walk varied and interesting? Then the Oswald von Wolkenstein path is your walk! The trail passes the ruins of Salegg and Hauenstein and takes you past 15 places where you can stop and let the kids play.
There is much to discover on this tour, including a knight's table, a knight's sword, and mystical animals. Of course you immediately take a look at the ruins so that you can also sniff some culture.
This walk can also be done with smaller children. In total, the walk is 7.8 kilometers long and takes 1 hour and 45 minutes. Take something tasty with you for the road and make it a morning or afternoon trip! Don't rush anything, but enjoy being active with the kids during your holiday in South Tyrol.
After such a walk in the morning, you can go for a swim in the afternoon!
Water near your holiday address always creates a party. Also the Völser Weiher lake - located in a nature reserve - which is one of the cleanest swimming lakes in Italy. Here you can enjoy cycling, but also cool off with the children during the warm summer days in South Tyrol. The water is of good quality, so you can enjoy a swim, but you can also rent a rowing boat if you want. All the ingredients for a nice afternoon by the water are present.
They also say that South Tyrol is Italy's best kept secret, so I think it's worth a holiday trip anyway. And that trip is no different from what we normally drive on our vacations. This year we drove to Austria for our holiday. That was a 1050 kilometer drive for us (from Schijndel, under den Bosch).
If we were to drive with the children to Bolzano / Bozen, in South Tyrol, we would have 950 kilometers on the counter. So closer! Italy somehow always sounds further away, but it doesn't have to be that way. Don't feel like a road trip with your kids? Then you can also easily reach South Tyrol by plane. For example, you fly to Innsbruck, Verona, Munich, Milan or Venice. Grab a rental car from that airport for your holiday and you can explore all of South Tyrol.
So whether you want to go on holiday with a tent, or rather look for another accommodation to stay, South Tyrol (and the Dolomites region Seiser Alm) is a must. Be active during your holiday, go into nature or sniff some culture. You can go in all directions here!
