Austrian Alps or Italian Alps?

What time of year? Where are you coming from and going to after?

I will assume that it will be Summer or early Fall. Of course it depends on the local weather (things have been very hot in several recent summers).

I can whole-heartedly recommend the Dolomites.
https://www.suedtirol.info/en

Gillian Price has excellent hiking guides of the Dolomites with a range of challenges. We found the guides to be very useful. There are lots of gondolas/lifts in remarkable places too. Mt Lagazuoi for example .

https://lagazuoi.it/index_en.php

The Dolomites were also the heart of the WWi battles between the Austro-Hungarians and the Italians which adds an air of modern history to the natural beauty.

The Lagazuoi region is most easily reached from Cortina d'Ampezzo (Venice airport and the Cortina Express Bus from the parking lot), but farther west the Alpe di Susi (visited. by Rick on the Italian Alps show) is accessed from Bolzano to Ortisei or Kastelrotto and is a marvelous high Alpine Meadow area suitable for hiking and just being in nature. Bolzano has an Archeological Museum that features OTZI the 5,000 year old "Ice Man" mummy.

https://www.bolzano.net/en/south-tyrol-museum-archaeology.html

Have fun.

we will be driving from Munich, and if its the Dolomites we will fly out of Milan. Eitherways getting to both the regions and leaving from both the regions is not an issue.

i just want to make sure the trail paths are easy for kiddos in the Dolomites cause I know Austrian Alps are like Swiss and those trails are amazing. I don't want to see a lot of other things - just nature as such this is like a vacation from our vacation - we are going last week of August.

Pat raises a salient question: where will you be before and after the Alps?

The Dolomites is more scenic but is more painful to reach. If you do choose the Dolomites, I suggest you stay at Ortisei and one other base. Make sure you cover:
-Seceda (Ortisei as base)
-Tre Cime (another base for less stressful driving)

In both regions, the weather is very fickle and so having some plan B's is a good idea.

Sim ran, You won’t do better than the Val Gardena in Italy. Settle into Ortisei, Selva, or Santa Cristina for 5 nights and enjoy easy access to more hikes than you can imagine, great paths and lifts. You won’t even need a car. If you have one, it will be parked much of the time as your lodging will give you a pass for the bus through the valley.

August is a very busy time but check with Residence Astoria for a great apartment, well-located. http://www.residence-astoria.com/en/ambience.asp

Meant to add, the food in the Italian Dolomites is fabulous and be certain to spend at least one day on the Alpe di Siusi.

The Dolomites are geologically and geographically distinct from the Alps of Austria and Switzerland, being composed of Dolomitic limestone derived from ancient seabeds rather than granite and metamorphic rock. Most locals and other “mountain people” reserve the term Italian Alps to refer to non-Dolomitic peaks more to the west, around the Val d’Aosta and Gran Paradiso National Park,and to the north in Stelvio National Park.

https://wineandtravelitaly.com/gran-paradiso-national-park/

https://www.parconazionale-stelvio.it/en/stelvio-national-park.html

The Dolomites themselves are divided into the eastern Dolomites, east of the Adige River, and the western or Brenta Dolomites to the west. Just north of the Brenta Dolomites is Stelvio National Park.

All are spectacular, but without a car the easiest to visit by far are the Dolomites east of the Adige. These are the “classic” Dolomites, and what most people here (including Rick Steve’s himself) are referring to when speaking of the Dolomites. This region has excellent tourist infrastructure and is very family-friendly.

For a town to stay in for 5 nights, in a vacation chelate or apartment, I will suggest the town of Ortesei in Val Gardena. There are lifts that ascend both sides of the valley to the hiking trails. Alpe di Siusi on the south side is a high meadow with lots of nice rock-free trails. We have had a great time up there on mountain bikes.

We are returning there next summer with our 11-year old grandchildren.

thank u all for the awesome replies - looks like it's going to be the Dolomites since they are different from the Alps - and yeah we will have a car. we are going last week of August so I am expecting it to be maybe little less crowded.

Just so you know, many people in the Dolomites fly out of Munich when they come to the US. It is just as, and maybe more convenient, than Milan and a better choice of direct flights to more cities in the States.

Since the Dolomite region is also called Sued Tirol, and it is bilingual with German and Italian (and in some areas trilingual with Romansch), it is something of the best of both worlds.

I see a lot of people posted while I was trying to explain the difference between the Italian Alps and the Dolomites. It appears we all agree on the Dolomites, and Val Gardena in particular. Someone mentioned the Tre Cime but that is a long drive away. Not something to do with small children.
In Val Gardena you will find apartments in chalet buildings with pools and play spaces for the children if you like. By the end of August, Italian children may have returned to school. It that doesn’t mean the area will be empty. Many people wait for September to visit the Dolomites, as we do. Nevertheless, While you may meet other on the trails. It has never felt crowded to us.

Have fun and please report back!

EDIT:
Before you book the vacation rental, check with us the location before paying. The valley is pretty spread out and there are parts that look conveniently located on Google Maps, but in fact are not.

Hiking with the kids...

Seiseralm https://www.seiseralm.it/en/holidays-in-the-dolomites.html
The Pustertal in the valleys. https://www.pustertal.org/en/

@Simran

As you will have a car.

This emerald gem (because one gets to drive through beautiful green valleys to get there) in the Italian Dolomites may entice you and your husband.

Pesariis. https://wanderyourway.com/pesariis-the-most-charming-village-in-northern-italy/

Hiking Trails: https://www.wikiloc.com/trails/hiking/italy/friuli/pesariis

Cannot recommend accommodation as I stay on friend’s rural properties. And they make me work for my board. Including tuning the Webber’s on their collectable cars. Same goes for restaurants. Invites to local houses, farms, and events. The cuisine is a little different to Tuscany and surrounds. Pheasants and grouse and other game animals. Grana style mountain cheeses. Grappa. Wherever I go I use the lemon approach – suck it and see.

To the south is another emerald gem. A little paler colour. Not far for a golden eagle, but an enjoyable drive by car around the rocky massifs.

https://www.sauris.org/en/lake-sauris/

This rental, if available, could be of interest.
https://www.sauris.org/en/vacationhomes/hildehome/.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sauris

This is a pristine and fragile alpine area which we need to treat with respect.

Some years ago, in Perth, met a young lady playing for a Sri Lankan women’s cricket team, named Simran. Thought what a lovely name. So, I post this because seeing your name reminded me of her.

(Nalvaazhthukkal) Best wishes.
Ron

It’s very easy 2.5 to 3 hour drive from Munich to The Val,Gardena, Ortisei, etc.

The Dolomites look nothing like the Austrian and Swiss Alps. Very dramatic looking.

I've been to both recently, in several different locations in both. With kids that age and with your interests I'd be very tempted to go to the Tannheimtal in Tirol. Its a one stop week with a ton of Alpine family stuff to do on a manageable scale. And nearly zero English speaking tourists.

But the Dolomites are great! Either way you can't go wrong.