north tyrol (austria) or north tyrol (italy -dolomites) in June

We love staying in Innsbruck and making day trips into the mountains out of there. The Alps are incredibly beautiful, and it is a very easy place to travel out of there. We skip Switzerland as it is not as easy to travel through and much more expensive. The Alps are the Alps.
I like going west out of Munich and coming into Garmisch and into Innsbruck.
If you go east and north of Innsbruck to Zell-am-See, you can enter the Grossglockner High Alpine Highway which goes over the second highest peak in Europe. The road ends in Lienz, Austria down on the Italian border. From there, you can go back west through Cortina and back to the motorway that takes you north into Innsbruck. I choose to go straight south at Lienz passing Udine, Italy and on into Venice.
That's my beautiful drive of all times.

I'll vote for Val Gardena. Mountain scenery unlike any other. You can also do the Grossglockner highway leaving to the east via Lienz. Summer skiing on the glacier at Kaprun near Zell am See. As far as kids:
https://www.valgardena.it/en/families/val-gardena-for-kids/

Check out the town of Sexton/Sesto in the Italian Dolomites. Lifts within walking distance and places of interest to drive to in the surrounding area. Many restaurants in the town. Beautiful views and walks in the valleys too. Hike to the Talschlusshuette, breath taking: http://www.talschlusshuette.com/en/index.asp In June many wild flowers blooming.
Drei Zinnen in Südtirol UNESCO Welterbe: https://www.drei-zinnen.info/de/hochpustertal/hochpustertal-erleben/drei-zinnen-unesco.html
We rented a nice apartment in Sexton/Sesto four years ago, but apparently it is no longer available. Many other places to stay in the town, apartments and hotels.
https://www.drei-zinnen.info/en/sesto.html
WWI bunkers built into the mountains and fighting in these valleys then.

Generally speaking, the Italian Tyrol has better landscapes, better food and often accommodations are better. Austrian Tyrol is cheaper, has better roads, generally is better for kids and is not as crowded - in June not an issue, but in August the Italian Tyrol may be so crowded to get a bit unpleasant.

Just a point of clarification: the Dolomites in Italy are the Sud Tirol, not "north Tyrol".

With kids I would HIGHLY recommend the town of Ortisei in the Dolomites. There are a number of hotels in town with indoor pools that your kids might enjoy and many of them offer family-style rooms. The town itself is very charming with lots of shops and restaurants. You can take the gondola straight up to the Alpe de Suisi from town, let the kids play in the snow, and pet some of the farm animals that are there. Eat in a quaint mountain refugio - I recommend the Rauch Hutte. Excellent food and views to die for! Lots of beautiful drives and a few castles in the area you can visit. You are correct...the Dolomites are SPECTACULAR and well worth seeing. This town and area meet all of your criteria.

I have made two route options for my trip. we will have 15 days ex-munich and would prefer to stay in maximum 3 places. but we are very flexible and open to changes !! I would love suggestions to fine tune my itinerary and make the most of my trip !

a) Tyrol (north or south)
b) Heiligenblut or Zell am see (stopover somewhere close to the Großglockner road)
c) salzkammergut (st wolfgangsee or st giglen)
**usually we prefer to stay minimum 5 nights at each destination.

Route 1) going through south tyrol / dolomites

https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Munich,+Germany/Garmisch-Partenkirchen,+Germany/Innsbruck,+Austria/Val+Gardena,+Santa+Cristina+Gherd%C3%ABina,+Province+of+Bolzano+-+South+Tyrol,+Italy/Alpe+di+Siusi,+39048+S%C3%ABlva,+Province+of+Bolzano+-+South+Tyrol,+Italy/Heiligenblut+am+Gro%C3%9Fglockner,+Austria/Zell+am+See,+Austria/Wolfgangsee,+Austria/Munich+International+Airport,+Nordallee+25,+85356+M%C3%BCnchen,+Germany/@47.4374914,11.1352278,8z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m56!4m55!1m5!1m1!1s0x479e75f9a38c5fd9:0x10cb84a7db1987d!2m2!1d11.5819805!2d48.1351253!1m5!1m1!1s0x479d0160938a3329:0x41e48add78b9c80!2m2!1d11.0954984!2d47.4916945!1m5!1m1!1s0x479d6ecfe1f8ca73:0x9d201c7d281d9b0d!2m2!1d11.4041024!2d47.2692124!1m5!1m1!1s0x477812e48cc31595:0x4204b867b905e51b!2m2!1d11.7243449!2d46.5704432!1m5!1m1!1s0x47786d5419db683b:0xad4f3cdd95dd670b!2m2!1d11.7603178!2d46.5340746!1m5!1m1!1s0x47776acfa2ce7fd7:0x8d3186646f07359e!2m2!1d12.84309!2d47.03982!1m5!1m1!1s0x47771d6d8c2d0ccb:0x453135a3af71ddc2!2m2!1d12.79685!2d47.32352!1m5!1m1!1s0x4776b041e2253a3d:0x781273dd6a5a7e0!2m2!1d13.4173794!2d47.7438859!1m5!1m1!1s0x479e135923da6d45:0xe3c57a853a56cf4b!2m2!1d11.7750279!2d48.3536621!3e0

Route 2) *staying in austria and going from north tyrol to salzburg *

https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Munich,+Germany/Garmisch-Partenkirchen,+Germany/Innsbruck,+Austria/Kitzbuhel,+Austria/Zell+am+See,+Austria/Wolfgangsee,+Austria/Munich+International+Airport,+Nordallee+25,+85356+M%C3%BCnchen,+Germany/@47.7967156,11.1352324,8z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m44!4m43!1m5!1m1!1s0x479e75f9a38c5fd9:0x10cb84a7db1987d!2m2!1d11.5819805!2d48.1351253!1m5!1m1!1s0x479d0160938a3329:0x41e48add78b9c80!2m2!1d11.0954984!2d47.4916945!1m5!1m1!1s0x479d6ecfe1f8ca73:0x9d201c7d281d9b0d!2m2!1d11.4041024!2d47.2692124!1m5!1m1!1s0x47764d75e04e5d15:0xffb697fd4ba94b5a!2m2!1d12.3925407!2d47.4492375!1m5!1m1!1s0x47771d6d8c2d0ccb:0x453135a3af71ddc2!2m2!1d12.79685!2d47.32352!1m5!1m1!1s0x4776b041e2253a3d:0x781273dd6a5a7e0!2m2!1d13.4173794!2d47.7438859!1m5!1m1!1s0x479e135923da6d45:0xe3c57a853a56cf4b!2m2!1d11.7750279!2d48.3536621!3e0

Just a weather warning: When you come down out of the mountains into the valley through which the A22 runs, you'll be back in an area of "normal" weather. In places like Chiusa and Bressanone it can be just as hot as it is farther south. Be sure your lodgings are air conditioned. Many of the moderately priced places in that area do not have a/c. They may not think you need a/c, but--depending on the temperature when you're there--you may disagree.

i am posting again to make URL simple.

Two route options (15 days ex munich). we have shortlisted to stay in tyrol, zell am see ( or near grossglockner) and finally salzkammergut.

Route 1 (going through south tyrol / dolomites)
https://tinyurl.com/y8qompbf

Route 2 (staying in austria and going from north tyrol to salzburg)
https://tinyurl.com/ycd7zldf

we are flexible and open for itinerary suggestions !!

Route 1 without a doubt. We’ve dint this twice in the last ten years.

Paul

any recommendations for a 1 night stopover between val gardena to lake wolfgangsee in salzburg ?
its a long drive from val gardena to wolfgangsee (approx 5-6 hours).
we are planning to do this route via lienz and passing the grossglockner high alpine road.
we were initially thinking of spending a few of nights in zell am see, but we are planning to skip it now (limited number of days and mixed reviews).

I'd stay in one of the small villages south of Heiligenblut on the southern access to the Großglockner, say Döllach or Apriach (I can recommend Pension Kahn in Döllach). If you are lucky, you may be given a coupon for a reduced road toll by your host.

Got to say with kids that age your first itinerary just looks like so much driving. Much of these roads are single lane highways, 2 lanes at best, passing through numerous towns, and in June the route will be slower than google is quoting you now. Getting over the grossglockner itself takes about 2 hours and having done it with two kids myself I really wouldn't recommend it for travel sickness. Don't waste time in the car. There is a great alpine toboggan in Zell am Zimmer and mountain top playground which your kids will adore (the two year old will be too young for the toboggan though). I recommend driving via Zell am Ziller to Zell am See as the Gerlos mountain road is a really scenic route. Kitzbuel didn't attract me as I drove through it as I prefer quieter villages.

What is the scenic driving route from Val Gardena ( Ortisei) in Italy to Zell Am See (Via the Grossglockner High Alpine road). can someone suggest me a driving route and estimated trip duration if done at a leisurely pace ?