Salzkammergut/Berchtesgaden/Salzburg ideas

I really enjoyed my daytrip to the Wolfgangsee. The named city with the church is in the middle, so you can take a ferry from one end (Strobl) to the other (St Gilgen) or vice versa. Great views, just a great time. The church is pretty neat as well.

Take the steepest cog railway from St. Wolfgang to the summit of Schafberg mountain. Great for kids!
https://www.5schaetze.at/en/schafbergbahn.html

Such a beautiful area!

Honestly, I’d skip the Werfen ice caves. My husband & I spend time in this area every year and we went to the caves last summer with high expectations. Based on the photos online I was expecting a lit up exploratory tour. It’s not that. You hike around 500 ft straight up staircases in the dark in a single file line - it’s 1,400 steps up and most of them are done in the pitch dark with little mining lamps you have to carry that illuminate your feet only. The guide stops every once in a while and lights a spark that illuminates an area for a few seconds to see your surroundings and then you keep going. When it was lit obviously it was impressive, but those points were so short, so we left feeling like we just hiked in the dark for very little reward. I can’t imagine kids enjoying it at all.

Hohenwerfen is a nice castle. Gosausee is gorgeous and shouldn’t be missed. You could do the castle in the morning and Gosausee in the afternoon so that you have one free day to enjoy the farm.

Thanks for the responses! The Schafberg train is definitely on the table. The prices and some of the recent reviews give me pause but highly considering! Wanderweg...I am so glad you mentioned this about the ice caves. Honestly it's one of those things that looks and seems great in theory but yours is not the only review I've seen with that opinion. Between that and having to bring items for cold, the main thing is if the kids wouldn't enjoy, then this may be a miss. I actually love the idea of doing the castle and falcon show and then Gosausee. I intended to maybe do Gosausee myself otw back from Hallstatt while the family enjoyed the farm, simply because it seemed like a long hike for them. Do you think active kids could handle? If so, your plan seems great!

Day 2: If you are thinking of stopping at the St Bartholomew Church on Konigssee, do that on the way to Salet (not on the way back). Aim for the first ferry, if possible; it's peaceful and ever so pretty on a nice morning. Berchtesgaden salt mine is good.

I've never taken a cable car ride in the Dolomites. We stayed in Ruhpolding last year and received free passes for the Jennerbahn with our guest tickets. Great view of Konigssee and more from up there, and it has a good restaurant. However, there's a narrow, steep, rocky path to get to the view of Konigssee; takes about 15 minutes. It's also very expensive. Just under 50 euros per adult, about 30 euros per child.

Day 3: If your children are OK with getting up early, head to Hallstatt. Have a walk around town and take some photos. There's also a good salt mine visit. Relax in the afternoon back at base.

Day 4: Make a day of Wolfgangsee. Easy, free parking in Strobl (at least there was last September) and catch the ferry there; it's a quiet, pretty, mainly residential village. Nice streets and surroundings.

Re alpine coasters in general. The older, single track coasters are slower and less fun. Rittisberg is good (about an hour).

I've never been to Gosausee but it definitely looks like a spot I'd like. The hike appears to be easy and only 4.5 kilometres long: https://www.gosausee.com/rundweg/

Edit, just to confuse. Werfen Castle yes. We visited the ice caves in 1987, neither of us can remember much about it.

Gosausee and Werfen are in opposite directions.

... head to Hallstatt. Have a walk around town and take some photos. There's also a good salt mine visit.

The salt mine in Hallstatt is closed at the moment because the funicular is being rebuilt. There is no exact date given yet for re-opening, it just says "summer 2026".

Go for the "Five Fingers" instead.
https://www.dachstein-salzkammergut.com/en/summer/above-ground/5fingers