Dolomites base with kids and car

There are easy walks in the area, but I'll have to let others address the question of what might be best for folks with a car. Ortisei was easy to reach by bus from Bolzano, and it's a lively small place with choices of lodging and restaurants, but there might be better (possibly less expensive) options for a mobile family.

I want to mention the Museo Archeologico d'Alto Adige in Bolzano, which houses Otzi, the Iceman. The exhibition is brilliantly done and English-accessible. I am definitely not a lover of archeological museums, but this one kept me interested, and I am confident both you and your two oldest children will enjoy it. (I have no clue about your two-year-old.) There were many families in the Otzi exhibit when I was there.

The historic center of Bolzano is lovely as well. I assume it would be prudent to research parking options ahead of time rather than just wandering in. I have no idea whether the city has any ZTLs you'd need to avoid.

My first reaction is to say Ortisei: only 45 minutes by far from Bolzano assuming you are arriving there by train. BUT a couple of questions pertinent to giving you better advice:

1. When, exactly, in June? The summer season doesn’t start until mid-month meaning some lifts and buses will not be running if your plans have you there early in the month.
2. Will you need the car for other portions of your trip? Because you do not necessarily need one in the Val Gardena.

I will gladly weigh in once these are answered.

Thank you for the replies!
The Museo Archeologico d’Alto Adige does sound interesting! We’ve been to Bolzano once before, so we weren’t planning to stop, but might just do that.

We’ll be arriving in the Dolomites from the Lake Garda area. Our dates are flexible at the moment as we finalize this portion of the trip, before heading to Tuscany June 25th. I wasn’t aware things didn’t open up until mid June, so I’ll make sure we don’t arrive too early!
We’ll be spending June and July in Italy and will have a car the whole trip. Thank you for the great info!

I am concerned about your kid with car sickness. This area is not easy to drive in. I just came back from it in October and had to give up some scenic drives because they are not for the faint of heart.

I think staying around Ortisei is a good idea because it's central.

Completely agree with Ortisei. The lifts to Seceda and the Alpe di Siusi are right there and you can just walk out of your apartment to catch them. There is also a park right in town. My sister and I stayed here in October https://www.residenceladina.com/en/Default.asp and we got apartment 7. It’s their largest apartment and is on the top right in the pics on the website. It has two balconies overlooking the town. They have washer and dryer facilities in the basement, as well as a washer in the apartment. It’s the perfect family set up and walking distance to the park, the lifts, groceries, town, etc.

The 2022 schedule is not out yet, but here is a map and schedule from 2021. https://www.valgardena.it/dl/stchristina/pdf/Gardena_Card_2021_web.pdf

Opening dates of lifts this summer should be about the same time. Note that the first half of the lift to Seceda opened June 13 last year. Some of the summer buses also start around mid-June although most buses run all year. Even though you’ll have a car, the buses will serve you well as you can avoid the hassle of parking. Your lodging will give you a pass for the buses so no cost.

No one goes to the Val Gardena and wishes they had stayed less time. Consider 5 nights for an opportunity to really enjoy making the effort to get there. We always stay at Residence Astoria which has excellent views and easy parking yet is less than 10 minutes walk to the center of Ortisei.
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Thank you all for the helpful info! Ortisei sounds like a great base, as I know the kids will love the lifts. Since we’re not sure how our daughter will do with the drives, having things accessible in walking distance is great! Would 3 full days in Ortisei be enough.. more or less? We’d love to fully explore the area, but we’re going in with the expectation that we’ll have to limit extra drives and might just stay in the town we choose as a base. We live in flat Florida and haven’t driven with her in Italy since 2019, so we’ll have to see how it goes when we get there :)

Bolzano was lovely, and the Otzi exhibit was fascinating. We loved the tram that went up the mountain to the small town at the top. Gorgeous area!

Consider a farmstay somewhere. Pick a farm that rears animals. If things don't go well with your kids during drives, then they will have fun playing with animals. Be sure to pick a working farm, because many former farms have just become country inns without any real farming activities. However, do note that most farms are not that accessible to public transit. So, it's hard to have the best of both worlds.

We are also considering the Dolomites for this summer with our two kids. I’ll be sure to keep an eye on this thread.

Thank you all for the helpful info! Ortisei sounds like a great base, as I know the kids will love the lifts. Since we’re not sure how our daughter will do with the drives, having things accessible in walking distance is great! Would 3 full days in Ortisei be enough.. more or less? We’d love to fully explore the area, but we’re going in with the expectation that we’ll have to limit extra drives and might just stay in the town we choose as a base. We live in flat Florida and haven’t driven with her in Italy since 2019, so we’ll have to see how it goes when we get there :)

4 nights/3 full days would be a lovely introductory stay. Get an apartment, park the car, and use the bus pass to get around, or just stay in Ortisei. One day you could go to Rasciesa and take the easy walk there, another day you could go up to the Alpe di Siusi (there’s an easy roundtrip/loop walk), and finally you can take the dramatic lift to Seceda for views and a pretty easy walk (or a more challenging one!). There is also a lovely path from Ortisei to Santa Cristina with a couple of playgrounds on it. We like to walk to S. Cristina and eat pizza at La Tambra then take the bus back.