Ortisei/Val Gardena birthday ideas

Dates? Interests?

Oops sorry, dates would help. July so summer activities. We're a very active family and will be doing lots of hikes while there. My daughter loves to bike ride also and has asked if we're going to rent bikes on our trip. However, my son (9) doesn't do well on hills and I'm not sure if there are any flat trails in the mountains. If so, my daughter would love that.

You can rent bikes on the Alpe di Siusi, including e-bikes which might be ideal for your son. Here is one place I found in a cursory search on the AdS https://www.sporthans.com/en/verleih-preise-3.html. I know there is an option to rent in Ortisei as well and probably in each of the towns. You can ask at the TI when you arrive.

We have seen many people in the carriages but usually older folks.

Thank you Laurel. I’ll ask the TI and look at that shop when we get there. Btw, I have your book all ready to go on my Kindle, it’s great! We do a lot of hiking in the Gorge and on Mt Hood so we’ll probably do some longer hikes, but I loved all the details you provided on buses and directions. I can use those to get to the same starting points for longer hikes.

Happy to help, Tanya, and give me a shout if you get to our part of the coast! Also LMK if you have further questions. Would love to know how things work out and whether or not you do a bicycle outing.

We rented mountain bikes in Ortesei and took them on the gondola going up to Alpe di Siusi. They are all set up for that. It is great place to ride; just make sure you stay on the bike path and don’t go off on the more difficult hiking trail like we did!

Thank you Lola, we'll definitely looks into the bikes. Taking the wrong trail sounds like one of our adventures!

Anything in the area will be memorable but I would suggest a gondola ride to one of the iconic places in the area and a lunch at a mountaintop refugio.

She might be old enough to appreciate a fine dinner at a posh place like Anna Stueben.

Maybe let her pick out a wooden figurine from a local craftsman as a birthday souvenir.

Thank you Jason and great idea on the birthday souvenir!

There are a couple of great places to eat up on the Seiser Alm. The best one, IMHO, is the Rauchhutte. It's an old alpine hut (although they have recently had to rebuild the front as the timbers were old and rotten) with a terrace at the front. If you eat out on the terrace the views are breathtaking and the food is all locally sourced and very high quality in every way - one of the more memorable meals I've had in the area.
Another fun thing to do would be to spend the night in a mountain refugio...we have done this many times and it is easily done with a day pack as the one I'm going to recommend provides bedding and has a fantastic restaurant. The Langkofel hutte is not far from the top of a lift and is one of the better ones I've stayed in. It's quite old with thick stone walls and even thicker comforters. It's tucked just below the Langkofel massif of peaks and is quite stunning. You can hike up behind the hutte to the base of the towering peaks and if you're lucky you might even see a chamois!
Don't count on getting happy birthday in English...although there are some people who speak English in the area, you may find that it's not as widely spoken here as in other areas of Europe. Singing happy birthday in restaurants is NOT a thing there either...they may look at you like you have three heads if you ask for this.
Have fun! This area is amazing and you will love it with kids...