Mountain holidays, places to go for unique experiences for children

For those who love sledging, there is no need to wait for winter to arrive. There are toboggan runs on tracks that are perfect for having fun even in the summer.

We are in Trentino, and the best known is the Predazzo downhill run, known as the Alpine Coaster Gardoné, in the Dolomites. The bobsleighs have two seats, but you can also go alone and the speed can be regulated independently. The course is suitable for children from a height of 105 cm upwards.

The Monte Baranci Funbob with the gnome village in the Rifugio Gigante Baranci is also perfect for those who love speed, but also fairy tales.

And for the true experts, there is the 1.1 km Alpin Bob Merano, the longest in Italy.

Climbing is one of the most enjoyable sports at any age. The important thing is to do it in the right way.

With the assistance of the "Gardena Guides" alpine guides, children can try out climbing to get to know the Dolomite rocks up close. 

The Dolomites are the kingdom of hiking. The new feature in Arabba, the village situated at 1602 m above sea level and nestled between the Pordoi and Campolongo Passes, is entirely dedicated to children and their families.

The itinerary in question will turn the little ones and their parents into explorers in search of the Bec Bear, among the rocky pinnacles of the Bec de Roces area.

The fun, themed trail, which takes about an hour and is called 'Bearlock Holmes', includes a short information board and cards to be collected at the starting point, after which the children can have fun finding all the shapes representing the daily activities of the Bec Bear and his family by following the clues and hints dotted along the route, and learning lots of interesting facts about the life of these interesting animals.

Each bear that is found is worth one point, and the explorer can mark the corresponding box on the card collected at the starting point, thus confirming the passage through each stage. On completion of the route, having marked all the boxes, you can collect a small gadget, earning you the title 'Bear Detective'. The length of the route is just over 1.1 km and does not involve any significant differences in altitude, while the time required to cover the distance, trying to collect all the Bears, is about 1 hour.

For the more adventurous, a sensory trail is available outside the arrival point of the Campolongo-Bec de Roces cable car, so that they can feel like little bears discovering the world around them and the natural environment they inhabit. All children can take off their shoes and enter barefoot into the pools that contain all the elements that would pass under a little bear's paws as it wanders around its den, such as sand, pebbles, bark, water, twigs, pine cones and much more.

Situated at the end of the Pusteria Valley towards the east, it is surrounded by splendid peaks, among which is Monte Baranci, known among children for the legend of the giant and the route dedicated to him at altitude. The 2 km route is divided into 10 themed stations for observing the world from the giant's point of view. 

From the centre of the village, take the San Candido Lienz cycle path with a stop at the Loacker factory. Here children can create Loaker wafer specialities under expert guidance. At the end of the workshop, everyone takes home the prepared confectionery in a specially created package.

For those who love Christmas, there is a hotel in Italy where it is celebrated all year round. It' s the Mirtillo Rosso Family Hotel, in Riva Valdobbia, a hamlet of Alagna Valsesia; an enchanted hotel at the foot of Monte Rosa in Piedmont.

Here, on the site of a former colony, the first Christmas hotel in Italy, where you can experience the Christmas atmosphere all year round, was established in December 2015.

The family area covers 400 square metres with two indoor/outdoor swimming pools, salt water and heated to 34°, an indoor slide and a 30 cm high pool, only indoors, for the little ones. There are games, sun loungers and an outdoor garden. The 300-square-metre adult-only area has an indoor/outdoor swimming pool, a salt flotation pool, a whirlpool suitable for massages, two saunas, a Turkish bath, sensory showers, four treatment cabins, an ice fountain and a relaxation area with a herbal tea corner.

Summer in the mountains is a guaranteed family-friendly holiday.