Trips With Kids

Guide to Italy with kids

Inflatable sofas that filled with air in seconds in the wind on top of Monte Lagazuoi, and below us tunnels cut into the rock by soldiers more than a hundred years ago. Add a downpour that chased us out of Gardaland and a stroller carried over dozens of Venetian bridges, and you have our Italy with kids. In 2018 we went there twice: to Lake Garda in May and to the Dolomites in July. You can watch our summer trip through the Alps on our playlist Alpy / Dolomity 2018.

For the May holiday we swapped our tent for a mobile home on a campsite in Peschiera del Garda and made day trips to Sirmione, Gardaland and Venice. The whole week is in the post May Holiday at Lake Garda - Eurocamp in Peschiera del Garda. In July we drove from Poland through Germany overnight, reached Zell am See in Austria in the morning and the next day crossed the Grossglockner road to a campsite near Cortina d'Ampezzo, as described in Zell am See and Grossglockner - an alpine start to our summer holiday.

Italy with kids means a big theme park, campsites with pools and a warm spring, but also mountains and history that children can touch. Below you will find the key facts and links to our posts.

Italy with kids at a glance

  • Our trips: a week at Lake Garda in May 2018 and the Dolomites in July 2018, as part of a summer holiday in the Alps.
  • Getting there: by car from Poland. In July we drove overnight on German motorways and then through Austria over the Grossglockner road.
  • Where we stayed: in May a Eurocamp mobile home at the Bella Italia campsite in Peschiera del Garda, in July our tent at Camping Cortina.
  • Kids: we travelled with four children, and the youngest was still in a stroller.
  • How much time: a week at Lake Garda was enough for the campsite, Sirmione, a full day at Gardaland and a day trip to Venice. Plan a whole day for Lagazuoi if you walk down.

Practical info

Documents for kids

Italy is in the EU and the Schengen area. EU citizens travel with a valid passport or national ID card, and children must have their own passport or ID card. A driving licence or bank card is not a travel document. If you are not an EU citizen, check the entry rules for your nationality before the trip (as of November 2026).

Driving through Germany and Austria

If you drive to Italy from the north, as we did, keep in mind (as of November 2026):

  • Germany: cars use the motorways for free, the toll is only for vehicles over 3.5 t,
  • Austria: you need a vignette, a digital 1-day vignette costs 9.60 EUR and a 10-day one 12.80 EUR, and if you buy a 1-day or 10-day vignette online, it can be valid straight away,
  • border checks: Germany checks all its land borders, including those with Austria and Poland, and Austria checks its borders with Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and Slovenia, both until 15 March 2027, so keep the whole family's documents at hand.

Motorway tolls in Italy

On most Italian motorways you take a ticket when you enter and pay for the distance when you leave, in cash or by card. A few sections have a fixed toll without a ticket (as of November 2026).

Venice access fee

On selected days in spring and summer, day visitors to Venice pay a fee to enter the historic centre. The city publishes a new calendar, rates and exemptions every year, so check the official Venice website (cda.ve.it) before you go.

Money

Italy uses the euro.

When to go

May at Lake Garda was a great choice: it was much warmer than at home in Poland, the campsite pools were open, the queues at Gardaland were shorter, and a week in the mobile home cost as much as one day in August. We visited the Dolomites in July, in the middle of the summer season.

Dates that change every year (as of November 2026):

  • Gardaland: the 2026 season ran from 28 March to 1 November, and Magic Winter is on from 5 December 2026 to 6 January 2027. Children under 90 cm get in free.
  • Lagazuoi cable car: in summer 2026 it ran from 6 June to 18 October, and the winter season is from 23 December 2026 to 4 April 2027.

The best places in Italy for kids

Lake Garda

Peschiera del Garda and Bella Italia campsite

A huge campsite on the southern shore of the lake, already in full swing in May. The kids had:

  • open swimming pools,
  • playgrounds and sports pitches,
  • a mobile home with air conditioning, a kitchen and a terrace, more comfortable than a tent.

In the town there is a fortress on an island, and its Venetian fortifications are on the UNESCO list. Watch our video from the campsite and read May Holiday at Lake Garda.

Sirmione

A peninsula with the Scaliger Castle rising straight out of the water, with a 14th-century fortified harbour hidden inside its walls. Walking the narrow streets with views of the lake was a real highlight. Read more in May Holiday at Lake Garda.

Gardaland

The biggest theme park in Italy, a short drive from our campsite. Water surprises you at every turn, so the kids came back from ride after ride wet and laughing, and at the end of the day a huge storm soaked us to the skin. Everything is in Gardaland with Kids, and more parks are on our playlist Parki rozrywki / Amusement parks.

Venice

A day in Venice with kids

From Peschiera del Garda it took us an hour and a half. We left the car in a large car park at the entrance to the city and took a vaporetto, a water bus, into the canals. The kids loved seeing boats instead of cars, while we counted the steps on the bridges as we carried the stroller. Next time we would bring a baby carrier. Read Venice with Kids.

The Dolomites

Monte Lagazuoi: World War I tunnels

From Passo Falzarego a cable car takes you up in about 3 minutes, and you walk down a trail through old Italian positions, tunnels and gun posts. One of the kids kept asking how soldiers ate and slept so high up, while the younger ones treated the tunnels as a big adventure.

Good to know before you go:

  • the open-air museum is free, you only pay for the cable car (as of November 2026),
  • with many stops, the walk down to the pass took us about two and a half hours, and the trail is steep, with safety ropes in places,
  • the longest, 1,100-metre mine tunnel is a separate route that needs a helmet and a torch, and it is not for children under 12 (as of November 2026).

Everything is in Monte Lagazuoi - World War I tunnels in the Dolomites.

All posts: Italy

Last updated: November 2026