A relaxing mountain holiday with a baby? This is how you do it!

Years ago, my partner Robin and I fell in love with the Austrian mountains, where we enjoy long hikes, climbing, kayaking and relaxing in saunas. We would love to come here every year. During my pregnancy, we even hiked steep mountain trails to remote mountain huts in Tyrol . So when we started planning our first adventure trip with our 8-month-old daughter Maeve, we didn't have to think long about the destination.

We are going on an adventure in the Zugspitz Arena , a green valley in Tyrol, with seven villages surrounded by high mountains. The holiday area owes its name to the famous mountain Zugspitze, which proudly towers above everything. With the many cable cars you are at a great height to have lunch at a mountain hut, look out over the high surrounding peaks or go on a mountain hike. And that is exactly what we are going to do here.

But this is the first time that Maeve is coming with us. Quite exciting, such a first trip to the mountains with a baby. As the trip to Austria gets closer, more and more questions arise. How will we manage with feeding, changing and naps? Will she like it in the baby carrier? And can she not suffer from altitude sickness? And what do you take with you? These are my tips for a holiday to the mountains with a baby!

1. Plan activities that are suitable to do with a baby

When you travel with a baby, a lot of activities automatically fall by the wayside. No mountain climbing, via ferrata or kayaking this year. We’ll do that again in a few years, when she’s a bit older. Luckily, hiking is one of our favourite activities in the mountains. And that’s good, because you can do it perfectly with a baby on your back. We planned several short hikes: around lakes, past mountain huts and through cute villages.

The Zugspitz Arena has many gondola lifts – which serve as ski lifts in winter – that take you to the most beautiful viewpoints and idyllically situated mountain huts. And that is ideal with a little one. On the way you can enjoy the view, without any effort you are high in the mountains. Go for an extensive lunch in one of the mountain huts, which you can combine with a walk. Tip: have breakfast at the Almkopfbahn in Bichlbach and take the cable car to the 2,962 meter high Zugspitze.

Also read my blog 'Summer tip: travel with your baby to the Austrian mountains ' in which I give tips about the best activities to do with young children in the Zugspitz Arena.

2. Choose a nice family hotel as a permanent base

With a baby it is nice if all facilities are available, and you do not want to keep moving from one hotel to another. Therefore choose a good hotel or apartment as a base, that is set up for families. The best known family hotels in the area are the luxury resort Alpenrose in Lermoos with wellness centre and childcare for all ages, Zugspitz Resort in Ehrwald with a gigantic game and water park, and Kaiserhof in Berwang, in the middle of nature and with its own babyland.

Another nice option is Hotel Tirolerhof in Ehrwald, where we stayed. Maeve had her own room (I think this is a big advantage instead of having them in your room) with a baby bed, changing mat, bottle warmer and even a baby bathrobe. The hotel also has a play area for children, an indoor pool and a large garden with an outdoor pool. If you ever want to go out without children, there is a daycare. From the hotel you are in the mountains within ten minutes. Nice, because then you can quickly get back when your baby has had enough.

3. Bring a baby carrier or child carrier

We decided not to take a pram or buggy with us on this trip, as we mainly want to go on mountain hikes. Maeve has been able to sit up independently for a month now, so she can now sit in a child carrier. This has proven to be a huge success. Maeve loves looking at the world from my back and falls asleep wonderfully when she is tired. That is what we were hoping for, because it allows us to go on longer trips.

I think an advantage of a child carrier over a baby carrier is that it has a sunshade and that your child is not stuck to you. There are several good carriers for sale, such as the Kid Comfort from Deuter and the Poco from Osprey. If you would like to test one first, you can also rent them. Does it seem too heavy to carry your child? The Zugspitz Arena also has dozens of hiking trails that are suitable for strollers .

4. Provide ample opportunity for sleep

Maeve usually takes three naps a day at home and we have a fairly fixed rhythm, so I was very curious how she would get her sleep in Austria, since we are out and about for a large part of the day. It takes some getting used to, but we soon find a nice rhythm with her. We time our activities so that she can always take three naps a day: in the baby carrier, in the car - for example on the way to a starting point for a walk - and at least once a day in the hotel. 

An example day:

07:00 – Wake up and bottle – just like at home
07:30 – Breakfast
08:00 – First nap in the hotel, while we pack everything for the day
09:00 – Awake and play in the room for a while
09:30 – Departure from the hotel
10:00 – Start of a hike
11:00 – Break for a bottle and to play in nature
12:00 – Nap in the baby carrier
13:00 – Lunch at a mountain hut
14:00 – Continue the hike
15:00 – Back at the hotel for a bottle
16:00 – Nap in the hotel
17:00 – Play, swim or walk through the village
19:00 – Dinner
20:00 – Read a book, bottle and off to bed – an hour later than at home

5. Be well prepared when you set off

What do you pack when you go out for a day? Of course, the standard care products, such as baby wipes, enough diapers, a cloth or changing mat and a thermos with warm water and powdered milk if you are bottle feeding. In addition, an extra set of clothes, sunscreen factor 50, a sun hat, some toys and a blanket. Normally, Maeve eats fresh fruit and vegetable snacks at home, but when we travel we replace these with handy ready-made squeeze fruit bags. In addition, we always pack a number of healthy snacks, such as mini rice cakes, corn fingers and whole wheat cracotta crackers. It sounds like a lot, but all in all it all fit in the largest storage compartment of our child carrier.

6. Take height differences into account

Because the air pressure in the mountains is different than at sea level, you should be careful about altitude sickness. Therefore, do not ascend too quickly and do not go too high. According to pediatricians, you can take babies under one year old without any worries up to 2000 meters. You may only go higher than that if you have stayed at a minimum altitude of 1000 meters for at least four days. Are you going on a longer trip and are you staying overnight in the mountains? Then it is important that the sleeping place is not higher than 300 meters compared to the sleeping place of the night before.

Our hikes with Maeve always took place between 1,000 and 2,000 meters. We went higher with her once: to the top of the 2,962 meter high Zugspitze. A trip of a few hours to a high peak is no problem, since altitude sickness only occurs after 6 to 12 hours. If you are back down earlier, you cannot get sick. We do let her drink regularly in the gondola, which climbs 1,725 ​​meters in ten minutes, to prevent her from getting an earache. Just like with flying.

This trip was made possible by the Tiroler Zugspitz Arena and Visit Tirol . Do you also want to go on an adventure in this holiday region?  Then read more abour Zugspitz Arena here >