No time to get bored. Bavaria adds zing to your holidays. With an exciting mix of fun and action for kids: on the forest rope course, on the summer toboggan run or in the puppet theatre. 12 tips for fun and action on your holiday
Fun and Action for Kids in Bavaria: 12 Tips
Waldseilgarten Höllschlucht
The Höllschlucht, a ravine with a waterfall, lies between Nesselwang and Pfronten in the Allgäu. Its forest rope park offers sport, fun and games with plenty of activities to choose from: climbing from treetop to treetop on eleven routes and with more than a hundred tasks, archery and slacklining.
It is also possible to stay overnight (parents too): on a platform in the trees, in a hammock hanging from a branch or even in a Portaledge (hanging bed) in amongst the rocks. The mountain guides in the forest rope park offer climbing, via ferrata and much more besides. In the winter there are Eskimo Weekends where you can build an igloo.
waldseilgarten-hoellschlucht.de (only in German)
Adventurous Skywalk in the Allgäu
The Nature Experience Park in Scheidegg in the district of Lindau offers a range of woodland thrills. It is located at 1,000 metres above sea level. The treetop trail is 540 metres long and built like a hanging bridge. The routes are free-floating and constantly in motion - like the trees. The path runs 25 metres above the ground and you get great views from the forty-metre high viewing tower. It offers panoramic views of the Allgäu mountains.
The Skywalk is barrier-free and suitable for pushchairs. Other experiences: an adventure playground, an agility course with wooden obstacles, a petting zoo, a forest experience trail with trees of all ages and sizes, a forest bathing area, a barefoot trail and a restaurant with a Biergarten.
skywalk-allgaeu.de (only in German)
Fairy-tale Augsburg Marionette Theatre
A famous puppet theatre in the former Hospice of the Holy Spirit in Augsburg. Performances have been held here since 1948. The repertoire includes fairy tales, operas and original plays such as “Urmel aus dem Eis”, “Jim Knopf und Lukas”, “Kalle Wirsch” and many more.
The stories of the “Puppenkiste” (Dolls’ Chest) have become part of Germany’s cultural heritage thanks to many television programmes. In the adjacent museum you can marvel at all the puppets, scenery and costume designs. The most popular TV hits from the “Puppenkiste” are shown in two cinemas. There are also special exhibitions and workshops, a fan shop and a restaurant.
augsburger-puppenkiste.de (only in German)
Fascinating Teufelshöhle Pottenstein
The Teufelshöhle, or Devil’s Cave, is a limestone cave in the district of Bayreuth. It was formed over the last 2.5 million years. Naturally carbonated ground water dissolved chalk and dolomite rock to form vast caverns. The Devil’s Cave is one of Germany’s loveliest open caves. Its many stalactites are both fascinating and magical.
The guided tour takes 45 minutes. It is a wonderful adventure for children in particular! The cave is well developed and easy to access. There are a total of four hundred steps. The cave is around three thousand metres long, of which around half is open to the public.
pottenstein.de (only in German)
Attractive Leisure Land Geiselwind
Bavaria’s largest leisure park by surface area offers more than 120 attractions in five different theme worlds: Pirate Country, Crazy Farm, Dragon Bay, Leisureland and Safari. Action, fun and adventure for kids come in the form of: five roller coasters, twelve water attractions, bumper cars, a giant Ferris wheel, show tent, show stage, boat swing, 4D cinema (the fourth “D” is a marketing term which describes additional effects such as smells, wind, mist, moving seats etc.), viewing tower, free fall tower and much more.
The park is easy to reach, lying between Nuremberg and Würzburg and with its own motorway exit. Partner hotels offer accommodation and there is a campsite nearby.
freizeit-land.de (only in German)
Rabenstein Castle Falconry Centre in Franconia
Rabenstein Castle sits high on a rock in Franconian Switzerland. In the zoo in front of the castle, many domestic birds and prey and owls live in 24 large aviaries. From the tiny brown owl to the impressive golden eagle. They are housed in pairs and looked after according to their specific needs.
Flying displays in the Falconry Centre with buzzards and eagles. Children from six to eleven can do a taster day in the Falconry Centre and get close to the birds. They learn how a bird is taught to hunt, and they can also train with a small falcon.
falknerei-rabenstein.de (only in German)
Monte Kaolino Theme Park in the Upper Palatinate
Since 1833, kaolin has been mined near Hirschau and Schnaittenbach - a key raw material for the manufacture of paper and porcelain. Over time, waste quartz sand has created the Monte Kaolin, a dune 150 metres high. A lift transports visitors up the hill to the viewing platform at the top. From the “summit”, there is a 200 metre downhill stretch for summer skiers, sandboarders, Big-Foot and Zipflbob, or you can simply head downhill on foot - unique summer experiences!
The equipment is all available to hire. There is also an eight hundred metre Coaster stretch with jumps, waves and 180-degree curves. A theme park has grown up around the giant dune with an open-air swimming pool, a forest rope course, skating and roller ski courses and a campsite.
montekaolino.eu (only in German)
Tobogganing and amusement park Sankt Englmar
Higher, faster, further is the motto on the Egidi Hill near Sankt Englmar in the Bavarian Forest. Racing tracks promise plenty of downhill fun: The “voglwuide Sepp” at 755 metres is the longest rollercoaster in Bavaria. Tobogganing fun with the Bayerwald-Bob & Bayerwald-Coaster, featuring 360-degree full circles, steep curves and jumps, one thousand metres long. Plus: the Bayerwald-Fox, 300 metres wide and 15 metres high. Three mega slides and one water slide.
The latest addition is a huge “Motorik-Wiese”, an activity area developed using the latest sports science. From the 20-metre high viewing tower in the park you can see across the Danube Plains as far as the Alps.
sommerrodeln.de (only in German)
Middle Ages brought to life in Landshut
The mighty Trausnitz Castle that looks down on Landshut was founded in the 13th century. For a long time it was the residence of the Dukes of Lower Bavaria. The medieval fortifications have remained largely intact.
Special guided tours are offered for children from six to ten: on the “Ghost Tour” they find out about the dungeon (in an age-appropriate way), see knights’ armour and halberds and the “Knights’ Loo”, and meet the castle ghost, the “White Lady”. The “Legend Tour” for children aged four and over features people and events in the castle’s history. The little ones are told stories and legends against a backdrop of medieval music.
burg-trausnitz.de
Adventure Mountain Oberaudorf Hocheck
Action in the district of Rosenheim. Up to the Hocheck at 860 metres on foot or by chairlift. Down to the valley on the Flying Fox or on the summer toboggan run. The latest highlight is the free-fall dry slide, almost seventy metres long. You hurtle down a tube with many curves and pass through a spectacular circular feature with a free-fall element, 25 metres up! The stainless steel tube is glazed in places so you can look up to the sky as you go. Suitable for children aged six and over.
A forest rope park for all age groups close to the mountain station of the chair lift: scramble, climb or jump, or fly below the treetops on pulleys. For tiny tots there are forest gnomes, a treasure sandpit and wind chimes. Other attractions include a summer tubing course and a small animal enclosure.
hocheck.com (only in German)
Climbing forest in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Thirteen thrilling routes, including a children’s route. In total over 130 climbing elements, of which fifteen are roped courses. The highest platform is seventeen metres high. The operators developed and made all the climbing elements themselves.
Children from five to twelve years can climb accompanied by an adult, or alone from the age of twelve. An adult can assist up to four children at any one time. Children can also do a climb accompanied by a trainer. Plus a Flying Fox in the Olympic Ski Stadium and a one-hour walk to a log cabin that serves refreshments. The climbing forest is close to the Wankbahn valley station.
kletterwald-gap.de (only in German)
Summer tobogganing near Bad Tölz
Recreation and action on the Blomberg, nearly 1,300 metres high. The summer toboggan run is one of the longest in Europe. It snakes 1,300 metres down through the wood and across meadows. Butterflies in your stomach in 41 chicanes and 17 steep curves. You can adjust your speed yourself. Children can go down on their own from the age of eight, smaller children on their parent’s lap.
There is also a children’s experience park equipped with trampolines, a “traffic garden” with mini go-karts and mini motorbikes, water fun and a small animal enclosure. Plus a climbing forest with seven courses for children aged six or over. You can walk up the local hill of Bad Tölz or take the chairlift.
der-blomberg.de | der-blomberg.de/kletterwald (only in German)
