Have you ever felt that one of your best vacation memories is the dog at the reception? Especially for children, animal roommates in and around the accommodation can even supersede the world-famous sights of the destination. I remember an alpine ski vacation from my childhood. Better: I can’t remember anything about that vacation – except the giant St. Bernard! With this in mind, we asked our Green PearlsⓇ partners what animals you might encounter there. And here they are: Our recommendations for vacations for animal lovers.

Experience a vacation with animals at the Hotel Klosterbräu Kids Club

If you’re planning a holiday with animal-loving children (kindergarten and elementary school age), the Austrian Hotel Klosterbräu in the Tyrolean Alps is an excellent address. The hotel includes a hotel-owned farm with the cute name “Sigi’s Sauhaufen”. Although it’s a vegetarian farm, you can meet and pet many animals. Children can even climb into the rabbit hutch. Klosterbräu officials call it “cuteness overload.”

There are pot-bellied pigs, miniature pigs, chickens, miniature cattle, donkeys, a whole herd of goats, and a pony that children can take for an adventurous ride. In the chicken coop, brave children can hunt for eggs (“goggalen”) by themselves, all under the expert guidance of the Kids Club staff.

Watch birds of prey from the LENI MOUNTAIN Chalet

LENI MOUNTAIN Chalet is located high in the mountains above the Ötztal valley near Sölden. You can’t get there with a “normal” car, but Marco Arnold will drive you with his off-road vehicle to the Mountain Hideaway, from where you can experience a magnificent, active nature vacation with up to eight people. Deer and chamois come right up to the front door and recently more and more birds of prey such as eagles, buzzards, and vultures have been spotted. If you are particularly interested in birds of prey, there is a bird of prey park about 20 km from Sölden.

Below the Chalet, the Arnold family runs a number of apartments from which you can also watch the birds. There is also a hotel dog named Sam. He is a Samoyed (named after the Samoyed people of Siberia) and loves the snow. Even in winter, he prefers to sleep outside. In the morning, you will be greeted by a snow-covered Sam.

Tip: To determine the birds, you can use the birding app BirdNET. First, enter your region. Then, when you hear a bird, record its voice, which the app uses to identify the bird. (My dad has tried several of these apps and thinks BirdNET is the best).

Meet the Big Five of the Alps around the Naturhotel Outside

If you prefer to explore wildlife under expert guidance, “Nature Watch” with rangers from the Hohe Tauern National Park may be of interest to you! Guided tours with the rangers are free for guests of the Naturhotel Outside, which is located in the middle of the national park. You can observe the Big Five of the Alps (ibex, golden eagle, marmot, chamois, and bearded vulture) on a wildlife safari or go bird watching. That’s why the national park is great for vacations for animal lovers.

In the hotel itself, you will also find some animal co-inhabitants – the woodworms Charlie & Gustl live in the old wood paneling in the bar/reception and a salamander (not biting) has settled in the natural swimming pond.

Wildlife watching at the HUBERTUS Mountain Refugio Allgäu

Guided tours are also offered in the German Alps, in Balderschwang. Together with the community of Balderschwang, the HUBERTUS Mountain Refugio Allgäu offers wildlife watching once a week. Together with the ranger, you will discover different species of birds, such as the capercaillie, as well as the agile chamois.

In addition, you will see plenty of cows and calves during your hikes, as many pastures surround the hotel.

Holidays near the forest

Many of the Green PearlsⓇ accommodations are located right on the edge of the forest. For example, the CERVO Mountain Resort in Zermatt. Behind the hotel is the popular AHV trail, an easy, family-friendly hike where you can observe Swiss wildlife in its natural habitat.

The Hotel Weihrerhof on the Ritten is located on the edge of the forest and directly on the Wolfsgrubensee (one of the cleanest lakes in Italy). You will find even more animals if you take a walk to the Mitterstieler See. Here you will find a biotope where, depending on the time of day (and your luck), you can meet shy animals.

Vacations for Animal Lovers – Watching bees, butterflies and hedgehogs

Being close to nature also mean protecting biodiversity. At SCHWARZWALD PANORAMA in the northern Black Forest, you can observe all kinds of animals in the hotel’s snack garden (hence the nickname “species garden”). To make the small animals feel at home, there are special accommodations for them. The earwig houses are permanently booked, there are rock piles for lizards, a special bird house (better: “bird hotel on three floors”) for various bird species and a hedgehog nest in winter. There is also a bee colony.

Hotel Sturm hosts bees in the garden

At the Hotel Sturm in the Rhön biosphere reserve, bees live in the particularly large hotel garden, which offers its (two-legged and six-legged) guests numerous plant species, fruits, herbs and flowers in a snack garden.

Creativhotel Luise produces honey from sponsored bees

You can even buy your own honey from the Creativhotel Luise’s sponsor bees! The hotel in Erlangen, Germany, has created a natural garden that is home to bees as well as many other insects, squirrels, hedgehogs and birds.

Experience a vacation with animals in warm Croatia

Coming back to the hotel dog, we wanted to pay special attention to it in this blog series. Tanja from the ECO-APARTHOTEL THE DREAMERS’ CLUB in Croatia brings her dog Kessy to the hotel every day. Kessy likes to look for a shady place to sleep – but she always keeps one eye open – not to miss anything!

Playing with the cats at THE DREAMER’S CLUB

There are also many cats and kittens in the garden. The hotel cats include the red tomcat Benji and his sister Blakyca. Children love to play with them and for them, it is surely a highlight of their vacation. Maybe the red cat and his sister will be the memory that will last forever.

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