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Arosa family weekend: a 3-day summer itinerary for families - Arosa Tourismus
Three days in Arosa is enough to feel like a real holiday, even with a late Friday arrival and a Sunday lunchtime departure. The trick is sequencing: a low-key Friday evening that does not exhaust already-tired children, a full Saturday that gives parents a genuine break, and a Sunday morning that ends well before the train pulls out at 14:00. This itinerary is built for July or August when the Bear Gang is running and the weather is warmest, and it assumes you are staying at Hotel Altein, which sits between Arosa's two lakes within walking distance of the station and the gondolas.
For the wider context on activities, the Arosa Card and what families actually get for free, see our companion guide on things to do in Arosa with kids. This piece is the schedule you can lift straight into your trip planning.
Book your family weekend at Altein
Friday: arrive, settle, eat late
Evening (arrival to bedtime). The last useful train from Chur to Arosa runs around 22:00, with hourly services from late afternoon onwards. Arrival in Arosa is just over an hour from Chur on the Rhaetian Railway's scenic Schanfigg line, with the Langwieser viaduct and tunnels keeping older children glued to the windows. Hotel Altein is a short walk from Arosa station, so even with bags and tired kids the logistics are easy.
Once you have checked in and collected your Arosa Cards from reception, the only real decision is dinner. The hotel's Alpensand Panoramic Restaurant on the top floor stays open until 01:00 on Friday and Saturday nights, with the kitchen serving wood-fired pizza, daily specials and casual food until 21:45. Pizza is also available as takeaway, which is the right call if children are already past their bedtime: order, take it back to the room, eat with the lights of the village below.
While dinner is sorted, the kids can explore the hotel itself. Hotel Altein has a dedicated children's playroom and an entertainment area with billiards, table tennis, pinball and table football, so even a tired child can find something to do without leaving the building. It is also a good way to let them work off any last energy from the train journey before bed.
Skip the Bear Sanctuary, the gondolas and any kind of expedition this evening. Save those for Saturday. The goal of Friday is a soft landing.
Saturday: the proper Arosa day
Saturday is the day that makes the weekend. Mornings go to the kids and a parent break, afternoons to a shared family adventure, evenings to a quiet wind-down.
Morning (parent downtime via the Bear Gang). Children aged 4 and up can join the Bear Gang, Arosa's free supervised children's programme that runs in July and August. As guests of Hotel Altein, an official Bear Gang partner hotel, your children join the programme free of charge. Registration is by phone between 10.00 and 10.45 on the day, and a hot lunch can be added on request. Drop the kids in time for the morning programme of crafting, games and storytelling, and you have a clear three to four hour block to yourselves.
How parents use that block is up to you. Hotel Altein has a 950 m² wellness area with two indoor pools, an outdoor pool, hot tub, sauna and steam bath, plus a fitness centre. A circular hike on the Eichhörnliweg without children moving at toddler pace takes about an hour. Or pick up a bike and try the Hörnli Trail. Whatever you do, this is the morning where you stop being on duty.
Afternoon (the family adventure). Reunite with the kids and head up the Weisshorn gondola from the village. The cable car runs to 2,653 metres and is free with the Arosa Card. From the middle station, the Arosa Bear Sanctuary is the obvious stop: rescued bears in a natural mountain enclosure, plus a children's playground, bear minigolf and an adventure trail. Ask at Hotel Altein reception on arrival, as free Bear Sanctuary entry tickets for guests are often available. Otherwise the Arosa Card gives you reduced entry at CHF 5 for adults and CHF 3 for children.
If the weather is good, continue the gondola up to the Weisshorn summit for the panorama and a snack at the architect-designed summit restaurant. If the children are flagging, head straight back down to the village and switch to the lakes (see below).
Late afternoon (lakes). Arosa has two lakes within easy walking distance of the village. Lido Untersee has a small grass beach, a heated children's pool and traditional changing cabins, free with the Arosa Card. Obersee is the bigger lake with pedalos and rowing boats (also free with the card), a lakeside playground, and the Ochsenbühl pump track right next to the sports area. Pick one based on energy levels: Untersee for proper swimming, Obersee for boats and the pump track.
Evening (dinner without rushing). Back at Hotel Altein, the Zus Brasserie serves dinner from 18:00 if you are on half-board. Otherwise the Alpensand upstairs is open all evening with its wood-fired pizza menu. After bedtime, parents can settle into the Alchemilla Parlour Bar without leaving the building.
Sunday: short and sweet, finish by 13.00
With a 14:00 to 15:00 train from Arosa station, the realistic working morning is 08:00 to 12:30, including breakfast and packing. Pick one activity, not two.
Morning option A: Squirrel Trail and breakfast. The Eichhörnliweg is a 1.7 kilometre forest loop where children feed semi-wild red squirrels along the way. With stops, it runs an hour to 90 minutes. Combined with a leisurely breakfast at Zus Brasserie beforehand, this fills the morning at a humane pace and finishes well before checkout.
Morning option B: pump track and Obersee playground. If the kids spent Saturday on the gondolas and the Bear Gang, they may want pure unstructured movement. The Ochsenbühl pump track and Obersee playground are a short walk from the hotel and ideal for an hour or two of running around before lunch. Bring scooters or balance bikes if you have them, or rent at the bike school.
Morning option C: pool morning at the hotel. A lazier alternative: late breakfast, pool, sauna, lunch, train. No transit, no time pressure, no risk of missing the train. Particularly good if Saturday was full-on or the weather has turned.
Late morning (12:00-13:00). Light lunch at the hotel, finish packing, walk to the station with the Arosa Card still in your pocket for the Lüen-Castiel section of the journey home. The 14:02 from Arosa puts you in Chur by 15:00.
What to book in advance
Most of this itinerary works on the day, but two things benefit from advance attention. Bear Gang registration is by phone (+41 79 367 56 50) between 10.00 and 10.45 each day, so plan to call on Saturday morning rather than expecting walk-in spaces. Alpensand on Saturday evening can fill up, particularly the terrace; if you want a window table for sunset, reserve at check-in on Friday.
Plan your Arosa family weekend
A long weekend in Arosa rewards the family that plans for the rhythm rather than the activity list. Arrive late and eat takeaway, give Saturday morning to the Bear Gang and yourselves, share the afternoon, and keep Sunday short. Hotel Altein sits at the centre of all of it: a few minutes from the station, the gondolas and the lakes, with two restaurants and a wellness area that absorb whatever the weather throws at you.