Thermal spas with children: ages, rules and prices

There is no national minimum age for Italian thermal spas: each operator decides, and does so in three different ways. Some venues go by age (Merano admits children of any age if accompanied, Sirmione has a ticket from 30 months), others by height (Negombo on Ischia: free under 1 metre, reduced up to 1.40 metres; Saturnia: main pools above 150 centimetres), and others still separate the adult-only areas, such as the saunas. Always check the operator's page before you leave: rules change from one season to the next, and a four-year-old turned away at the entrance spoils the day for everyone.

This page reports the rules and prices that the operators publish on their own official websites for 2026-27.

The rules of each spa compared

Merano is the clearest on its rules, and it is also the only spa in the table where you can work out the family bill in advance. With the family ticket (2 adults and one child under 14) each additional child costs 10 euros, but the operator does not sell it on public holidays, during school holidays, over the Christmas period and when the daily tickets are sold out. Over Christmas (5-8 December 2026 and from 26 December to 5 January 2027) booking is required and the price changes: 27 euros for 3 hours for one child aged 4-13, 33 euros for an adult.

Merano: the simplest case for a family

The Terme di Merano are open all year. The children's pool is in the indoor pool area. A swimming cap is not required. The website specifies that young people aged 14 and over can enter on their own by showing an ID document at the desk, and this changes the logistics with teenagers: they can have their own day while the parents go to the sauna area, which is closed to under 14s.

For a family of two parents and two children, the 3-hour weekday ticket (21 euros for each adult, 16 for each child) comes to 74 euros. With the family ticket the bill is lower, but it is valid only if the day does not fall within the exclusions listed above. Official information is at termemerano.it.

For the other Alpine spas see the page on mountain thermal spas.

Sirmione: the Junior ticket

At Sirmione the official price list distinguishes a Junior ticket, from 30 months to 11 years, which costs 28 euros for 5 hours and is valid only with an adult. The adult pays for the 5-hour "Terme e Saune" ticket: 44 euros from Monday to Thursday, 58 from Friday to Sunday. The short 2-hour ticket costs adults 25 euros every day. The venue (formerly called Aquaria) is open from 9:00 to 22:00 from Sunday to Thursday, and from 9:00 to midnight on Friday and Saturday. In the price list consulted, the only children's ticket is the 5-hour Junior.

The website does not publish rules for children under 30 months: if you have a baby, the telephone number is +39 030 9904923.

Saturnia and Negombo: hot water and height

The Parco Termale at Saturnia has outdoor pools at 37.5 degrees, kept at this temperature all year round. For children there is the Children's Pool, next to shallow pools; the main ones are reserved for those over 150 centimetres, and one is for confident swimmers. Opening hours 2026: from 1 April to 1 November 9:30-19:00, from 2 November 2026 to 31 March 2027 9:30-17:30. Entry starts at 30 euros. A white towel and bathrobe are compulsory: you can bring them from home or hire them, and online booking is recommended at weekends and on bridge holidays. For the Cascate del Mulino, the free-access spring, see the page on free thermal springs: with small children the rocks are slippery and there is no supervision.

Negombo on Ischia has 13 pools, a Turkish bath and a beach with sea water. Children under 1 metre enter free, between 1 and 1.40 metres they pay the reduced rate, above 1.40 they pay the same as adults. Under 1.40 metres children use two sea-water pools (three in some months), one of them heated, and the beach, and they follow their parents into every area. The price list is a PDF tied to dates (the latest, from 14 September to 11 October 2026, cannot be read from the website) and the amounts are not on the page; the 2027 season opens on 23 April and closes on 13 October, every day. Telephone: +39 081 986152. Other parks on the island are on the page about Ischia.

The other spas, operators' data

Rapolano Terme. At Antica Querciolaia children up to 9 (not yet turned 10) pay 14 euros on weekdays (11 for half a day) and 16 on public holidays and in high season (13); from 0 to 2 years it is free. Adults pay 19 and 25 euros. Open Monday to Friday 9:00-20:00, Saturday 9:00-1:00, Sunday 9:00-20:00 (via Trieste 22, tel. +39 0577 724091). High season 2026-27, among other dates: 5-8 December and from 24 December to 6 January.

Riolo Terme. A child between 3 and 11 pays 11.50 euros on weekdays and 14 on public holidays; an adult 23 and 28. Booking is compulsory (+39 0546 71045); on bridge holidays (30 October-2 November, 5-8 December, 26 December-10 January 2027) only the public-holiday vouchers apply.

**Terme dei Papi, Viterbo.** The monumental outdoor pool is open all year, 9:00-19:00 (Friday until 20:00, Saturday until 1:00, closed on Tuesday for maintenance). Children from 2 to 12 pay 8 euros, on weekdays and public holidays; adults 12 euros for 3 hours and 18 for the day on weekdays, 18 and 25 on public holidays.

Pejo. The pool costs adults 10 euros, young people aged 5-10 pay 8, up to 4 years 5; the family package (2 adults and 2 children under 10) lets one child in free. The wellness area is forbidden under 14.

Levico and Comano. At Levico the children's department offers inhalation treatments (aerosols, inhalations, nasal douche) from 2 years, with a National Health Service course of 24 treatments; tel. +39 0461 706077. At Comano the atopic dermatitis programme accepts children from 8 months (12 days, 131 euros with the National Health Service).

Castrocaro and Tivoli. At Castrocaro the "Magiche Acque" spa costs 40 euros for the full day and 35 for the half day, with the rules on minors given in the table. At Tivoli the Pool Park of Terme di Roma (Acque Albule) is open in summer 9:30-18:00 and costs 17 euros on weekdays and 22 on public holidays; the Spa stays open until 10 January 2027.

Where children are not allowed. The QC Terme (Bormio, Pré-Saint-Didier, San Pellegrino) forbid entry to under 14s. At Fonteverde, San Casciano dei Bagni, children up to 12 are free only with a hotel stay, not in the day spa; the same formula applies at Bagni di Pisa.

How to plan the day

A small child tires quickly in water at 37 degrees: alternate about twenty minutes in the pool with a break outside, with drinking water within reach. Choose the shallow, cooler pools and ask the paediatrician if your child has skin, heart or respiratory problems.

The season depends on the venue: Merano and Saturnia are open all year, Negombo from April to mid-October. In summer at Saturnia choose the morning or late afternoon, when the sun is less strong. If you are travelling with teenagers, from 14 years at Merano they can already go around on their own with an ID document.

1. Terme di Merano: Children of any age with an adult
2. Terme di Sirmione, Spa & Thermal Garden: Junior ticket 30 months-11 years
3. Terme di Saturnia, Parco Termale: Children's Pool
4. Negombo, Lacco Ameno (Ischia): Free under 1 metre
5. Antica Querciolaia, Rapolano Terme: Children 14-16 euros
6. Terme di Riolo: Child 3-11 years from 11.50 euros
7. Terme dei Papi, Viterbo: Children 2-12 years 8 euros
8. Terme di Castrocaro: Not admitted under 3 years
9. Terme di Levico: Inhalation treatments from 2 years
10. Terme di Comano: Atopic dermatitis from 8 months
11. Terme di Roma, Tivoli: Summer Pool Park