A day out with the kids near Gura Humorului: the Cacica salt mine, the Ariniș chairlift and Suceava fortress

Our villas were built for big families: four bedrooms each, a shared courtyard, room to run between the firs. But after a day in the courtyard, children want to see something. Here are the three days we recommend most often, tested on children from 3 to 14. Each has a plan for good weather and a fallback for rain.

Day 1: the Cacica salt mine, 25 minutes away

The salt mine at Cacica is 18 km from the villas, on the road to Solca, and it is the place everyone likes, from grandparents to the youngest. The mine opened in 1791, with miners brought from Poland, and is one of the oldest in Europe where salt was made by evaporating brine.

You go down 192 wooden steps, in a spiral around the old shaft. At the bottom, at a constant 10 degrees, you find:

• The Catholic chapel of St Barbara, at 29 m, with the altar and pulpit cut from salt
• The salt lake, at 42 m, 10 by 6 metres, dug by the miners, with a boat on it
• The Dwarfs' Gallery, also at 42 m, carved by hand, which children love
• The ballroom, at 45 m, with three balconies, where dances were once held
• The Orthodox chapel, at 35 m, with reliefs carved in salt

• Hours: daily, 9 am to 3 pm, with tours starting at 9:00, 10:30, 12:00, 13:30 and 15:00
• Tickets: 20 lei adults, 13 lei children from 3 to 18, free under 3
• What to bring: a jacket for everyone, even in July. It is cold down there.
• Tip: take the 10:30 tour. You are back at the villas for lunch and the afternoon stays free.

Next to the mine is the Roman Catholic church of Cacica, built by the Polish miners, with a copy of the Częstochowa icon. Worth 10 minutes, and at the shop by the entrance children pick out salt lamps and figurines.

Day 2: Ariniș, the chairlift and the tower

Ariniș Park is 7 minutes from the villas and it is the place we suggest for a day without long drives. The park has playgrounds, shaded paths along the Moldova river and squirrels that come right up to your hand if you have hazelnuts.

From the bottom of the Șoimul slope, the chairlift climbs to 762 m in 9 minutes. Children under 4 ride free, those from 4 to 14 pay 25 lei, adults 35. The ride down is free, by chairlift or on foot. At the top is the six storey observation tower, with telescopes on the top level. On a clear day you can see as far as Rarău.

• Chairlift in summer: usually Saturdays and Sundays, 10 am to 6 pm. Check before you go.
• With children from 6: ride up and walk down the Piatra Pinului path, about an hour through the forest. We wrote about it in our hiking article.
• When it rains: the Folk Customs Museum in the centre, Tuesday to Sunday, 8 am to 4 pm, 2 lei for a child's ticket. The goat masks and the straw bear are a guaranteed hit.

Day 3: Suceava, the fortress and the wooden village

45 minutes east, Suceava has two places side by side that fill a whole day. The Princely Fortress, built by Petru Mușat and strengthened by Stephen the Great, has been fully restored and has walls you can walk on, a drawbridge, a throne room and an interactive trail for children with projections and costumes. The tower gives a wide view over the city.

Across the road is the Bucovina Village Museum, a whole village of wooden houses moved here from all over Bucovina: farmsteads, a mill, a church, a potter's and a blacksmith's workshop. Children can go inside the houses, and in summer there are craftspeople at work. It is open air, so keep this day for good weather.

• Fortress and museum hours: Tuesday to Sunday, usually 10 am to 6 pm in summer and 9 am to 5 pm in winter. Closed Mondays.
• Tickets: a few lei at the village museum, a little more at the fortress, with discounts for children
• Lunch: in the centre of Suceava, then back at the villas around 4, in time for the barbecue.
• When it rains: the History Museum in the centre and the Planetarium at the Astronomical Observatory, if there is a show on.

A few things to know

• A cot or a high chair for babies: ask us when you book and we will tell you what we can arrange.
• The courtyard is shared by the two villas, with parking inside and the fir forest behind. Children have room to run, but the main road passes the gate, so keep the little ones in sight.
• In the evening, the air conditioned gazebo is where the adults stay at the table while the little ones fall asleep on the sofa.
• A pharmacy, a family doctor and the hospital are in Gura Humorului, 5 minutes away.

If you tell us the children's ages before you arrive, we prepare a day by day plan around the weather.