diff --git a/.changeset/flat-steaks-yawn.md b/.changeset/flat-steaks-yawn.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..0a2e32361c17
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/flat-steaks-yawn.md
@@ -0,0 +1,5 @@
+---
+'@sveltejs/kit': patch
+---
+
+fix: prevent type errors when optional `@opentelemetry/api` dependency isn't installed
diff --git a/packages/kit/src/exports/public.d.ts b/packages/kit/src/exports/public.d.ts
index 39174438f805..21ed3e6cda00 100644
--- a/packages/kit/src/exports/public.d.ts
+++ b/packages/kit/src/exports/public.d.ts
@@ -25,10 +25,12 @@ import {
 	LayoutParams as AppLayoutParams,
 	ResolvedPathname
 } from '$app/types';
-import { Span } from '@opentelemetry/api';
 
 export { PrerenderOption } from '../types/private.js';
 
+// @ts-ignore this is an optional peer dependency so could be missing. Written like this so dts-buddy preserves the ts-ignore
+type Span = import('@opentelemetry/api').Span;
+
 /**
  * [Adapters](https://svelte.dev/docs/kit/adapters) are responsible for taking the production build and turning it into something that can be deployed to a platform of your choosing.
  */
diff --git a/packages/kit/types/index.d.ts b/packages/kit/types/index.d.ts
index 548bc7a78d83..35b387405f53 100644
--- a/packages/kit/types/index.d.ts
+++ b/packages/kit/types/index.d.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,9 @@ declare module '@sveltejs/kit' {
 	import type { SvelteConfig } from '@sveltejs/vite-plugin-svelte';
 	import type { StandardSchemaV1 } from '@standard-schema/spec';
 	import type { RouteId as AppRouteId, LayoutParams as AppLayoutParams, ResolvedPathname } from '$app/types';
-	import type { Span } from '@opentelemetry/api';
+	// @ts-ignore this is an optional peer dependency so could be missing. Written like this so dts-buddy preserves the ts-ignore
+	type Span = import('@opentelemetry/api').Span;
+
 	/**
 	 * [Adapters](https://svelte.dev/docs/kit/adapters) are responsible for taking the production build and turning it into something that can be deployed to a platform of your choosing.
 	 */