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This canoe ride is really exhilarating. A fantastic feature of Slovakia's Pieniny National Park is the 10km-long gorge. Canoes and traditional rafts (called plt') sail past narrow limestone cliffs and get up quite a speed. Rafters dressed in traditional Goral (the local mountain people) costume give talks on the surrounding sights, flora and fauna. The Polish peak of Trzy Korony (Three Crowns) looms like chunks of white Toblerone. En route there is plenty of opportunity to marvel at the local flora and fauna in spectacular, unspoilt and relatively undiscovered scenery. A gem.
Rafts and canoes usually set off from near Cerveny Klastor (Red Monastery), a fascinating museum in itself.
Check out www.rafting-pieniny.sk for more details.
Pohoda is a weird festival made up up of a mix of pro-life groups, ravers and the Slovak army who seem to help organise it. It takes place on an airstrip, half of which is still used during the festival so you get to see planes and helicopters coming a bit too close to the crowds.
In the past it has been headlined by The Streets, Fatboy Slim and The Prodigy. This year is as diverse as past ones with Traivs, Basement Jaxx, Alabamba 3, Hot 8 Brass band and Pendulum to name a few of the artists.
It's a lot cheaper than English festivals and sunshine it pretty much guaranteed. Plus they have bungee jumps, climbing walls, lots and lots of inflatable games like lifesize table football and very nice hog roast!
I went skiing in Jasna this year in March and had some of the best skiing I have ever had. I stayed with a British chalet holiday company called Ski and Snowboard Slovakia they organse everything for you and the chalet was beautiful and right on the slopes amazing!
I have wonderful memories of skiing at Jasna and the wonderful hot chocolates they made.
We stayed in a beautiful wooden spacious chalet, and we were spoilt with underfloor heating, woodburner and 38" Flat screen TV, it was 5* luxury and a great surprise! A river rushed by about 10 yards from the chalet and birds chirped in the mornings. Bliss.
We found our chalet by surfing www.slovaklodge.com
Very good food and loads of it with an extensive, tasty and imaginative menu. Unpretentious, friendly and very reasonable.
In the north of the old town not far from St Martins gate on Klariska.
Its location is very close to the old town with a couple of cafes locally. The rooms are functional, clean with good toilet and shower. Breakfast is included and the staff are very helpful. You could get cheaper accommodation but this was good for the price and location.
The hotel arranged an airport pickup for 20 Euros direct to the door. The only problem was the proximity to a tram line - bit noisy at night.
Zamocka 13, north of and just under the castle.
Fantastic hostel with great individual rooms and apartments. We stayed in the Budapest suite, four beds, separate kitchen and own facilities.
Five minute walk to old town square and ten from river. Also a nice little bar and left luggage facilities.
Špitálska 2
www.hostelblues.sk/
Nice way how to get more information about Bratislava is to use this MP3 audio tour. It lasts about 40 minutes but covers all important points of interest including the castle, main square, Primatial Palace, Michael's Gate and others.
Company who we booked our best stag weekend ever with. Everything was great and Dean sorted out the best deal ever. Great city with nice girls.
Bratislava Castle is a must see. Great views over Bratislava, a cool museum to have a look about in (it costs though) and, if you walk back into the city, there's some cool little bars to keep you occupied on the way down.
Warning - if you get a tram, make sure to buy a ticket. They're very, very inexpensive and you don't want to be caught without one. Two of the lads I was travelling with got stopped by plain clothes inspectors who wanted £35 from them (known as a tourist fine).
My mates kicked up a fuss until a policewoman came on, told my mates to pay up or else they'd be taken to the police station, and then left. Not very pleasant.
Also, stay away from the train station area, a very dodgy area. I've never been propositioned as many times in my life!
I picked up a great map for free in one of the tourist offices but I think you can order it from the Czech cartographer company SHOCart.
It's called 'Slovensko Kemping, Termalne Kupaliska' which means 'Camping and Thermal Pools in Slovakia'. It details every pool and campsite in the country and is very useful and inspiring for planning a trip.
The Slovak tourist board is based in Banska Bystrica, one of the most fun towns in Slovakia, and has lots of information on campsites all over the undiscovered countryside.
Autocamping Borová Sihoť is open all the year round and it's very popular with those who want to explore the High and Low Tatra mountains or take part in white water rafting, canoeing, cycling or hiking.
The large campsite is situated amongst trees in a beautiful rural setting and facilities have been updated this year.
Outdoor fireplaces with firewood are prepared for guests to cook their own meals on - it's lovely!
You can also hire bikes and other sports equipment from the campsite.
I suggest flying to Poprad on budget SkyEurope (www.skyeurope.com) then hiring a car at Poprad-Tatry airport (www.hertz.sk) to explore this fabulous country which is unspoilt and gorgeous.
ATC Borová Sihoť
033 01 Liptovsky Hradok
Slovakia
Tel: +421 44 522 4031
email: borovasihot@stonline.sk
www.borovasihot.sk
Great price, period look and very central.
This website for the Czech company TopBicycle is useful for anyone who wants to go cycling in Slovakia. It has details of bike tours with details of sights to see en route.
www.topbicycle.com/BicycleToursSlovakia.htm
Tel: (+420) 519 513 745 (Czech Republic)
info@topbicycle.com
Cycling is massively popular in Slovakia and the stunning countryside is criss-crossed with a 5,400km network of cycle routes, all well-marked with destinations and distances. One route follows the Danube river from Bratislava to Sturovo, from where you can peddle into Hungary, if you like. There's another great route that follows the Small Carpathian Wine Trail so you can try all the great Slovak wines and not worry who's the designated driver!
Slovak Cycle Club, Namestie Slobody 6, 921 01 Piestany
Tel/fax: 033 7740 548
email: sck@nextra.sk
I have just bought this guide because it's the first one I found that writes just about Slovakia, not in a few pages at the back of the Czech Republic guide book. It really goes into detail about the country with lots of little unknown villages, hidden treasures and things that only the locals know about. There is lots of information about accommodation, food and drink, sport (like skiing, hiking, rafting, football, tennis), caves, castles, mountains, nature, culture. It packs a lot in and it's fun to read with boxes about history, famous Slovak people and unusual items like the Warhol museum and the Dracula countess. Great photos too and useful maps. I recommend it to everyone who wants to discover this jewel of a country.
Slovakia: The Bradt Travel Guide
By Lucy Mallows
1st edition out April 15, 2007
ISBN: 978 1 84162 188 3
ISBN: 1 84162 188 9
Me and my girlfriend spent a wonderfull weekend in the Venturska Residence. It is a really nice apartment house located literally in the heart of the Old Town with major city attractions. The apartment was newly refurbished and clean and had everything from a dishwasher to free internet access. Also the hosts were nice and helpful. I definitely recommend this property to all kinds of travellers. And the price there was half the rate for the hotel room in downtown Bratislava.
www.hotels-in-bratislava.com/hotels/venturska_residence.html
I found a very useful and appealing website - city guide to Bratislava, Slovakia. It has info on accommodation, transport and sights of the city.
The museum of the Slovak National Uprising is a very haunting and moving record of a particularly brave time, put down mercilessly and brutally during late 1944. Banska Bystrica is an attractive town, liberated on March 26 1945, and has decent food, cheap hotels, and excellent beer, and a number of attractions both near and in surrounding communities. Strongly recommended. Just off the main square, through the arch, and turn left past the aeroplanes and military equipment.
Bargain your hotel rates locally, rather than booking in advance. Passable German helps, though some English is spoken.
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