Hi all,

This is my first post on the HUBB and I'm starting out on the blag!

The wife and I are going to Slovakia and Hungary from 23rd August till september 6th on our VFR. If we have time we might pop up to Krakow but know very little about the area at all and so would probably choose to focus more on getting to know the places we are already going to.

Theres a list of things we'd like to do below and would love advice or particular places to go, but we've no set route at the moment other than we are catching the Autozug to Saltzburg on the way down and coming back to Dusseldorf on the train from Villach so I'm thinking of doing Slovakia and then Hungary in a clockwise route.

We're on a budget and have no idea how Slovakia is getting on with the euro so would love to know roughly what the cost of food, fuel accommodation is likely to be in comparison to the UK.

We will happily stay anywhere but the wife "doesnt do tenting". Youth hostels, pensions, floors, camping site cabins are fine but we'll only have towels, not bedding/sleeping bags (do you need bedding for the cabins?)

so any info gratefully received. Our list of things we'd like to do is below:

Visit Vienna for 2 nights and maybe Bratislava although others suggest its not particularly outstanding and I know the middle is pedestrianised and theres lots of 1 way systems so depends if its worth it or if we were able to get public transport from a base outside the city.

Go to Orava and Bojnice castles and the unesco heritage site

visit one of the water parks for the slides etc.

have a spa treatment somewhere

visit some caves (maybe the ice cave) as I'm a caver

Go for a boat trip down the river and spend time in the national parks maybe take a chair lift up a mountain?

visit Budapest for 2 nights

Stay on the shores of Lake Balaton

forgive the list its not meant to be a "look at what we're doing" but I thought it might help any locals suggest places to do all these things.

Many thanks!

Tom M

Can't help you with Slovakia or Hungary (been there, but it has been a looong time... Budapest is lovely though, especially the park near the Octogon (Oktogon?).

What I can tell you is this: if you're going to Krakow you'll quickly realize that they only seem to have had the money to purchase a single direction sign. Thus, wherever you go, be that North, South, East, or West, the same cities always seem to lie straight ahead of you. If I remember correctly it was Warszawa, Katowice, Bialystok and Poznan, not sure about the last two though. It's rather confusing when you're looking for the city center and suddenly realize that you're heading towards Warsaw, which is where we came from, then turn around only to realize that once again you're heading towards Warsaw, then turn left only to realize... yaddah yaddah and so on.

I ended up getting so angry at the city after a bus almost hit us from the right at a red light that we (wife and me) decided to get out of this hellhole as fast as possible and try again next time. We ended up going to Oswiecim and paying a visit to the infamous Oswiecim-Brzezinka concentration camp, better know under its German name Auschwitz-Birkenau. It's only ~70kms from Krakow. If you decide to go there let me know, I'll try to find out what the hotel we stayed at was called - very nice affordable place, safe motorcycle parking, run by an older woman and pretty much right between both camps.

PS: Krakow really is a beautiful city. If you can you should spend a day or two there, then move on to Oswiecim.

__________________
"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in one pretty and well preserved piece, but to skid across the line broadside, thoroughly used up, worn out, leaking oil, shouting GERONIMO!"

Crackow is worth the effort but park up at a hotel on the edge of town and bus it in, everything is within easy walking distance (old town, Wavel Castle and the Jewish Quarter). Well worth a visit are the Wieliczka salt mines just outside of town, again a short bus ride or even cheaper are privately operated mini buses that run from near the station in the centre of town.
The Zakopane valley in the High Tatras is to the south of Crackow, the town itself is a bit (a lot?) of a tourist trap but the mountains are pretty. Head along the border eastwards and cross into Slovakia by the Dukla Pass (Dukla to Svidnik) the pass was part of the Eastern Front in WW1 and the route through which the Russians liberated Czechoslovakia in WW2. There is a good museum at the head of the pass on the Slovak side and the pass is lined with bits of military tackle from the battle (tanks, planes, artillery,etc.)
I've a couple of accomodation recommendations: If you go to Auschwitz, which is an unforgetable experience, try the Hotel Galicja - not cheap but pamper yourself. I stayed at a B&B on the shores of Lake Balaton which was very comfortable but run by a Pole and his German wife, Basil and Sybil or what? It was just north of Balatonakali, can't remember the name.

cheers guys,

Was hoping to get a few more replies from locals as good routes etc. but we'll see what happens.

Tom M

Best way to get advice from locals is to contact the local HU Communities - link on left!

They also visit the HUBB of course - but are likely to be looking for info on places far away from home and may never see a post about their area.

Have a great trip! And feel free to write it up in the Ride Tales Forum - I'd love to hear all about it.

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
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Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

Cheers to the info about local communities. Although I've known abou tthe site for years I'm a new member so still finiding it quite difficult to find my way round

will post something up and see if I get any response.

Keep any helpful hints on the holiday coming!!

Hi
did a trip similiar to yours this May - basically we cut into Czech republic past Brno then into Slovakia near Trenchin , then up to Poprad where we stayed in the mountains ( Stratena ) , then past Bardejov , up the Dukla Pass and then back past Banska Bistrica . We stayed with friends in Nova Zamsky then over to Balaton and then home . This was on a Blackbird .
Basically the roads in the tatra s and Nth slovakia are Fxxcked !! Lots of overbanding and holes Their motorway system is good while it lasts then stops abrutly and goes onto A roads which are busy with trucks and radar traps !!
Dont underestimate the time it will take to get anywhere and the heat - its 35 degrees there at the moment . Hotels are very cheap in Czech , Slovakia and Balaton , fuel is the same as here

My mate is Slovak so will be pleased to help BUT cant stand the Poles , so you may have to look elsewhere for advice .

I had a great time - the women are stunning and very forward , but this shouldnt intrest you i guess

Food is ok but very salty and is tsill 30p a pint ( Golden Pheasant )
Feel free to PM me

Thanks Chris, thats wonderful information. How did you go without speaking slovak? I'm having a nightmarte trying to find a decent cheap phrasebook/audio book.

To be honest we think we probably wont get to Poland even though it sounds lovely as we like to spend a bit of time getting to know the feel of a country and tootle between villages and towns. Did you go through the centre of Banska Bistrica? its one of the places I'm wondering if its worth seeing.

great news about and hotels (I'm not so worried about fuel if I know theres a cheap pint at the end of it lol!) was it easy to find cheap accommodation at the end of the day in most villages or would you suggest booking ahead. Just I think we're seriously leaving this a bit late

Thanks again!

Tom M

PS good tip about route times and speed traps, I'll keep that at the front of my mind!

Hi
Lonely Planet do a phrase book of Eastern European languages for about a fiver and its an excellent buy .
I would try and book the odd hotel ahead if you can - be aware that Slovakia charge you extra if you are foreign , my slovak mate ended up doing it and saved us a third
Banska was nice and worth a visit , Poprad was busy and a city but surrounded by mountains which were amazing . Bardejov was great and it was a pity we couldnt stay .
As for Poland Zakopene is worth a visit , yes its touristy but you can get very cheap rooms on the net and there aint no brits and the views are amazing . Again very bumpy roads but then just slow down !!
You may want to book something for Balaton as lots of people take their summer break there - again i used the net .
If you do the Czech republic , turn up road No 12 ? near Passau / Nurnberg and it takes you a mini Pargue Cesky Krumlov . Road there was amazing and empty , rivers , lakes and forests . Cesky is small but i loved it and again plenty of places to stay on the net

Cant say ive done the Autozug - i normally ride to Nurnberg (500 miles ) stop and then i can be in Nitra ( 1.5 hrs ) from Bratislava by early next morning . My Slovak mate has just got there having left the ferry in France @ 0500 and arrived in Nitra @ 2230 , so 930 miles non stop ( fuel fags and toilet ) . He said the weather is swelltering at the moment 35 degrees , odd thunder storm and then very hot again ,
Bratislava is a nightmare to ride into , i would stay nearby and take the train myself

I second the recommendation for the Wieliczka salt mines. If you're a caver you'll love these, hundreds of kilometers of underground tunnels.
The tour takes you around several levels, near underground pools around the sculptures and through an underground cathedral carved directly out of the salt.
Stick around for the museum tour afterwards.

Also I recommend planning to stay longer they you expect in Budapest. It is absoloutely gorgeous, with plenty of inexpensive things to do, the island park, the parliment building, turkish bath houses, the citadel, Opera tickets for less then $12.
We delayed our trip by two days and ended up returning just to see more of the city.
I would also recommend the Carpe Noctem Hostel. Fantastic and lively place, run by a group of Brits who are beyond eager to show you everything the city has to offer.

cheers that sounds awsome! maybe it will have to be 3 nights and 2 days there instead!!

Just wasted the afternoon trying to plot it all into mappoint...how will we ever see everything!!!

Hi,

just finished a trip where we passed through Hungary and Slovakia.

We went to Bratislava - it is a pleasant enough town but not outstanding. The very centre is pretty touristy, and its nicer just a bit further out. Any further out though and it quickly degenerates into a concrete tower block nightmare!

Had no problems riding in, but leaving the bike was tough. In the end put it in an overnight subterranean car park, but was expensive and think in retrospect it would have been fine to leave it outside the tourist office locked up. Didnt want to at the time though as was far from our hotel.

Bratislava is not cheap. We went there from Prague which in comparison felt cheap! We paid quite a bit for a not particularly great room. We ended up just staying one night there, and no offence to anyone but reckon thats all you need.

Budapest is a much better proposition and think you should more time there than you have planned. Also go to the baths at the bottom of Gelert Hill near the bridge. For about £10 my wife and I had a whole day chilling in thermal baths, saunas, pools or just chilling on the terrace.

Hope some of it helps.