suggestions for an itinerary for 7-10 days in Slovakia as in which direction to go without having to backtrack too much. Flying into Vienna end of September and fly out krakow. Meeting friend coming in from Prague- where shall we meet? Would like to use public transportation but willing to do car rental to get to small towns. Interested in seeing Trstená and Oravsky Bieli potok area (ancestors) kosice, banska stlavnica, train to high Tatras, do some hikes, wooden churches. Would like to take a bus or train to krakow. Does this sound like too much for my time ?. Would rather stay in one spot for 2-3 nights and take day trips if possible. Appreciate any suggestions!
Posted by
Chicago
545 posts
A nice town I visited in 2022 is Levoca, Slovakia (wiki page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levo%C4%8Da). I stopped there as part of a Rick Steves tour that encompassed Czechia, Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Slovenia as well as Slovakia. Our group stopped in Levoca to picnic and then moved on. I wish we had stayed a night: It was beautiful! Levoca is UNESCO listed as a world heritage site. It's in the east-central part of Slovakia. Most of the old city wall is still standing. The church and town square are stunning.
Our group passed through the Tatras as we moved from Poland to Slovakia: The Tatras are definitely worth seeing and staying in. Levoca is at the base for the Tatras, but there are probably other good towns to stay in in Poland or Slovakia. However, the Slovak side seemed more picturesque.
Your plan for seven to 10 days in Vienna, Slovakia and Krakow sounds reasonable. I stayed in Krakow for three days as part of the tour. I also saw Krakow on my own in 2015, also for three days. It's another great town worth visiting.
Posted by
Chicago
545 posts
As an addendum, a good base for the Tatras on the Poland side is Zakopane (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakopane). Skiers and hikers use Zakopane as a base. Our tour bus went through there.