Trip to Zilina or Zakopane between Krakow and Prague?

If you are considering the High Tatra mountains, I would opt for the Slovakian side of the mountain range because Zakopane seemed like a over-touristed urban resort when I was there. It is a city of 30K residents. The mountain towns in Slovakia such as Strbske Pleso and Stary Smokovec are much more appealing, although they are too far for a daytrip from Krakow ( 2.5 hours each way).
Not sure that detouring to the Tatra mountains will help get you from Krakow to Prague in a reasonable amount of time.
For hiking, you might also take a look at the Cesky Raj ( “Bohemian Paradise”) nature reserve which is an UNESCO World Heritage site near the town of Jicin

Very funny, I wrote the answer in your other post before I saw this.

Forgetting for a moment that Slovakia is the wrong direction, given Slovakia or the Czech Republic it’s a tough choice. With a car or the willingnes to pay for transfers (there are a few train connections), Slovakia hands down. In June I cannot imagine those places in Slovakia equal to those in Poland being any less touristed. I've done the mountains of Slovakia a few times in the early summer each trip one or two tourist spots and several days lost fishing the rivers. Slovakia is a great well-kept European secret. Better castles than the Czech Republic (okay, at least as good), some sweet small towns like the Banska towns and Kosice (skip Bratislava, it’s a different animal). Then the nature, the mountains some great cable car rides, rafting the rivers….. whats not to love.

Without a car or the willingness to pay for transfers and spend a few days in route I would stick to the Czech Republic plan. Oh, and with the Slovakia plan you have to substitute Prague for Budapest (so you are traveling in the right direction) which isn’t any great sacrifice. LOL Yes, I do have bias.

Thank you, Mr. E, very helpful. I think we can pay for transfers to get to Slovakia and then rent car to travel around for a few days. Our flights leave from Prague so we are kind of locked in there at this point. But there looks to be very fast direct train from Bratslavia or overnight, so we can end with a few days to say we say Prague before heading home. I know we're not going in the right direction, but sometimes I guess you just go where you're called.

Thank you,
Laura

but sometimes I guess you just go where you're called.

Laura, that is so correct. Holidays are special times and when it comes to special times there are no rules. I always wondered how many people had disapointing holidays so they could conform or be reasonable or save $10.

James

Here is some fun stuff: https://ototatry.pl/lomnica-tatra-giant-and-historical-kiezmark

So assuming we dip down to Slovakia for a bit, and rent car or use private transfers, any suggestions for great hotels to base from? I think the kids would love something with a spa, sauna or scenic, as otherwise we'll be in smaller rooms in two large cities (Krakow and Prague).

Strbske Pleso has a lake with several hotels with saunas and spas. Among them is the Grand Hotel Kempinski High Tatras, Hotel Solisko, Aplend Lake Resort and the Hotel Patria. Some were built as ski resorts back in the era when pyramidal architecture was popular and are quite unusual.

From Strbske Pleso, the well-preserved Renaissance town of LEVOCA is just a 30 minute drive.
Have a great Trip!

I havent stayed here, YET, but did stop in to eat and look on one trip. The hotel its self is a destination and I think is what you were describing as what you were looking for: https://www.tmrhotels.com/grandhotel-stary-smokovec/sk/ The other one that meets you criteria is the Kempensky, and Štrbské Pleso really is a storybook setting, and the hotel is one of the nicest I have ever stayed in ... anyplace in the world. For what you get, the price isn’t bad. https://www.kempinski.com/en/grand-hotel-high-tatras Nearby Great food experience: https://www.hotelpatria.sk/sk/koliba-patria

Here are a couple others in Slovakia that I have stayed at over the years that I liked and would, or have, returned to.

Liptovský Hrádok
For an old manor / castle experience https://grandcastle.sk/en/hrad-a-kastiel/historia/

Banská Štiavnica
A very sweet 3 star hotel. Clean nicely appointed, good location https://www.salamanderhotel.sk/en/uvod-english/
A little nicer 3 star hotel, a tiny bit better located https://hotel-bristol.sk/historia/
Good lunch spot https://pivovarerb.sk/en/

Bratislava. Up front, not one of my favorite experiences. Its lovely but just so commercial that I couldn’t get comfortable. But this is a very nice hotel, very nicely located. https://www.arcadia-hotel.sk/

Thank you Kenko, Mr. E. The hardest part is deciding what NOT to do on this trip. This is my first, as well as my family's first, trip to Europe. We have typically done road trips in the US, camping and national parks. So my husband is quite used to travel that involves a bit of picking up and moving around. And keeping the kids moving through mandatory travel does tend to fight off any complaints of boredom and homesickness.

The reason to dip down into Slovakia emerged when considering where to go after Auschwitz/Oświęcim, and hoping for a more chill vibe. My husband got excited about seeing castles in north western Slovakia, the Sulov rocks, etc. We are still considering High Tatras, but they appear to be not quite as accessible. My husband is also wanting to get away from heavily touristed places for a bit. There is a direct train from Zilinia to Prague via Olomouc. There also appears to be a faster train from Bratslavia, as well as an overnight option, which would avoid losing daytime travel time (and give my kids another experience to check off!)

So much to consider! Thanks for all the ideas! So many alternative itineraries for future trips!

Sorry I wasnt more help.

The beauty of Slovakia is less touristed (more laid back). The drawback of Slovakia is less touristed (less infrastructure). I've been i think four times. But each was single stop on the way to a fishing zone and a single stop on the way back from the the zone. But that did get me to quite a few wonderful places. Still I have never tried to string severl places together using public transportation. I “must” go to Vienna in late June and I thought it might be a good chance to get to Krakow (never been) and then come back through Slovakia to Budapest. Maybe see some places I have missed over the years.
So I mapped it out. I abandoned it for a number of reasons, one was more hassle than I wanted to deal with for what I wanted to be a fast easy couple of day trip. This year is now booked full, so maybe next year I set up camp in 2 or 3 locations and do day trips out to pick up what i missed .... but thats a week or ten day trip at least.

No apologies, this has all be great help! I am negotiating the IDEAL itinerary vs the reality of international travel, and factoring in three other humans with preferences as well as my own. Planning is part of the fun! Thank you for generously chiming in! I appreciate all input!

Also, my fam got on Atlas Oscura and identified this place as of interest. Sometimes you compromise for the sake of family!

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/ruins-cachtice-castle

Cachtice Castle!! I love it!!! And its on the way to Bratislava!!!

Here, more to complicate the mix: https://www.slovakia.com/castles/

Yes, Orava, Trencin, Budatin, Strecno also of interest.

If we were to use DayTrip, can we ask for all these stops? We could spend a night in Zilina and use rental car for a day, but might be nice to have a guide take us to some sites en route to Bratislava where we can catch night train or fast train.

If we were to use DayTrip, can we ask for all these stops?

Yes. They will customize a trip.

It sounds like a lot of good advise. one other stop not too far from Zilina is https://www.skanzenmartin.sk/ in Martin. Its a traditional Slovak Village. It gives you a taste of traditional Slovak life. You can get there by train and then bus/Uber. We have found Orava(Oravsky Hard) is one of the best castles in Slovakia, They have an english tour at a specific time during the day. If you are going through Trencin, also a great old town and another very good Castle experience. Train station is very close walk to downtown. Have fun. Check out the Slovak Spectator for maps and guide books.