Slovakia Walking Tour : 2027

Absolutely. In fact, we’d prefer that you do.

Gary would love to have a video chat with you!

It’s a chance for us to get to know you, for you to get to know us, and to talk honestly about the walking, fitness, accommodations, Slovakia, or anything else you’d like to know before deciding whether this is the “right” trip for you.

There’s no sales pitch. We never try to talk someone into coming on one of our trips.

We simply want to make sure it’s a good fit — for you and for us.

We’d much rather have the right people on the trip than simply fill another space.

We look forward to chatting with you whenever you’re ready.

Absolutely. If you’re traveling with family, friends, or your own group, we’d be happy to discuss a private trip to Slovakia — for as many days as our schedule allows.

A private trip gives us even more flexibility to tailor the walking, pace, and daily activities around your group.

If you have particular dates or something special in mind, just get in touch and tell us what you’re thinking.

Small, relaxed, and usually a lot of fun.

We have plenty of solo travelers, as well as couples and friends. Solo guests sometimes ask us beforehand whether they’ll feel like the odd one out or a “third wheel” among couples.

What they tell us afterward is quite the opposite — they felt completely welcomed by the group, quickly became part of it, and often went home with wonderful new friends.

You can be as “groupy” as you want. There’s no pressure to spend every waking moment together, but something rather nice tends to happen after a few days of walking, eating, exploring, and laughing together.

Many guests who first met on one of our trips have remained friends long afterward — and many choose to travel with us again (and again…).

Come hungry.

Slovak food is hearty, flavorful, and wonderfully varied, and we’ll have plenty of opportunities to introduce you to authentic local dishes, along with other choices along the way.

Breakfast is included each morning, with other included meals outlined in your itinerary.

Vegetarian meals are readily available, and we’ll do our best to accommodate other dietary requirements — just let us know about any allergies or restrictions before the trip.

And there will definitely be opportunities for coffee, pastries, and local specialties along the way.

Not to mention a bowl of homemade goulash at our place.

Where we stay is part of the experience — not simply somewhere to sleep between walks.

Because we’re traveling through different parts of Slovakia, we’ll stay in several comfortable, characterful accommodations chosen for their location, atmosphere, and the people behind them.

One of them is a beautifully renovated guesthouse in a castle that’s around 650 years old.

We don’t choose somewhere simply because it’s convenient for a tour operator. We choose places that help you experience Slovakia, not just pass through it.

Absolutely — and it’s a wonderful way to experience this part of Europe.

Prague, Vienna and Budapest are three of Europe’s great cities, and many international travelers visit one or more of them. Slovakia sits right in the middle of Central Europe, yet surprisingly few visitors venture beyond Bratislava to discover the rest of the country.

That’s part of what makes it so special.

You could spend a few days in Prague, Vienna, or Budapest before or after your trip with us, then trade the busy city streets for mountain trails, medieval towns, castles, traditional villages, and a few days walking with us in the High and Low Tatras. It’s a lovely combination — some of Europe’s most famous cities and one of its least-discovered countries.

If you’d like help figuring out how to put the pieces together, just ask us. We’re happy to help.

Quite a lot.

Walking is an important part of this trip, but one of Slovakia’s joys is everything we discover along the way.

We’ll spend time hiking in the High and Low Tatras and explore the UNESCO World Heritage town of Banská Štiavnica, traditional villages, castles, caves, churches, and other historic places. And then there’s something rather more personal.

We’ll invite you to our own property in our little Slovak village for homemade goulash — something you probably won’t find on too many tour itineraries.

That’s really what this trip is about.

Not simply seeing Slovakia, but getting to know a little of the country we call home.

Walking speeds always vary within a group. That’s perfectly normal.

We don’t expect everyone to march together, and we’ll encourage you to walk at a comfortable pace instead of worrying about who’s ahead or behind.

We’ll make regular stops along the way, and when there are opportunities for additional walking, we’ll let the stronger walkers know.

Nobody gets left behind.

The whole point is to enjoy the experience — not turn a beautiful walk into a race.

The walking is generally moderate, although we’ve been doing this long enough to know that those words mean different things to different people.

You don’t need to be an experienced hiker or a mountain athlete, but you should enjoy walking, be reasonably fit and be comfortable spending several hours on your feet.

In the High Tatras, trails can be very rocky, uneven and occasionally steep, so good balance is important. Good walking or trail shoes with a grippy sole are important. We also provide walking poles for anyone who would like to use them.

Our goal isn’t to see how far or how fast you can walk. We’ll stop for photographs, enjoy the scenery, have a good lunch, and hopefully still have enough energy to enjoy dinner that evening.

The walking is important. Enjoying the day is more important.

We don’t know — not until we see you walk! Or, if you’ve traveled with us before, we already do.

We like keeping a little element of surprise, but there’s a much more important reason we don’t publish a rigid day-by-day walking itinerary.

Weather, trail conditions, and the group itself can all influence which walk makes the most sense on a particular day. Once we’ve seen how everyone walks, we have a much better idea of what you’ll enjoy.

Slovakia offers wonderful choices, from mountain trails in the High and Low Tatras to easier walks through villages, forests, and historic towns. We’d rather look at the people we’re actually walking with, see what the weather and conditions are doing, and then choose what we think will give everyone the best day.

That’s one advantage of traveling with people who live here.

We know where to go — and when.

Late September is one of our favorite times of year in Slovakia. The summer crowds have largely gone, the days are generally pleasant for walking, and autumn is beginning to arrive in the mountains.

Slovakia has four very distinct seasons, though, and mountain weather can always be unpredictable. Lower elevations can be pleasantly warm, while the High Tatras can be considerably cooler, so we’ll always pack a rain jacket and an extra warm layer.

We’ve actually experimented with the timing ourselves. A few times we came to the High Tatras in October after finishing our Dolomites season, and the weather wasn’t as good as we’d hoped. So we changed our schedule.

We now finish our Dolomites season a little earlier — giving up one potential Dolomites trip — so we can be in Slovakia in late September instead.

That’s also why we currently offer only one scheduled Slovakia trip each year. Our Dolomites season runs till late September, and the ideal autumn walking window here is relatively short.

Of course, mountain weather never comes with guarantees. If the weather isn’t right for a particular walk, we’ll change the plan. We might walk somewhere lower, explore a village or historic town, visit a castle or museum, or simply find something else fun to do.

Katarina and I don’t believe in walking in pouring rain simply because an itinerary says we’re supposed to.