High Tatras Family Winter Adventure, Slovakia

We had the best time on our Slovakia High Tatras trip. Myself, my husband and two daughters aged 7 & 9. From the start of contacting Slovakia Explorer Petr was responsive to my emails and requests. We decided to book our own accommodation, this was not a problem and the price was adjusted accordingly. When we arrived, Gabo our driver was waiting for us in arrival with Andy. Gabo was always on time and was a safe driver with a nice mini bus with plenty of space for us all. Andy - our guide was brilliant. We thoroughly enjoyed every day with him and by the time we left to go home we considered him a friend. He was excellent with our girls. He was very knowledgeable and always explained what we would be doing, how many hours walking the day would entail etc. The whole trip was like being taken out by a friend. A particular highlight for us was the day we hiked up into the mountains to see a frozen waterfall, when we arrived the girls said they felt like they were real mountain climbers - we did too! Unfortunately covid meant we missed out on the horse drawn carriage ride but Andy really thought about what we could do instead which was a challenge because restrictions in Slovakia meant that not a lot of activities were open. He arranged alternative activities for us, went to a great effort to do this and genuinely cared about making our experience the best it could be. We even went to neighbouring Poland one day where there were no restrictions so that we could do similar activities. We did consider cancelling or rescheduling our trip due to covid, but we are so glad we went ahead with it now. We had some wonderful experiences which we will never forget. Slovakia is a beautiful country and we can’t wait to return. Thank you Andy and Gabo for being such good hosts and going above and beyond to make sure covid had as little impact as possible!

GENERAL FEEDBACK - YOUR OVERALL EXPERIENCE
We had a fantastic holiday and came home feeling refreshed and invigorated. We had tons of exercise and fresh air and met a lovely group of people. The activities were great fun and very varied and were suitable for both adults and children.

WHAT WERE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF YOUR TRIP?
Lots of highlights, so it’s hard to choose! Skiing, thermal pools, winter walk to Skok waterfall, BBQ, sledging

ACCOMMODATION
The accommodation was ok. Warm, dry and clean. It was a bit cramped and gloomy, but it’s not like we spent much time in our room!

TRANSPORT
Really nice friendly driver. Punctual and helpful. All transport – both public and private – ran on time and was warm and comfortable.

MEALS
I loved the breakfast every morning in the hotel. The packed lunches were ok. And we bought our own evening meals at various restaurants in the area which were consistently good value. It was interesting to try the local food. I was impressed by the quality of everything we ate and drank.

PLEASE RATE YOUR LEADER
Andrej was a fantastic leader. He genuinely wanted us to have a good time and really seemed to care about us all. He was calm, efficient and organised and was able to relate to everyone in the group, from kids to adults to granny! Lovely guy.

WHAT TIPS WOULD YOU GIVE OTHER TRAVELLERS BOOKING THIS HOLIDAY?
The trip notes state that no real physical fitness is required. This is an understatement as some of the activities - snow shoeing for example - are quite strenuous. Not a problem for our family but best to be forewarned!

GENERAL FEEDBACK - YOUR OVERALL EXPERIENCE
Great family winter holiday for all ages, excellent mix of activities in a beautiful landscape. It was nice to be with other families and make new friends.

WHAT WERE THE HIGHLIGHTS OF YOUR TRIP?
Snowshoeing was really good, hard, but we really enjoyed it. We also enjoyed the BBQ in the woods and sitting around the fire, the hosts were so welcoming. We also enjoyed the skiing and loved the sledging (all big kids!)

ACCOMMODATION
Rooms were clean and comfortable. Our only criticism was the lack of relaxation space, the lounge area is quite small and there are no facilities.

TRANSPORT
Excellent throughout and was very accommodating with Jane (Liz’s mum)

MEALS
Breakfast was ok. Good choice of restaurants locally, Andrej helped us with recommendations and reservations and we had some lovely meals.

PLEASE RATE YOUR LEADER
Andrej was excellent and so helpful. He was also very good company and we enjoyed talking to him over dinner about his life and the other tours he is a guide for.

WHAT TIPS WOULD YOU GIVE OTHER TRAVELLERS BOOKING THIS HOLIDAY?
Definitely take strong walking boots, if you’re nervous on icy paths/tracks then crampons would be a good idea. A buff/balaclava would be a good idea too.

We all had a fantastic time and made new friends. We felt very lucky to be in the group that we had, we all got on very well. It was nice not to have too large a group.
We were very impressed with you communication prior to our holiday. Jan was an excellent guide, very friendly and was keen for us to have the best experience that we could whilst on holiday. The holiday appeared to work well as the members of the group appeared to be of similar fitness and ability (I feel that the holiday might not have gone so well if this were not the case). The activities were thoroughly enjoyed.

We really enjoyed our holiday. All the activities were lovely and despite my daughter not being fully well (had a cold throughout the week) the kids loved it. Our guide Dana was great, she really made us feel looked after. The weather was fine, albeit a bit warm for snow, but no one can help that! Thanks for all your help, and send our thanks again to Dana.

We had a fantastic holiday and loved Slovakia! Our guide Linda was brilliant and did everything to make our stay a memorable one.

Go ahead and book it! Great fun, with variety. I would recommend skiing in Strbske Pleso – I found that a very beautiful location. Of course it helped that there was lovely snow that day. Children will love the adrenalin water tubes at the thermal pools. And do have a go at being a sledge driver with the dogs! It is quite exhilarating!