Slovakia

[Spud]

I've been invited to visit a friend in Romania (near the Ukraine Border) and, having just watched the.Grand Tour with Slovakia, was wondering if I could combine the two.
Anyone toured Slovakia, and have any tip or suggestions ? I've only ever really done the Western European areas (Alps, Italy etc) before.
Many thanks in advance

 

[abrasion]

I found it a brilliant place( even with my mother in law living there)

 

[Wapping]

Slovakia doesn’t come up too often, even in the (usually very good) German touring motorcycle magazines. When it does, most ideas seem to revolve around the very dramatic, Tatra mountains.

Someting not too dissimilar to this:



PS You might pick up some idea with a Google of:

slowakei motorrad fahren

or

slowakei motorrad touren

This will lead you to German touring sites. Lots will be organised tours but some will have maps and pictures to give you some ideas. Some might even have GPS downloads. Don’t worry that it’s in German, most search engines will offer good enough translations into English. Surf around, you can’t break it. If you find someting you like, take a screenshot (as I did with the map) or copy and save the URL.

Depending on how keen you are on doing your own thing, as opposed to being spoonfed for routes, biker friendly places to stay and ‘stuff’ to see and do, things like the Rough Guide website might well be helpful:

Slovakia Travel Guide | Plan Your Trip | Rough Guides

Explore Slovakia with Rough Guides: expert travel tips, top attractions, and personalized trip planning for your perfect adventure.

www.roughguides.com

Tap around in it, again you can’t break it.

 

[spm0912]

I wouldn't say I 'toured' Slovakia but I did ride across it to go to a wedding in Presov which is on the eastern side of the country. We did plan to take in the Tatra's but the weather was shite so instead we detoured north into Poland and went to Auchwitz which is definitely worth a look if you have time. Speeding fines are prohibitive with limits rigorously enforced, villages tend to be strung along the main roads for miles with 30kph limits which can get very frustrating. Lots of Soviet era concrete tower blocks in all the towns as you'd expect. Would I go back? Not to the Eastern side but I'd go to Bratislava then head into Romania which has far more interesting places to visit IMHO

 

[Pukmeister]

I was in the stunning mountain town of Zakopane, Southern Poland last year very close to the Slovakian border and there were quite a few groups of foreign plated GS’s riding through the town so I suspect it must be a popular biking route that the average UK rider hasn’t heard of.

 

[AustinW]

We’ve transited Slovakia twice, last about 5 years ago. It was unremarkable but nice enough. Lots of Forest, hills slowly becoming mountains to the north - which were good. Good climate although we had several big thunderstorms. Roads were mostly good too. Bigger than you’d think as it seemed to take forever to get annywhere. Other than that I don’t remember much, not even if it was cheap or not. Like I said unremarkable. But, if you’ve never been to Eastern Europe before it’ll be great. Depends what you want or expect from your trip.

 

[Wapping]

Have a look at this video, to get a rough rough ideas. The ‘highlights’ parts, start around 3:35. It’s all in German but it’s easy enough (as a non-German speaker) to get the gist of what they are on about.

 

[gspod]

Been to Slovakia a couple of times.
The low Tatras are lovely and the high Tatras spectacular and very unspoiled.
I would take some walking shoes to discover the real beauty.
It was very cheap but last time we were there was around 10 years ago. There were no campsites, that we came across, but lots of houses had a ‘Zimmer’ sign in the window (room in German).
Personally I think it’s definitely worth a visit if you like mountain scenery.

 

[abrasion]

Just outside of Bratislava is an amazing forest with a cablecar across it which you can hook your bike on and ride down from the top on the marked out track. There is a best western hotel at the bottom. The cake shops are pretty good

 

[Wapping]

Just outside of Bratislava is an amazing forest with a cablecar across it which you can hook your bike on and ride down from the top on the marked out track. There is a best western hotel at the bottom. The cake shops are pretty good

Kamzík | Places | Visit Bratislava

A prominent landmark in the Koliba section of the forest park is Kamzík (439 meters), whose television tower is perched on the peak of the ridge. Take in a panoramic view of the surrounding area either from the tower revolving restaurant or the 15-meter-high wooden view tower, or from the cable...

www.visitbratislava.com

On Two Wheels | Green Bratislava | Visit Bratislava

Adore the countryside from your bicycle seat! Ride the cycle trails either along the Danube or directly in the woods.

www.visitbratislava.com

Does this assume a certain level of proficiency in riding a bicycle downhill….. and that you have a bicycle with you?

 

[abrasion]

Its worrh it just for the cable car trip over the forest especially if you go in autumn.

 

[Deleted account 240831001]

As others have said, the High Tatras are worth seeing and the logical route from there into Romania would have followed the range through Ukraine but that’s no longer an option.

I’ve used it as a transit country on my way to Romania and stopped for a couple of nights on one trip but I’ve got to be honest and say I prefer Romania for bike touring. I’d try to minimise the distance I travelled in Hungary because it’s always bored me to distraction when I’ve ridden there.