Winter holidays 2015 in Slovakia

We decided to spend our winter holidays in Slovakia. In less than a week we wanted to visit as many attractions of the country as possible. The most convenient way was to book accommodation as close as possible to the attractions we wanted to visit.

The plan was:

Day 1.

Driving to Poprad, exploring Spis Castle

Day 2.

Hrebienok - sledging, drive to Liptovský Trnovec

Day 3.

Tatralandia, Liptovský Mikuláš

Day 4.

Cave of Liberty, route to Chata Magurka shelter

Day 5.

Skiing in Donovaly. Drive to Turčianske Teplice

Day 6.

Exploring gold mine in Kremnica, monument of Juraj Janosik, route to Poland

Booking.com was very useful for organizing the accommodation. The first time we used it was to book accommodation in Toruń. This time we made a series of bookings in Slovakia. It is a very convenient tool with which you can easily find accommodation in a place that interests you. The best option is to search a long time before a trip, especially if you have to deal with the high season (e.g., holidays). It might be that most options will already be booked for a specific date, and only the less attractive or more expensive ones will remain.

However, the search engine is not fully effective when you travel with small kids. Some tourist facilities have the option of a free child's stay in the room if the child uses the same bed and does not exceed a certain age.

In Slovak shops, restaurants, tourist facilities and sightseeing attractions, you can confidently speak Polish. Slovak is so similar to our language that communication with them is very easy.

During this trip we didn't need mobile internet - all the accommodations had WiFi. We used our roaming data package of 100 MB and it was enough.

When traveling through Slovakia, it is worth mentioning that you need to purchase a vignette. It authorizes you to travel on highways. The cost for 10 days was 10 EUR. The currency in Slovakia is the euro. It will be useful to have a credit card denominated in EUR.

Good to know: since 1 January 2016, Slovakia has only electronic vignettes (e-známka). You don't stick them on the windscreen. They are linked to the car's number plate and you buy them online (as of 2026).

You should also obtain the loyalty card GOPASS. This is a card that is purchased online at gopass.sk. The cost to issue the card was 2 EUR and within 2 weeks the card arrives by mail. What does such a card give you? Using an account linked to the card, you can buy tickets for the cable cars, the water park, or a ski pass. In addition, selected shops in Jasna, the High Tatras, and Tatralandia have price promotions (online tickets are cheaper). Cardholders are awarded points that can be used for prizes.