Aditi
- 8 min read

The Tatras, Slovakia- Europe’s best kept secret?

I am recently back from a solo trip to Slovakia, NOT Slovenia (June 2024). You’d call me a sceptic but even the official Instagram page of the Slovakia Tourist board posted the below just a few weeks ago. Funnily, the post was made just a few minutes after the below story I posted on my Instagram. Pure & lovely coincidence. But kind of sad that Slovakia still needs to fight for an identity, esp. with the similar sounding Slovenia.

Slovakia is indeed an inconspicuous country tucked cozily between Poland, Czech, Austria, Hungary & Ukraine. Basis my experience, the tourists here are either local or hail from a few of these neighboring countries like Poland & Czech.

More often, if you do meet a person who has been to Slovakia, chances are he/ she had visited Bratislava, the capital city reachable as a daytrip from Vienna, a very popular option among the tourists in Austria.

But I chose the Tatra mountains as my base for 3 days, that are located all the way in the north of the country. They still are very underrated and unexplored. Quite a few locals here admitted meeting an Indian for the first time. And I hope that more and more Indians consider the lesser-known countries in Europe and experience them before they too get crowded and popular. You may have seen the recent backlash against tourism in Barcelona by the locals. In a few more years, we may see similar protests in Italy, France & Germany too. Time to get creative and explore lesser known countries!

Is it a good country to explore solo?

I’d say a PERFECT destination to explore solo! The cherry on top was the good public transport that caters to most of the towns that I wanted to visit in Tatras.

Safety, public transport & mountains are enough for me to book flight tickets. It’s crazy how easily I am convinced on a destination! The locals seemed to be helpful and very courteous (not just tolerant) towards tourists. A big plus point nowadays with the protests I mentioned.

What are the Tatras?

The Tatras are situated in the north of Slovakia & are often called “the smallest alpine mountains in Europe”. They form a natural border between Slovakia to the north and Poland to the south. These are now protected by law by the establishment of the Tatra National Park, Slovakia and the Tatra National Park, Poland, which are jointly entered in UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves.

Safety in the mountains: The Tatras are very different from the other Alps in Europe that are much more popular for tourists. They have a lot of hard trails that require climbing equipment. Plus, there is a possibility of bears and foxes meeting you while you hike. I observed the rescue helicopters of Tatra Mountain Rescue team every few hours in the region and even the accommodation here insures all adults automatically for any instance of rescue emergency up to the maximum amount of €20,000.

Reaching the Tatras

This may seem tricky with public transport but is convenient if you are starting your journey from either Vienna or Bratislava. This part of my trip initiated right after my week in Austria, so I took the direct non-stop train from Vienna to Poprad, which is considered as the “gateway” to the Tatras.

However, things didn’t go as planned. Brace for a little story.

There is only one direct train (IC 45, EUR 30, book here) in a day that runs from Vienna to Poprad, reaches Poprad in 4 hours. I reached Vienna from Salzburg at 11 AM to catch the 2:45 PM train. After spending 3 hours in and around Vienna main station, it was finally time to get on this train. Turned out that the train was delayed significantly and finally left at 6 PM, which meant that I might reach Poprad by 10 PM. It wouldn’t have been a huge problem had I been staying at Poprad for the night. But my apartment was near Starý Smokovec which was only reachable via public transport from Poprad, and the last train was scheduled at 10:36 PM.

I was fine with the initial delay but to my horror, the train kept stopping unceremoniously at every small station. The expected arrival time at Poprad was now very late and meant that I would miss the last connection to reach my accommodation. There were intermittent announcements in Slovak about the delay & not one person (including the staff) spoke English, which meant that not many English-speaking tourists visit this area. There are also no Ubers that run in this part of Europe and the only logical way out was to book a hotel stay at Poprad.

Now the issue with such small towns in Europe is that there are fewer hotels and more homestays/ Airbnbs & the latter generally allow check-in only till 8/9 PM. It was already past 9 PM and I was super stressed about finding a hotel that is available for a check-in at midnight. To my surprise, I could find and book a hotel (Hotel Satel) via Booking.com that allowed check in till midnight, but I was still praying that the train doesn’t get delayed any further.

I finally reached Poprad at 11:45 PM. It was pitch dark outside the station and the hotel was almost 500m away. I don’t remember walking so fast ever in my life, esp with a big trolley bag, a backpack & my mobile flashlight. There were even a few ‘anti-social’ guys at the station & on the way. The moment I reached the hotel reception was the time I took my first sigh of relief that day.

Moral of the story is to account for any possible delay in Europe. Europe is far from the perfect image that they have created. Train & flight delays are real, and they can seriously derail your plans and even be a threat to your safety, esp if you are a solo traveler.

Keep extra cash and in bank because most often, solutions can be found by spending a little extra money. On this trip (including Austria and Poland too), I experienced every possible train and flight delay, which is not very different from what the world believes to happen only in India or Asian countries.

My first night at the Tatras was nothing short of adventure but I was hopeful to make the most of the remaining time. I still had 2 nights, and half a day left with me. I woke up the next morning with a lot of positivity, had my complimentary breakfast at the hotel (don’t we all love these?) and left for Poprad station, the same dreaded route of last night, which looked so different and cheery in the day.

The Tatra Electric Railway connects the villages and towns within the Tatras very efficiently. I bought a 72-hour pass (EUR 8) and took the train towards Starý Smokovec. The train was surprisingly very clean, pretty and punctual. My apartment was in an even smaller town near Starý called Sibir. I got down and was instantly reminded of those quaint train stations in the hilly towns in India. There was a single platform with a little shade and that’s it. One had to cross the railway tracks to get to the other side. After more walking, I checked-in at my super nice, clean and spacious apartment (Leda apartment). It was self-check in which was convenient to have esp. when the reception was closed. I always prefer self-check in apartments which gives me the flexibility to come at any time. Many apartments also allow for check-in beyond permissible hours provided you inform them in advance. Also, apartments with kitchen give me the comfort to have ready-to-eat pasta/ maggi for dinners.

Attractions & 3-day Itinerary

Tourism in the Slovakian part of the Tatras is limited mostly to the attractions in 3 main towns. I have included the summer activities only since I visited in June, but Tatras is a good choice for winter skiing as well.

3 days is a good enough time to visit the main attractions and enjoy some hiking.

1. Štrbské Pleso- a ski/ wellness area with the lake of the same name

2. Tatranská Lomnica Cable car

3. Hrebienok funicular in Vysoké Tatry (also known as Starý Smokovec)

You can check the pricing of all cable cars and the funicular here.

These attractions are reachable via the electric train easily. You don’t need to pre-book tickets to any of them esp in June. July/ Aug being a peak season all over Europe, you may decide to prebook to save on time during these months.

My motivation to visit the Tatras was obviously to enjoy the mountains and the best way to do that is by hiking. There are many hiking trails in/ around these towns that you can choose basis your fitness and time available. I used the apps All Trails and Komoot to select the trails and also for navigation while hiking.

Štrbské Pleso (Day 1)

In just 40 min via train from Sibir, I reached Štrbské Pleso which is a picturesque lake and a few luxury hotels, few being the Grand Hotel Kempinski High Tatras, Hotel Patria, Hotel Solisko etc. I am definitely returning with family for a stay at the Kempinski. I did manage to have snacks here and the hospitality and aesthetics were top-notch.

The best view at the lake is facing hotel Patria (see below). One can go around the lake for a leisurely stroll. There are benches available around the lake for resting. If you are traveling with family or as a couple, boating on the lake would be a nice idea. These are stylish wooden rowing boats and you can even hire a private rower.

There is also a 4-seater Solisko Express cable car from the lower station at Štrbské Pleso up to the altitude of 1,814 m, it’s a 7 min ride. From the upper cable car station, there are beautiful views of the valley. I skipped this since I wanted to spend more time at the lake watching people 😀

Tatranská Lomnica (Day 2)

A 4-person cable car operates from the lower station in Tatranská Lomnica to mid-station Štart and from there another 15-person cable car continues to Skalnaté Pleso (1,751 m). you can also eat and relax at one of the highest located restaurants in the High Tatras –Panorama Restaurant Skalnaté Pleso. A stroll around the Pleso (lake) is highly recommended.

Further up from Skalnaté Pleso, you can take a chairlift to the second highest peak of the High Tatras - Lomnicky peak/štít (I skipped this section as it was raining very heavily).

I was back in Starý Smokovec by lunch time and decided to take a little hike around the town. And how I later regretted that decision! Just before starting the trail the weather started getting cloudy and I did sense some showers. But by the time I was halfway into it, it started pouring with thunderstorms and lightening. Since the trail was a loop there was no way but to complete the hike to reach back in town. The way was through a forest, and it started getting scary with the tall trees swaying. Sadly, I don't have any more pictures of this hike as I could barely use my phone in the rain.

Hrebienok funicular (Day 3)

This requires just half a day and hence, I planned it on my last day in Slovakia. My bus to Zakopane (Poland) was scheduled at 4 pm and this gave me plenty of time to go up with the funicular and do some hiking. Hrebienok is a popular starting point for hiking trips, and I chose a short walk. The trail was mostly through forest, and it culminated at a beautiful stream. One can go up and further till a waterfall, but I chose to return from this point.

Food in the Tatras

I am a vegetarian, and I have always struggled to find good vegetarian food in Europe. Slovakia is no different. I have made peace with the fact that there won’t be much variety apart from pizza, pasta or a tomato cheese sandwich when eating out in Europe. Occasionally, I do try to find Indian restaurants but there were none in this part of Slovakia. However, I did find an Indian curry-rice dish in one of the restaurants and gave it a try. It was a very western version of rice and sabzi. Starý Smokovec has plenty of cafés and a unique thing I noticed there was a dedicated play area for the kids, almost in every café. You can also explore supermarkets for local snacks, I consider it one of the best 'cultural experiences' when you travel! If you have access to a kitchen, consider buying some frozen pizza etc.