Slovakia travel and Bratislava

My top things to do in Bratislava:

1. Take the old-style red tourist tram to get some history and an orientation (E10 for adults and E5 for kids) which stops at the iconic castle for a beautiful view of the city.
2. Stroll through the old town, eating and drinking in the squares and laughing with the buskers.
3. Have a sundowner in the Sky Bar for the most amazing view over the old town while the sun goes down. Try out some of their delicious Thai food and yummy cocktails too.

Another reason to visit Slovakia – great value for money

One of the joys for travellers is that Slovakia is great value for money.

We took advantage of this and splashed out and used some free nights we had accumulated on Hotels.com  and stayed at the historic Marrol’s Boutique Hotel, a five-star gem in the heart of Bratislava’s historic centre.

Even in high season the equivalent cost through Hotels.com was less than the small Airbnb we stayed in the night before in Vienna.

It was amazing, a beautiful room with a luxurious bath, a breakfast buffet that made lunch almost redundant, and staff wonderfully polite and welcoming.

Feeling like a movie star made it this year’s favorite accommodation for all three of us.

This value for money proved true all throughout our trip, with eating, drinking and visiting attractions all cheaper than their equivalents in nearby European countries.

For our first meal we thought the mains were “tapas” plates because they cost three or four Euros each.

Imagine our surprise when we ended up with 2 main courses each and an odd look from the waitress!

Visit The High Tatras

But as lovely as Bratislava is, it wasn’t what had brought us to visit Slovakia.

We were headed for higher heights. We picked up a hire car and started the scenic 350km drive to Nová Lesná, and the High Tatras.

The High Tatras is a national park in an area of amazing natural beauty that spans the Alpine mountain range that divides Slovakia and Poland.

With peaks of over 2500 meters and its glacial lakes it is a paradise for visitors and another of the best places to visit in Slovakia!

Nová Lesná is one of the small towns that services skiers in winter and hikers in summer, and we booked an Airbnb with views across the mountains in the beautiful little town.

Our Airbnb hostess Katerina and her daughter Klara typified our experience of a Slovakian welcome. They spoke great English, and nothing was too much trouble.

They gave us excellent advice on things to do and where to eat, and popped by occasionally to offer us some of their home-baked bread, cake and Polish-style goulash which we gratefully accepted and wolfed down!