Riding in Slovakia

[Dan_K]

Heading off on the weekend for a 3 week European family holiday. The bulk of it will be in Slovakia (Staying in Liptovsky Mkulas in the High Tatra region).
Anyone got any experience of riding out there? I'll be taking road and MTB so will be interested to hear of experiences in either.
Are all off road tracks fair game or is it a similar set up to here with footpaths and bridleways etc?

[Bearbonesnorm]

WARNING - I could be very wrong.

My mother was out there last year and came back with nothing but praise for the place. She was telling me how there seemed to be an open access policy with regard to track, paths, etc.

[Dan_K]

Excellent. Thanks Stu. I've got OSM mapping but it might be best that I pick up some local maps too.

I'll post some pics when I get back.....

[Pawel]

You can also check this site http://www.rowerowepodhale.eu/index.php ... ograficzne there are trails on both sides of Tatra Mountains - was working out there for couple of years , but from my POV, better trails are up north from Tatras - Gorce, Pieniny, Beskid Sądecki Mountains

[Dan_K]

Well we got back from our 3 week family trip to Slovakia on the weekend. I drove us there so we got to take in a fair bit of Europe and split the driving over 3-4 days each way (1200 miles each way).
For anyone considering a trip, Slovakia is an amazing place and possible one of the last true wilds of Europe.
For a family holiday, I could have wanted for nothing more. The people are friendly, food and drink is cheap and there are a wealth of things to see and do. We stayed in a place called Liptovsky Mikulas which is situated next to a lake between the high and low Tatra mountains.

I won’t bore you with the full details but wanted to say for bikepackers, there is huge potential. There’s not a great deal of singletrack as the Slovaks are very similar to the Germans where XC riding and touring is more the norm but I did ride some good hiking trails without being blasted for being on them. Most of the riding I did was over farm tracks or forestry tracks, which is more suitable for riding with a laden bike.

If anyone wants some more info or is considering a trip, let me know. We stayed with friends of mine who own and run a chalet. They’re snowboarding guides and ex-backpackers so have a vast knowledge and are really nice relaxed people.

http://www.chaletslovakia.com

Here’s some pics that I took whilst on my rounds:


IMG_0189 by DKNWHY, on Flickr


IMG_0075 by DKNWHY, on Flickr


IMG_0017 by DKNWHY, on Flickr


IMAG0364 by DKNWHY, on Flickr


AMG_0001 (60) by DKNWHY, on Flickr


AMG_0001 (56) by DKNWHY, on Flickr


AMG_0001 (33) by DKNWHY, on Flickr