DURATION
3 nights
LOCATION
Slovakia
ANNUAL LEAVE
1 ½ days off work
SEASON
May—Oct
GROUP SIZE
Up to 16 people
MEETING POINT
Kraków Airport, Poland
ACCOMMODATION
Classic
Hotel
DIFFICULTY
Moderate
You'll be covering 11 - 17km each day, so a moderate level of fitness is needed along with a head for heights.
Explore forests, meadows, plateaus, ravines and waterfalls as you traverse one of Europe’s most beautiful National Parks
Clamber across canyons and ascend gorges using a network of metal ladders, wooden catwalks and hanging bridges
Spend time in charming Levoča, a little-visited medieval town that's surrounded by natural splendour
Day 1
Welcome to Slovakia
Meet your host in Krakow and take a scenic drive over the border into Slovakia, then on to your guesthouse in the UNESCO-protected town of Levoča. Check in, unwind and then meet up with the rest of your group for dinner and a chance to review the plan for the days ahead.
Day 2
One day, two canyons
Hiking
6-7hrs · 17km · 520m up
Head into the Slovak Paradise National Park and see for yourself why it lives up to its name. Hike along the bottom of Sucha Bela Gorge, one of the longest and most popular canyons in the park, trek through water, climb over fallen trees and ascend ladders – you'll even pass a window-like hole in the rock. Emerge from the canyon and have lunch at a mountain hut before continuing through Prielom Hornadu gorge, famous for the series of ledges and catwalks that rise above the Hornad River. Return to Levoča in time for dinner and a good night's sleep.
Day 3
Fireplace Gorge
Hiking
6hrs · 350m up
Head back into the park and explore Piecky (Fireplace) Gorge, which gets its name from the amazing rock formations that span the canyon. More ladders await as you climb beside multi-story waterfalls, including some horizontal ones that take you over green and blue pools of water. After hiking we head back to the town, have an early dinner before heading out to relax at the thermal pools when it's quiet and cool.
Day 4
One last hike
Hiking
4hrs
Check out and venture into the National Park one last time on a hike to a stunning, 200m high rock shelf with excellent views over the entire area you’ve been exploring. Hike back down and return to Krakow in time for your flight home with new stories and photos to share with your friends.
Included
Guides
Expert, English-speaking local guides
Accommodation
3 nights in a hotel in Levoča
Meals
3 tasty breakfasts and 1 dinner
Transfers
To and from the airport and everything in-between
Permits
All park permits and entry fees
Not Included
Flights to and from the meeting point
Some meals as described
Travel insurance
Personal expenses
Visas where required
Day 1
Hotel · Twin share
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 2
Hotel · Twin share
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 3
Hotel · Twin share
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 4
Departure day
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
What is the food like?
Slovakian food is fresh and hearty and staples include pork, poultry, cheese, pastry, potatoes, onions and garlic. Lentil and vegetable stews are also common, as is wild game, pasta and the dish bryndzove halušky – small potato dumplings with cheese. You'll have plenty of time to stock up on local food for lunches while out hiking.
There are also a variety of restaurants in town, including European-American fusion, pizza, pubs and Italian. It’s possible to accommodate vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and dairy-free diets on this trip, just let your host know before arrival.
What is the accommodation like?
Levoča
You'll stay at the Hotel U Leva, a family-run, 3-star hotel in a restored Medieval building right in the heart of town. Rooms are en-suite and include Wi-Fi, satellite TV, and a minibar. The hotel serves a delicious fresh breakfast each day.
Upgrades
For solo travellers looking for their own space, an optional private room can be booked for an extra charge, see Optional Extras. Please request this at the time of booking (this is subject to availability).
The Area
Logistics
Starts
Krakow Airport, Poland
17:00
Ends
Krakow Airport, Poland
17:30
Transfers
Your adventure begins at Krakow Airport (KRK) with your airport transfer at 17:00. Please schedule your flight to arrive more than 30 minutes before this time, your driver will be waiting for you in the arrivals area.
At the end of your adventure, you will be dropped back at Krakow Airport (KRK) at about 17:30. You’re free to book any flight that departs after 19:30.
Travel options
There are regular flights to Krakow from major airports across the UK and Europe.
Your group arrival and departure transfers are long (180km/approximately 3.5 hours) and include a border crossing. For this reason, private transfers are not usually offered by your host as the cost is prohibitive and you are encouraged to join the group arrival/departure transfers.
As the first and last day of your adventure are full days and the traffic between Krakow Airport and the city is usually heavy, it is not possible to be picked up or dropped off at a city hotel. However, public transport between the city and the airport is good. There is a train that leaves once or twice per hour, this takes 17minutes and is very economical.
Enjoy 12.5% Off Outdoor Gear
In need of a few more items? All bookings receive a 12.5% discount to use at Cotswold Outdoor, Snow + Rock and Runner's Need.
What do I need to bring?
- Sturdy, broken-in waterproof hiking shoes or boots (or at least waterproof socks, because you will have to step into water every now and then)
- Rain/windproof jacket
- Lightweight, breathable hiking shirts and trousers (or shorts in summer)
- Sweater or fleece
- Water bottle (at least 1 litre)
- Small rucksack for carrying personal items
- Swimsuit
- Insect repellent
- Gloves for ladders and chains (optional)
- Ear plugs - recommended
Private Room Upgrade
Payable Before Departure
Private Room Upgrade
… Per Person
Just got back from Slovakia. Our local host Patric was absolutely awesome, perfect communication and made the trip super enjoyable. The town we stayed in was beautiful and the hotel and amenities were perfect. Each hike offered a different experience and view, the ladders and wooden platforms were exciting to use and each trail ending at a bar was just genius. The thermal pools were lovely and just what the legs needed before the final hike before heading home. Group size was great and every hike was just 20 minutes from our hotel. Totally recommend.
The perfect 3 day trip! A great mix of nature and fun hiking. Our guide Patrick made sure everyone had fun, felt safe and gave us local information and recommendations, as well as being great company. Our group had a really nice dynamic, and I think everyone had a good experience. 5 stars!
I had such a great adventure! It was so beautiful! I found some of it a challenge but the guides (Tom and Roman) were amazing and made me feel so comfortable! The group that I was with was incredible people, it was such a great adventure and we all got on! I would certainly do one of these adventures again! Big shout out to Tom and Roman! Thank you, guys, so much
I really loved this hike. The ladders etc were mentally challenging as I don’t like heights but I loved it. The difficulty level was accurate. The guides, Patrik and Peter, were very helpful. My previous hike in Montenegro was more challenging so this difficulty level was spot on. The town itself was very quiet. Food was great. I can’t complain. I’m now thinking of next years trip 😊.
An excellent experience for those who want to combine an adrenaline rush with good and beautiful hiking in the company of like-minded strangers. It was beautifully organised & seamless with knowledgeable, interesting, helpful guides. The ladders aren’t for the faint-hearted but I never felt safety was a concern and the hiking was pitched perfectly for the group. Each hike ended with a well-earned drink and the views were stunning. It wasn’t my first & won’t be my last MBA trip. I travelled with my daughter, 25 & she enjoyed it as much as I did - it’s definitely one for all ages who fancy an adventure.
I just had a really good time in this place. The country is not a "famous" touristic destination, so I wasn't having a lot of expectations... but I found a really wonderful place. We had 3 days full of adventurous hiking and even if they weren't so difficult, they were really funny with a lot of leaders to climb and bridges to walk on. I was also lucky enough to find a good group of nice and cool people to spend some time and my travel with.
I really loved the adventure ❤️
This is a fabulous trip for anyone looking to try something a bit different. The ladders and steps are really fun and not half as bad as they look in the photos! The trip is well paced with good progression through the levels of ladders. The trip to the thermal baths was a really nice experience and the whole trip feels longer than 4 days!
This was a great trip in all respects - well organised with friendly local guides Patrik and Peter. The hiking is not super strenuous but does involve a lot of ladders, platforms etc. so a head for heights is important. It was definitely a nice change from a regular hiking holiday and worth spending a day on either side of the trip exploring Krakow if you have the time.
Great trip with friendly guides who were very knowledgeable
My partner and I have just returned from our adventure in Slovakia, and what an adventure it was indeed! This was our first time booking through Much Better Adventures, and the whole experience from start to finish has been very positive. I am sure we will be booking with them again!
We really appreciated Martin's clear, detailed communications during the lead up to the trip itself. During the trip, Tom and Roman were absolutely amazing; we cannot speak highly enough about both of them, both as professionals and as people. They will be sorely missed, as will gorgeous Slovakia! I absolutely adored the ladders and bridges, big and small. Being in Slovak Paradise NP really does make you feel like you're a kid at a playground again! We were quite fortunate to be with such a lovely group of fellow adventurers too, and that our weather throughout was especially nice. All of these things and more made this trip so incredibly special.
For anyone considering booking this adventure, first of all - DO IT! Of course, definitely be aware that this is quite physical; you should have a fairly decent level of fitness before attempting this. If you hike regularly, you should be fine. Also, bring suncream and more water than you think you will need each day, especially in the summer. And definitely try the goulash. ;-)
We've crunched the numbers to work out the total carbon footprint of this trip, and plant enough trees to suck 2x as much back out the atmosphere.
What's the number?
It works out on average at 124kg of CO2 emissions per person, including all local transport, accommodation, food, activities, guides, staff and office operations.
The only thing it doesn’t include right now is flights and travel to the destination. We do make an overall estimate across all our customers separately, but as we don’t book flights, have customers from all corners of the world, and no way of reliably knowing their travel plans, we simply can’t include an individual number in the figure on display here. We’ve got a goal for 2023 to fix that, so that when you book, there is a way to measure and mitigate the carbon emitted by your flight too.
But what does the number mean?
Yep, hard to picture eh? To give you an idea:
- Driving 1000miles/1609km would be approx. 281kg of CO2 in an average car (or 140.5kg per person if there was 2 of you in it).
- A return economy class flight London - New York would be approx. 1,619kg (1.66 tonnes) per person.
- 10 trees in a temperate forest are estimated to remove approx. 250kg of CO2 from the air in a period of 5-10 years.
What are we doing about it?
Our trips are relatively low-carbon by design, and we're working with all our hosts to develop long term carbon reduction plans. For every person booked with us since 2016 we’re planting enough trees to suck at least 2x more carbon out the atmosphere than is emitted by their trips. All native trees, as part of amazing projects that are re-foresting degraded land, tackling the biodiversity crisis and supporting local communities at the same time. We go further than that too, also funding re-wilding projects worldwide to help protect important keystone species from extinction. See the reforestation and re-wilding schemes we support. See our carbon action plan.
Want to know more?
Amazingly, no international travel company has ever publicly published their carbon measurements before, as far as we know. We believe that must change, quickly. So we’re openly sharing the method we used in the hope that other companies will be able to more easily follow suit and build on what we've done so far. You'll find it all here.
You'll be covering 11 - 17km each day across uneven terrain, so a moderate level of fitness is needed to enjoy it to the full, however, elevation gains are modest (400 - 700m) and while the trails are complex, you'll be moving at a slow pace.
The ladders, catwalks and ledges (some of which are quite narrow) are very sturdy and secure, however, you should be comfortable with heights. Imagine climbing up to the 3rd story of a building on a ladder. If you can do that, you'll be fine and your guide will never be far away.
Sure can! Over 70% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
The Slovak Paradise National Park in summer is beautiful and relatively warm. From June to August the average daytime temperatures range from 18 - 22°C, but at night it cools down to ~8 °C. In the spring and fall it's a little chillier, ranging from 10 - 18 °C during the day and 3 - 6 °C at night. Autumn is the driest season and also boasts some beautiful colours.
The local tap water is safe to drink. Please bring along your own reusable water bottles (at least 1.5L) to fill up to avoid buying single-use plastic bottles.
You'll need to bring all your luggage with you, however on each day of hiking your main luggage can be left in the accommodation, or left with the transfer vehicle and driver depending on the day of the trip. You will only need to have a daypack for each day of hiking.
For current advice about travelling in Slovakia, have a read of the UK Foreign Office pages here.
Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.
Travel insurance is compulsory for all of our adventures and you are required to provide your policy information before departing.
Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure. We also strongly recommend it includes cancellation and curtailment insurance, should you be unable to join your trip for specific reasons such as illness.
We fully endorse Campbell Irvine as their insurance offers all of the above, so get in touch with them or call on 020 7938 1734 to get your insurance sorted. We suggest that you book travel insurance as soon as you book your adventure, just to cover you for any last-minute life changes. We know you’re an active lot and injuries do happen!
We automatically convert prices from the local currency that a host receives to your chosen currency. We update our exchange rates on a daily basis so this does mean that prices displayed on the site are subject to currency fluctuations, which is why you may see them change over time.
If you wish to change the currency you pay in, head to the bottom of the page.
All of our group adventures are specially designed for adults to enjoy (18+) as we want these adventures to bring together outdoorsy people who are truly like-minded. Children can be accommodated on some private departures.
You're in good company. Our adventures are typically made up of a mix of solo travellers and small groups of two or three friends who simply love adventure, pushing themselves and meeting awesome like-minded people. See here for more info about our lovely bunch of Much Better Adventurers.
Want to book a private trip? Just tap ‘Private Group’ in the dates and prices tab.
Your trip is led by carefully curated local hosts and expert guides. See here for more info about the guides we work with.
Pay In Installments
You can choose to pay for this trip in as many installments as you like, with no interest or fees.
Full Financial Protection
Your money is safe. Every booking is fully financially protected.
