DURATION
3 nights
LOCATION
Slovakia
ANNUAL LEAVE
2 days off work
SEASON
Jan - Mar
GROUP SIZE
Up to 8 people
MEETING POINT
Kraków Airport, Poland
ACCOMMODATION
Classic
Hotel
DIFFICULTY
Moderate
This one combines wintery conditions and uneven terrain, so you should be reasonably fit and ready to face some steep uphill sections.
Trek your way through the spellbinding High Tatras in winter - 78 km of unspoilt mountains with the views to match
Traverse untracked powder and the verdant pine forests of Slovakia’s remote backcountry
Soak your aches away in the revitalising, steamy waters of one of the regions natural thermal springs
Day 1
The High Tatras
Travel into the High Tatras Mountains that separate Slovakia and Poland and head for the lovely alpine village of Stary Smokovec, where you’ll get a warm reception at the friendly, family-run hotel you’ll be staying in. After settling into your room, head down to meet your travelling companions over dinner and relax into the holiday rhythm.
Day 2
Hike to the Green Lake
Hiking
6hrs · 16km · 700m up · 700m down
Climb to the remote, vivid turquoise waters of the aptly named Green Lake, 1545 metres above sea level - a particularly magical location in winter. After exploring the shoreline and grabbing some hard to believe photos, relax in a landscape of snow-capped peaks, wildflower meadows and rolling green pine forest. As this trip strikes that all-important balance between adventure and relaxation, balance out your day with some serious sauna and jacuzzi time back in the village.
Day 3
Winter hiking to Velicke Lake
Hiking
6hrs · 13km · 500m up · 500m down
Today you'll be hiking into the winter wonderland that is the High Tatras Mountains. Relaxation earned, soak in a natural thermal pool and let your worries (and muscle knots) fade away.
Day 4
A last hike before home
Hiking
4hrs · 10km · 300m up · 300m down
Starting at lovely Lake Strbske Pleso, you’ll hike through the ridiculously picturesque Mengusovska Valley - a lost world of jagged peaks, dramatic rock faces and verdant forest, ending at the glistening alpine waters of Lake Popradske. Then, after four days of adventure and relaxation, it’s time to head home refreshed and revitalised.
Included
Guides
Experienced, friendly, English-speaking guides
Accommodation
3 nights in a family run hotel in Stary Smokovec
Meals
Expect continental breakfasts and traditional dinners
Transfers
Transfers to and from the airport and everything in between
Equipment
All your winter walking equipment will be taken care of
Not Included
Flights to and from the meeting point
Travel insurance
Some meals as described
Personal expenses
Visas where required
Day 1
Hotel · Twin or triple share
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 2 – Day 3
Hotel · Twin or triple share
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Day 4
Departure day
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
What is the food like?
For breakfast, expect a continental buffet with a little bit of everything. For lunch, you will stop in mountain huts and small hotels. Expect hearty meals of sauerkraut, tomato, bean or lentil soups, schnitzels or goulash. One of the soups is always vegetarian, however, a vegan diet is difficult to cater to, so we recommend you bring a packed lunch or ingredients from a local shop, just in case. For dinner, expect a 3 course meal of soup, a main meal and dessert.
What is the accommodation like?
High Tatras Mountains
You'll be staying in a friendly, family run Penzion Lomnicky hotel in the village of Stara Lesna. The hotel is beautifully presented with a modern twist on traditional Slovakian style. All rooms are en-suite and come with WiFi, towels and a hairdryer.
Upgrades
For solo travellers looking for their own space, an optional private room and tent can be booked for an extra charge, see Optional Extras for the price. Please request this at the time of booking (this is subject to availability).
The Area
Logistics
Starts
Kraków Airport, Poland
Arrive by 16:30 on Day 1
Ends
Kraków Airport, Poland
18:00 on Day 4
Transfers
Your host will pick you up at the airport at 16:30 on Day 1. You'll arrive back at the airport around 18:00 on Day 4, so if departing that evening, book any flight that leaves after 19:30.
Travel options
There are regular flights to Kraków from major airports across the UK and Europe.
Your group arrival and departure transfers are long (150km/approximately 3 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 Kraków 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, waterproof hiking boots with ankle support
- Hiking jacket: short, thin, breathable and waterproof.
- Lots of layers: e.g.base layer, long sleeve shirt, fleece, downjacket/warm sweater.
- Snow/Mud gaiters
- Backpack for carrying personal items
- Swimsuit for thermal baths
- Gloves, hat, scarf
- Sun glasses or even ski goggles.
- Trekking poles (optional)
- Ear plugs (to sleep tight)
- Personal Toiletries (shower gel, shampoo)
Private Room Upgrade
Payable Before Departure
Private Room Upgrade
… Per Person
Patrik was just the most wonderful guide. Kind and attentive and very professional. Everything was incredibly well organised. We had a marvellous bunch of hikers- jolly and hilarious company. The Tatras were beautiful and the thermal baths with local wine were a treat! Thoroughly recommend for a relaxing weekend hiking! Book it!
Absolutely amazing experience. Local guide Roman was so friendly, knowledgeable and supportive. We are so thankful to have been introduced to the amazing landscapes of the Slovakian High Tatras Mountains and such a good value trip.
This was my first Much Better Adventures trip and it was great! Martin our guide was fantastic, very considerate, knowledgable and funny. The scenery was beautiful and the group was a really good mix, it was a pleasure to get to know them over the weekend.
Had an amazing short trip on the High Tatras with MBA. Our guide Patrik was very knowledgeable and thoughtful. Amazing food, extraordinary views and a lovely group of people. Really enjoyed, strongly recommend
This was a wonderful short break, escaping to the beautiful snowy High Tatras mountains. Our guide Patrik was brilliant; everything ran smoothly, including a modified route on the second day due to very high winds. We had 3 days of gorgeous wintery walks with a great bunch of people in our group. The food was excellent both at the hotel and when we stopped for lunch in mountain huts or local restaurants. I could not recommend this trip enough!
I couldn’t highly recommend this trip enough. The walks were at a good level, a nice challenge, the scenery was breathtaking, weather fantastic, thermal pools soothing and a brilliant guide (Patrick) thrown in for good measure! Don’t hesitate to book this trip if hiking/walking in a beautiful place is your thing!
Me and my partner loved our trip to the High Tatras! This was our second outing in Slovakia (having previously done the trip to Paradise National Park which we also can't recommend highly enough) and were greeted once again by our wonderful host Patrik!
Over the three days, we hiked in various paths up mountains taking in a lot of beautiful scenery and enjoying plenty of amazing (and hot) cuisine.
Alongside amazing weather (blue clear skies making it t-shirt weather for the first 2 days and light snow on the last), the real star of the show was Patrik. He led us on the trips with a lot of guidance and humour. It wouldn't have been the same without him. He was especially helpful in communicating my food intolerances when we went to the mountain huts and made sure we were well looked after.
Overall, an unforgettable trip with an amazing group!
Great trip. Wonderful views and great food
Had a fantastic 3 nights/4 days in Slovakia, exploring the Tatras Mountains with Patrik our guide. Patrik was very attentive and knowledgable - changed plans last minute to accommodate the weather and our friend who had an injury. The holiday itself was fantastic - a good mix of hiking with relaxation and a chance to explore the local towns as well. The hotel was comfy and the food delicious! Would highly recommend, can’t wait to book with MBA again.
This is a really well planned and paced trip. The mix of activity and down time is great for a long weekend. Great scenery and our guide, Martin was top. Felt like one of the group and really knowledgable.
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 122kg 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.
To enjoy this trek you need to be reasonably fit, but if you hike, bike or run every now and then, you'll manage it without any major problems. Previous mountaineering experience isn’t required as you are not going to walk in difficult and exposed places, however, you will be walking with crampons and shown how to use these effectively.
Sure can! Over 50% of our travellers travel solo, it’s a great way to meet like-minded people.
On any winter hike in a high mountain environment, you will potentially encounter high winds, rain, snow, ice and steep slopes. The Tatras Mountains are no different and you should be prepared to face these conditions. Temperatures can get as low as -20°C so multiple warm layers are definitely recommended.
Absolutely. You can leave anything you don't need in your hotel room throughout the trip and just hike with small rucksack for personal items each day.
Our recommended travel insurance provider is Campbell Irvine.
Travel insurance is compulsory on all of our adventures. Your insurance should include adequate protection for overseas medical treatment, evacuation/repatriation, your baggage and equipment and the specific activities involved on your adventure.
Your insurance policy should also include specific Covid-19 cover, including cancellation and curtailment cover if you, your travel companion or a close relative are diagnosed with Covid-19.
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.
