Family History Tour in Eastern Slovakia

Family History Tour in Eastern Slovakia
Hi Barbora,

I hope you're doing well. I wanted to reach out to say thank you so much again for arranging our trip to Slovakia. We just returned yesterday and we had such a great time. Mirka was an amazing tour guide and we are so glad to have met her and had her with us while we traveled. Slovakia is a truly beautiful country and all of the places on our itinerary were great. Kezmarok was probably our favorite town to visit, aside from our ancestral villages.
Visiting Cicava and Vysny Kazimir was so special for both of us as I'm sure you can imagine, so thank you again for helping to arrange that. In Vysny Kazimir we found and met our family- and she was so happy to meet us and have us there. I am really looking forward to going back again.

We are already talking about arranging our next trip! We'd of course love to work with you and the agency again.

Best,


Maria from the USA
- rating 5

6-Day Highlights of Slovakia and Nitrianske Pravno visit

Bachledova Valley Treetop Walk
Hi Barbora,

Thank you for arranging such a wonderful trip for us especially the Nitra part. Jan was an amazing guide with extensive knowledge and empathy to our needs. He arranged and organised everything we asked for and showed us the delicious food and beers of Slovakia so we could understand the culture and friendliness of the Slovakian people.

We would like you to advise Jan that the wine tasting he arranged for us with Adam Sykora was better than we expected. We tasted some amazing wines and Adam was very knowledgeable which we appreciated as great wine lovers. Thank you once again.

Regards


Gabrielle and Terry from Australia
- rating 5

Grand Tour of Slovakia

Slovakia Grand Tour - Spis Castle
Hi Barbora

I’m sorry I didn’t write back sooner. We are in Poland now and doing so much during the day, I’m exhausted to check email in the evening!
Anyways, we enjoyed the tour to Slovakia very much. Everything was fine, and we had no problems.

Thank you for arranging the trip for my son and me!


Margaret from the USA
- rating 5

In The Footsteps of Slovak Folk Culture

Hi Martin.

I wanted to thank you once again for the tour yesterday. It was very informative and you are a very good tour provider. I'm sorry you had to drive so much, but it really showed me a side of Slovakia that I would not normally see and I appreciate it very much. Slovakia is definitely a beautiful country.

I hope you did not have a lot of traffic going home and I hope your newborn daughter is doing well.

Dakujem pekne a do videnia.


Ron from Canada
- rating 5

Grand Tour of Slovakia

Grand Tour of Slovakia
I did a tour with the Travel Slovakia company and my experience was nothing short of absolutely phenomenal. Lenka and Lucia were amazing individuals that were not only very knowledgeable about the country, but were also very flexible in working with me to design and execute my custom tour. Lenka was very professional and insightful when answering my questions during the trip-planning process, while Lucia was very accommodating, patient, and efficient throughout the tour. Thanks to them, I was able to do all my favorite activities during the tour, including: Hiking, Photography, Food, Drink, Culture Study, History, Landmarks/Castles, and Travel. My rating for this company is nothing less than the maximum stars and my recommendation for this company to any other Slovakia tourist would be 100%. As permanent as my sweet memories of this trip are, I wish nothing but the very best to Travel Slovakia and its people.


Satya from the USA
- rating 5

Customized tour of Slovakia

Slovakia sightseeing
Lucia, Yes we are home now to the cold! Our trip with you certainly met our expectations and in many ways exceeded them. The pace of the trip as just as we needed, not too rushed and not too slow, with free time. We like some time to ourselves and that was what we had. We particularly liked the history, castles and churches, as well as the beautiful scenery. The walk in the mountains was a highlight (although it may not have looked as if I was comfortable - I was ok) . We loved your personality and the depth knowledge you had of your country and the places we visited. There were no negatives with the trip. Slovakia is certainly a country I would recommend people visited and I would certainly recommend TRAVELSLOVAKIA. Thanks again for a great tour Paul and Carmel


Paul and Carmel from Australia
- rating 5

High Tatras custom guided tour

Hi, hey Barbora, how are you?

I wanted to say a few things

1. Personally, I wanted to thank you and Lenka, All the way your service was good, courteous, honest, clear and reliable with smart advice and quick answers so thank you very much.

2. Jan The guide was wonderful, honest and kind, energetic, thoughtful, sensitive, loving people and loving Slovakia, I had the pleasure of working with him.

Regards also to dear Martin.

All the best.


Daniel from Israel
- rating 5

High Tatras and Slovak Paradise custom guided tour

High Tatras - custom guided tour
Dear Barbora

We have just had an amazing week in the Tatras....thank you so much for arranging it. Mirka was an absolutely splendid guide and we throughly enjoyed her (and sometimes her husband Kamil's ) company. The whole thing worked very very well.

We want to come back to walk hut to hut next year with Mirka (she will advise on what hut to hut route we can manage). I shall contact you about that early next year as I know the huts get very booked up.

We are now in Bratislava for a few days...Slovak ICE trains are brilliant and so easy to book on line (we went to Kosice on one of our free days).

Very best wishes


Sarah and keith from UK
- rating 4

High Tatras and Slovak Paradise custom guided tour

Slovak Paradise National Park
A week ago,I came back from Slovakia.
We were a group of 19 people,at the ages of 48 to 97 y.o. We came with our tour guide from ISRAEL.

We had a wonderful trek!!!!

Our trek was very well organized by SLOVAKIA TRAVEL.
We slept in good hotels and ate good meals.We were taken by bus from place to place. On the fifth day we visited Slovakia Paradise-The whole trek felt like Paradise! Yan,the Slovakian tour guide was sweet, generous and kind. He treated us well. He made sure we will taste Tatratea and local cheese.
He taught us songs and told us stories.He even took us to swim in a lake. He did all to fulfill our dream to swim in Slovakia.

Most important ; He made sure we will be back home safely and happily.
I AM STRONGLY RECOMMENDING TO TRAVEL WITH SLOVAKIA TRAVEL.


Tamar from Israel
- rating 5

Bicycle self-guided tour from Budapest to Krakow

I am extremely satisfied with company service. As wrote to Martin:

"Many thanks to Travel Slovakia. A long trip thru eastern europa on my own weels was my long dream. I thaught to make a true solo but got advise to take insurrance as I do in other matters. Travel Slovakia perfectly fit the bill, with reasonable price and maximum satisfaction. My mentor in Travel Slovakia followed me thru my 9 days in the woods and the bautifull country side they charted, from Budapest to Zakopane. He also have smart advice on options maching the forcasted wether, my abilities and my personal bike that I brought to the trip.

Thank you Mr. Martin of Travel Slovakia


Uriel from Israel
- rating 5

Three national parks in Slovakia with Lomnicky peak

Hi Miro,

We've had a great time with you.

Thank you.


Carolin and Rob from GB and Australia
- rating 5

6-day Highlights of Slovakia tour

Highlights of Slovakia tour
Hello Barbora,

Many thanks for organising our trip in Slovakia.
Everything went perfectly. Maria was very obliging and helpful. Her knowledge of history and in general was informative and interesting. She was also able to recommend great cafes for coffee and cake!
Overall we were very happy with the service provided
Thank you too for your efficient and prompt response when organising the trip. It was much appreciated.

Kind regards,


Kaye and David from Australia
- rating 5

Customized hiking trip

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Slovakia. Jan was a marvellous guide, caring, interesting and very adaptable to changing circumstances. We had a lot of fun with him and have some great memories. Perhaps the one thing that could have been improved was the meals at the accommodation. They were adequate, but we had the same limited menu every night. Thank you for organising a wonderful trip for us.


Paul from Australia
- rating 5

Family history trip

I just returned from a short guided tour of the area my ancestors came from, and I couldn't have been more pleased with the experience. The guide, Lucia, was very friendly and knowledgeable and went above and beyond to make sure it was the best trip possible. Her flexibility and thoughtfulness really made an outstanding impression, and I would wholeheartedly recommend Slovakia Tours to anyone looking to make a similar trip. Without question, I will use this service again in the future! 5/5 stars!


Ryan from Sweden
- rating 5

Grand tour of Slovakia

Hello Barbora,

We enjoyed our Grand Tour of Slovakia very much. The itinerary with castles, cathedrals and caves was excellent. Our guide Maria was knowledgeable, very well organized. and a pleasure to be with.
Thanks to her we were able to visit the village where my ancestors came from. The hotels were all very clean and the breakfasts had a wide selection of food to eat. Eating dinner at the Slovak restaurants was a real treat since we do not have any authentic Slovak restaurants back home.
A few of the hotels we stayed at did not have air conditioning but we were able to make due with fans supplied by the hotel staff. This was helpful since the weather was hot the last week of August.
We were surprised to see so many cars passing at high speeds especially on two lane roads.
We gladly recommend Travel Slovakia for a great tour !

PS - We were pleased to meet up with Jan to pick us up and bring us back to the airport in Vienna.


Joseph and Susan from the USA
- rating 5

Central Europe Grand Tour

Central Europe Grand Tour
Barbora

We wanted to thank you for a most wonderful trip. Diane and I felt like VIP with drivers being present when we needed them and tours being on time. We were a little uncertain on the first day not knowing how each scheduled item on the itinerary would occur and after the first few we understood that each person would show up as scheduled. This made our trip relaxing from a logistical perspective.

As you alluded to, the only glitch was not having our tickets for the first train ride. You responding to our phone call with the ticket numbers solved that issue immediately. We realize that the problem was no person's fault, rather a communication issue as we never received the email that contained the tickets. We looked everywhere, spam, junk etc to no avail. We had set up a phone plan so we could use our cell phones and for some reason it didn't work in the beginning. I suggest informing your clients to test their phone access as soon as possible to avoid the stress of not being able to connect in emergencies. (It took me many hours and contacts with my carrier to correct the issue right when I needed it most).

The personal tours you set up were fantastic with the guides speaking easy to understand English and very open to sharing their culture and personal experiences. This being one of our main objectives for the trip means you score 100. In Cesky Krumlov we were to meet with Ms. Tereza Marsalkova, however Nikki showed up. We had such a wonderful time with her learning about the city and joking and having a relaxed time together. We took her out to dinner afterward and she shared more about her culture. Would you be able to find out her full name and contact information so we could send her a thank you note. As an alternative you can share our contact information so she could contact us if that feels more appropriate. Nikki was knowledgeable and personable and fun to be with. I was a little disappointed not to meet Martin Koska as we would have liked getting some more insight into your company as well as local knowledge. However, Martin ,his replacement , was a winner also. Having two days to get to know each other allowed for extended conversations about life and politics and history and Slovakia. He was a joy to work with. Additionally. He was very accommodating about our request to see the Tatras. I also observed that as he listened to us and got to know us he pointed out sights that he thought would meet our specific interests. He is a very knowledgeable and considerate person. Tomasz Walczyk gave us a knowledgeable tour of Krakow with insights into local pride. Ms. Gabriella Balint was a good guide however she seemed a little distracted. We know she was concerned with last minute child care issues which is understandable yet she was using her cell phone a good portion of our time together. Her tour was interesting and informative and we did not experience a warm connection.

All our drivers were warm and friendly unless there was a language barrier (only once). Our driver in Krakow who took us to the train was especially helpful. He took us to the platform and made sure our train was present and that we knew which car we were to ride in. He made the train connection an easy experience for us (as opposed to the other driver for our first train ride who dropped us off at the curb and left).

Most of the group tours were not as exceptional as our private tours. The one group tour we did enjoy was the Hallstatt tour because the guide was personable and his English was very understandable. Frequently the guides accents were hard to understand which required intense focus on their speaking which took away from admiring what they were talking about. In a couple of instances (Prague and the salt mine) we were not able to understand much of the narrative. The overview city tours on the busses were overwhelming with place detail that I could not put on a map, if I wanted to go back to that location. I think the intention was to give an overview, however I found it dis-orienting under the circumstances of our experience. Perhaps, if they offered a map with the drive route and points of interest, then we could stay focused on the narrative.

Our accommodations were good with a lot of variety to experience local architecture or design or location or places in time. I thought it fun to experience the different styles. Breakfasts were more than ample and the food choices allowed us to take sufficient snacks for lunch.

The pacing of the overall tour was very good in the beginning and we experienced a balance between activity and private time. Towards the end we felt a little rushed between activities. I am guessing the need to get us to all the cities and meet our flight created some time crunch especially with putting the tour activities in the schedule too. Diane and I realized after the trip that having one day on our own in the middle of an 18 day trip would give us a chance to take a collective breath.

Thank you so much for a wonderful tour and we have told a lot of our friends about your company giving us VIP treatment.


Steven and Diane from the USA
- rating 5

Day hike in the High Tatras

High Tatras - Day hike
Hi Barbora

I had a good hike. Juraj is a great guide and a very good company. He helped me around quite a lot.

Thanks for hosting me.

Regards


Manish from India
- rating 5

Bicycle Tour from Budapest to Krakow - Amber Trail

Budapest to Krakow Cycling Tour
We are a mid to late 50s couple from Australia that did a self-guided bike ride from Budapest to Zakopane which Travel Slovakia organised for us in September 2019.

From the very outset Travel Slovakia provided us with quick and useful feedback to all our questions and were prepared to adjust their advertised self-guided bike ride to meet our needs. The most significant adjustment we made was to finish our trip in Zakopane rather than Krakow.

We chose to hire bikes and have our luggage transferred from one hotel to the next.

The Merida hybrid bikes that Travel Slovakia hired us were well maintained and appropriate for the roads and weather conditions that could be anticipated across Hungary, Slovakia and Poland. The bikes had comfortable seats, mud guards, bells and came with a bike lock, spare tube, puncture kit, pump and spare brake pads. The bikes didn’t have disk brakes but, given the dry weather we experienced and noting that we were not carrying luggage on our bikes, the brakes proved to be fine. The distances that we rode each day (generally between 40 and 60km) and the total climbs were enjoyable and certainly not excessive for riders with average to above average riding fitness.

The scenery was superb throughout (mainly rural, mountains with forest and small villages with a few larger towns). The first two days were mainly on dedicated bike tracks along the Danube River while the rest of the trip was generally on backroads with light traffic. However, on day 3 (Esztergom to Dudince) and day 7 (Banska Bystrica to Besenova) we had to ride on 15-30km of busy roads with trucks and buses. In anticipation of the dangers associated with riding on these types of roads we rode with flashing lights on our bikes and wore fluorescent tops.

Rather than ride the suggested 44km loop on day 5 we chose to do some sightseeing in Banska Stiavnica where were staying because it was so beautiful and had plenty of interesting things to see and do. So, essentially we treated this as a rest day.

The hotel accommodation that Travel Slovakia booked for us was of a very acceptable (3 to 4 star) standard. The luggage transfers worked wonderfully well – we would just leave our luggage at the hotel reception in the morning and by the time we got to our next hotel in the afternoon it was there waiting for us.

Travel Slovakia provided us with a series of electronic maps for each day’s ride which we preloaded onto our mobile phone using the Bikemap app. These maps showed the exact route that we needed to take from one hotel to the next. With our mobile phone attached to the front of one of our bikes we knew exactly where to go all the time. This worked really well.

We had daily text message contact with Martin from Travel Slovakia to report on our progress and/or for him to suggest touristy things we could do along the way. This type of contact made us feel that someone (beyond ourselves) was caring about us and was prepared to come and help us if the need arose.

So, in summary, this was a fantastic self-guided bike ride through a beautiful rural and mountain landscape which Travel Slovakia organised to perfection. We are seasoned travellers and bike riders and would recommend this trip to anyone who enjoys a bit of adventure and exercise blended with comfortable accommodation in pleasant and welcoming countries.


Anna and Phil from Australia
- rating 5

Gand Tour of Czechia and Slovakia

Dear Barbora,

My wife and I would like to thank you and all the staff members and guides at Travelslovakia for a wonderful and sensational Grand Tour of the Czech and Slovak Republics. We toured during the first two weeks of October 2019. I do not have sufficient words for the high praise you and your colleagues deserve. As you know, my wife and I are elderly and we have some mobility limitations. Your guides were outstanding in showing concern and patience with us, and constantly adjusted the itinerary in order to minimize time spent walking and reducing the amount of stair climbing to an absolute minimum. There is no way we could have seen as much as we did without their expertise and understanding. As a special bonus, the guides sought out excellent local restaurants serving local specialties -- none of which we would have found if we were on our own. I do not hesitate to give your company the highest recommendation. Best wishes for continued success in all that you do!


Robert and Christine from the USA
- rating 5

Family history tour

Slovakia Family Roots Tour
Travel Slovakia came to us through a recommendation. The result was a trip that has become one of my top highlights in my 66 years on earth. Lenka worked with my sister and I to create a customized trip into my family’s history and to Slovakia as a country. Lenka’s knowledge and interface skills allowed us to see the Church that our great-grandparents were married in, as well as finding their grave sites; and my late aunt’s site, who I knew as a child. We even met the folks who took care of her in her late years due to my sister’s family history work, and to our guide’s accommodating spirit. We rafted down the Dunajec river where one of our distant grandfathers use to work transporting supplies in the late 1700s.

Further, we saw castles, churches, Villages, Tatry mountains (Of which I had always heard about from my grandparents) and more. The country side was beautiful. We were impressed by the great roads, cleanliness of villages, and the civility of the Slovak people. Slovakia makes me proud.

Our trip consisted of four people. My sister, my wife, myself, and Lucia. Lucia was our guide and she made the trip memorable for many reasons. First, she drove us around, so I didn’t have to worry about that! Secondly, she was extremely knowledgeable about the history of Slovakia, each village, church, castle, mines and the country as a whole.

Further, she was extremely patient and accommodating to us. My sister and I were in many ways like kids in a candy shop, seeing first-hand what we had heard about growing up. She didn’t push us, rather let us see things at our speed. She not only accommodated to our search for family history, but actively readjusted to our desires while keeping us on track of the itinerary. Lastly, she even tolerated my jabber and childlike excitement, which isn’t as easy as it may sound.

Therefore, when I return to Slovakia someday, I will not need any recommendation for a Travel Agency, because I have found and experienced Travel Slovakia, a so well-crafted company in a wonderful country, that the idea of finding a better agency just does not seem possible.


Jim, Jo Ann and Esther from the USA
- rating 5

Prague and Slovakia Family history Tour

Slovakia Ancestry Tour
This is the second time I have used Travel Slovakia for a Central European and Slovakia custom tour. The first tour in 2017 was amazing and this second, most recent trip in 2019, was amazing as well. Travel Slovakia took care of all the arrangements for us. The trip was very well coordinated and everything went very smoothly. I love that the hotels they choose are within walking distance of the Old Town Squares. They did an excellent job putting together an interesting and very enjoyable itinerary. Both of the guides, both Lucia’s, were very pleasant and helpful. We learned a lot about the history and culture of the country. And it was very nice of both of them to take us to visit long-lost family and translate for us. I highly recommend Travel Slovakia for anyone planning a visit to Slovakia and Central Europe.


Marian from the USA
- rating 5

Grand tour of Slovakia

Slovakia Guided Tour
Hi, Lucia, I hope you’re well!

I loved Slovakia, it was a wonderful trip, and I enjoyed every moment!
The tour is excellent and allowed us to visit the most interesting places of Slovakia: different sceneries, from old cities to mountains, rivers and caves! In short, every place I mostly wanted to visit.
You were an excellent guide, providing us with rich information about the country, the people, the places… Attentive, sweet, very patient, and ready to endeavor your best efforts to meet our needs. And a good driver, giving us the feeling that we were safe. Your recommendations about restaurants were very great.

You know, very few people in Brazil know where Slovakia is located. I feel fortunate to be able to know e visit it.
I want to thank you for the lovely time! You made me want to go back once again.

My best wishes!


Hiroko from Brasil
- rating 5

Custom tour of Slovakia

Hi Barbora,

We love the trip and Slovakia is so beautiful.
Lucia is very helpful and it is a pleasure to have her as our guide (:
Thanks for the good service, we will definitely recommend to our friends if they're going Slovakia.

Cheers,


Bao Li from Singapore
- rating 5

Family history tour

Slovakia Ancestry Tour - Lestiny Church
Hello

The trip was great. Lucia was very helpful and accommodating.

Thank you for everything.


Joan from Canada
- rating 5

Day hike to Low Tatras

Low Tatras - Day hike
We had a phenomenal time with our guide Marek in Slovakia! When he picked us up from our Airbnb in the morning, he asked us what type of day we wanted to have and gave us various options. We told him we were ready to hike and he recommended a hike that took us to the highest peak in the Lower Tatras. We would take the gondola all the way up, hike to the highest peak, then hike back down. The photos we took don't even begin to capture how breathtaking the hike was. I would say it's an intermediate level hike- there are a lot of boulders and since we were hiking in May, there was still some snow. We stopped for lunch at a cottage in the mountains. With lunch, the whole experience was probably about 8 hours. Marek was the best guide we could have asked for- he was so much fun and very skilled at what he does. I highly recommend Travel Slovakia Tours, we had the best time!!!


Sarah from Singapore
- rating 5

Detvianska Huta day trip

Hi Barbora,

The trip was excellent! Robert was knowledgeable, attentive, and gave us a very nice introduction to Slovakia. I would highly recommend him.
Thank you for setting it up.

Best,


Angela from the USA
- rating 5

Day hike in the High Tatras and Spis castle visit

High Tatras Day Trip
Thanks, Barbora. We had a great time and Lucia was great!

Regards,


Waleed from the USA
- rating 5