Best of Slovakia and Golden Prague City Tour 2024

Itinerary

This tour is suitable for everyone who likes sightseeing tours with discovering the wild nature in the mountains.

Within ten days, you will visit the capital cities of both countries - Bratislava and Prague; unique historical places - Banska Stiavnica and Levoca (both UNESCO), Slovak alpine-like mountains - the High Tatras, and much more.
In addition to visiting these places, you will taste local cuisine, meet local people, and explore various cultures.

So, do not hesitate and join us to discover the heart of Europe!

1. Day 1 Arrival in Bratislava, Slovakia.

   - Arrival in Bratislava
   - Accommodation in first-class hotel
   - Free time
   

2. Day 2 Bratislava Old town and Devin castle visit. Transfer to Banska Stiavnica.

   - Breakfast
   - Meeting with a tour guide in a hotel lobby
   - Bratislava Old town sightseeing (up to 2 hours)
   - Devin castle visit
   - Transfer to Banska Stiavnica
   - Accommodation in Banska Stiavnica
   
   Bratislava castle dominates the center of Bratislava, and its four towers became the symbol of the city. The castle hill was inhabited from the neolithic Hallstadt and Roman eras. It reached its highest importance during the reign of Austro-Hungarian Queen Maria Theresa. In 1761 - 1766 the fortress was rebuilt into a typical royal residence. Today, after reconstruction, the castle shelters a historical part of the Slovak National Museum.
   
   Old town tour includes many monuments. The top visited sites are:
   St Martin's Cathedral, the Primates' Palace with historic Hall of Mirrors and the famous Bratislava tapestries, and Michalska Gate with a panoramic view of the Old town.
   
   Devin castle ruins tower over the confluence of the rivers Danube and Morava. The fortress, used as a watchtower by the Slavonic count Rastislav Dovina, was mentioned in the manuscripts as early as the 9th century AD. After the fall of the Great Moravian Empire of the ancient Slavs, the Devin fortress became an important strategic fortification of the Hungarian Kingdom. In 1809, advancing Napoleon's troops destroyed the castle. Since 1965 an archaeological research has been carried out in the castle area. The castle ruins have been partially reconstructed under the auspices of the Municipal Museum in Bratislava.

3. Day 3 UNESCO sightseeing: Banska Stiavnica town, wooden church in Hronsek, folk architecture in Vlkolinec. Transfer to Kezmarok.

   - Breakfast
   - Sightseeing in Banska Stiavnica
   - Wooden church in Hronsek village
   - Monument Reserve of Folk Architecture in Vlkolinec village
   - Transfer to Kezmarok
   - Accommodation at first-class hotel in Kezmarok
   
   Banska Stiavnica is a former mining town and lies amid the forests of the Stiavnicke mountains. Banska Stiavnica is one of the most beautiful and historically one of the most beautiful towns in Slovakia. The town is on the list of the World Cultural Heritage of UNESCO.
   Banska Stavnica progressively became the dominant mining center in the Habsburg Monarchy in the 18th century. Banska Stiavnica monument town reserve comprises as many as 360 structures. Together they present a unique set of high cultural and historical value, placed into the pleasant environment of the Stiavnicke mountains.
   
   Wooden articled church in Hronsek is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2008. The wooden church and wooden belfry originate from 1726. The capacity of the church is 1,100 chairs.
   
   Vlkolinec village - Monument Reserve of Folk Architecture is the extraordinary and remarkable oasis of folk architecture and on the UNESCO list since 1993.
   The first written record of the community is from 1376. Originally it was the settlement of loggers, shepherds, and farmers. Its unique compound of original folk buildings remains untouched by modern construction.
   ICOMOS (International Council for Monuments and Settlements) classified it as the best-reserved settlement of this time within the Carpathian Arch.

4. Day 4 UNESCO sites: Levoca town, Spis castle, Spisska Kapitula.

   - Breakfast
   - Wooden church in Kezmarok (UNESCO)
   - Levoca town sightseeing
   - Spis Castle and Spisska Kapitula (Slovak Vatican) visit (both UNESCO)
   - Return to Kezmarok
   
   One of the best-preserved Slovak wooden sacral buildings is the articled Evangelical church in Kezmarok. The church originates in 1717, built next to an older sacral stone building from 1593, which is a sacristy today. This unique wooden building is of yew and red spruce wood without using a single metal component. The Baroque interior of the church and the organ are also of wood.
   
   The historic Levoca lies in the east of the Spis region. The town represents a true cultural and historic jewel among the Slovak towns compounding numerous historical architectural monuments. The dominant part of Levoca is a large rectangular square with the Roman-Catholic St James church from the 14th century, one of the most important sacral buildings in Slovakia.
   The late Gothic wooden main altar of St James with 18.6 m is the tallest of its kind in the world. It was made of lime wood in 1507 - 1517 in the workshop of Master Paul of Levoca.
   
   Spis Castle is the largest medieval castle in Central Europe located on a travertine rock hill. The castle hill was populated as early as the 5th century BC; it is one the most unique archaeological and historical gems of Central Europe and is under UNESCO protection.
   
   Spisska Kapitula is sometimes also referred to as the Slovak Vatican. Church life not only in Spisska Kapitula (Spis Chapter) was organized from here by the bishops, provosts, and canonists.
   The most important building of Spisska Kapitula is the Late-Romanesque St Martin cathedral from the 13th century.

5. Day 5 High Tatras with optional program: Walking around glacial lakes, cable car to Lomnicky peak, Belianska cave visit, short hike.

   - Breakfast
   - Tatra National Park visit
   - Activities according to choice
   - Return to Kezmarok
   
   The High Tatras are the highest mountain range of Slovakia and the most popular tourist center for the summer and winter holidays.
   There are about 35 valleys, 110 mountain lakes, but the most amazing is the Tatra peaks. There are more than 500 peaks in the High Tatras, out of which ten peaks are above 2,600 meters high.
   The silence of the valleys, mountain lakes, silky sheen of the waterfalls, and simultaneously monumental touches with the heights of the peaks - all of that is the magical world of Tatra National Park.
   
   Options:
   1. Walking aroud Popradske pleso lake and Strbske pleso lake. The landscape is of glacial origin formed by glaciers that created glacier valleys with mountain lakes.
   2. Trip to Lommnicky peak by cable car. It is among the most attractive adventures for tourists in the High Tatras. It reaches a differential height of 1,700 m carrying tourists to an altitude of 2,634 m above sea level in only a few minutes.
   3. Belianska cave - the only one accessible to the public in the High Tatras. It is among the first European caves with electricity installed.
   4. Short hiking in the mountains.

6. Day 6 Pieniny National Park: rafting on wooden rafts on Dunajec river, visit to Cerveny Klastor monastery museum.

   - Breakfast
   - Day tour in Pieniny National Park
   - Rafting down the river Dunajec in Peniny National Park
   - Cerveny Klastor monastery
   - Return to Kezmarok
   
   Pieniny National Park is famous for its natural beauty, especially the Dunajec River gorge - popular rafting and hiking location. It lies in the Pieniny Mountains on the north-eastern border with Poland.
   
   Cerveny Klastor monastery presents a unique cultural and historical relic set located in the pleasant natural environment of Pieniny under the majestic mountain Tri koruny. Nowadays, it serves as a museum.

7. Day 7 Train to Prague, Czech republic.

   - Breakfast
   - Morning train to Prague
   - Private car transfer from railway station to the hotel
   - Accommodation at a first-class hotel in Prague
   - Free time

8. Day 8 Prague city tour.

   - Breakfast
   - 3.5 hours regular Grand city tour of Prague with pick up at the hotel
   - Afternoon free time
   
   The Prague Castle, an ancient symbol of the Czech lands, is the most significant Czech monument and one of the most important cultural institutions in the Czech Republic. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the Prague Castle is the world's largest coherent castle complex, with an area of almost 70,000 square meters.
   It is also a UNESCO World Heritage site consisting of a large-scale composition of palaces and ecclesiastical buildings of various architectural styles, from Roman-style buildings from the 10th century through 14th-century Gothic modifications.
   
   St Vitus Cathedral is the largest and the most important temple in Prague. Apart from religious purposes, the coronations of Czech kings and queens also took place here. A cathedral is a place of interment of remains of provincial patron saints, sovereigns, noblemen, and archbishops.
   
   The Charles Bridge is a famous historic bridge named after king Charles IV crosses the Vltava river. The construction started in 1357 and finished at the beginning of the 15th century.
   The Charles Bridge was the most important connection between Prague Castle and the Old Town and adjacent areas. Today, it's a busy venue with painters, kiosks, and vendors alongside numerous tourists crossing the bridge.

9. Day 9 Options for the day: Kutna Hora visit, Karlovy Vary spa town, Cesky Krumlov town.

   - Breakfast
   - Day tour in Prague surroundings (choice of 1 tour from 4 options):
   - Jewish Prague tour, Kutna Hora trip, Karlovy Vary trip, Cesky Krumlov visit
   - Return to Prague
   
   Kutna Hora half-day trip. Visit the unique gothic Cathedral of St Barbora with its precious wall paintings, the unique ossuary, and former Royal Mint once producing Prague groschen. Kutna Hora has preserved its medieval town character to date and is rightfully on the UNESCO list of the most important cultural heritage of the Czech Republic.
   
   Karlovy Vary - Day trip to the world-known spa founded by King Charles IV in 1358. You will learn about the secrets of the manufacture of MOSER glass and visit the museum.
   
   Cesky Krumlov day trip. During this tour to the South Bohemian region, you will visit this beautiful UNESCO-listed medieval town. Our walk will take us past many of the 300-plus well-preserved local historical houses.

10. Day 10 Farewell.

    - Breakfast
    - Transfer from hotel to Prague airport
    - End of the tour

Overview