Ancestry Tours in Slovakia, Discovering your Family Roots

Review published in a Reader's Digest magazine - More of Our Canada 2019

Visiting Mom's Homeland

Trip to Niedzica, Lysa nad Dunajcom, Slovenska Ves, Lendak

... 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 USA - ancestors from Niedzica, Lysa nad Dunajcom, Slovenska Ves, Lendak

- rating 5

Trip to Nitrianske Pravno

... 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 - ancestors from Nitrianske Pravno

- rating 5

Trip to Richvald, Hervartov, Vysna Vola

... 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 USA/ Sweden - ancestors from Richvald, Hervartov, Vysna Vola

- rating 5

Trip to Maly Lipnik, Cicava, Vysny Kazimir

... 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 USA - ancestors from Maly Lipnik, Cicava, Vysny Kazimir

- rating 5

Trip to Detvianska Huta

... 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 USA - ancestors from Detvianska Huta

- rating 5

Trip to Nizna Polianka, Varadka

... Thank you very much. Our trip in Slovakia was wonderful ...

Judy and John from USA - ancestors from Nizna Polianka, Varadka

- rating 5

Trip to Dobsina

... Hi Barbora! We had a wonderful trip and Lenka was such a joy to spend the day with. Thank you! ...

Terri from USA - ancestors from Dobsina

- rating 5

Trip to Gocovo

... Lenka,
my wife and I would like to thank you for arranging a very nice trip. Lucia was a wonderful guide and helped me find some family I did not know about. She also was a very careful driver during the long hours she spent taking us everywhere. If we have the opportunity to return we will surely contact you again. Thank you and Lucia very much. ...

Dennis from USA - ancestors from Gocovo

- rating 5

Trip to Rencisov

Bob from USA - ancestors from Rencisov

- rating 5

Trip to Bytrca, Vislanka, Sarisske Jastrabie

... Lucia byla vyborna. Super míla a trpeliva. Nemeli jsme problem vůbec komunikovat (Lucia mluvila anglicky. Napsal jsem česky. A mnoho ledí byli velmy zmatenych). Restaurace v Bratislavu (Klašter/Pivovar) byl absolut nejlepši (a ano, jedel jsem jako hladovy medved). Deki moc z všechno!! Excellent memory ...

Matthew from USA - ancestors from Bytrca, Vislanka, Sarisske Jastrabie

- rating 5

Trip to Ochtina

... Hello Lenka

I would like to thank you very much for the tour you helped me put together on my trip to Slovakia. As I had never done such a trip before, as you know I was apprehensive as to how it would turn out. Your ideas and suggestions before hand gave me a lot to choose from. The careful planning helped the trip run smoothly. Katrina was a very good driver/guide. Her assistance in Ochtina helped me greatly. She was warm and friendly to the local people we talked to making them willing to share information with us. She was flexible and always attentive to my plans. I really appreciated her company and her knowledge about Slovakia, especially about the environment and nature. She even took me a a lovely hike and to hunt for walnuts.

Again, thank you ...

Susan from Canada - ancestors from Ochtina

- rating 5

Trip to Bajerovce, Kalinov

... Dear Lenka and Barbora,
Thank you so very much for planning such a wonderful family trip to Slovakia. The itinerary was perfect - the mountains are beautifully scenic, the hotels were unique in small, picturesque towns and very comfortable.
As you know, I lost both of my parents earlier this year, so for us this trip was like a 'pilgrimage' to honour their lives. The visit to my parents' family villages of Kalinov and Bajerovce were the absolute highlights for us - we made many memories that we will treasure forever.
Kamil Glovna was an incredible tour guide. In my son's and daughter's words, "He made the trip" [so special and memorable]. Although it was his second tour, he is a real 'pro' (professional).
He is:
-funny (5 Euro heli-skiing, his cell phone ring tone 'hori ti masta!')
-flexible (he suggested itinerary changes because of the weather)
-patient (he answered all of many our questions, translated so much and taught us many new Slovak words and phrases)
-an excellent photographer (he took many pictures and videos. We now have a priceless record of our time in Slovakia!)
-like family (he made us feel incredibly welcome in Slovakia, like 'part of the family'. He certainly was part of our family for 5 days, especially as we all toured the villages and learned about our Rusyn ancestral heritage.)

Thank you again for our trip of a lifetime, ...

Dianne from Canada - ancestors from Bajerovce, Kalinov

- rating 5

Trip to Male Ozorovce, Vojcice

... Just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our tour that you planned for us.

Our guide, Katarina, was such a blessing to us. She was so knowledgeable and so sweet to us.
She made our trip the best ever.
I am still overwhelmed by everything we saw. To touch the spot where my Grandmother lived gave me cold chills. It was a very emotional time.
I would love to send you a picture of our visit with our cousins. They were wonderful. Made us feel right at home.
Also, the visit to the winery was awesome. The couple that live there are wonderful. Again, made us feel right at home and comfortable.
Thanks again for such great planning. Slovakia is wonderful. ...

Freddie from USA - ancestors from Male Ozorovce, Vojcice

- rating 5

Trip to Giraltovce, Kalniste, Drienovska Nova Ves, Lemesany

... Hi Barbora,

I had a wonderful time on our tour. Lucia was very nice kind and patient and listened to what we wanted to do. She did a great job driving and was willing to put in extra hours to show us around. She was very outgoing with the town people and did a great job interpreting for us.

Slovakia is such a beautiful country and the town squares and buildings are so well preserved. My favorite was the Evangelical Churches and the castles, just amazing. The biggest surprise and delight was meeting our 4th cousin on my Grandmother's side. We did not know a lot about her history so were surprised we connected with a relative.

The down side of our trip was:
The Hotel Arcade was creepy. The room seemed like a college dorm room with the furniture and was not that clean.
We had no air conditioning in our car - it was extremely hot when we were visiting and we did a lot of driving so it made it quite uncomfortable for us.
Would have like more information from Lucia on specific stops and also on Slovakia areas/landmarks.
I was very pleased overall with our trip and would recommend your tour company to others. Thanks for showing us such a good time in Slovakia!
...

Bobbie and Beverly from USA - ancestors from Giraltovce, Kalniste, Drienovska Nova Ves, Lemesany

- rating 4

Trip to Brodzany, Nedanovce, Klatova Nova Ves, Janove Ves

... Yes indeed I enjoyed my visit in Slovakia. The day trip that you provided to the towns where my ancestors lived made my visit very special. My driver, whose English was very good, made it possible for me to communicate with people in the towns. As a result one lady had us in for tea and cookies. She then took us to the grave site for some members of the Dusa family when she learned that some of my ancestors in that town also had the last name of Dusa/Dusova. Thank you for making my trip special, ...

Leslie - ancestors from Brodzany, Nedanovce, Klatova Nova Ves, Janove Ves

- rating 5

Trip to Nizna Mysla, Vysne Ladickovce

... Dear Lenka, Yes, we thoroughly enjoyed our time in Slovakia! Our guide Lenka was so very helpful, and a true delight to be around. I will always treasure my visit. I will be happy to recommend your agency to anyone! Please feel free to use this email as my testimonial. :) Thank you so much for the wonderful memories. ...

Susan from USA - ancestors from Nizna Mysla, Vysne Ladickovce

- rating 5

Trip to Brezovicka

... Hello Barbora,

Our ancestral trip to Eastern Slovakia vastly exceeded our expectations. Thanks to your planning and structuring the itinerary we had a wonderful trip. Thanks to Lucia's persistence she found my second cousin Helena in Liptovsky Mikulas. As a result of Lucia's additional research we found the church cemetery and several Durica grave sites, and then located a distant cousin in Brezovica who provided additional information on Helena. Everyone we met was very friendly. Sheila and I were both exceedingly pleased with the trip. ...

Dave and Sheila from USA - ancestors from Brezovicka

- rating 5

Trip to Babina, Raksa, Necpaly, Mosovce

... Dearest Lenka,

On behalf of all of us I wanted to thank you for your help in putting together a wonderful heritage trip to Slovakia. Both hotels were wonderful (despite the lack of an elevator). And Janna did a fabulous job of helping the Petro family find connections in Babina, even going to the trouble to contact the mayor who turned out to be a gold mine of information. At one point, they were amazed to find a woman who had pictures of their uncle and Christine's mother during a visit in the sixties.
We were thrilled to reconnect with my cousin and his family in Raksa and amazed by the wonderful welcome we received there. We are hoping to get baptismal certificates from the Lutheran Church in Mosovce where both grandmothers were baptized.
Also many thanks to Barbora for the leads she found for us. You are all wonderful! Although my sister and I had visited many years ago, this experience renewed our view of our Slovak heritage and made us very grateful for this knowledge of our past. I am only sorry that my mother was not alive to visit one more time.
Many thanks again for all your work.

Your friends in the USA. ...

Cheryl fom USA - ancestors from Babina, Raksa, Necpaly, Mosovce

- rating 5

Trip to Lastomir

... Dear Barbora,

The tour exceeded my expectations! Lenka was amazing--she was a bright, insightful, patient, committed, and fun tour guide and translator. The entire experience was incredibly meaningful and I learned so much. I am hoping to return to Eastern Slovakia again in the future to learn more about my heritage and will definitely reach out to you again for your services.

Thanks again to you and Lenka for an experience of a lifetime.

Kind regards, ...

Stacey from USA - ancestors from Lastomir

- rating 5

Trip to Pruzina, Stara Bystrica

... Barbora - thank you for the follow up. after we left Slovakia we spent a few days in Croatia so we just got home on Friday. We had a wonderful time in Slovakia. Jan was such a great guide and he exceeded our expectations. We feel like we have made a new friend. He was especially helpful when visiting my family members in Pruzina as only one of them speaks any English. Thank you so much for your help and I will most definitely recommend Travel Slovakia to any friends and family that may be travelling there in the future. ...

Beth from USA - ancestors from Pruzina, Stara Bystrica

- rating 5

Trip to Topola, Klenova, Giraltovce

... We all thought the trip was awesome. Katarina made sure all ran smoothly and we enjoyed her conversations with us while having meals together. I will be happy to verbally promote Travelslovakia.sk locally among our ethnic groups. We took lots of pictures and are happy to share them with you if you are interested.
More details: did meet our Slovakian cousins at their home in Giraltovce. We also visited their church and had lunch with them in a restaurant of their choosing. Foods and slivovika were plentiful. We visited the three other family villages and their cemeteries, were invited to the homes of 2 of the priests, and the office of the mayor of kalna rosztoka. The scenery was superb and Katarina managed to have us visit other sites, including UNESCO and Bardejov locations. I think we made a lot of other people laugh, including a grocery store (poppy seeds) and postoffice (stamps, postcards, lottery tickets).
I appreciate Katarina getting forms for us for further family genealogy gathering.
Barbora and Katarina, please accept our thank yous for making our trip a memorable one. ...

Margaret from USA - ancestors from Topola, Klenova, Giraltovce

- rating 5

Trip to Ladomirova

... Lenka and Miro,

We arrived home safely and are adjusting to the 6 hour time difference and our jetlag.
We thank you, Miro!!, and Katka for the experience of a lifetime.
We are so grateful that you paired Miro with us. His travel style and easy-going personality truly complemented our own travel style and personalities. We had a great time! The trip was just the right combination of historical sites, natural beauty and personal history.
We cannot completely express how wonderful it was for us to meet my family in Ladomirova. Special thanks to you and to Katka for finding them and for setting up our meeting. We are so very, very grateful to Miro for his patience, kindness and participation throughout the day (and throughout the trip). We still cannot believe that we actually met my uncle (age 89) and my aunt (age 87) and 5 of my cousins. It is so very nice and comforting to know my family's history and to see their strength and determination throughout adversities. Now I know where my mother, and I, got/get our strong will and faith. One of my goals was to bring my mother home in some small way and we feel we accomplished this goal.
Slovakia is a hidden, undiscovered gem. The country is stunningly beautiful and the people are warm and welcoming. We have already told others about our trip and your wonderful company. Please feel free to post any of this information on your website. We fully endorse your company's services. If acceptable, we'd be happy to post a review on Trip Advisors or other travel site.
While we enjoyed Prague, it wasn't Slovakia....
D'akujem z celého srdca (hopefully this really says Thank you from the bottom of our hearts), ...

Mary and Chris from USA - ancestors from Ladomirova

- rating 5

Trip to Valkovna, Pohorela, Brezno

... Lenka, I wanted to let you know how happy we were with Jana and our tour. I put a good review on Trip advisor. I was hoping you could get a message to her. We met most probably the wife of my distant relative. Jana was going to be in touch with her and I found some additional information on www.familysearch.com I found 2 additional children's baptism records that would be brothers to my great grandfather

Thank you again and we would love to visit in the future. ...

Sue - ancestors from Valkovna, Pohorela, Brezno

- rating 5

Trip to Sastin-Straze, Dojc, Petrova Ves

... Dear Barbora, We just want you to let you know that our follow-up visit to Slovakia in pursuit of the family history was a great success, thanks once again to the talented and resourceful Ján Bukovčák. We can't thank you enough for making him available to us.
If doors opened to us on our first visit, they were flung wide on our second one. We enjoyed home hospitality from people likely to be our relatives and from an expert in local history, who also accompanied us on an interpretive visit to the Jewish cemetery in which we found memorials to members of our family.
We came home with gifts of old photographs and copies of old pictures showing people and places important in our family history. One gentleman in Šaštín-Stráže with whom Ján had struck up a conversation on our first visit, proved to be very helpful in facilitating friendly contacts and in offering his own personalized tour of the neighborhood where our relatives lived and ran their businesses. His recollections of our family's various enterprises, and of the people and experiences connected with them, were extraordinarily useful. We had no idea that he was someone who could illuminate so much for us, and we would never have met him had it not been for Ján's friendly, outgoing manner and his willingness to talk to anyone to further our goals, which he made his own right from the start.
Thanks to Ján's outgoing personality and resourcefulness, we were also able to open some new lines of inquiry. When we met in Bratislava, we told him that in doing research we had found references to places beginning with different forms of what seemed to be the word "Peter:" Petroville, Petrovillae Oriunda, Peterhof, etc. And we said that, as one of our goals for the day, we would like to find out what this reference meant. He nodded to indicate his understanding, and off we went.
When we were driving to Šaštín-Stráže from Dojč, Ján happened to notice a small sign for "Petrova Ves" by the side of the road. We discussed it a bit, then decided to take off in that direction to see what we could find. We ended up in the local city office, where Ján's excellent interpersonal skills once again brought results. Not only did the several people working there confirm that the different place names all referred to Petrova Ves -- clearing up what had been a mystery for us -- but they gave us an impromptu talk on the town's history (along with some printed material to take home) and even spent time helping us to read several documents we had brought along. With their help, we were able to decipher some of the hand written notations that had eluded all of us, including Jan, because they used old vocabulary and were written in old script. In the end, we established that people with the same last name as our family lived in this town too. So we have new leads that we will be able to pursue.
We now have a good deal of information and many contacts to follow up. Because of what were accomplished on our two visits to Slovakia, we expect to make considerable progress in the next weeks and months.
Should we need to return for further research, we certainly will want to engage Ján Bukovčák to help us once again. His special qualities make him a great asset to anyone seeking to explore family roots in Slovakia. Because of him, we accomplished far more than we ever thought possible.
We thank you, too, for all you did to make this happen. We could not be happier with our personal family history tour arranged through Travel Slovakia.
Best wishes, ...

Fred and Carol from USA - ancestors from Sastin-Straze, Dojc, Petrova Ves

- rating 5

Trip to Kalameny

... Marilyn and I would like to thank you very much for all of the organization you did and for your selection in the tour guide for us. Things just could not have worked out any better.
Linda met us as soon as we got off the train in Bratislava. She was very informative as to Slovak customs and what we might expect during our visit. During our drive, she gave us a great history of Slovakia and pointed out several items of interest. She was quite flexible in scheduling which made our trip even more effective and enjoyable.
Just a few notes on the hotel you recommended and arranged. It was GREAT! We enjoyed being in the mountains and the view from the room was very relaxing. I did not know that it was not customary for a coffeemaker to be in the rooms in Slovakia but when I asked for one, the hotel, though surprised at the request, placed a machine in the room with a lot of coffee. They made every attempt to make sure that our visit was comfortable. A great stay. While we were there, it was the mating season for the deer (we call them elk here). They were grunting and were quite loud very close to the hotel. The first night, the sound was mistakenly taken as grunts from bears. It really was quite funny. You should ask Linda about it.
We went to Kalameny the following day and Linda was extremely helpful in helping us try to locate more of the history of the Mras (Mraz) family. She talked with the local priest in a nearby town and went to city halls in two villages. Her determination to be successful, led to our identifying a gentleman that very well could be a relative. We found the address for him and she went and knocked on their door. After explaining who we were and what we were looking for, the gentleman came out to visit. The more we talked, with Linda serving as the interpreter, the more it was realized that there was a connection going back about three generations. I had found a cousin. We left for a bit and did some more exploring in the area and Linda was pointing out how some of the homes in the area were what people lived in back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. We returned to visit with more with my new found cousin, and Linda provided transportation while he took us around showing us places of interest. After a visit at his house, we returned to Bratislava.
It was rainy, windy and very nasty out when we got to Bratislava. The hotel was located in an area that was undergoing construction, but Linda guided us through the construction area and stayed right with us until she was sure we had successfully checked into the hotel we were staying at.
I am sure there is a lot of this trip that I am missing, but I can say that without your help, and the great job that Linda did, it would not have been as enjoyable and successful as it was. Linda represented your company very well and I would highly recommend your company and Linda to anyone.
I will provide a link to some pictures early in the week.

Thanks again for all the help. ...

Joe and Marilyn Mras (Mraz) - ancestors from Kalameny

- rating 5

Trip to Sastin-Straze, Kovalov

... We can't thank you enough for sending the wonderful Jan Bukovcak to help guide, translate and drive for us during our one-day "family history" trip yesterday. He has an easy, outgoing, friendly manner that opened many doors for us. Everyone with whom Jan spoke on our behalf wanted to help, and many were able to help us piece together the threads of a family history that dates back more than a century. What we accomplished in our one day greatly exceeded our expectations, and that is entirely due to Jan's efforts and initiative.
From the very beginning, Jan made our goals HIS goals. He talked with everyone and went everywhere that could possibly help in the search for information on the family of my grandmother who immigrated to America a very long ago, around 1900. We did not expect much, other than having a chance to walk the streets and learn something in general about life in the places where my family members were born and where they made their living.
Because of Jan's efforts, and those of the very kind and helpful people with whom he spoke for us in both Kovalov and Sastin-Straze, we have filled in some "blank spots" in our family history and developed a number of very promising leads that we are going to follow up. If those leads turn out as we hope they will, it is likely that we will wish to engage Jan again for another visit later this year so that we can meet with living relatives and with the local people who have known our family members.
When our way becomes clear, we will contact you again to arrange another day with Jan Bukovcak.
Thank you so much. ...

Fred and Carol from USA - ancestors from Sastin-Straze, Kovalov

- rating 5

Trip to Podbiel

... I wanted to say thank you for putting together the family history travel package for my cousin's Joan Hargrove, Cathy Meakes, Danny Seedhouse and I (Cathy Garay) travelling from Canada. Lucia was a terrific guide, very friendly, pleasant and helpful. She introduced us to some of the Slovakia treats....Kofola being one of them. She took us to so many beautiful and interesting sites. I liked the accommodations and meals at the Janosikov dvor. The drive through the country side was also very beautiful.

It was a wonderful experience. I am truly grateful and feel blessed to have had the opportunity to meet some of our relatives in Podbiel and Dolny Kubin thank you to you. I only wish we had more time to spend with them all. I have attached a few pictures of our travels.

Some of my other siblings in Canada would really like to go to Slovakia. I think I will be returning one day soon.

...

Garay from Canada - ancestors from Podbiel

- rating 5

Trip to Divin, Podkrivan

... thank you for all the work you did in making the arrangements. The trip was amazing and thanks to Jana because of rain we asked for changes and she came through with other ideas and showed us things we would have never found in a book and all the beautiful back roads she took us on. She answered all our 100 questions about Slovakia history and life. Without asking she took us to Pod Krivan and found the priest and asked him to see if he had the marriage records of my Moms grandparents. We got names and dates and birthplace. Then she took us to the town where our Grandfather was born. We very much appreciate how Jana made our trip extra special.
My mother will never be back to Slovakia but because of Travel Slovakia she found her family and learned what life was like for her parents and her extended family that still resides in that very beautiful country. Thank You!

With much appreciation ...

Janet and Florence from USA - ancestors from Divin, Podkrivan

- rating 5

Trip to Bysta and Brezina

... The trip to Bysta and Brezina was one we will cherish for the rest of our lives. Lucia was an excellent guide and everything went smoothly. She spoke very good English and was professional and accommodating in every way. Her translation skills were essential for us to thoroughly enjoy the experience. She was kind, extremely patient and totally respectful of the people we met. ( I'm sorry if she gained a few pounds from all the food we were served! ) I am grateful to Travelslovakia for providing such a wonderful service. ...

Peggy Klimek and Emily Harris from USA - ancestors from Bysta and Brezina

- rating 5

Trip to Hromos

... We were absolutely delighted with our time with Miro, who was charming, well informed, able to answer all of our questions and very helpful with the amazing time we had in Hromos. I must imagine that you were the one who worked with the Mayor to arrange the very moving gathering of Kocsis family members. I will be sending the Mayor a letter with a way to express my genuine appreciation for the heartfelt welcome we received. We thank you for a most memorable day. I will be looking forward to the genealogy reports from the authorities as well.
Again, the people we met in Hromos were so gracious. ...

Paul Kocis from USA - ancestors from Hromos

- rating 5

Trip to Tichy Potok

... I have done some more research and have since found more family info, including the additional town my other relatives came from...so now I must return! Thank you so much, it was a great experience with first class planning from your organization and worry-free traveling. We were amazed! ...

Paul Lucas from USA - ancestors from Tichy Potok

- rating 5

Trip to Ladmovce

... As you know, our trip to Slovakia (in particular, Ladmovce) was the most sensitive part of our journey, because we were fulfilling our lifelong ambition of visiting our father's village where our family was murdered by the Nazi regime. Adam (our guide in Slovakia) not withstanding that he is only 25 years old, exhibited a maturity, knowledge and sensitivity that was truly appreciated by both of us. Adam was a great listener as well as a guide who lent a great deal of insight from the Slovakian perspective, which we personally have never heard before. Adam's participation during our "Slovakian quest" is one that we will never forget as long as we live. We are very grateful to Adam for helping us to see that Slovakia is truly a beautiful country, regardless of the tragic events which occurred in its past. By Adam's own initiative, he helped us to track down the sole Jewish survivor from Ladmovce, now living in Kosice. The 90 year old woman cared for one of my cousins in Munich after the war. It was truly one of those unforgettable life experiences. ...

Flo and Larry Giltman from USA - ancestors from Ladmovce

- rating 5

Trip to Senec, Cervenik, Hlohovec, Horne Saliby

... Dear Barbora
We have just completed our one day family history tour. We would like to express our appreciation to you for your patience in making the arrangements over the internet and especially for the the research you did on our behalf.
Also we would like to express our sincere gratitude to Adam who was a wonderful guide and a pleasure to travel with. In particular Adam used his initiative to gain access for us to the locked Jewish cemetery at Hlohovec and he was determined to find the small Jewish cemetery situated in a maize field in Horne Saliby.
The whole day gave us insights about the area Rosemary's ancestors left at the end of the 19th century. These insights would have been difficult to gain in any other way.
Thank you both again most sincerely. ...

Rosemary and Richard from Australia - ancestors from Senec, Cervenik, Hlohovec, Horne Saliby

- rating 5

Trip to Vysny Krucov

... My sister in law and the Holingas were so grateful for everything you did to make their visit to their villages and their families happen. The warmth and hospitality was just over whelming - they were so happy!!! They really enjoyed the tours that were set up for them in addition to the family visits. Mike wasn't even upset that he didn't get to the family "farm". My sister in law told the story that when they all got out of the van in Mike's village his relative went up to him and said "you are a Holinga". The family resemblance was unmistakable. My sister in law took 700 pictures! ...

Jill from USA - ancestors from Vysny Krucov

- rating 5

Trip to Podkylava, Brutovce, Olsavica

... I had a very wonderful experience using your services. My request may have seemed a bit "unusual" in the sense that I was looking to have a guide to help me find villages of my ancestors as well as guide me on a hike in the High Tatras.
You found the perfect guide for me; Marian is a certified mountain guide and he knew the High Tatras like the "back of his hand". I was successful in meeting new and distant relatives in two different villages and was able to initiate genealogical searches at the archives in Levoca.
Thank you again for arranging a wonderful visit for my first trip to the land of my ancestors ! ...

Mark from USA - ancestors from Podkylava, Brutovce, Olsavica

- rating 5

Trip to Helcmanovce, Jaklovce

... Words cannot describe the beauty of Slovakia and its people. Our tour guide, Adam, was extremely knowledgeable in the history of his country and he made it come to life for us. We went to Slovakia seeking our family roots and actually found the church in the small village where my husband's great-grandparents were married. We were very impressed with the care and restoration of the historic castles and other structures of Slovakia. The beauty of the Tatras Mountains rivals any other mountain range we have ever seen. My congratulations to Travelslovakia, s.k. for this wonderful travel experience. I suspect we shall return to Slovakia as it is worth a repeat visit. ...

Joseph and Mickey from USA - ancestors from Helcmanovce, Jaklovce

- rating 5

Trip to Kurov, Nizny Tvarozec

... Dear Lenka,

We enjoyed a wonderful trip through Prague, Vienna, Bratislava, Budapest, etc. Our accommodations were first class and I would not hesitate to recommend your services to others who may wish to travel to these cities. The highlight was certainly our time through Slovakia with Lucia as our guide. "Small country with a big heart" says it all. You have breathtaking scenery, so much history and everyone we met was very pleasant. The itinerary you arranged was excellent. Perhaps one day we will go back with our adult children to show them what your country has to offer. ...

Lucie and John from Canada - ancestors from Kurov, Nizny Tvarozec

- rating 5

Trip to Nemcovce

... Dear Lenka,

Now that we've had some time to reflect on our trip to Slovakia and sift through the many photos we took there, we wanted to get back to you to tell you what a remarkable time we had last September. We had two goals for the trip: to visit family with whom we've corresponded for years but never met, and to see Slovakia, particularly the eastern part of the country from which my family emigrated in the early 1900's. We feel that the trip more than met our goals.

First, we want to give special credit to our guide, Adam, for the great job he did in showing us your beautiful country, translating for us, especially in our visits with our family there, and being flexible in our itinerary. His English is excellent, his driving careful, and he brought along a very good sense of humor and knowledge of Slovakia. We also appreciate the advance work you did in researching my family's history and discovering new information about them. Some of the highlights of the trip were:

1. Meeting four generations of my grandmother's wonderful family, the Baca's, in Nemcovce, enjoying lunch at their house, joining them for slivovica toasts, and learning more about their fascinating family history, especially from Juraj, the familly patriarch. I'm attaching photos of our visit to their home, a dinner we hosted at a restaurant in Kapusany, and our trip to the local cemetery where we saw the grave of my great grandmother.
2. Visiting my grandfather's home town, Bardejov, a beautfiul, well-restored Medieval city, one of several UNESCO-awarded sites in Slovakia. Although we were unable to find any records of my grandfather's family there, we got an interesting clue about his family heritage from a historian who just started talking to us in the town square....

We highly recommend Travelslovakia, and hope to revisit some day. Thank you for helping to arrange a memorable trip. ...

Cindy and Steve, USA - ancestors from Nemcovce

- rating 5

Trip to Gocovo

... Lenka,

We were happily surprised by the way both Martin and Libby treated us during our week in Slovakia. They were always concerned about what we wished to do each day. They gave us a large number of options each day. And they met us at the time we selected in the morning and stayed ready to continue with us each day until we said we were ready to "call it a day".
The highlight of the trip, of course, was the meeting we had with my relatives in Gocovo. Since Martin had met them before (with Andrew Kaylor), it was a reunion for him as well. Martin spent the several hours with my relatives always ready to interpret the conversations which went on. My relatives enjoyed visiting with him again. The hotels were all quite adequate and comfortable. When we were on our own (without Martin or Libby) someone at the hotel knew enough English that we could easily communicate.
We found Slovakia more beautiful than we had imagined. We hope we can return some day.
If you would like any additional information, please let me know.
Thanks for all you did to make our trip enjoyable. ...

Richard Shernit from USA - ancestors from Gocovo

- rating 5

Trip to Hradisko

... We would like to thank you and your entire staff for setting us up with such a wonderful trip. Each place of interest we toured was a good experience as each had something different to offer which we really enjoyed.
We had a exceptional tour guide (Liby) as her concerns were always to satisfy our needs and interests. She was very fluent in both Slovak and English languages which really helped us with every step of our trip including finding family members that had no contact with their American families for over 100 years.
We really enjoyed your beautiful country and seen a lot of wonderful points of interest.
We hope to make a return trip soon and would highly recommend your Travel Agency. ...

Thanks again. Lawrence and Pat Eurich from USA - ancestors from Hradisko

- rating 5

Trip to Michalany

... We feel very fortunate that Lenka and TravelSlovakia is the company we found to help plan and book our custom trip to Slovakia as well as three other countries. Taking our Dad for his 80th birthday to explore where his father and grandfather emigrated from has been a longtime goal of our family and we were able to put together a very excellent itinerary only with their help. Lenka was instrumental from the start in helping to plan our itinerary and never failed to answer our questions promptly and with great insight and advice. TravelSlovakia was also helpful in both planning tours with partner companies in Vienna, Budapest, and Prague. They coordinated every detail from our arrival in Vienna on August 2nd until our departure on the 14th.

Based on family records we sent Lenka, she not only provided translations of some documents, but also found the church where our grandfather was baptized in 1888. Additionally, she found a likely relative in the town where he was from and arranged to have our family info passed along to her and coordinated a visit for our day there where we were able to exchange information and were hosted for a great meal and hospitality.

Lucia, our guide, was outstanding. Filling the multiple roles of driver, Slovakia native and expert, translator and guide was great fun for the eight days we spent with her. She made the trip very memorable and we consider her part of our family now too! She was very knowledgeable and had an answer for most everything we wanted to know about. I would not hesitate to use the services of TravelSlovakia in the event I am lucky enough to return for a future trip! ...

Thanks for everything!! Drew, Tommy, Andrew and Don. - ancestors from Michalany

- rating 5

Trip to Hrabkov

... I would like to first let you know how much we appreciated Libby's translating talents and patience while visiting in Hrabkov. She was truly a gift to us as we all bombarded her with questions to be translated and then answered. I would highly recommend her for your future clients who want to reunite with family and need help with communication.
Next we all felt comfortable with Libby and enjoyed her insights, as well as her interest in our culture. We would recommend that guides be more available or nearer to accommodations due to the language barrier and unfamiliar surroundings.
Thank you for the luncheon on our last day; it was very nice and much appreciated.
The overall experience was positive and your tour company will be recommended by us to friends or relatives planning a trip to Slovakia. ...

Sincerely, Mary Sedlock, and daughters - ancestors from Hrabkov

- rating 5

Trip to Tvarozna

... We spent three whole days with them, visiting Tvarozna, Levoca, cemeteries, meeting their families, etc. etc. Unbelievably exciting. Thank you, thank you. Everyone is so impressed that you could find this family with the small amount of information I gave you. You are all wonderful and it feels like a real miracle that we could meet living relatives. Give all of your staff who helped find these people a huge thank you. If it was just you, Lenka, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. ...

Paula, Jill and Garn McBride - ancestors from Tvarozna

- rating 5

Trip to Tasula

... Hello Lenka,

We had a great time in Slovakia. Our guide Michal was excellent and made sure our visit to the family village was wonderful. It is something we will always remember. Michal provided excellent translation and allowed us to feel a part of the family we just met. It was a great feeling to find long lost cousins and see how much we are like them. We look forward to another visit some time and will invite Michal to be our guide.
Many thanks for sending our names to Michal the most perfect guide and translator! ...

Rosemary and Richard Whitlock
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada - ancestors from Tasula

- rating 5

Trip to Belza

... Hello Lenka,
I spoke to Mr and Mrs Bender and they were very pleased with your services, especially with your guide, Lucy. They said their trip "could not have been better".
They were so pleased to meet 4 cousins in Belja and then to be welcomed into their homes.It was very nice of you to arrange this in advance.
They also were very pleased with the hotels and location, and your recommendation to go to southern Poland to finish.
So thank you for making my clients happy, and I hope to send you many more in the future.
Best regards,

Charles Wysor
President of Ambassador Travel
Pittsburgh
USA

Hi Lenka,

Tom & I wanted you to know that we couldn't be more pleased with all you have done to coordinate our trip & accommodations with Chuck Wisor. The arrangements you made in choosing our hotels was perfect! All the staff @ the hotels were excellent. One particular gentleman @ the Golden Royal in Kosice, (his name was Robert who worked in the dining room) was absolutely super! They need to know that. Lucy did an excellent job & you should be extremely proud to have her on your staff. We enjoyed her company & her knowledge on the areas we visited was excellent. She's a lovely girl & she is certainly welcome to visit us here in the US anytime! . I was so happy to know that I have four second cousins in Belza, Slovakia! All the work you all did to co-ordinate our visit is truly appreciated! It has been a dream of mine to visit the homeland of my grandmother & to find relatives there was truly a blessing to me. We visited the entire day on Saturday, May 5th & their hospitality was beyond anything I could have hoped for. Some of the pictures I took along were the same pictures they had & we knew we were family!
I know for a fact that Mr. Wisor was impressed by your quick response to his questions & the accommodations you made. We would recommend Travel Slovakia in a minute to anyone wishing to make a trip to visit or to research their ancestry. Your services were priceless & we can't thank you enough.! ...

Mary Ann & Tom Bender - ancestors from Belza

- rating 5

Trip to Čemerné

... Dear Michal,
Thank you so much! I know that the records are incomplete, but this is more information than I would have ever dreamed possible! ...

Patricia from Germany - ancestors from Čemerné

- rating 5

Trip to Presov and Terna

... Attached are pictures of my reunion with the Slovak first cousins of my mother. Before this reunion, we had no contact with our Slovak relatives since 1959. Thanks to Michal Razus, we reconnected with great success. Michal was by my side the entire time as translator and diplomat. My family was very warm, receptive and hospitable. I was astounded. There are no words to describe the intense feeling of emotion when you rediscover the people and places that are a reflection of your own beginning. Time and space have no place between long lost relatives. I AM EXTREMLY GLAD TO HAVE HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH MICHAL ON THIS. HE MADE IT ALL POSSIBLE ...

Andrew from USA - ancestors from Presov and Terna

- rating 5

Trip to Handlova and Hrustin

... Wow! We had a great vacation from Bratislava to the High Tatras and back. I cannot thank you enough for all that you did to personalize our Best of Slovakia Tour. Since this was my first trip to your beautiful country, it was a wonderful mix of tourist highlights of Slovakia with visits to my ancestral villages. I will never forget the stunningly beautiful castles, ruins, villages, vistas and churches we saw along the way. And I will cherish our visits to my grandmother's and grandfather's villages. I also want to thank you for arranging the Modra majolica factory tour, where I left impressed by the craftsmanship, beauty and ingenuity of the ceramics. It was also a special thrill for us to stay at the Hutira Relax Club and meet Pán Ivo Hutira. I hope you are able to offer his penzion for future tours. But I want to thank you especially for providing us with the remarkable Lucia Palenkasova as our tour guide. She is a knowledgeable guide, an accomplished translator and a skilled (and very safe) driver! Her patience and flexibility were a real asset. I am grateful for her ability to organize our visits to the incredible wooden churches as well as the museums and castles. I knew our trip to Slovakia would be great but it turned out to be even better than I anticipated. Thank you and travelslovakia.sk for making everything possible ...

Karl from USA - ancestors from Handlova and Hrustin

- rating 5

Trip to Helpa

... Our guide Marian was wonderful. He was friendly and knowledgeable during the trip and always made sure even simple things like arranging meals for us was taken care of. Most of all, we are very grateful for his hard work in finding my relatives in Helpa. He was very determined to track down everyone he thought could help us and because of that, we were successful in finding my father's cousins. All of us on the trip appreciate Marion's work and we wish him all the best ...

Randall with family from Canada - ancestors from Helpa

- rating 5

Trip to Bardejov

... Thank you again for the detailed tour of Bardejov. Although we failed to find a definitive gravesite for my Great Grandmother, we did get an appreciation for the decay of such artifacts. Your English and communication skills are excellent ...

Gene and Kathy from USA - ancestors from Bardejov

- rating 5

Trip to Zakarovce

... I very much enjoyed the visit to Zakarovce and other cities . Your tour was outstanding (tatras,Spis castle etc.).You did a great job ! Hope I get to return soon . ...

Tom from USA - ancestors from Zakarovce

- rating 5

Trip to Dlha nad Oravou, Kosicke Hamre, Podbiel, Tvrdosin and Vysne Repase

... All together, a very enjoyable, successful, and stress-free tour! Congratulations to both you and Travel Slovakia, as well as Lucia Palenkasova for her friendly, knowledgeable, and completely reliable guiding service!! ...

Gregory from USA - ancestors from Dlha nad Oravou, Kosicke Hamre, Podbiel, Tvrdosin and Vysne Repase

- rating 5

Trip to Podbiel

... I had a fabulous time in Slovakia - all the hotels were clean and quiet, the sites that we visited were all relevant and interesting, and Marian was a great guide. I certainly hope to get back some day, and will definitely be recommending your services to anyone else that is interested in touring the country ...

Kate from Canada - ancestors from Podbiel

- rating 5

Trip to Muranska Huta

Tina from USA - ancestors from Muranska Huta

- rating 5

Trip to Poruba pod Vihorlatom

... Hi Alena, I wanted to let you know that I visited Slovakia this month. Michal Razus was my tour guide. He was very helpful and informative. He had responded to my e-mails very quickly. He has a very nice way with people and he made my trip very enjoyable. I would be very happy to recommend him to other people. Thank you for helping me out with this recommendation ...

Barbara from USA - ancestors from Poruba pod Vihorlatom

- rating 5

Trip to Moravany and Hran

... I am writing today to praise Michal Razus for his assistance that he provided in May 2010, on our trip to Slovakia to research my grandparents ... We could not have gotten through the language barrier without his help. He was such a nice young man and we very much enjoyed spending the day with him ...

Mark and Nacy from USA - ancestors from Moravany and Hran

- rating 5

Trip to Fricovce and Kosice

... I am safely back home and wanted to thank you for recommending Michal Razus as a researcher of my Slovak grandmother's ancestry and as a guide and translator. Michal was very knowledgeable, professional, helpful and responsive to my questions and requests ...

Karen with family from USA - ancestors from Fricovce and Kosice

- rating 5

Trip to Slovakia

... As for the tour. Lucia did a splendid job. She was very accomodating, her English was excellent, she seemed very knowlegeable about the places we visited and went to extra effort to make sure we enjoyed our tour. We were very happy and glad we took the tour... Lucia's research and our visit to the Ujlaky castles was very informative and appreciated. Lucia did an excellent job of guiding us and showing the interesting parts of Slovakia ...

John and Nacy from USA - ancestors from Slovakia

- rating 5

Trip to Maly Lipnik

... I can't express what an absolutely wonderful experience we had in Slovakia and meeting with Jan Svistak and his family. We never expected to actually find family in Maly Lipnik, much less sit down and share food and drinks with them ...

Debbie with family from USA - ancestors from Maly Lipnik

- rating 5

Trip to Hrabkov

... We all really enjoyed the trip. Thank you so much for all the work that you did on contacting our relatives and arranging to meet them. That was probably the highlight of the trip. We also really enjoyed seeing the different scenery in Slovakia. I had no idea the country was that beautiful. The fields of sunflowers were so unexpected ...

Kelly with family from USA - ancestors from Hrabkov

- rating 5

Trip to Kosice

... We are happily settled here at home. I just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our trip in Slovakia and our guide Martin. From being picked up at the airport to the last moment the guides (Marion and Martin) were always extremely professional, knowledgeable and fun to be around. They were extremely flexible to what interested us, and seemed to take great pride and joy in showing us the country ...

Emily and Andrew from USA - ancestors from Kosice

- rating 5

Trip to Piestany

... We had a wonderful time and we never could have done and seen so much (nor understood ANYTHING) without you ...

Marianne and James with family from USA - ancestors from Piestany

- rating 5

Trip to Zvolen

... Our stay was really great. We enjoyed the views, the food, and the nice people. As my mother was born in Zvolen it was a great experience for her to come back there after so many years with her daughters and we were excited too ...

Orly with mother and sister from Israel - ancestors from Zvolen

- rating 5

Trip to Benkovce

... We enjoyed our brief stay in Slovakia very much and thought Marian (Maio - not sure how to spell it) was very knowledgeable and helpful - a great tour guide! ...

Stefanie with family from USA - ancestors from Benkovce

- rating 5

Trip to Nizny Slavkov

... We had a wonderful time and Tom can't get over talking about his visit with his relatives. It was the highlight of the trip and actually all of the trips that we have taken in the past ...

Dottie and Tom from USA - ancestors from Nizny Slavkov

- rating 5

Trip to Sabinov

... We were very happy with our stay in Slovakia. We were fortunate to have Miro as our guide. He did a great job and we were very happy to have met him and share his knowledge of Slovakia ...

Jay with family from USA - ancestors from Sabinov

- rating 5

Trip to Stebnik

... It is a beautiful country, and your guides were most helpful. I am sure we saw things which we would have missed if we had been on our own ...

Anelle & Ted from USA - ancestors from Stebnik

- rating 5

Trip to Bardejov and Regetovka

... I want to take this opportunity to thank you for the magnificent tour of Slovakia that you arranged for my nephew and me ...

Richard from USA - ancestors from Bardejov and Regetovka

- rating 5

Trip to Brehy and Hniezdne

... Alena, Just a word to let you know we had a wonderful time on our tour. Matus was great! Do you have any Contact information for him? ...

Joseph and Teresa from USA - ancestors from Brehy and Hniezdne

- rating 5

Trip to Levoca

... Our trip to Slovakia was fabulous!!...Alena was a real gem-we saw so many great places and we really loved the opportunity to meet the lady who makes the traditional shirts-what a treat. I know that we hope to make more trips to Slovakia. YOU HAVE A BEAUTIFUL AND FRIENDLY COUNTRY. We have told our friends and our travel agent about your services ...

Kathie from USA - ancestors from Levoca

- rating 5

Trip to Vysoka nad Uhom

... Thank you for putting together a very nice program. I enjoyed the entire program, especially the hike in the high Tatras and the visit to Vysoka nad Uhom. I have asked Marian to pass along to you a bottle of Tokaj as a token of thanks! ...

Michael from USA - ancestors from Vysoka nad Uhom

- rating 5

Trip to Liptovska Tepla

... We wanted to tell you what a wonderful time we had visiting Liptovska Tepla and Ruzomberok. Our guide/translator was Marian Gonda. He was wonderful and we would like to have his E-mail so we could write him a letter ...

Carol & Steve from USA - ancestors from Liptovska Tepla

- rating 5

Trip to Levoca

... The country pleased my husband as to his heritage and my son has a better understanding of how his grandfather was brought up - even though he did not know him ...

Vallerie with family from USA - ancestors from Levoca

- rating 5

Trip to Maly Lipnik and Starina

... I can't say enough to tell you how pleased we were with your services! Martin was terrific, and after only a few minutes it simply felt like we had added another friend to our trip. I had hoped Slovakia would be the high point of our trip, and it was even better than I expected. I also was ver impressed by the additional help you provided when our change in plans to add a visit to Auschwitz resulted in our missing the train to Budapest. It really was great of you to make John available to drive us there, especially so late in the day ...

Beth with husband from USA - ancestors from Maly Lipnik and Starina

- rating 5

Trip to Pohorela, Ziar nad Hronom and eastern Slovakia

... Our guides were nice people and quite helpful. Alena Marcinekova thoughtfully went to Pohorela in advance, selected a very nice pension operated by the Pompura family and contacted various family members, arranged for them to meet us and helped with translation. Since our knowledge of Slovak was limited to a few words all these arrangements would have been difficult if not impossible. Alena drove us safely to our apartment in Bratislava in a very bad rainstorm which we appreciated very much ...

Michael with wife from USA - ancestors from Pohorela, Ziar nad Hronom and eastern Slovakia

- rating 5

Trip to Cejkov

... We have just arrived home this week, jet lagged, but very happy with the experiences we gained in Europe. Martin was a wonderful guide for us. He said his sister is a friend of yours. We managed, thanks to his patience and perseverance, to find Mom's village and a family that is still there and distantly related. The whole meeting was very fulfilling for both sides of the picture. It was a handshake across the ocean that was waiting to happen for 77 years. As I left, I turned to our Slovak hostess and said, "I have been waiting my whole life for this day" and she said in reply, " So have I." I feel that a great empty place in my heart has been filled by seeing this beautiful land and love-filled village where Mom was born. Thank you so much for all your help. Slovakia is an exceedingly beautiful land. Thank you again for all your help. It was an unforgettable experience ...

Beth with husband from USA - ancestors from Cejkov

- rating 5

Trip to Polomka

... Our trip to Slovakia was more than we could have ever expected. Miro was a wonderful and caring guide, Slovakia is such a beautiful country, everyone was so warm and friendly, the fodd was great, and visiting my Grandfather's hometown of Polomka was particularly special ...

Gene & Kathy from USA - ancestors from Polomka

- rating 5

Trip to Hrabovcik

... We had a wonderful time in Slovakia and enjoy the countryside very much. The guide was great too and willing to help in every way. Thanks to his efforts, we visited the mayor of Hrabovcik and visited with cousins I didn't even know about ...

Pat with daughter from USA - ancestors from Hrabovcik

- rating 5

Trip to Dubova

Michael from USA - ancestors from Dubova

- rating 5

Trip to Jablonica and Osuske

... I thank you for your excellent choices of places for us to visit, and thank you for the superb assistance of Mr Stanislav Jurcak to carry us to so many beautiful towns and churches in your land. I have returned home with blessed memories and now, new family connections to carry into the future of my family. My sons also say their experiences were truly life-expanding events ...

Ramon with sons from USA - ancestors from Jablonica and Osuske

- rating 5

Trip to Livov and Lukov

... My great grandmother's home had been here. The small village was a mixture of traditional and twentieth century architectural styles. There was a stork nest with a pair of the monogamous birds in place. The tiny wooden church hid behind a larger gothic/baroque church in a dark grove of trees. The excesses of capitalism had not reached this place, but poverty seemed absent as well. Lukov was alive with people (and chickens). Passing through a group of smiling gypsy children near the school, we parked in front of the village hall. We were greeted by an official-looking matron. She and Martin spoke for a few minutes with an occasional glance in my direction. My great grandmother Olga had lived here and... she was probably of Hungarian descent! (I would have to pay more attention to Budapest.) Unfortunately, none of the family remain in Lukov today. We said good-bye and continued to the other end of town. We stopped again at a Communist era monument to the people of Lukov who lost their lives during WWII. Nearby was a bus stop, an ancient-looking speaker -- part of an old public address system -- and a small store. Martin pointed out that a surprising number of buses stopped here -- indicating a healthy local economy. The store was not officially open for business yet, but the smiling, rosy cheeked, shopkeeper let us in. Martin bought a snack and explained why we were here. The woman said that an American lady had been here just last week looking for her family, but had found they were gone as well. Leaving Lukov, we continued up into the valley. The road narrowed and the forest drew closer. More scarecrows in tiny fields. There were logging trails into the surrounding hills. The forest receded and we rounded a bend into Livov. The tiny village was possibly even more picturesque. Well-maintained, small, traditional homes were surrounded by gardens. There were wooden fences and small barns. My great grandfather had been born here. It could not have looked much different in his time. Veronika had learned that none of my family remain in the village. I must get my wanderlust from this side of the family!) ...

Rich from USA - ancestors from Livov and Lukov

- rating 5

Trip to Vavrisovo

... Veronika & Martin, I want to thank you for a most enjoyable trip. Your country is very beautiful ...

Lou with friends from USA - ancestors from Vavrisovo

- rating 5

Trip to Male Borove and Velke Borove

... We had a fabulous time in Slovakia, thank you for arranging our trip. Mike and I had a great time in Slovakia and hope to one day return. Roman was an excellent guide and provided a nice balance between hiking in nature and giving us a taste for the local culture. He also did a good job of pacing our trip so that we had days of relatively low effort mixed with days of more strenuous hiking. The weather also cooperated nicely except for one day of downpours ...

Allete with friend from Canada - ancestors from Male Borove and Velke Borove

- rating 5