Slovakia by Campervan with Dog and Cat: A 5-Day Tour

Our tour of Slovakia aboard the van unfortunately lasted only a few days, partly because we had an appointment in Poland, and partly because we didn’t expect to find a temperature of 40 degrees in early July. Either way, here’s the story of our stops and a couple of pointers to a few destinations we unfortunately couldn’t reach this time around.

Itinerary

As we mentioned, ours was an itinerary created ad hoc to use the country and its roads as a bridge to reach the Tatra Mountains area in southern Poland. We entered Slovakia on the evening of 29 June and left on 3 July. Just a touch-and-go, which could be worth considering for those with only a few days but who want to get a feel for the country by experiencing it on the road.

Day 1: Bratislava: we left Austria, reaching the very nearby capital of Slovakia, Bratislava, around 9pm. We parked along the Danube, in an area with small venues full of young people enjoying the evening sitting by the water, and with the cool air, we decided to make the most of it with a lovely walk with our animals, treating ourselves to a beer on the way back too, while listening to some good music. We stayed overnight for free overlooking the Danube.

Day 2: Bratislava: we arrived at 8am in the city centre, crossing the bridge near the UFO building: we found ourselves in a genuinely pleasant maze of little streets, with colourful building façades and quirky statues scattered here and there: a bronze man peeking out of a manhole, another waving with his arms up and a big smile, a soldier leaning on a bench and so on. There are quite a few of them, and it seems they were created to bring the city a bit of joy after the austere period of the communist regime, and that the population liked them so much they asked for more to be built. Leaving the centre after admiring the Blue Church once more, we decided to head to the famous Miletičova city market  .

Unfortunately the street food on offer was almost all meat-based, but we managed to find a typical local restaurant that suited us: the Thai stand! We were welcomed by the owner, who didn’t speak a word of English, but when he realised we were Italian, he flashed us his best smile, telling us: “bella Italia!” A delicious lunch. With the intense heat as an excuse, we reluctantly left the Slovak capital to reach a shaded car park near Piešťany, in the country’s countryside on the banks of the Danube.

Want to relive our adventures in the capital?

Day 3: Bojnice: after breakfast we decided to treat our big dog Olimpia to a dip in the river, a choice our rottweiler clearly appreciated, diving straight towards the bank. In the late afternoon, having stayed hidden as long as we could in the shade offered by a couple of trees, we headed to a small village, Bojnice, where we admired the gardens of a castle, before looking for a new spot to spend the night. We let instinct guide us a bit and decided to drive a road immersed among woods and mountains, reaching the unusual village of Čičmany, which seemed to have come straight out of a Brothers Grimm fairy tale. We finally spent the night wrapped in our duvet, alone in the whole car park at the foot of the ski lift station.

Day 4: Čičmany: a village of about 200 residents, set in a beautiful green hollow among the mountains, brought to life by characteristic houses decorated with white geometric patterns depicting hearts, birds and geometric motifs, almost recalling iced gingerbread biscuits. The original structures dated back to 1272, but after a massive fire broke out in 1921, few buildings could be saved, and so it was decided to restore the village to its former splendour as much as possible. Just the road to get there is picturesque, surrounded by stretches of pine trees ending in front of the car park of what in winter must be a lively ski resort. There’s just one main street, dotted with a museum and a couple of accommodation facilities. Few tourists, almost entirely locals. We spent the night in another mountain area, near a lake, at Liptovská Mara. Near us just a foreign couple in a tent. In front, the lake stretching out in all its extent, and behind us the edge of the forest. Silence reigned, broken only by the occasional sound of nature.

Day 5: Liptovská Mara: on the hills surrounding Lake Liptovská Mara you can enjoy a wonderful view, and lovely walks lead into the woods from there (watch for signs warning of bears!). Unfortunately, the lack of trees to provide some shade at the flat spot where we were parked meant that by 1pm we had to say goodbye to that heavenly place, since the 40 degrees on the thermometer would have made the following hours too hard to bear. So we decided to set off again to reach the mountains on the border with Poland, stopping halfway at Tvrdošín, where we visited one of the many wooden churches characteristic of the area. From here we headed for the night to Zakopane, the first Polish town not too far away. Want to discover our adventures in Poland? Here you’ll find the article about it!

In Short

Below are just the stops. We always stayed overnight for free, at car parks with no restrictions or at free campervan areas.

Day 1-2: Bratislava

Day 3: Bojnice

Day 4: Čičmany

Day 5: Liptovská Mara

Roads

Throughout the country we drove on main roads as well as roads through countryside and mountain areas, with no trouble at all.

Safety in the country

Slovakia is generally considered a safe country for tourists and foreign visitors. Even in Bratislava, both by day and by night, we felt safe. We stayed overnight in remote spots and right in nature with no sense of fear at all.

Travelling with your pet

To travel within Europe with your pet you need to have:

• passport
• microchip
• valid rabies vaccination

Check whether your pet's breed is allowed in the country you're visiting. We recommend always being careful in crowded places, as people might be scared of your pet which is why we always keep our pets on a leash. In many cases a muzzle is required, so we recommend keeping one handy.

We recommend bringing a bowl (we use one that clips conveniently onto a backpack) and a water bottle if the day is particularly hot.

Final thoughts

The few days we spent in Slovakia made us appreciate so many things about the country, which is why we hope to return one day to visit other areas of interest, such as the Škocjan Caves  .

Our vlog

At this link  you can find the full playlist with the videos of our adventures in Slovakia.