Sluggo27

I am traveling from Prague to Budapest during a 10 day summer period, and trying to develop an itinerary. I intend to arrive in Prague at night and spend two more full days and nights there, and then head towards Budapest, where I hope to spend the last approximately 5 days. This leaves about three days to get there. I don’t think that think I want to go through Vienna and Bratislava, but am thinking about traveling east, possibly through Brno, Zilina, and the Tatras mountains to Kosice, and then down to Budapest.

I am not familiar with the area at all. Will I be able to find lodging along the way? Any suggestions as to what to see or do between Prague and Kosice? Is 2 days in Prague too long to see all of the highlights? Im sure I could spend a week there but it is not intended to be a priority on this trip, just a starting point. Also, I intend to get a 5 day European East Rail pass to travel, which would include trips within Hungary. Any advice?

Hez

So 2 days in Prague and 5 in Budapest? I would personally split that differently with more in Prague.

JulieCallahan

Keep in mind, train tickets in this part of the world are very cheap. I assume the pass is also very cheap - or it will not pay for itself.

I would think you can do this without pre arranged hotels. I have struggled to book hotels in eastern Slovakia due to the extreme lack of English skills.

The towns you highlighted are good ones. The towns themselves are what you will see. This area is lacking in tourist highlights. But the towns are interesting - a slice of the world perhaps unlike any you will have visited. Good luck!

You can see the highlights of Prague in 2 days - a cursory view. If that is all you want to do, for me, 2 days is fine. I am not one of the Prague lovers on this forum. When we go to Prague, I generally limit our trips to 2 days.

Sluggo27

Thanks. The pass costs 162 Euro. Does that sound comparable to buying tickets individually? Would you recommend passing through Brno and Zilina quickly to get to the Tatras and visiting national parks, etc?

JulieCallahan

To me, that could be high. We go from Budapest (where we currently live) to Bratislava (where we used to live) frequently. To give you a sense, that trip is 20 euro round trip. (Crazy, but I think is is more than 20 euro one way, so always price the return). Day trips in Hungary are cheap. It is 5 euro to go to the Danube Bend from Budapest (of course, not priced in euro, but 1500 huf might sound expensive).

Of course, with a pass you do not have to wait in line. However, at times, buses might be more convenient.

To me, the small towns of Slovakia all seem to look alike. The Tatras Mountains are pretty, but tiny. ( I am from the mountains of Colorado).

What do you like to do? You could stop in the spa town of Piestany, go to the village of Trencin (I think the Stanley cup has come here as often as anywhere in the world), drink wine in Svaty Jur or Modra or Peszinok.

My single favorite thing to do in this region is bike the small villages in Slovakia and Austria from Bratislava. In Slovakis there are beer huts next to the trail.

Many people prefer the low Tatras region to the high Tatras. Of course, 3 days is not a ton of time.

I have written a bit about this region if you go to my profile.

Sluggo27

Thanks. What do you think of taking an overnight sleeper from Prague to Poprad. That would provide three full days in the area. Do you know of a good way to fill three days in that area that would involve some easy hiking and beautiful scenery? Such as taking a ride up into the mountains and hiking, etc.

JulieCallahan

Sure. I would stay in Stary Smokovec. We did not as we were with our Slovak friends which meant we stayed in an all inclusive communist style resort. From there, you can hike or take the electric train east and west to other villages and other hikes.

I would not stay in Poprad, although we drove down at night to a very interesting old area of the city. And we went to Levoca as a couple hour trip. Levoca is a classic, old Slovak town.

This is a viable way to spend 3 days. We did and we were quite busy.

tomboy

We stayed a night in a (unexpectedly) nice hotel in Bardejov.
I imagine you'd find much the same in Zilina, Levoca, or Brno.

The tourist info center personnel always spoke good English, in whatever town.