We have very unexpected trip to Slovakia, leaving the first week in October. Interested in suggestions re: shopping, outdoor hiking/biking or castle viewing in the Stary Smocovec area. Also interested in day or overnight trips via rental car to any exciting town/sights in the SURROUNDING area.

Great destination! See my TR at http://wilhelmswords.com/eur2006/index.html - Slovakia - Who Knew.

We spent a few days just down the road at Horny Smokovec in 2005. We stayed at the Hotel Panda, a bleak communist-era place with poor food but a delightful receptionist who had just returned from several years in Ireland. We arrived a few months after a hurricane had felled most of the tress in the area, which did not add to the attractiveness of the place.

The intervening five years may well have seen some major improvements in the appearance of the area and its facilities. I am not sure that it will ever be a major shopping destination, but the Tatra mountains are attractive and the area is different from more developed tourist areas. We travelled by modern electric train to Poprad Tatry and Spisska Sobota, which are both worth visiting.

Our experience would suggest that the Tatra mountains are a good destination for the traveller who wants somewhere a little off the beaten track, and is interested in doing more than just ticking off "must sees".

Poprad has a nice old town and quite good shopping. Well worth to see are the towns of Levoca and Kezmarok. There's a castle in ruins nearby: Spissky Hrad, an UNESCO world heritage site.

I enjoyed Cerveny Klastor at the river Dunajec (Polish border). Zdiar has some nice folk art/garb/traditions.

Unfortunately the area still suffers from the hurricane - it will take decades until the woods are back.

The Tatra mountains are wonderful. Not as high as the Alps, but rugged and you should have a sprinkling of early snow on the higher peaks in October. There are lots of great hikes in the area - make sure you get a good map. The hiking trails are very well signposted, with colour marks on trees or rocks every few hundred metres which correspond to the colour of the trail on the map.
http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/slovakia_1.html
http://www.jeremytaylor.eu/slovak_food.htm

Tatras are somewhat similar to the Tetons. Pop up out of nowhere.

http://cestovani.idnes.cz/podzimni-s...023_igsvet_hig

And why should anyone click on that link, wobbers?