Originally Posted by
dergon darkhelm
Hi there, everyone.
Then mrs_dergon would like to visit some of the small villages to see the birthplaces of her maternal grandparents in Slovakia. These are in the Northeastern Part of the country. (Hrabušice and something near Presov).
Here come some questions:
*Best means of transportation? Given the need to do some visits to small villages and what looks like inconvenient train access I am thinking that rental car might be the best way to go. Any comments supporting or opposing this choice welcome.
*Where to stay in Slovakia? I'm thinking maybe basing those few nights out of Košice and driving to the villages on different days.
*Get a tour guide/driver for the Slovakia part? Could that be done out of Košice or only if I was in Bratislava?
*Also would welcome hotel/restaurant sight seeing advice for Slovakia, Krakow, Warsaw.
If you plan to visit small villages I would advise you to rent a car for couple of days to visit them and then travel by train.
You can rent a car in Kosice from major car rental companies. Watch out most of the cars have MT.
Kosice is a nice base for the day trips. There is a Doubletree as the only hotel from major chains,located directly in historical center.
If you prefer wine tasting, east of Kosice is wine region where you can taste local wines and part of this area is a famous Tokai wines.
As you plan to visit Krakow I would recommend you not to miss Spissky castle, one of the largest castels in the middle Europe. Also visit High Tatras, beautiful mountains. From there in the city of Poprad you can board bus to Zakopane, which is loacted on the northern side of the mountains. From there you can take the train to Krakow.
The best starting point would be official website
http://slovakia.travel/en
If you have any questions send me PM I will gladly answer all your questions and recommend accomodations.