Amazing Slovakia

1.Arrival Best airports to fly into are either Bratislava or Krakow. After landing we will meet our guide, who will help us to board on our bus. The size of the bus will be according to the size of our group. We then transfer to the mountain village Terchova. The journey to Terchova from Bratislava or Krakow takes approximately 3 hours. Once we reach Terchova we check into our accommodation and the rest of the day is for us to relax and prepare for the next day's activities. The type of the accommodation will be based on clients wishes.

2. A walk around Terchova and picnic in the mountains Terchova is one of the well known mountain villages in Slovakia. The village is surrounded by beautiful mountains, green meadows and many crystal clean mountain streams. Rich fauna and flora is making this area very attractive. Terchova si situated in the National Park of Mala Fatra, which is till this very day home to many wild animals such as wolf, lynx and even brown bear! Terchova is also the birth place of the Slovak national hero Juraj Janosik. Juraj was the fighter for human rights and justice taking from the rich and re-distributed the wealth to the poor people just like the British Robin Hood.

After breakfast we take a short 5 minutes transfer to Stefanova, which is the starting point of our walk. Walking through the village we will see some traditional old log houses and small farm gardens. Leaving the village we will walk by a mountain streams and through meadows to an old shepherd settlement. This is a great place to relax, play some games or even dip your legs into mountain streams. We carry on through forest with beautiful views of the mountains and village Stefanova. We find a nice meadow for our picnic break. We then carry on for a short while and get to mountain area called Boboty. The bus will be here waiting for us. Here you can also find a wooden piling - home to wild pigs. Children will have the chance to look at those animals before departing back to Terchova. The rest of the day is for us to relax, wether by our hotel or in the village. (B,L)

3. Thermal pool Besenova After breakfast and once our children are ready we get on the bus journey to the famous thermal pools in Besenova. The journey is 58 km and takes approximately one hour. Here we will find a number of thermal pools surrounded by mountains. Emerging from the ground at around 2000m and at temperature of 60 C, this water gets cooled down to a temperature of around 38 C. This makes it a perfect playground for kids. There are a number of slights and entertainment programs for children. Adults can on the other hand relax in the warm pools, just relaxing and regaining energy after yesterdays walk. Those waters are also very beneficial to the human body and have positive cosmetic effects. There are also restaurants and bars with ice-creams. Besenova is one of the places where time flies and so we can easily spend most of the day here. In the evening BBQ by our hotel can be organized. (B)

4. Traditional rafting and Orava castle Today is a day of an extraordinary transport for you to try. A trip down the river Orava bellow the cliff hanging Orava castle is one of the most popular attraction. 40 min. bus journey will get us to the village Dolna Lehota where it all starts. Rafting down the river using wooden rafts we will discover the history of log rafting and we can also try to steer. It is more of the gentle rafting with historical value and observation of surrounding countryside other than white water rafting. The most attractive tourist locality of the northern Slovakia is definitely the Orava Castle. The castle dominates on the high rocky hill above the river Orava and the Oravsky Podzamok village. It has a great defensive system, that's why it was never conquered. All together the rafting takes approximately 1 ½ hours. We get of the rafts at the bottom of the castle and walk up the hill to the castle's gates. Before visiting the castle we can refresh at one of the local restaurants. In the late afternoon we return back to Terchova. (B)

5. Vychylovka and horse riding After our breakfast we once again get on our bus and make the short 30 minutes journey to the outdoor museum of Vychylovka. The mountain village is situated on the Slovak - Polish border. This is as far as we can get as the mountains make it impossible to carry on, except on foot. Here we will discover how people used to live in the old times. Old log houses with a church are spread in the hills. Another part of the exhibition is a historic narrow-gauge forest railway dating from the beginning of the 20th century, the unique technical monument and the only of the kind in Europe. We will have the chance to have a ride on this train through the mountains for 3.6 km.
After our visit to the museum we return back to Terchova for our lunch in one of the restaurants, the choice is ours. Once we regain our energy after the lunch we carry on with our bus to the next activity, the horse and carriage ride in the mountains. The bus journey again takes approximately 30 minutes. Endless hills and meadows guaranties the best horse riding of this region. Horse - drawn carriage will take us along the woods and meadows right bellow the mountains. We will be accompanied by number of loose horses ready for us to try horseback riding on your own. If you know how to ride, you are free to go. If you are a beginner you will be instructed and lead by professional. (B)

6. Chair-lift to the highest peak, treasure hunt This morning is for us to relax. We can go for a walk in the village or just to relax at the hotel. In the afternoon we take a short 10 minutes bus journey to Vratna from where we take a chair lift to the highest peak in this region. Fatransky Krivan 1709m above sea level offers magnificent views of the entire region. We then take our bus back to the village for our treasure hunt. Message for children: the aim is to find the secret treasure that Juraj Janosik hid in the country side. We will follow in the footsteps of Juraj to find his secret treasure chest, finishing beneath the imposing statue of Slovakia's Robin Hood. Message for parents: the treasure hunt will be tailored to the age of children on the trip. There will be an old map that we will use, plus some clues to follow. 

7. Free day On this day we can choose whatever activity we want to do. Our guide will be there to assist. 

8. Departure We transfer back to the airport and fly home!