If you are thinking of joining one of our hiking trips, I´d like to present you more details about these events in this blog post.
Maybe you would like to ask questions like: What are the other participants like? Am I able to do all the hikes? What is the program of the trip like? How much am I going to spend? What´s the accommodation like?
WHAT ARE THE PARTICIPANTS LIKE?
Our participants on guided group trips are coming mainly from United Kingdom, Belgium and Germany. Some of them are expats living and working in one of these countries. Therefore you can expect to meet people from all over the world. They are usually traveling solo, but sometimes we also have couples or small groups of friends. Our participants have some important things in common – they like to be in nature, hike and explore new destinations. They are easy going, fun and adventurous.
WHAT IS THE DIFFICULTY OF THE HIKES?
On our trips we primary do hikes of medium difficulty, which are 15-18 km long and the vertical ascent is around 800 meters on average every day. People who use to walk or hike often are usually fine during the trip. People who use to run, bike or do some kind of sport on a regular basis are fine as well. If you are not used to walk in the mountains, you may experience knee pain, ankle pain or back pain. You should bring along a knee bandage or ankle bandage.
WHAT IS THE PROGRAM LIKE?
Program during our trips is flexible and depends on the group abilities, weather or wishes of the participants. We always have the program prepared, but we change it when necessary.
For example: On the first 2 days we do hikes of medium difficulty. The participants are tired after those 2 hikes, so we propose to take it easier on the 3rd day to have some time to recover and to be ready for the hike on the last day.
Sometimes the weather forecast says it´s going to rain in the High Tatras but not in some other mountain range, so we rather go to the area without precipitations, if everybody agrees.
You are also free to not join the rest of the group and create the program on your own.
ACCOMMODATION
During the trips our participants are staying in twin rooms, twin apartments or in apartments with 2 separated twin rooms. The solo travelers share the twin room with travelers of the same gender.
COST
Apart from the trip price you need to expect some other expenses. Our trips don´t include lunches. When we are hiking, we usually visit a mountain hut for lunch. They cook well and can cater various dietary requirements. If we´re doing some other activity, we also try to find a place for lunch. If we can´t visit any restaurant or mountain hut during the day, we will tell you in advance. You can always go to the shop and prepare the packed lunch by yourself. You can get lunch at the huts for app. 4-8 EUR.
Personal expenses – when on holidays, you should also think about some personal expenses like drinks, coffee or souvenirs. Slovakia is still quite cheap country comparing to the rest of Europe.
Entry fees – if we´re hiking every day, there are no additional entry fees. However it may happen that it´s going to rain on one of the days. In this case we offer an alternative program. Usually we go to thermal pools, caves or do some sightseeing. If you decide to join the proposed program, you should expect to pay about 5-10 EUR entry fee for each activity, cave or site.
Fligh tickets – probably the highest expense. The flight tickets are not included. Usually the price of flight tickets vary from 50 – 250 EUR depending on, how long in advance you buy them.
Insurance – you should also have an insurance covering hiking, biking or other outdoor activities. Check your local insurance providers.
MEETING AT THE AIRPORT
One of our guides is always at the airport in the arrival zone. As a meeting point we usually choose the international Krakow Airport in Poland, because it´s served by many airlines and it´s possible to fly to Krakow from all over the Europe.
Some of our participants come from UK, some of them from Belgium and some of them from Germany. Flights from all of these destinations land in Krakow within 1 or 2 hours, so it´s possible to meet the whole group there. We always recommend to book certain flights, so none of the participants has to wait too long at the airport.
The same applies on the departure. We arrive to the airport on time, so everybody can catch the right flight back home.
