Slovakia: Part 5 - Day 5: Hike from Stary Smokovec (1010m) to Zamkovskeho chata (1475m)

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 5.

2/8 Day 5: Took 10.10am train from Poprad to Stary Smokovec (arrived 10.36am). Hiked for 2 hours 10 minutes from Stary Smokovec station (1010m above sea level) to Zamkovskeho chata (1475m). Chata means mountain hut or cottage in Slovakian.

Costs
(1) 1 train ticket from Poprad to Stary Smokovec - EUR5

Accommodation
(1) 1 room in Zamkovskeho chata (from website) - Shared room EUR300 for 3 persons for 3 nights, EUR100 per person. Tourist tax EUR3,50 per person. Half board (breakfast and dinner) EUR28 per day.

Food
(1) Drink at Mini Bistro at Stary Smokovec station - Kofola 500ml EUR2,50
(2) Lunch at Zamkovskeho chata - pork stew with dumpling EUR16,50, radler 500ml EUR5

The Story

02082026: Today, we will be in the mountains and we looked forward to the cooling air but I do not look forward to the hikes! I know it will be tiring but I did not know it will be extremely tiring. The terrain here is different. First, breakfast in Pension Jakub. The only upside in the accommodation is the breakfast. We did not have much sleep last night due to the heat (no fan or air-condition in the room) and the traffic noise (as we opened the window to let the relatively cold air come in). The breakfast spread was tempting and the food was good. The staff even offered wine for us! Apparently, it is normal to have a glass of Prosecco wine for breakfast.

After breakfast, we checked out and walked to the train station. There, we bought our train tickets to Stary Smokovec station. One can buy tickets from the train app or from the manned ticket counter. There is no time printed on the ticket. Instead, it is valid for the whole day until the next day 4am. The next train is 10.10am. 

Slovakia: Part 4 - Day 4: Train from Kosice to Poprad

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 4.

1/8 Day 4: Train from Kosice (12.09pm) to Poprad (1.35pm). 

Costs
(1) 1 tram ticket EUR1,20 (30 minutes duration) each - EUR1,20
(2) Train ticket from Kosice to Poprad EUR7,50 including booked seat that costs EUR1
(3) Sunblock SPF50 200ml from Lidl (train station Kosice) EUR14,99

(4) 3 bananas, 3 peaches from Kaufland, Poprad EUR0,91

Accommodation

(1) 1 room in Pension Jakub (from Booking) - Shared room EUR117,50 for 3 persons, EUR39,17 per person. Tourist tax EUR2,50 per person. Not recommended place of stay during summer. Had to open the windows to let in the relatively colder air but it was noisy from the traffic. 

Food
(1) Breakfast at Gesto cafe - Omelette with spring onion, cheese and ham EUR4,90, cappucino EUR2,50
(2) Ice-cream at Gesto cafe - one scoop mango EUR1,50

(3) Drink at Stacniny Pivovar bar at Kosice train station - Kofola 500ml EUR2,50
(4) Lunch at U Septima, Poprad - Tagliatelle with mushroom and bacon EUR11,30, lemonade 500ml EUR1

(5) Dinner at Pension Jakub, Poprad - Kofola 500ml EUR3, sizzling entrecote with grilled vegetables and potatoes EUR22, orange juice 250ml EUR2,30

The Story

01082026: Today, we check out from our accommodation in Kosice. We had breakfast at Gesto Cafe. Walked for 30 minutes at 9am and it was already hot. 37 degrees as stated on an eletronic screen in front of a pharmacy. Phew. I thought to myself that I am not walking to the train station in this heat. I felt light-headed on the way to the cafe and thankfully, we were very near the cafe when I felt this. I chose to sit inside while my travel companions contemplated to sit outside under a shade. So, we all sat inside in the end. 

My breakfast - omelette and cappucino. 

Gesto cafe has also another business selling ice-cream and pastry next door. I just had breakfast but I needed the ice-cream to cool me down. So, one scoop of mango gelato for me. 

We walked to the tram station Hlavna Posta to take the tram to the train station Stancne Namestie. It takes 27 minutes to walk to the train station. I would have done the walk if it was 30 degrees. But it was 37 degrees! 

Here are the stops for the tram. Took a photo of it in the tram.

Reached the train station! We went to the customer service and bought our train ticket at 12.07pm from Kosice to Poprad Tatry. It will arrive at Poprad at 1.29pm. We booked a seat EUR1 just to be safe. The trains depart hourly. We were 5 minutes away from the next train departure but we did not want to hurry in case we missed the train so we took the next hour. 

Slovakia: Part 3 - Day 3: Botanical garden, Kofola drink

Here is a summary of what is spent on Day 3.

31/7 Day 3: Went to train station to check train tickets for tomorrow's destination, Poprad. Took tram to Botanical garden. Had local soft drink, Kofola during lunch. Dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant. 

Costs
(1) 2 tram ticket EUR1,20 (30 minutes duration) each - EUR2,40

(2) Entrance fee Botanical Garden EUR5

(3) 2 Mixed nuts packet and 3 radler from Billa - EUR10,28

Food
(1) Breakfast at Pekarova Zena cafe - Poppy seed and cherry strudel EUR2,60, cappucino EUR2,80
(2) Random ice-cream place - two scoop pistochio and pomegranate EUR3, waffle cone EUR0,30
(3) Lunch at Karczma Mlyn - Zurek soup EUR4,50, kofola 300ml EUR1,50
(4) Coffee at Melody cafe - iced cappucino EUR3,90

(5) Dinner at Holo (Vietnamese restaurant) - stir fried rice noodles with chicken EUR7,50. Cheapest beer here at EUR1,90 for 500ml.

The Story

31072026: First, espresso to wake us up from our Airbnb's host espresso machine. Then, we looked for a cafe to have breakfast. We went to the nearest cafe that was opened and had good reviews. Lots of sweet pastries for breakfast. My travel companions wanted a sandwich. They think pastries for breakfast is weird. I don't mind.

I enjoyed my poppy seeds and cherry strudel. The travel companions had croissant-sort of pastry with blueberries on top. They are American blueberries because they are white inside. So weird to be using American blueberries when Slovakia has so many blueberries. We saw many of the blueberries bushes during our hikes in Tatra mountains.

Then, we went to the train station to check on tickets availability for our tomorrow's destination, Poprad. There is a customer service office and the lady behind the counter informed us that we can buy the tickets tomorrow. There is no shortage of tickets. Plus, it is an hourly train departure. We went to a pharmacy in the train station to buy electrolyte tablets that can dissolve in the water. We bought those as we will hike in the mountains and know that we will lose a lot of electrolytes through sweat. We brought from Sweden too but was worried if they were insufficient.