The best of Eastern Slovakia: Košice, High Tatras & Spiš Castle

When I was planning my first trip to Slovakia in October 2019, there were three places I wanted to visit: Košice, Spiš Castle and the Tatra Mountains, all located in the East of the country. I spent a total of three days in Eastern Slovakia, and I managed to get around very easily with public transport (buses and trains), thanks to the great transport network that connects the major towns in the region.

Here is a brief overview of how I managed to visit Košice, Spiš Castle and the Tatra Mountains in the space of three days using public transport.

Eastern Slovakia, showing (R to L) Košice, Spiš Castle, Poprad & Popradske Pleso (Lake Poprad)

Eastern Slovakia: my itinerary

In October 2019, I spent six days in the Czech Republic and Slovakia. I flew into Prague, where I spent three days. On my final evening in Prague, I took the overnight Regiojet to Košice, before spending another three days in Eastern Slovakia. Here’s what I did.

• Day 1: Arrival in Košice at 06:00 AM via the overnight Regiojet train, a few hours in town, before heading by bus to Spišske Podhradie. A few hours in Spišske Podhradie, before getting the bus to Poprad in the early evening.
• Day 2: A day of hiking in the High Tatras, another evening in Poprad.
• Day 3: Morning train from Poprad back to Košice, a few hours in the city again, before heading to Košice Airport and flying to Düsseldorf.

I got to experience castle ruins, mountains hikes and hipster cafes all in one trip.

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St. Elisabeth Cathedral, the largest church in Slovakia

Passing through Košice (twice)

My first taste of Slovakia was Košice. I arrived at 6 am after a really comfortable night on the Regiojet (see below). I’d read a lot of great things about the city on Kami’s blog, MyWanderlust.pl (she is probably the city’s biggest fan), so I already had an inkling that I would like – and I really did. The city centre itself is pretty small, but very pretty (even if it was very quiet at 6am on a Friday morning).

Still, it was really nice to wander through the main street, visit the city’s landmark church and wonder around the city’s former army barracks, which have since been turned into an art and museum space. My main mission, however, was to get some brunch, which I found at a cosy Boston/New England, nautical-themed café, Bostonia, where I had a very ‘liberal‘ interpretation of an English Breakfast…

Cafe Pogo, Košice

I managed to spend a bit of time in Košice on my way back a few days later as well, but both of my visits really were fleeting. However, I managed to get a great piece of cake at the very hipster Pogo Urban Café (think bicycles hung on the wall as décor).

Getting from Prague to Košice: I took the overnight Regiojet train from Prague to Košice, which cost €38.90, which I think was incredibly good value. I booked a place in a sleeping car for three people, which I shared with an older married couple, who were friendly and chatted to me a little in German. Included in the price was a tea or coffee, a bottle of juice and a breakfast made of mini savoury pastries. We left Prague at 21.47 and arrived in Košice at 06:00. It was genuinely really comfortable.

Left luggage: it cost €1.50 to leave my luggage at Košice station for a few hours.

The view of Spiš Castle from Spišske Podhradie

Spišske Podhradie: day trip to Spiš Castle

One of the biggest draws of Eastern Slovakia is Spiš Castle – one of the largest in Europe. It’s probably one of the most beautiful too, with a dramatic setting, occupying the only raised hill in an enclosed valley. In the shadow of the castle, you’ll find the very small village of Spišske Podhradie, which is known as the Slovak Vatican.

I arrived from Košice by bus via Prešov, which I can fully recommend – about half an hour before arriving in Spišske Podhradie, you’ll be treated to an incredible view of the entire valley, with the castle at its centre. I didn’t manage to get a good photo (the sun was in entirely the wrong place), but it was bloody impressive.

The village of Spišske Podhradie itself is pretty modest. In fact, for the most part it’s a one-street affair. However, that street has a lot going for it: one end leads to the trail that takes you up to the castle, which looks over the town from almost every angle; while at the other end sits Spišská Kapitula, an ecclesiastical walled town featuring a cathedral, former monastery and other religious buildings. Both are UNESCO-listed.

I arrived in the town early afternoon, headed to the tourist information (where I was able to leave my luggage for a few hours), armed myself with a map and headed up to the castle. It’s not a hard walk up to the castle really – it’s mostly a gentle slope – but it’s long enough to get you sweating. If you walk from the town itself, you’ll also arrive at the ‘back’ of the castle and walking half-way around its fortified walls will give you an impression of just how big this castle is.

The view from the top of Spiš Castle

On my visit, half of the structure was being renovated, which meant there was quite a lot of scaffolding, but not enough to ruin the impressive views from the top. Entry is a bit steep (€8 for adults), but I would definitely recommend it – the grounds really are huge and very well preserved. Although in reality, there isn’t much to do or see, you simply have to walk around and take it in.

The walls of Spišska Kapitula

After exploring the castle, I then walked back into town and headed up the other hill to visit the small walled Kapitula. Now, I won’t pretend that this was nearly as impressive, but it was nice to look at, at least. The main draw for me was walking a little further past the walled town and looking back to get a great view of the cathedral and the castle in the distance.

From here, I then walked back into the town, grabbed a beer and waited for my bus to Poprad, which arrived at 17.35. All in all, I would 3.5 – 4 hours is plenty of time to experience the town.

Spišska Kapitula and Spiš Castle

Getting from Košice to Spiš Castle by public transport: There are several buses. I took a direct bus (704410) heading to Levoča, leaving Kosice Bus Station (directly next to the train station) at 12.00 and arriving at Spišske Podhradie at 13.45. It cost €4.30.

Getting from Spiš Castle to Poprad by public transport: I took the bus at 17:36, arriving in Poprad at 18.45 and was treated to a spectacular sunset from the bus as we travelled through the Spiš region.

Hiking in the High Tatras

I wasn’t impressed by Poprad. On paper, the town had the potential to be charming and quaint, but in reality I found it to be almost entirely soulless; I stayed Friday and Saturday night and the streets were genuinely deserted, with only a handful of restaurants or bars still open. My accommodation also left a lot to be desired. From what I’ve read, the town comes alive during the skiing season, but from my visit I can only assume this is more of a resurrection.

Still, what Poprad lacked in charm, it made up for in practicality. I was staying there to do some hiking in the Tatra mountains. Due to my short schedule, I was only going to have time for one day of hiking, so I picked my route carefully and opted for a route taking in two glacial lakes: Popradske Pleso and Strbske Pleso. Apparently, so did everyone else.

The route was very busy. But still beautiful, and still enjoyable.

The Tatra Electric Railway at Poprad train station, with the High Tatras in the background

From Poprad station, I took the Tatra Electric Railway (TEZ), which I loved. It’s an electrical train network, connecting Poprad with several hiking and skiing resorts and villages higher up in the mountains. I am a huge train nerd, so I was in my element and we winding through the scenery on the narrow-gauge tracks. However, the train was instantly packed and just got more and more full. At most stops, people couldn’t get on. It was a beautiful, warm day in late October (probably the last good day of the year) and it felt like the entirety of Slovakia was determined to hike.

I got off at the stop named Popradske Pleso (along with half of the train) and headed along the tarmacked route. The route itself was paved and boring, but the scenery around us was pretty incredible as the entire train load of us headed towards the lake, hemmed up by mountains. On the way, I stopped at the memorial to fallen hikers – a symbolic cemetery for those who lost their lives in the High Tatras.

Shortly after, I reached the lake itself, which was beautiful. The water was crystal clear and perfectly reflected the mountains and the cloudless sky. Again, there was a lot of people, but it was hard to blame them for wanting to visit – the view was pretty amazing. From the lake, there is a switch-back trail, which heads up the mountainside, which I also followed for a while, looking for some better views of the lake below. Side note: it turns out Slovak children are a lot like mountain goats and they are capable of scaling any vertical surface at speed.

Popradske Pleso or Poprad Lake

After heading back down and circling the lake (and the mountain lodge, which was packed with day trippers), I then headed along a rocky and forested path to Strbske Pleso, an even larger and more popular lake in the mountains.

Strbske Pleso, the region’s most popular resort

By the time I reached the lake, I was pretty hungry, so opted for a rustic mountain meal instead of circling the lake. And then it was time to wait in a gigantic queue for the train back to Poprad. Strbske Pleso is the terminus for the train and we left the station entirely full, meaning no-one else was able to board at any other station. On the plus side, I was treated to a second beautiful sunset as we zipped through the forests.

You can view my hike on Endomondo here.

The next day, I left Poprad for Košice, before heading on to the airport.

Poprad to Košice by public transport: I got the train from Poprad at 10.40, arriving in Kosice just over an hour later. The journey was another beautiful one, passing through fields with beautiful views of the mountains.

The landscape of Slovakia’s Spiš region

Top tips for getting around Eastern Slovakia on public transport

• Make sure to get familiar with the Slovak transport website www.cp.sk – this has all bus and train schedules.
• Make sure to look up which bus stop you need; in the Spiš Region, there are a lot of towns with similar names (many beginning with Spiš- which can be confusing)
• If getting the TEZ train in Poprad, be prepared for it to be very busy. Try to get to any station early to avoid missing out.
• There are multiple connections between towns and cities – check times to see which are faster or slower.

Summary

Overall, it was a pretty rushed visit to Eastern Slovakia, but I think I got the best possible from the region in just three days. Thanks to the great weather, I was able to see a lot of the country on my journeys between the towns and I got to experience castle ruins, mountains hikes and hipster cafes all in one trip. I would happily go back to see more.