Pieniny, Šariš and Bardejov
A raft trip down the Dunajec, the castle and open-air museum above Stará Ľubovňa and UNESCO wooden churches sit on one route across northern Slovakia. This is not a corner of the map you head to for a weekend from the Czech Republic — which is exactly why you meet far fewer cars here than in the Tatras, and why you can spend a whole day in the Goral villages of Zamagurie without hurrying anywhere. Eight days are enough for the Pieniny and Bardejov, with two of them taken up by the drive there and back; the Warhol museum in Medzilaborce only reopens after its refurbishment on 4 September 2026, so do not build the trip around it before then.
The first day belongs to the drive via Brno, Žilina and Poprad, so share the wheel and plan to arrive in daylight. The last stretch already runs through foothill villages where nobody makes good time. You will spend the night in the Spiš region and head north along the Poprad in the morning.
On the way north, stop in Kežmarok at the wooden articular Church of the Holy Trinity, which belongs to the same UNESCO listing as the churches in Šariš. The afternoon is for Ľubovňa Castle and the open-air museum of folk buildings below it; opening hours for both parts are on hradlubovna.sk. In the evening you drop down to the Dunajec at Červený Kláštor, where you stay for two nights.
In the morning you board a traditional wooden raft at Červený Kláštor and drift through the gorge beneath the limestone walls of the Pieniny down to Lesnica; the trip takes just under two hours. You come back on foot or by bike along the trail that follows the river. The afternoon leaves time for the Carthusian monastery with its museum right in the village. Confirm the raft trip by phone in advance — when the water is high it is cancelled from one day to the next.
Keep the morning for the quieter face of the Pieniny: the viewpoint trails above the Dunajec and the Goral villages of Zamagurie. After lunch you cross into Šariš on the road that runs along the Polish border through Plaveč. In the evening you walk Radničné námestie in Bardejov for the first time; it is nicely lit once darkness falls.
Radničné námestie with its Renaissance town hall and the Basilica of St Giles with its Gothic winged altars have been on the UNESCO list since 2000, and a morning is more than enough for them. In the afternoon you drive out to Hervartov to the wooden Church of St Francis of Assisi — check the guided visit and the opening hours with the municipal office beforehand. On the way back you can stop in Bardejovské Kúpele at the open-air museum of folk architecture.
The day belongs to Greek Catholic wooden churches: Ladomirová has the Church of St Michael the Archangel, Bodružal the Church of St Nicholas, both UNESCO listed. From there you continue up the Laborec valley to Medzilaborce and the Warhol museum. The museum was closed for three years for renovation and the exhibitions reopen on 4 September 2026, so check the opening hours and admission on muzeumaw.sk before you set off.
You head west via Prešov and Levoča. It is worth stopping at Spiš Castle, which is also on the UNESCO list, and walking the historic core of Levoča. You will spend the night below the Tatras or at the entrance to Slovenský raj, so that the final day stays a sensible length.
The last day is again all about driving — you return to Bohemia via Žilina and Brno. Set off early to avoid the afternoon traffic around Brno. Plan a longer break along the way, over lunch near Žilina for instance, so you can share the wheel just as you did on day one.
Slovakia: vehicles up to 3.5 t need an electronic motorway vignette (eznamka.sk) — roughly €8 for a day, €11 for ten days, €17 for a month and €90 for a year. Watch the vehicle category: the vignette also applies to category M1 vehicles regardless of weight, and motorhomes are usually registered as M1, so even a heavier vehicle with M1 in its registration document travels on a vignette. Other vehicles over 3.5 t fall under the electronic toll with an on-board unit (emyto.sk) and registration has to be sorted out before you enter the country. In the Czech Republic along the way, vehicles up to 3.5 t need an electronic vignette (edalnice.gov.cz) and those over 3.5 t the distance-based toll with an on-board unit (mytocz.eu). The one paid attraction is the raft trip itself: a raft from Červený Kláštor to Lesnica costs €25 per adult, €23 for students and seniors and €16 for children under twelve according to pltnictvo.sk. No mountain road or tunnel on the route carries a separate charge.
Camping Dunajec, Červený Kláštor — the main base for the Pieniny, right by the raft landing; electric hook-ups, showers and a waste disposal point, contact +421 915 890 937 · ATC Chatová osada Goralský dvor, Haligovce — the second option in Zamagurie when Camping Dunajec is full · Autocamp Levoča (Penzión pod Mariánskou horou), Levočská dolina — a practical overnight stop in the Spiš region for the first night, three kilometres north of the town; pitches for caravans and motorhomes, tel. +421 903 255 440 · Autocamping Podlesok, Hrabušice — at the entrance to Slovenský raj, a good stop on the way back · Rijo Camping, Stará Lesná — below the High Tatras, an alternative to Podlesok
Wild camping outside designated places is prohibited in Slovakia, and in the Pieniny National Park there are no exceptions at all, so count on campsites. There is no public campsite in eastern Šariš or along the Laborec — arrange the three nights around Bardejov in advance by phone with a guesthouse or a farm stay that will let you onto their land. The historic centre of Bardejov and the approach to Ľubovňa Castle are both tight for a large vehicle; leave it in a car park on the edge and walk in.
The most reliable place to take on water and empty the waste is Camping Dunajec in Červený Kláštor — showers, hook-ups and a disposal point are part of the site and you will be staying there two nights anyway. Do not count on similar facilities in the eastern half of the route, so leave the Pieniny with a full tank and an empty cassette. On the way back, the nearest campsite facilities are in Hrabušice by Slovenský raj; check when you book whether the disposal point is freely accessible.
Adria Compact
The Compact is a compact low-profile motorhome — on the narrow roads to Hervartov and Bodružal and in the small car parks by the wooden churches it turns more easily than a long vehicle. The garage also takes bikes for the ride back from Lesnica along the Dunajec to the rafts.
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