I have heard the Sucha Bela canyon hike is a real highlight--is it possible to do this hike in a day if I am staying at the Grand Kempinski in Strbske Pleso? It seems like buses to the national park are not great, especially in October. Does anyone have advice on how to do this hike in terms of transport from Strbske Pleso? Thanks!
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40 helpful votes Go to http://www.cp.sk and choose the English option bottom right. Select Štrbské pleso as the starting point and Hrabušice,,rázc.Betlanovce which is the closest you will get in October https://goo.gl/maps/5piNhxdaha12
You will see the option of 0715 to Poprad, then change to Spišský Štvrtok then another change to Hrabušice,,rázc.Betlanovce - pay the driver each time.
From there you need to walk to Podlesok https://goo.gl/maps/cmpMq67rYpL2 and from there the only on-line guide I can find is this one http://www.slovenskyraj.sk/chodniky/sr07/sr07.html but is in Slovak. It seems to translate quite well into English using GT, you'll just need a bit of lateral thinking :) and/or follow this http://www.slovenskyraj.sk/mapy/sbela/sbela.html - but a local map is essential for example this one http://turistikaonline.sk/literatura.php?i=59 which shows all the trails - they are colour-coded and well-marked. You can buy these maps at many places, probably even in the little shop in Štrbské pleso railway station which sells almost everything.
For the journey back again just do the same search in reverse. It is all here if you want it in black and white http://www.eurobus.sk/public/media/0335/810438.pdf
Other options if public transport would be too complicated:
- As you will be staying in the luxury hotel, you can ask for the help of concierge to arrange some transport for you - either at the time of your stay, or by e-mailing concierge.hightatras@kempinski.com
- there is a minibus cab (up to 8 persons) at the parking lot at Strbske Pleso, phone +421 905 123124, you might be able to arrange transport with this service (no idea about pricing, you need to ask them).
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40 helpful votes Yes, you could ask them to get you at least to Spišsky Štvrtok (which is a beautiful little place, BTW).
Thanks so much! Do you know how long the public transport option would take? We are thinking of trying to stay somewhere more central. Is it easier to get to Sucha Bela from Poprad?
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40 helpful votes If you look at that link in the first sentence of answer #1 it will give you all the information about times and transport options.
Are you thinking of changing from Kempinski? It is far and away the most expensive place in the region and people don't tend to use it as a base to go hiking in Slovenský raj, unless they have their own transport.
It is certainly easier from Poprad, however Poprad is a bit of a one-horse town, to say the least. If it is a clear day you get beautiful views of the Tatras, but if not it has very little going for it.
Štrbske pleso is very beautiful, and there are some good walking options - one that we did a few weeks ago is to walk to Popradské pleso, and then take the ziz-zag path up to Sedlo pod Ostrvou - from the restaurant by the lake you will see the colourful dots of people making their way up the seemingly perpendicular mountainside. The views are stupendous, and is a worthy alternative to Suchá Belá.
