Autocamping Podlesok

The location is spot on, right by the entrance to some of Slovak Paradise’s best trails. Staying here includes a ticket to Slovak Paradise and rescue insurance. The camping is calm and quiet, and the toilets get cleaned from time to time. My only gripe was that one of the three showers in the men’s toilet was broken.

The campsite is right by the national park, but the facilities were very limited: just two showers and three toilets. A shower costs extra, 1 euro for 3 minutes, and there’s hardly any room to change. You can hear everything in the toilet while showering. Laundry and electricity also cost extra. The electrical sockets seemed extremely dangerous, so I’d suggest using gloves.

You can leave late on tent checkout day, at 4pm, which gives you time to hike and come back to pack. The campsite is spacious and clean, and you can park right beside your tent. There are souvenir shops just outside, prices are very reasonable, and amenities include a beer dispenser that takes cards around the clock. Via ferrata sets are available to rent for only 5 euro.

We weren't allowed to stay at the campsite at all, so I’d give this one star, or zero if I could. On arrival we were turned away because a festival was taking place. A month earlier, we’d emailed about a reservation with a specific date and were told we didn’t need one and that there’d definitely be space. Nobody mentioned the festival. When we called after being turned away, they apologized and said the information was on the website. We had checked beforehand and found nothing. Looking again, we discovered the notice was only on the Slovak version, not the English one. Please be more careful and clear next time when assuring people they’ll have a place to stay.