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 | Slovakia Warnings or Dangers | Tips 1 - 10 of 57 |  |
 by SkipkaLeave a Comment
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Such the obvious dangers like in other countries like avoid dark streets of towns and take care of your wallet etc. :) No rudeness or racism but be careful when you travel by car/train off the beathen paths in the region with high density of Gipsies. Sometimes they should be dangerous or they should steal money to u. It is just a warning not the rule. I remember my friends from Germany were shocked travelling to Kosice from Hungarian border when they stopped somewhere out of the road for a bit of rest and finally there appeared many of Gipsies around them soon. So, it is not very nice feeling... Leave a Comment
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 KATHY (KODI01) AND MY CAR by matcrazy1
Watch your car anyway!
My suggestions (usuful in most of Europe)
AFTER ARRIVAL
1. Notice that cars are usually stolen in crowded, large parking lots or on crowded, main streets (at daytime as well) mainly in larger cities - a few seconds maybe enough for smart and well trained car theft. So, use guarded (and paid) parking lots when possible esp. in such places but it doesn't guarantee 100% safety for your car as well. If not available... no choice, keep smiling and remember, probablity of car theft is lower in Slovakia than in many other European countries. Anyway, be especially careful in large parking lots adjacent to large supermarkets like TESCO - if possible it's better one person to stay in a car - I was told about car burglaries there,
2. Always try to know where exactly you are (to name your position in emergency), don't forget coins for emergency call if you don't have cell phone,
3. Always watch your car keys and papers (passport, identity, registration, insurance),
4. Always keep your doors (esp. while driving in urban areas) and luggage compartment locked, if you have your luggage compartment opened from the inside block this possibility,
5. Don't keep any valuables (camera, laptop etc.) inside a car when you leave it, your car should be empty inside while parked.
KEEP SMILING - the above suggestions will lower possibility of any car theft to almost 0, I am sure :-))). Happy driving!!! Leave a Comment
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 by MichaelFalk1969
With luck you find him and his buddy in a street near St. Martins Cathedral.
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 by Sue08080Leave a Comment
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 This is the better of the two
I have but not usefu by lmkluque
If you are not language savvy like I am not, be warned not to buy a dicitonary that only translates words from the other language into your own. First, everything about the Slovak language was new to me so I hadn't a clue where to start and second, to use this dictionary I'd have to know the Slovak word and I'd have to be able to spell it in order to find out what it meant. Thankfully, family members took pity on me and gave me an English-Slovak dictionary which made a world of difference. Leave a Comment
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 FAJCIARI = FOR SMOKING by matcrazy1
There was a lot of cigarette smoke inside local restaurants/pubs/bars and many of them were not properly venilated; locals opened windows instead. Usually there was non-smoking room in a restaurant/pub but quite often there was only "non-smoking table" which meant that non-smoking folks were in real forced to breath the same air as smoking.
More local restaurant/pub (esp. "hostinec") usually meant more cigarette smoke. Surely there were many restaurants (esp. in hotels and touristy places) with well seperated areas for smoking and non-smoking guests.
Signs:
FAJCIARI (look at my pic) = for smoking. Leave a Comment
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 CHEESE SOLD FROM A COOLER
ALONG A HIGHWAY by matcrazy1
Look, in Slovakia I ate "syrove korbaciki" bought from street vendors many, many times and nothing bad happened to my stomach - never. They pay attention to hygiene making and storing home-made food, I think. So, don't take the food warning too seriously unless you don't want to taste some delicious food. More, a few times (once even in the USA) I had some problems with my stomach (diarrhoea) when I ate food sold in groceries or supermarkets. Leave a Comment
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 ON SLOVAK HIGHWAY by matcrazy1
Watch your car anyway!
My suggestions (usuful in most of Europe)
BEFORE YOU GO
1. You must decide whether to drive your own car (if you are from Europe :-) or to rent it in Slovakia. If you are from the USA/Canada rent a car with automatic transmission unless you can drive with manual one. If you are from left-side driving country (UK, Malta, Cyprus) better to rent a car with wheel on left side although...
Car thefts choose cars which are the easiest to re-sell (a car or its parts). That is either expensive, new or almost new ones or most common cars (Skoda in Slovakia). So... maybe really better not to drive new Mercedes S class unless you have trained protective dog and a driver with a gun inside. Notice that German cars are more often stolen than Japanese. More unique and cheaper car you have, more save it is.
2. Buy theft incurance and read carefully its rules before you sign them - pay attention to limited responsobility of insurance company (for example no responsibility when you loose your original car keys or papers),
Since 1 May 2004 Slovakia becomes EU member so car insurances of EU countries should be valid in Slovakia as well. Check it.
3. Have emergency numbers (police, insurance company, bank of your card, ambulance) always ready to immediate use - put the numbers to your cell phone memory card or write them down and carry always with you. You never know what can happen.
4. Copy (scan and print out) your papers (passport, identity, registration of car, insurance) and always carry with you in hiden seperate place.
5. Eventually buy and install additional and not common anti-theft blockade or alarm, remove any stickers - commercials often put by alarm instalators on your car windows (they are helpful for thefts).
Excuse me - there is not enough space for more text in this tip - read the next one please. Leave a Comment
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 VISITORS AT ORAVA CASTLE,
ORAVSKY PODZAMOK by matcrazy1
Although I was forced to wait in quite long line to enter Slovakia driving from Wien, Austria. I met a lot of visitors in Bratislava in late 90' and even in Oravsky Podzamok in Oct 2003. But never as many as say in Paris, Venice, Rome etc.
The most popular among visitors is Bratislava as it is attractive city to visit, cheap (in comparison to nearby Austria) and located close to Wien, Austria. Bratislava is even called sometimes vinicity of Wien. Other most visited places include castles, Tatra Mountains on Polish border and a few cities in western Slovakia.
To avoid crowds notice that tourist attractions are most crowded in weekends and national holidays (listed in my tourist trap tip) and in high season (July and August, in Tatra Mountains Jan - Feb as well). Especially when weather is sunny in summer and snowy in Tatra Mountains (skiing). In Bratislava additionally in Austrian national holidays. Leave a Comment
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