Spring Holiday in the High Tatras: Is It Really Worth It?

Is a spring holiday in the High Tatras, Slovakia worth your time and money?

Short answer: yes. Fewer crowds, lower prices, and that weird in-between season where spring flowers grow right next to knee-deep snow. 

But it’s not all sunshine and alpine picnics. Spring in the High Tatras comes with mood swings: unpredictable weather, closed trails, and, just to keep things interesting, bears waking up.

So is it worth the trade-off? We think so, but here’s what a spring holiday in the High Tatras is really like, plus our tips, as Slovak locals, to help you decide whether you should go.

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Here’s a little bit about our journey, if you are new here! If you know us, feel free to skip this part.

After leaving our old life in Scotland in March 2022 (it rains too much there), we travelled full-time for almost 2 years. Sounds fancy, doesn’t it? Well, it was. If you think that carrying overpacked backpacks in 45°C heat around streets that aren’t even on Google Maps is fancy. And that’s just 1% of all the fun we had! 😆

During the 2 years we volunteered in Italy and Bulgaria (free travel while learning new skills, anyone?), explored other amazing European countries and backpacked Southeast Asia. Btw, even our secret wedding was more of an expedition than a wedding. 😅

And, of course, we researched and planned everything ourselves, because you gotta keep the budget low, right? If you are like us, you’ve come to the right place, because we want to share all the useful travel tips and info with you!

Excited? Good. Let’s get into it so you can go on your own epic adventures too!

What happened when we visited the High Tatras in the spring 

First of all, we had a great time, which is why we would recommend a spring holiday in the High Tatras in Slovakia.

Having said that, as you might expect from Bad Luck Of The Year winners, it wasn’t the relaxing holiday we wanted.

Thankfully, we didn’t meet any bears, but we did almost break both our legs on a hike that we were told was “easy and family-friendly”, but turned out to be a prime example of why you absolutely need good travel insurance.

If you want to steal our itinerary, here is the key info:

When did we visit? April 2026

Where did we stay? Arietes Marmont Resort (in Štrba). 4 star hotel, would highly recommend 

How long did we stay for? 2 nights. You can cover a lot in 3 days, if you know the right travel tips!

What did we do?

• Day 1: Ružomberok – stopover on our way to the High Tatras. Visit the wonderful Trinity Beans cafe and the craft beer restaurant Čierny kameň
• Day 2: Hike to Popradské Pleso, a stunning mountain lake (don’t risk your life. Take the right path there if visiting in the spring)
• Day 3: Štrbské Pleso, Tatra Tea cocktails and lunch in a traditional chalet (owned by an Olympic medalist!)
  (Our alternative plan was visiting the Temple of Ice on its last day of the season)

Got any questions about our spring holiday in the High Tatras? Just drop us a message on our Instagram.

Spring holiday in the High Tatras: the good

Monday mornings at work suck. Especially when you remember that email you need to deal with, which you conveniently forgot about during the weekend.

But Monday mornings at least lead to having more money!

Now, the question is, should you spend that hard-earned cash on a spring holiday in the High Tatras?

If you ask us, yes! And money is actually one of the main reasons—because you can make it go further during spring.

Be smart when choosing your accommodation

A lot of hotels are offering spring holiday deals, where you get not just a cheaper stay, but also other perks. This will help you save even more money (like free ski passes, for example!).

For this spring holiday in the High Tatras, we booked our stay via Zlavomat – a deals platform for stays and experiences.

That meant that for just €290.50 (2 people) we got:

• 2 nights in a 4 star hotel (with an actual 4 star service, not like the disaster we experienced in the High Tatras before)
• Breakfast and dinner in the hotel
• Unlimited spa and wellness (watch out for this, Slovak spa hotels often come with wild rules and restrictions)
• A bottle of wine (free wine is always appreciated, right?)
• Late check out (which we ended up not using, of course, the one time we get it is the one time we don’t need it. But a great freebie!)

When looking for accommodation deals, check:

• Booking.com (using Genius loyalty programme)
• Deals platforms, like Zlavomat
• Hotels’ direct websites

What are the High Tatras like during spring?

Spring in the High Tatras is a magical time when it feels like early summer and late winter are having a great catchup. (Over a glass of local wine? Or the national spirit, Tatra Tea?) 

You’ll be walking past colourful flowers sitting right next to still-frozen snow.

We’ve visited the mountains in spring, summer and winter (still missing autumn, at the time of writing!) and on this trip, we were actually debating which season is the best for a holiday in the High Tatras.

Our conclusion?

We can’t choose!

There is something special about each season, as cliche as it sounds.

On this spring holiday, we loved being able to still enjoy snow, while wearing just jumpers (or in Daniel’s case, even a short-sleeve T-shirt), and the strange contrast of green and white all around us.

Are the High Tatras busy during spring?

Is spring a popular time to visit the High Tatras?

Based on our experience, kinda:

• The hotel we stayed at told us they were fully booked, but it was a weekend (and we booked just a few weeks in advance and there was still a lot of availability at the time).
• There were many people on the hike to Popradské Pleso, but again, it was a weekend, the weather was beautiful and it is one of the most popular trails in the High Tatras.
• The slopes we passed looked pretty much empty, but people do still go for skiing or snowboarding holidays even in April in the High Tatras – a great option for a cheaper and much less crowded winter sports holiday.
• In comparison with summer (and the crowds that come with it), the High Tatras felt very quiet. (Having said that, we managed to be alone on some of the hiking trails even in the middle of summer!)

The 2 things to watch out for?

• Easter break. Kids are off school, transport schedules change and shops are often closed. Since Easter dates differ every year, make sure you look them up before booking anything.
• Spring holidays. The thing with spring holidays is different parts of Slovakia (West, Central and East) each have them on a different week, so you might not be able to completely avoid them.

What you should do is look up dates of both Easter and spring holidays prior to booking your trip to the High Tatras:

• If you want to avoid having your hotel pool overrun with kids, you know when not to travel.
• On the other hand, if you do have children, you might find good family package deals plus extra activities for kids during spring and Easter holidays, so it might actually be a great time for you to visit the High Tatras mountains.

Is it worth visiting waterfalls during a spring holiday in the High Tatras?

Spring is actually the best time to visit waterfalls in the mountains, because the melting snow powers them up – they are at their peak activity!

Having said that, you should check out one thing before hiking to a waterfall.

During our spring holiday in the High Tatras, we wanted to visit Skok Waterfall (accessible from the famous Štrbské Pleso).

The reason we didn’t?

We looked up recent posts from the waterfall on Facebook and saw that it was still frozen and covered in snow, so there actually wasn’t any waterfall just yet!

If you are expecting a flowing waterfall, do a quick search on social media for the name, filter by recent posts and see if anyone has visited recently.

Spring holiday in the High Tatras: the challenging

Hold your horses!

Don’t go booking your spring holiday in the High Tatras just yet!

We haven’t told you about the challenging stuff you might want to think about, before you whip out your credit card.

Weather in the High Tatras during spring

Spring weather in the High Tatras is like spring weather in the rest of central Europe… except on steroids. 

We lucked out with 3 days of mostly sunshine and warmth…ish. 

Meaning I (Mirka speaking 👋🏻) was at times comfortable in base layers, jumper and a winter jacket, and other times I was too hot even in just the base layer. 

I won’t tell you about Daniel’s outfits, because he’s Scottish, so his sense of warm/cold is very different from normal people’s. 😅

Here’s what you should do when planning a spring holiday in the High Tatras:

• Keep checking the weather forecast for the mountains, especially if you’re planning on hiking (during our summer trip to the High Tatras we got caught by a massive thunderstorm – make sure you stay safe).
• Bring layers. That way you are ready for the cold, but can always take things off and enjoy the sunshine and the heat – if you get lucky like we did.
• Accept that you might get rubbish weather BEFORE you book your trip. No point wasting energy being angry about the weather once you are in the High Tatras (and ruining the trip for yourself).
• Be smart when booking your accommodation. Make sure you will be entertained if the weather is particularly bad and you have to stay in (this is why we always book places with a pool and/or spa).

Are hiking trails open in the High Tatras during spring?

The one thing you want to do when planning your spring holiday in the High Tatras is confirming whether the trails you want to hike are actually open.

Many higher elevated trails and peaks are closed between November 1st and May 31st, and you don’t want to end up disappointed once you get to the mountains.

Here’s what you need to know about hiking during spring in the High Tatras:

• You can see the list of the closures on this website.
• Popular hikes are always super busy the day the trail opens after winter (as well as the last day before the closure, as people try to complete the peaks and hikes before the season is over).
• All trails leading to the mountain chalets are open (with the exception of the Rysy Chalet). These are always a great option for a hike, with a little treat at the end (food, drink and a toilet!).
• Even if a trail is open, it doesn’t mean it’s easily accessible. We learned this the hard way on the red trail to Popradské Pleso. We still can’t believe we didn’t break any of our limbs on that hike, to be honest! Always research the trail conditions PROPERLY before deciding to go.

Watch out for bears in the High Tatras

Last but not least on this list of spring joys from the High Tatras are everyone’s favourite – bears!

If you didn’t know Slovakia had brown bears – now you do! You are welcome for unlocking a new fear for your spring holiday in the High Tatras!

Spring is a prime time to be scared alert, because not only are bears waking up from their winter nap time, they are also creating little teddies, which they protect fiercely, much to the misfortune of humans that might come across them.

Here is what you should know:

• Check out news on bear sightings in the area you are going to. 
• Learn how to behave when hiking in a bear country (and make sure everyone in your travel party is equally informed).
• Read about the dangers that await you in Slovakia, with info straight from locals.
• If you do see a bear, let us know! Daniel previously came across a family of wild boars and it’s one of his favourite hiking stories! 

Don’t forget this for your spring holiday in the High Tatras

Know what would suck?

If you did all this planning, to have the best spring holiday in the High Tatras, and then broke your leg on day 1, because you misstepped on a trail, when you were taking a selfie, so Janet from HR can be jealous you’re hiking in the stunning mountains of Slovakia, instead of answering emails at work.

Actually, what would suck even more is having to pay for the medical treatment out of your own pocket. Because then Janet from HR would never shut up about it!

So be smart and get good travel insurance. We recommend True Traveller, because their customer service is out of this world and their prices are equally mindblowing.

You can get a quote for your mountain holiday within seconds on the True Traveller website, without having to give up your email or phone number! Go check it out.

Spring holiday in the High Tatras can absolutely be worth it – if you choose good accommodation, plan your day trips well and embrace all weather. 

If you want help planning your trip to Slovakia, you can book a call with us – Mirka’s the local with insider knowledge, and Daniel’s the honorary Slovak with a foreigner’s POV… so between us, we’ve got you covered!

And if you end up doing a trip to the High Tatras, let us know on our Instagram – we would love to hear what you got up to (and what you thought of Tatra Tea – make sure you try it!).