Levoca

Autocamping Levocska Dolina    September 2008

This is a large, grassy site with plenty of shade. There are a number of small wooden chalets for rent, and plenty of room for tourers, but the ground is very uneven in places - we had a lot of difficulty getting level - and the path into the site is very rough and bumpy.

The toilet block is quite smart but the cubicles are very cramped! Toilet paper is supplied from a central dispenser. The showers have plenty of hot water but are poorly lit and the cubicles have no door or curtain, and the changing area is communal. Privacy is not considered important in many Eastern European campsites! However this was not a problem as the site was not very busy when we were there.

There is a small camp kitchen with a cooker, table and chairs and 2 washing-up sinks, but no washing machine. This was also the only source of drinking water.

The site is at the back of a hotel with a pleasant-looking restaurant which was very popular with local people, but we didn't try it.

The town of Levoca has two good supermarkets, Lidl and Billa, and a very attractive main square with quaint old houses and an interesting church. The nearby castle of Spissky Hrad and the religious community of Spissky Capitula are well worth visiting. There are walks in the forest around the site, and a trip to the spectacular Tatra Mountains is a must. We took a cable car up to Skalnate Pleso, where there is a small lake and many footpaths up the mountain. From here there is another cable car to the summit of Lomnicky Stit but the chaotic system for buying tickets defeated us! The area is very popular in winter for skiing and snowboarding

Liptovska Sielnica

Villa Betula Resort    August 2012

 This complex consists of a small hotel, half a dozen apartments and some mobile homes for rent, and a level, grassy area for camping. This is not divided into numbered pitches, but there are plenty of electric hookups. The toilet block is smart and clean, but with only two showers in the women's section there were often queues. There are washing-up sinks with hot water, and a washing machine. Wifi is available throughout and is free.

The site is very child-orientated, with an extensive range of play equipment. There are a couple of fields with animals - sheep, goats, a donkey and pigs - that children can feed. On site there is also a large riding centre which seemed to cater for all levels of skill and experience. The site is open all year and in winter there is a very gentle ski slope for young children. There is a small bio-swimming pool, which means that instead of using chemicals to keep the water clean, natural proceses are used instead. This meant that the water was a murky dark greeny-brown, rather than an attractive blue, but no doubt it was perfectly safe to swim in (we didn't try it!)

There is a bar with terrace and an excellent and reasonably-priced restaurant serving local dishes. There is no shop on site but a choice of supermarkets in Liptovsky Mikulas, about 20 minutes away by car. The site is in a scenic area of hills and lakes and is adjacent to Lake Mara, for swimming, fishing and boating (there are pedalos for hire. ) It's not far from a huge water park called Tatralandia. The spectacular Tatra Mountains are not far away.