HUNGARY & SLOVAKIA - SPRING TOUR Tour in detail
Day 1
BRATISLAVA AIRPORT to NORTH SLOVAKIA
Your flight will arrive in BRATISLAVA from where we will make our way north towards the peaks of Carpathian mountain range. Our journey, interesting in itself, will take us through the hills of southern Slovakia to the Liptov Basin surrounded by the highest mountains of Slovakia and farther north to Orava Montains. Our comfortable family hotel is situated at a tini village situated on the foothill of the West Tatras Mountains surrounded by forestst – excellent habitat for Nutcracker, Three Toed Woodpecker, Pygmy&Tengmalms Owls.
3 overnights
Day 2 & 3
NORTH SLOVAKIA, mountain forests and pastures, alpine meadows
Two full days. We will undertake walks through the coniferous and mixed forests with a primary target of those ‘hard-to-see‘ birds. We will begin the day with some pre-breakfast birdwatching not far from our hotel. In the early morning their loud birdsong makes it is easy to find Marsh and Grasshopper Warblers, Stonechat, Whinchat and Common Rosefinch.
One of the morning we spent searching for Black Grouse on large meadows near Polish burder.
Evening sounds are more typically those of Corn Crake, Quail and River Warbler.
After breakfast, we will go out to explore the mixed forest of spruce and mature beech. It's about half an hour drive and then some four kilometres each way, so with packed lunches we will be set for the day. The main species we will be looking for are those small and inconspicuous owls - Pygmy and Tengmalm’s, but there are more rarities to see here. During our stay in Slovakia, we should add Grey-headed, Black, White-backed, Three-toed Woodpeckers and Crossbill to our lists.
On both days we will look for the abundant Crested Tit, Firecrest, Collared and Red-breasted Flycatcher.
Hazel Grouse and Capercaille are less predictable birds, although they are not uncommon in the places where we walk. There are hundreds of pairs of Lesser Spotted Eagles breeding in Slovakia and they often take their prey from the meadows near to our hotel.
Day 4
NORTH SLOVAKIA to EAST SLOVAKIA
After breakfast, it is a forty-minute drive to the day’s main starting point – Wallcreeper. We will try to see it near its nest in a limestone gorge. In the forest we will see numerous inhabitants - Nutcracker and Ring Ouzel are quite common.
We will change hotels today and continue driving through lovely landscape, passing Spissky castle, one of the largest ruins in Europe. We will have planned a trip by chairlift to the Tatra summits in the afternoon. Water Pipits are everywhere at the elevation of 2000m, but we will be trying to spot some of the scarcer inhabitants of the alpine zone - Alpine Accentor, Golden Eagle, Peregrine, Marmot and the endangered Tatra race of Chamois.
Two overnights in a excellent hotel near Zemplinks Sirava Reservoir
Day 5
EAST SLOVAKIA, Fishponds, quarries, forests and fields
The sunny east of Slovakia, with a taste of the eastern plains, shares many species with neighbouring Hungary. During our two day stay, we will see some raptors on the nest and double our chances of seeing White-backed and Grey-headed Woodpecker, Red-breasted Flycatcher, plus a few others. We should complete our list of woodpeckers there. Local experts do not usually fail to find Black Stork, Saker and Imperial Eagle on the nest, and they have always a breeding Ural Owl to hand.
We will also visit Senne ponds. This area cannot rival Hortobagy but we can view birds very closely due to their much smaller size. Bittern, Red-necked Grebe and all marsh terns, just 40 feet away, are well worth seeing and quite often an unexpected vagrant turns up too. We will be based by a large artificial lake and will have busy mornings as the place really will be alive with spring bird songs.
Day 6
EAST SLOVAKIA to HORTOBAGYThis will be another enjoyable change of hotels. We will have time to check roadside birds like Crested Lark, shrikes, visit a colony of Bee-eaters, and then spend a few hours near to the frontier, where birds range from Eagle Owl to Little Bittern. We will have plenty of species on our day list after arrival at Hortobagy.
3 overnight in spa hotel in Hajduszoboslo
Day 7 & 8
HORTOBAGY, Puszta, fishponds and marshes
There is no need to introduce this superb area, which has become famous across Europe in the past decade. We will be accompanied by a local expert leader, who will be able to show us literally every species available at the time of our visit. This particularly applies to those species that a private visitor would be unlikely to find.
We will drive towards the heart of the Hortobágy National Park. Amidst the ancient steppe with its mosaic of small woods and wetlands, we'll look for numerous birds like Red-necked Grebes, Bittern, White-tailed Eagle, Long-legged Buzzard and Saker. A local Rook colony also holds some Red-footed Falcons, while Lesser Grey Shrikes breed nearby.
Great Bustards prefer short grasslands and such habitat is also ideal for Montagu's Harrier, Stone Curlew, Collared Pratincole and Tawny Pipit, whilst the marshy depressions are a favoured nesting area for Aquatic Warbler.
Around the small farms which are scattered throughout the puszta, Little Owls, Lesser Grey Shrikes and Crested Larks are typical birds. Many raptors can be seen around the Darassa-puszta region. Long-legged Buzzard, several eagle species including Short-toed, plus Saker ,are the birds to look for.
Flocks of water loving birds can be found, with Pygmy Cormorant amongst the colony of Great Cormorants, Caspian Tern and Great Black-headed Gull among the shorebirds, plus marsh terns and eight heron species. The reeds here are noisy with the songs of Bluethroat, Moustached, Savi's, Great Reed, and Marsh Warblers. The colonies of Spoonbill and Great White Egret offer unforgettable views. The pond systems of the Hortobagy also have Sea Eagle, Marsh Harrier, Ferruginous Duck, Red-necked Grebe, crakes and many others all around.
Day 9
HORTOBAGY to BUDAPEST
We will leave Hortobagy after brief morning birdwatching. Attracted by the water and vast areas of open landscape, new birds are arriving every day. Indeed, it is likely that we will add some new species to our list on this last day before we head back to Budapest for the return flight home.
TOUR DETAILS
GROUP SIZE: 4-14 participantsAccommodation
- 3 nights in a nice family hotel in Orava Mountains (Slovakia)
- 2 nights in a nice hotel near Zemplinska Sirava reservoir (Slovakia)
- 3 nights in a spa hotel near Hortobagy NP (Hungary)
Our price always includes
- all travel as noted in the itinerary
- all accommodation based on double/twin rooms
- 3 meals per day (starting with dinner DAY1, finishing with picnic lunch DAY9): generally breakfast at the accommodation, packed lunch, dinner (consists of 3 courses and caffe)
- services of the leader(s)
- entrance to Hortobagy national park
- special view train in Hortobagy Halasto
- trip materials
Not includes
- flight
- telephone calls
- beverages
- compulsory personal insurance.
If you have questions about the inclusion of any cost item, please contact us.
Activity level:
Generally easy to moderate walks.
Weather can be cold in the higher regions while generally favourable at lower elevations.