Day 1 (L) ARRIVE: VIENNA Upon arrival at the Vienna airport your driver will be waiting to take you to Bratislava. Tour participants should plan to arrive in Vienna airport no later than 10:30 am.The driver will take you to the Castle Hill area of Bratislava. Your guide will meet you there, present you with additional tour information on Slovakia, and take you to lunch at a special local restaurant. After lunch your guide will take you in a coach on a one hour Bratislava city tour, then to your hotel to check-in (Hotel Devin-4 star or comparable). You will have time to relax and refresh.Later in the afternoon your guide will meet you and take you on a walking tour of Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia, and the coronation city of 19 Habsburg Kings and Queens. On this tour you will visit St. Martin Cathedral, Michael Gate, and Primate’sPalace. Bratislava is one of the youngest capitals in Europe once called Pressburg or Pozsony, and was one of the most important cities in the AustroHungarian Empire. It was a mixing pot of various nations and nationalities living together in peace and harmony. Bratislava’s location on the banks of the River Danube and at the crossroads of ancient trading routes at the heart of Europe, predestined it to become a meeting point of various cultures. The reign of Maria Theresa is regarded as a golden era in the city’s history. She was crowned Queen of Hungary in St. Martin’s Cathedral in Pressburg, just like the 10 other kings and 8 royal partners over the course of 300 years when Pressburg was in fact the capital of the Kingdom of Hungry. There are over 300 castles in Slovakia, many of which sheltered entire towns, and these buildings and ruins are reminders that Slovakia once stood at the crossroads of religions, conquerers, and culture.Your guide will give you an orientation of the area surrounding your central city hotel location, give you recommendations for restaurants and then leave you for the evening. (L)

Day 2 (BD)

Buffet breakfast in the hotel.

GOLFERS: ROUND 1

Non-golfers will travel with the golfers to Penati Golf Club. The new Penati Golf Resort is a magnificent new Jack Nicklaus design. Built in the "Little Carpathians" amidst fragrant pine forests and sparkling with sand dunes this inimitable course aims to be one of the finest in Europe. www.penatigolfresort.sk After their departure you and your guide will travel on to Skalica. Skalica with the fall of the Great Moravian Empire became a frontier border town separating the Hungarian and Czech kingdoms. It has preserved and restored many of its fine historical museums, monuments, unique triangular plaza, and original fortifications. You will return to Penati for lunch with the golfers, then continue on together to visit Red Stone Castle. After the guided tour your group will travel through the Carpathian Wine Region to a local winery, Vinoludric, for a wine tasting and dinner. (BD) After dinner you will return to your hotel in Bratislava.

Day 3 (BD)

After breakfast at the hotel you will check-out

Your guide/driver will pick up your group and you will begin the journey to the Tatras Mountains. The first stop will be in Trenčín to visit the Trencin castle (entry included) After this tour you continue on to Zilina, the capital of northern Slovakia. There will be a short orientation by your guide and you will have time for lunch on your own. After lunch you continue on into the High Tatras to Pribylina, the location of Liptov Village, a beautiful open air museum that depicts how the local people lived during the past centuries (entry included). Upon completion of this tour you will be taken to check-in the Hotel Stary Smokovec 4 star (or comparable). This hotel will be your home for the next few days. This Grand Hotel is located in the National Park and there are limited choices for restaurants, therefore during your stay breakfast and dinner will be included in their fine restaurant. Your evening will be free to allow you time to stroll around the grounds and nearby village. High Tatras national park is the oldest national park in Slovakia. It was founded in 1949 and covers a 741-square-kilometer area of the Slovak part of the Zapadne Tatry and Vysoke Tatry (West and High Tatras), and also the entire Belianske Tatras. The tallest and best-known part of this range are the High Tatras, the tallest peak being Gerlach, spiking to a summit at 2655 meters above sea level (m a.s.l.). These mountains, the only of alpine character in Slovakia, stretch their 32 valleys over a mere 26 kilometers, making the range one of the smallest of its kind. The sharp, stony peaks owe their shape to glaciers, which shaped the High Tatras many thousands of years ago. (BD)

Day 4 (BD)

Breakfast at the hotel.

GOLFERS: ROUND 2

Early in the morning a driver will transport you to the Black Stork golf course Velká Lomnica. Black Stork with it’s many water features and numerous lakes, offers panoramic views of the Tatras Mountain range. Though new in 1999, it is built partially on the original 1906 course. www.international.sk/en/black-stork

NON GOLFERS

Your guide will meet you at the hotel and you will take as short walk to the funicular railway station where you will board for a trip up Hrebienok Mountain. (Ticket included)* You will have a few hours to walk, take pictures, and enjoy the natural beauty and expansive views. There also is an easy walking trail that takes you to view several waterfalls. When you return down the Mountain your guide and driver will take you to meet up with the golfers *If the weather in inclement your group will be taken to historic Poprad for a guided tour

GOLFERS + NON GOLFERS

After joining up with your friends you will drive to the Spis area. You will stop in Levoča, have an orientation tour, that includes a visit to the church of St. Jacob containing the highest wooden altar in the world, and have time for a coffee break or lunch on your own (not included) After lunch you continue on to Spis Castle (UNESCO Heritage site). This is the largest castle ruin in Central Europe and has been the filming location for many movies. Your tour then returns to your hotel for dinner at the hotel. (BD)

Day 5 (BL)

After breakfast at the hotel you will check-out.

GOLFERS: ROUND 3

Your driver and guide will transport your group south through the beautiful Lower Tatra Mountains. Your group will stop for a one hour tour of the Bystrainska Cave. The cave tour route is very flat and well lit. This cave is known for its typical cave rock features, the evolution of under ground halls, domes and spaces, and the occurrence of flowstone fills. The group then continues on to check in at the 4 star Hotel Partizon Tále and have lunch (included). The golfers will be driven to nearby Tale Grey Bear Golf Club, designed by Skip Mokek and Bob Walton (Hilton Head). This 7000 yard Slope 144 course was literally etched out of a mountain forest. Each year this club hosts an European womens' tour tournament. www.tale.sk The non-golfers will have the afternoon free to hike in the beautiful tranquil surrounding forest or enjoy the spa facilities at the hotel's Wellness Center, which is considered one of the best in Slovakia. Later the reunited group will meet for dinner either at the hotel or at Restaurant Taska Baska next to the hotel. (BL)

Day 6 (BL)

After breakfast you will check out.

Your guide and driver will meet you and you will depart to the south towards the Hungarian and Austrian borders. Leaving the Low Tatras National Park you soon arrive in Banská Bystrica, capital of Middle Slovakia, one of the three golden towns in Slovakia. During the Maria Theresia times there was a silver mining town, Banská Stiavnica (UNESCO) where the gold and silver was mined and then moved by horses to Kremnica (close to the geographical center of Europe). The coin processing plant is still located there. The golden coins were finally moved to the third golden town of Banská Bystrica, the trade capital. There will be a short orientation walking tour of the city and then you will have free time for coffee downtown or some shopping. Leaving Banská Bystrica, en route to Banská Šiavnica, you will stop to visit one of Slovakia's famous wooden churches. It is located in Hronsek, (UNESCO site) and was built during the time of religious oppression and had to be built without the aid of any kind of metal fasteners or nails. (Entry included) Upon arrival in Banská Stiavnica you will be taken to lunch in a brewery, where you will taste three local beers. After lunch there will be a one and one half hour walking tour of the town which includes watching a spectacular falconry show. This town is the Golden town of Theresia Habsburg. Banská Stiavnica is one of the most strikingly beautiful and historically interesting towns in Slovakia. In December 1993 it was inscribed on the List of World Cultural and Natural Heritage UNESCO sites and, thus received great international recognition. The inscription includes the town's historical centre plus the technological monuments in its surroundings After this tour you will continue on to Vienna and will check-in to Hotel Astoria, 4 star (or comparable). Your guide will say goodnight and you will be free for dinner on your own. (BL)

Day 7 (BL)Your group will be joined by your guide at the hotel and taken to Schonbrunn Castle. The castle visit includes an audio guide in English. There will be time before lunch to visit the surrounding gardens. Then your guide will take you to lunch at a nearby restaurant-brewery.After lunch you will be taken on a three hour coach and walking tour of Vienna.After returning to the hotel, the evening is open for dinner on your own and exploring the sights and sounds of Vienna. (BL)Settlements along the Danube, near what is now the City of Vienna, can be traced back to the 5th century before Christ. Those settlements were of Celtic origin as is the name, Wein, which was derived from the Celtic "Vedunia" meaning river in the woods. The Roman established the garrison camp Vindobona in the 1st century A.D. Reminders of that Roman Camp can be seen at Hober Market and at the Stephansplatz underground station. Vienna began to grow in importance during the middle ages. It was to become the capital of the Habsburg Empire for almost seven centuries. The city's imperial past is still visible today, as evidenced by the Hofburg Schőnbrunn Castle, buildings along Ringstraße, and many other sites throughout Vienna.

Day 8 END OF TOURBreakfast at the hotel.A driver will transport you to Vienna Airport for your departure.