Tips for a fun campervan roadtrip from Bratislava to Moravia

3-day campervan roadtrip from Bratislava to Moravia and back, by Majka and Jano

Wine cellars, liquor tasting, walks in the forests, viewpoints and underwater rooms with fish swimming over your head and much more that you can experience on this fun campervan roadtrip in Moravia 🙂

Our friends Majka and Jano embarked on a 3-day trip with the Big Banana campervan to Moravia. A wave of inspiration hit them after the trip and they wrote about what they saw and experienced.

Over the course of 3 days, they traveled around 500km with loads of stops at interesting places. If you’d like to follow their footsteps, at the end of the article, you’ll find links to individual places.

Day 1

We picked up the campervan on Saturday morning at 8 o’clock. Everything about the camper and how to use it was explained to us at the pick up location in Bratislava. We quickly loaded up, and the campervan roadtrip in Moravia could begin.

The campervan Big Banana has plenty of storage space. There were two of us with a larger dog and everything could be stored without any problems.

We were prepared for the always changing September weather, so we packed plenty of things for all the possible temperatures.

We wanted an easy-going trip with plenty of time to spend at interesting locations. Because of the dog, we also included random stops to do short walks in the woods or in the fields.

Lednice

On Saturday, we planned to wander around Lednice and Mikulov. There’s plenty to see in the area. Right after crossing the border, we stopped in the woods between Břeclav and Valtice and went for a walk with the dog, where we also collected some mushrooms for breakfast. The journey continued to Lednice. A short distance from the Lednice castle, we found a parking lot right next to the Lednice brewery, where they had great IPAs (yes, we also brought some for dinner).

We only saw the castle from the outside; we were more interested in the castle greenhouse, as we both love plants. Visiting the greenhouse was a great choice, with many tropical plants reaching up to the ceiling, a nice environment and only few people. The castle also has a huge park where you can go for a walk. Accross from the park is a minaret (minaret is a tower connected to a mosque from where the faithful muslims are called to prayer) that offers beautiful views of the surrounding landscape.

However, to get to the viewpoint at the top of the minaret, we had to climb 305 steps on a spiral staircase. The minaret is one of the tallest in the world outside of Islamic countries. If you’re afraid of heights, it’s a great test of courage :).

Mikulov

Our next stop was in Mikulov, where we found a destination called Svatý kopeček (it translates as “the saint little hill”). On the way to it, we came across wine cellars. In front of one, there was a food truck selling delicious food and drinks (@vinice.coffeebar). The friendly seller let us taste the wine, recommended us routes in the area, and we also managed to pick up two bottles of great wine there.

Afterwards we parked our campervan at Lom u Mariánského mlýna (Quarry by the Marian mill), where limestone was once mined and now there was a lake. The water was beautifully clean, you could definitely swim there, although we recommend warmer months. There is a route from the parking lot to Svatý kopeček, it’s a pleasant walk, and at the top, there is a chapel and the oldest calvary in Bohemia. The view is wonderful, especially combined with the slowly setting sun. Ideal place for a walk with a dog.

Parking for the first night

Originally, we wanted to park for the first night somewhere by a lake or a pond, of which there are plenty in the area, but in the end, we decided to head to the next destination in the evening, so that we wouldn’t have to drive immediately after breakfast. So we drove off to Bukovanský mlýn and spent the night in the parking lot. We solved dinner with a goulash that we cooked the day before leaving, so we just had to reheat it, and we could focus on the liquid catches from the road.

minaret Lednice staircase — 305 stairs to the top of the minaret

Lednice castle greenhouse — In the Lednice castle there is a greenhouse with plenty of exotic plants reaching to the ceiling

Day 2

The next day, after a hearty breakfast, we moved to a village called Modrá. It’s a place where we didn’t think we would spend so much time. Everything is in one place here, you can park your camper and walk around on foot.

Modrá

We started with a tour of Archeoskanzen Modrá, which is a fortified settlement from the times of Great Moravia. Right next to it is the Terrarium, which is the largest in Moravia. Those who like to see exotic spiders, snakes, lizards, etc., will enjoy it here. Thirdly, we left the best for last, the Živá voda area – home to freshwater animals and medieval aurochs.

The whole area is covered with ponds and marshes, you can swim there, and walk around observing the local flora. But the best thing is located in the main building, right next to the pond.

From the top, you can observe fish from bridges. One floor below, 3.5 meters below the water surface, there is an 8-meter long glass tunnel from which you can observe freshwater fish “under water”. Carps, pikes, sturgeons, and large belugas, some pieces reaching a length of up to 2 meters.

The building also has another room below, where you can, through a window, observe catfish and other fish preferring the darker corners of the pond.

The final touch was a visit to the distillery – the Center of Moravian Traditions, where we tasted various kinds of liqueur, among which we must highlight raspberry liqueur, ginger liqueur, and strawberry liqueur – one bottle of which also accompanied us on the journey.

Parking for the second night

After leaving the area, we stopped for a walk with the dog in Chřiby. Very nice nature, perfect for a walk, there was also the possibility of visiting several places, but we skipped those, as our plan was to get to the location where we wanted to spend the night, at the Macocha Abyss.

We parked directly in the parking lot next to Macocha, it is not used at night and opens at 7:30 am, so until then, we were completely alone here. After arrival, we managed another walk. There are several smaller caves in the area, one of which we found with the help of the Mapy.cz app. We use this app a lot, as it not only includes official hiking trails but also smaller forest paths, which are usually empty. We also appreciated that we took headlamps; without them, we would have gotten lost immediately.

Day 3

On the third day, after breakfast, we headed to the Punkevní caves, for which we bought tickets for a specific date in advance, as the number of places is limited, and it is not easy, especially on weekends, to find available spots.

Punkevní caves

The cave is located on the other side of the hill from Macocha; a cable car departs directly from the cave area, from the upper terrace. You can also walk, but reportedly there is nothing interesting along the way, and the way down takes almost ¾ of an hour. You can also buy a combined ticket for the cable car/train, which transports people directly from the Punkevní cave to the next one – Kateřinská cave.

The Punkevní caves themselves were a great choice. The visit consists of two parts, on foot and by boat. The walking part takes about three-quarters of an hour, you walk all the way to the bottom of the abyss, on the other side of the hill.

There you board boats and sail about 15 minutes to the exit. Both parts were great; we must especially highlight the boatman’s skills in maneuvering in narrow spaces with a long boat, and also his commentary, which made us laugh from beginning to the end.

Macocha Abyss

The last on the list was the Macocha Abyss itself. Since we had already seen it from its bottom, it was easier to imagine its dimensions when viewed from above. There are two lookout bridges available; it’s a short walk from the upper one to the lower one, about 10 minutes on foot. The abyss is actually a long-collapsed cave.

You could certainly stay longer in this area, as there are many caves around, but we had to head home and return the rented campervan. A short stop for food, walking the dog, cleaning the camper, and we were soon parking at Peter and Martina’s place in Bratislava.

About our experience with the Big Banana campervan

Over 3 days, we consumed around 45 liters of water (the tank of Big Banana holds 50), so for longer trips, you need to think about stops, where you can refil. Gas was not a problem, as besides coffee and tea, we only heated food and only cooked pasta once. Anyhow, the campervan was equipped with enough gas even for the hobby masterchefs. The second battery in the camper is charged by driving and solar panels; we returned it charged to 100%, so there’s absolutely no problem here, even when connecting a charger, laptop, fridge cooling our beverages etc.

We rate the trip as excellent; we will definitely be back renting a campervan again and go exploring further.

What to pack for a campervan trip with a purecampers van?

food and drinks (ground coffee, salt, sugar, spices and cooking oil are part of the kitchen equipment), coal if you want to use the small grill available in the camper, coffee beans and a grinder if you prefer freshly ground coffee (Mokka coffee maker is in the camper), toilet paper, head lamps, clothes and sports equipment that you need

More tips for trips & other destinations

LINKS where you can read more about places mentioned in this blog

(for most of the links you’ll need to use Google translate in your browser to tranlsate to English)