FAQ - Guided Tatra Mountain Tours

Choose a tour and an available date from the list, enter the number of people, fill in a short form and pay online. The whole process takes a few minutes. After payment you receive a confirmation email with the meeting point and time and a list of the equipment you'll need.

Yes, we do it all the time. If none of the listed dates works for you, or you'd rather go with your own group only, call us (+48 508 710 246), write to kontakt@tatractive.pl or use our contact form - we'll arrange a date that suits you, even for one person. Ready-made packages are in our tour catalogues, and we'll guide a tour outside the catalogue too: we'll agree on the route, the date and the price.

You confirm your booking by paying the full price (100%) right away at sign-up, with no later top-ups. Payment is handled by Stripe (BLIK, card) with the PCI DSS security standard; we do not store your card details. After payment you receive a confirmation email.

Report your cancellation by email to kontakt@tatractive.pl; the date the message arrives is what counts. The refund amount depends on how many days before the date you cancel: - 30 or more days before the date: 100% refund - 14-29 days before the date: 50% refund - fewer than 14 days, or a no-show: no refund Documented illness, an accident or other force majeure: we will move you to another date (valid for 12 months) or refund the full amount. You can also pass your spot to another person, at no extra charge. Let us know by email or phone no later than before the meeting time, giving that person's name and contact details. They must meet the participation requirements: age, health and the required equipment. Please note: a tour is a service provided on a specified date, so the 14-day right of withdrawal known from online shopping does not apply here (Article 38(12) of the Polish Consumer Rights Act). The thresholds listed above apply.

Yes, we issue an invoice on request. Write to kontakt@tatractive.pl.

The requirements listed for each tour are a guideline, not a rigid barrier. What matters is good fitness for a hike of several hours and no strong fear of heights; we teach chain-handling techniques on the trail, step by step. If you are not sure whether a given tour's level suits you, get in touch before booking, a phone call being the quickest way. We will advise you honestly, including when our offer turns out to be too difficult for you.

It depends on the tour; each one has a difficulty rating and an estimated walking time on its page. Pick a route whose requirements genuinely match your current fitness. Not sure which tour matches your level? Use the „Find your tour" quiz on the tours page, or call us and we'll advise you.

Pick the tour on the list with the lowest difficulty level and the shortest walking time; you will find both on each route's page. Assess them honestly against your own fitness. Do not assume that going with a guide makes fitness irrelevant: a guide leads and teaches technique, but will not carry you up. Not sure? Call us before booking and we will advise you honestly. Once you feel confident in chained and exposed terrain, move on to harder routes. The „Find your tour" quiz on the tours page will also help.

That's normal and there's nothing to be ashamed of; it often happens on a first encounter with difficult terrain. The guide is there to get you through such moments: we slow down, we explain, we give you a moment to catch your breath. If you still feel you don't want to continue, a safe turnaround is always possible. You're never left alone on the trail, and we adjust the pace to the slowest person in the group.

Yes. A booking for a minor is always made by a parent or legal guardian. The rules depend on age: - under 7: selected easy tours only, under the care of a parent or guardian, after prior arrangement with the guide - 7-13: under the care of a parent, legal guardian, or an adult holding written authorisation from a parent or guardian - 14-17: independent participation after providing written parental or guardian consent no later than 24 h before the tour You can download the consent template here. Participation on more difficult routes also depends on the young person's real fitness and experience; if in doubt, get in touch before booking.

It depends on the tour you choose; you'll find a detailed list on each route's page and in the confirmation email. Generally you need: solid mountain boots (above the ankle, stiff sole with a tread), a comfortable backpack, a waterproof layer and warm clothing, water and snacks. Safety equipment (helmets, harnesses, lanyards) is provided by us, on selected harder routes, as stated in the „We provide" section of each tour.

The price covers: the service of a licensed Tatra mountain guide (class III), the items listed in the „We provide" section of the given tour (e.g. safety equipment on selected routes) and entry tickets to the Tatra National Park (TPN). On the Slovak side of the Tatras (TANAP) entry is free of charge.

The price does not cover, among other things: accommodation, meals and mountain-hut fees, accident insurance, personal gear (backpack, clothing, mountain boots, poles, food), transport to and from the meeting point, parking and cable cars, or the cost of any treatment or medical transport.

We give the meeting point and time in the booking confirmation email, usually a car park by the trail or an agreed spot in Zakopane. The meeting time is binding, so it's worth arriving a few minutes early.

Yes, and it genuinely pays off. If you have a condition that could matter on the trail - heart, spine, knees, diabetes, a strong fear of heights, pregnancy, medication you take - write about it in the „Notes" field when booking, or call us. Reported when booking or immediately afterwards: we will pick an easier option, move your date, or refund 100%. Reported later, the cancellation rules above apply. Reported only at the meeting point, although you knew about it earlier: no refund applies, because we had no chance to react. The same goes for equipment. The list on each tour page is not a suggestion: if something essential for safety is missing at the meeting point, the guide may not allow you to set out, and your payment is not returned. Not sure whether your boots are enough? Call before the tour and we will advise.

We do everything to minimise risk: we are licensed Tatra mountain guides (class III), we provide safety equipment on harder routes, we check the weather and we know every trail. But remember the mountains are not an amusement park, some risk always exists and we cannot give a 100% guarantee. That's why following the guide's instructions on the trail, and watching your footing, matters so much.

We assume the tour always takes place. Unfavourable but safe conditions (clouds, no visibility, fog, moderate wind, low temperature) are not grounds for cancellation or a refund. We cancel a tour only in genuinely dangerous conditions (storm, strong wind, black ice, heavy precipitation); then we offer a new date or refund 100% of your payment. We make that decision no later than the day before. If the weather breaks down during the tour, the guide may change the destination or shorten the route; the guiding service has then been performed, so no refund applies.

Mountain rescue in the Polish Tatras is carried out by TOPR and is, as a rule, free of charge. Insurance is not required, but we recommend it; it helps with private medical transport and on the Slovak side, where the rescue service is paid (relevant e.g. on Rysy). We especially advise visitors from abroad to take out insurance covering treatment and rescue.

We have first-aid training and a first-aid kit. In case of an accident we give first aid and call the appropriate rescue service (TOPR on the Polish side, Horská záchranná služba on the Slovak side). We also know how to act when there is no phone signal at a given spot, so help can be brought as fast as possible.

The fitness requirements for each tour are real, and every participant should assess them honestly before signing up. The guide is responsible for the whole group getting up and down safely, including before dark. If one person can't keep the pace on the trail and this endangers their own safety or the group's, the guide responds: changing the destination, shortening the route for the whole group, or, in a safe place and never in chained terrain, directing that person to descend safely on their own via an easy, marked trail to a mountain hut or another spot indicated by the guide. That person then gets clear instructions: which way to go, which trail colour to follow and where to wait. This way one person does not ruin the tour for the whole group.

When booking, you enter the number of people and buy spots for your whole group in a single booking. By default a date is open and other people may also join it. But if your group books every spot on a date, it is full: no one outside the group can join and you set out on your own. Want a guaranteed private tour regardless of group size? Get in touch with us by phone, by email (kontakt@tatractive.pl) or via our contact form.

We set the maximum number of participants individually for each tour, depending on the route's difficulty and safety; once it is reached, booking for that date closes. If a minimum number of people also applies to a given tour, you'll find that in its description.

Our tours are run in Polish and English. If you need a guide in yet another language, get in touch before booking (by email at kontakt@tatractive.pl or via our contact form) and we'll check availability.