In-depth guide · CampingSpirit
From the Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc via Hranice, Štramberk and Hukvaldy into the Beskids to Pustevny, Rožnov and Velké Karlovice, then via Luhačovice and Zlín to Kroměříž: around 325 kilometres through a land of timber buildings, limestone crags and spa parks, where the short stages leave room for a chairlift, a cave and a ridge walk.
The spirit of the route
Eastern Moravia begins baroque and ends baroque, and in between it turns to wood. In Olomouc the gilded Holy Trinity Column gleams above the cobbles, then the road follows the Bečva, where beneath the limestone of Hranice a flooded shaft reaches deeper than any other known freshwater abyss. Beyond Nový Jičín the first Beskid ridges rise, Štramberk huddles beneath its castle tower, and in Hukvaldy fallow deer roam the game park where a bronze vixen recalls Janáček’s opera. Higher up, in Wallachia, the air smells of resin, shingles and wood smoke: Jurkovič’s painted mountain lodges on Pustevny, log houses in the open-air museum, a church built entirely of fir in Velké Karlovice. From the sliding door you look out on mountain meadows with haystacks and spruce slopes in the mist. Then the land drops away again, to the colonnades of Luhačovice, the red brick of Zlín and the gardens of Kroměříž. Short driving days, long walks.
Stage-by-stage plan
1Stage 1: Olomouc to Hranice (approx. 60 km)
- The drive
- Leave Olomouc heading east across the flat Haná plain, either on the D35 and D1 (vignette required) or on the parallel country road via Velký Týnec and Lipník nad Bečvou. Beyond Lipník a narrow, winding side road climbs to Helfštýn Castle above the Bečva valley; afterwards follow the river to Hranice and on to the spa town of Teplice nad Bečvou. Flat to gently rolling terrain, a good 1.5 hours of pure driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Olomouc: the Holy Trinity Column on the Upper Square (Horní náměstí), a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000, plus the baroque fountains of the old town and the astronomical clock on the town hall with its post-war figures of workers.
- Helfštýn Castle: one of the largest castle complexes in Moravia, with several gate structures, a ruined palace and an exhibition on the art of blacksmithing; from the rampart a wide view over the Moravian Gate.
- Hranická propast and Zbrašovské aragonitové jeskyně near Teplice nad Bečvou: from the cave car park a woodland path leads to the rim of the world’s deepest known flooded shaft cave (proven to more than 500 m, the bottom has not yet been reached); in the cave opposite you see aragonite crystals and carbon dioxide lakes on guided tours.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: On the edge of Hranice lies Autocamping Hranice, just a few kilometres from the cave car park: pitches, some with electricity, sanitary facilities, open in the summer half of the year only. The site is next to a railway line, and the access road passes through a railway underpass with limited headroom – check vehicle height, waste disposal and season with the site beforehand. If you add a night in Olomouc, you will find small motorhome aires on the outskirts; current details in Campercontact or park4night.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): The Hranická propast is surrounded by a nature reserve; overnight stays in the cave car park and along the forest tracks are not intended, and driving on forest roads is prohibited under the Forest Act. At the car park below Helfštýn a quiet night in the vehicle is conceivable if no signs prohibit it and you do not camp; after evening events at the castle, however, it gets full.
- Insider tip for campers
- Do not drive into Olomouc’s old town in a motorhome: park on the edge of the ring road and walk or take the tram. At the market or in the supermarket buy a ring of Olomoucké tvarůžky – put the ripe sour-milk cheese in the cool box in airtight packaging, or the whole camper will smell of it. Cave tours in Zbrašov are limited in group size; in the school holidays arrive early in the day.
2Stage 2: Hranice to Hukvaldy (approx. 55 km)
- The drive
- From Hranice via Bělotín into the hills of the Kravařsko region to Nový Jičín (alternatively on the D48, vignette required), then on country roads to Štramberk, Kopřivnice and Hukvaldy. The access road into Štramberk is steep and narrow, Kopřivnice is a lively small industrial town, and the last kilometres to Hukvaldy run through orchards at the foot of the Beskids. Around 1.25 hours of pure driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Štramberk: the round tower Trúba above the market square with a view of the Beskid ridge, below it Wallachian timber houses and the Šipka cave in the Kotouč limestone hill; the bakeries sell Štramberské uši, the protected ear-shaped gingerbread.
- Tatra Technical Museum in Kopřivnice: carriages, lorries, racing cars and the streamlined saloons from the company’s history; Kopřivnice is also the birthplace of the runner Emil Zátopek.
- Hukvaldy: the extensive castle ruin on the wooded hill, the game park with fallow deer and the bronze vixen from Janáček’s opera, and the memorial in the house that Leoš Janáček bought as a summer residence in his birthplace.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Hukvaldy itself has no campsite for motorhomes. The nearest is Autokemp Olešná on the reservoir of the same name on the edge of Frýdek-Místek, about a quarter of an hour away: pitches for motorhomes and swimming, seasonal operation; ask about electricity and waste disposal in advance. Further east there are sites on the Baška reservoir.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): The car park at the foot of the castle hill in Hukvaldy is intended for day visitors; visiting hours apply in the game park and on the castle hill. Whether a quiet night in the vehicle is tolerated in the car parks in Štramberk depends on the signs – chairs, awning and levelling jacks stay packed away.
- Insider tip for campers
- In Štramberk, park down on the access road or at the car park by the Kotouč; the lanes around the market square are unsuitable for motorhomes. Kopřivnice has large supermarkets and filling stations – fill up and shop here before heading into the villages. Check museum opening days in advance; many places are closed on Mondays.
3Stage 3: Hukvaldy to Frenštát pod Radhoštěm (approx. 20 km)
- The drive
- Via Kozlovice and Tichá southwards along the foot of the first Beskid peaks to Frenštát pod Radhoštěm; Ondřejník and Radhošť rise like a wall of forest in front of the windscreen. A short, quiet country-road stage with a few crests, a good half hour of pure driving time – plenty of time for the afternoon on the mountain.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Ondřejník: a ridge walk to Skalka (964 m) with a mountain hut, with wide views along the way over the foothills as far as Ostrava.
- Frenštát pod Radhoštěm: the market square with arcaded houses and parish church, and the ski jumps on the edge of town, where athletes train on mats in summer.
- Trojanovice: the Ráztoka valley station of the chairlift up to Pustevny, the starting point for the next day.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Autokemp Frenštát pod Radhoštěm on the edge of town: pitches for motorhomes with electricity, sanitary facilities, open seasonally. Within walking distance of the centre, and a few minutes by bike or bus to Trojanovice and the lift. Near Trojanovice there is also a small motorhome site close to Ráztoka; check the current status in the apps.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): From Frenštát onwards the CHKO Beskydy protected landscape area begins: tents, camping and fires only at designated sites, and forest and farm tracks are closed to motor vehicles. The hiking car parks at Ráztoka and on the Ondřejník are for day parking and fill up early at weekends.
- Insider tip for campers
- Frenštát is the last larger town with supermarkets before the mountains; fill the water tank at the site. The Ondřejník is best done on foot: the access roads on the mountain are narrow and partly closed to general traffic, so follow the signs.
4Stage 4: Frenštát pod Radhoštěm to Rožnov pod Radhoštěm (approx. 20 km)
- The drive
- To Trojanovice and the Ráztoka lift; the motorhome stays below, and you go up to Pustevny by chairlift or on foot. In the afternoon take the I/58 over the Pindula saddle, with a few wide bends, down into the valley of the Rožnovská Bečva to Rožnov. The only road to Pustevny open to general traffic branches off between Prostřední and Horní Bečva and is narrow and winding; at the top there are only a few parking spaces, which are full at weekends, in the holidays and during events. When it is overloaded, the police may close the access road to cars. Follow the signs and current access rules on site. About half an hour of pure driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Pustevny: the timber buildings Libušín and Maměnka by the architect Dušan Jurkovič, with carvings and colourfully painted interiors; Libušín burned down in 2014 and was rebuilt true to the original.
- Stezka Valaška: a treetop walkway of wood and steel right next to the Pustevny lodges, with a panoramic view from the platform over the Beskids and the foothills.
- Ridge walk to Radhošť: around 4 kilometres past the statue of the god Radegast to the wooden chapel of Saints Cyril and Methodius on the summit (1,129 m).
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Camping Rožnov on the eastern edge of town, within walking distance of the open-air museum: a large site with pitches, electricity and sanitary facilities; ask about waste disposal options on arrival. Closer to the mountain, in Prostřední Bečva, lies Kemp pod Pustevnami, a meadow with around 15 pitches, electricity, water, sanitary facilities and cassette disposal, open mainly in the summer half of the year.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): Pustevny and the Radhošť ridge lie within the CHKO Beskydy, and Radhošť is also within a national nature reserve; overnight stays in vehicles in the mountain car park, tents and fires are not intended there and are checked. If you want to stay up top in the evening, book a room in the lodges – the motorhome belongs in the valley.
- Insider tip for campers
- Go early: before 9 am the car park and chairlift at Ráztoka are still quiet; after that, queues form in fine weather. Up by chairlift and down on foot along the trail to Ráztoka is a good combination. A cold wind often blows on the ridge, so take a jacket even in summer.
5Stage 5: Rožnov pod Radhoštěm to Velké Karlovice (approx. 35 km)
- The drive
- Morning in the open-air museum, then via Hutisko-Solanec up to the Soláň saddle and, on the other side, down in hairpins into the valley of the Vsetínská Bečva to Velké Karlovice. A narrow, winding mountain road with climbs and timber lorries, with pastures and scattered wooden farmsteads at the top; around one hour of pure driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Wallachian Open-Air Museum in Rožnov: the Wooden Town, the Wallachian Village and the Mill Valley with water-powered mills, fulling mills and a sawmill, plus the Valašský Slavín cemetery, where Emil Zátopek, among others, is buried.
- Soláň: the meadow ridge where painters have been working for more than a hundred years, with views in every direction over the Wallachian farmsteads.
- Velké Karlovice: the wooden Church of Our Lady of the Snows from the mid-18th century with a shingle roof and painted interior, and next to it the Karlovské muzeum in an old timber house.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Kemp Machůzky in Velké Karlovice in a side valley, with pitches, electricity and sanitary facilities, open seasonally. On the way, in Hutisko-Solanec, lies Kemp Solanec. Both sites are basic; ask about cassette disposal in advance.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): The mountain meadows on the Soláň and around Velké Karlovice are private or pasture land, and farm tracks are closed to vehicles. Many people stop at the viewpoint car park on the Soláň to take photos – it is not meant for the night. Strict rules apply in the nature reserves of the CHKO Beskydy, and fires are prohibited outside the sites.
- Insider tip for campers
- The open-air museum consists of three parts with separate ticket offices and opening hours; outside the main season not everything is open. In Velké Karlovice stop in the car park by the church, not in the narrow side streets. The mountain road over the Soláň is slippery when wet and in late autumn; with a caravan, better take the detour via Vsetín.
6Stage 6: Velké Karlovice to Luhačovice (approx. 80 km)
- The drive
- Downstream through the valley of the Vsetínská Bečva to Vsetín, a short stop in the centre, then via Liptál or Valašská Polanka to Vizovice and south through the Vizovické vrchy to Luhačovice. A well-built valley road as far as Vsetín, then hill country with forest, orchards and narrow village through-roads. Just under two hours of pure driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Vsetín: the Renaissance chateau above the old town with the Museum of the Wallachia Region and a view over the Bečva.
- Vizovice: a baroque chateau with park and the distillery where slivovitz is made from Wallachian plums; tours with tasting – the driver is bound by the 0.0 alcohol limit.
- Luhačovice: the Jurkovič buildings in the spa district with half-timbered gables, wooden balconies and folk ornamentation – more on the spa town in the CampingSpirit travel guide across South Moravia.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Autocamp Luhačovice above the spa town by the reservoir: pitches with electricity and sanitary facilities, seasonal operation. Details and an alternative further south are described in the CampingSpirit travel guide across South Moravia.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): In the spa town the car parks are for day parking, and the spa zone is traffic-calmed. Around the reservoir and in the forests of the Vizovické vrchy there are no legal places to park up overnight; forest and lakeside tracks are closed to motor vehicles.
- Insider tip for campers
- Vsetín is the last larger town in the valley: fill up, shop and top up with LPG here. In Vizovice avoid driving through the village at lunchtime on weekdays; parking by the chateau park. Empty the cassette and grey water at the site in Luhačovice – there are no more service points on the last day.
7Stage 7: Luhačovice to Kroměříž (approx. 55 km)
- The drive
- North through hills and forest to Zlín, across the town in the Dřevnice valley and via Otrokovice and Hulín onto the plain to Kroměříž; between Otrokovice and Hulín optionally on the D55 (vignette required). Heavy traffic and traffic lights in Zlín, otherwise flat. Around 1.25 hours of pure driving time.
- Highlights & must-sees
- Zlín: the Baťa Institute in factory buildings 14 and 15, covering the history of shoes and the town, and the glass Tomáš Baťa Memorial by František Lydie Gahura; the office tower “Building 21” is presented in the CampingSpirit travel guide across South Moravia.
- Kroměříž: the picture gallery in the Archbishop’s Chateau with Titian’s “The Flaying of Marsyas”, and the climb up the chateau tower; the chateau and gardens (World Heritage) are described in more detail in the CampingSpirit travel guide across South Moravia.
- The Archbishop’s Chateau Wine Cellars in Kroměříž, where altar wine is still made to this day; tours with tasting for your fellow travellers.
- CampingSpirit overnight tip
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Official campsite or RV park: Kroměříž has no campsite in town. Motorhome apps list the mixed-use car park on Hanácké náměstí, about one kilometre from the centre, as a stop for short stays: few spaces, length up to about 8 metres, no water or waste services, fees as signposted; there is no binding permission to stay overnight. For a night with electricity, move on to the recreation areas near Otrokovice and Napajedla named in the CampingSpirit travel guide across South Moravia, or drive back to Olomouc.
Free camping or nature tip (where legal): The car park on Hanácké náměstí is a car park without camping rights: table, chairs and awning stay in the vehicle, and the police carry out occasional checks. The town car parks by the chateau and gardens are intended for day visitors, and field tracks on the Haná plain are not places to park up.
- Insider tip for campers
- In Zlín do not drive into multi-storey car parks; use the large areas on the edge of the factory site instead. In Kroměříž first coordinate the ticket times for the chateau, gardens and cellars: the tours are separate and limited, and mornings are quietest. Allow around an hour for the drive back to Olomouc.
Camping practice & local rules
Wild camping & overnight parking
- The Czech Republic has no right to wild camping. A night in the vehicle in a public car park where parking is permitted is tolerated in many places as long as you do not camp – no awning, no furniture, no levelling jacks, no grey water on the ground. Municipalities can prohibit overnight stays and camping by ordinance and signage; expect this in popular destinations such as Štramberk, Pustevny or Luhačovice.
- The CHKO Beskydy protected landscape area covers the mountain section of the route from Frenštát via Pustevny and Radhošť to Velké Karlovice. Tents, camping and fires are only permitted at designated sites; in the nature reserves on the Radhošť ridge and around Kněhyně you must also stay on marked paths. Under the Forest Act, driving and parking motor vehicles in the forest is generally prohibited, and forest and farm tracks are closed.
- Eastern Moravia has numerous autokemps and small kemps, often basic and open only in the summer half of the year; proper motorhome aires with water and waste services are rare. You will find sites in park4night, Campercontact and on stellplatz.cz; information from the municipalities and the CHKO administration takes precedence.
- Popular mountain car parks such as Pustevny, Ráztoka or Soláň are for day parking. If you stay overnight in them, you risk a fine and, at weekends, long waits in the morning when the access roads are blocked by parked cars.
Waste disposal & supplies
- Water and waste services are available almost only at campsites; plan to empty the cassette and grey water in Hranice, Rožnov and Luhačovice. Small kemps often have no service point of their own, so ask on arrival.
- Tap water is drinkable; at site taps “pitná voda” means drinking water and “nepitná voda” means not drinking water. Springs along the Beskid hiking trails are not tested.
- Gas: German and Austrian exchange cylinders are not swapped, and Czech cylinders have different connections. Arrive with full cylinders or use a refillable tank cylinder; LPG (autoplyn) is available at filling stations in Olomouc, Nový Jičín, Kopřivnice, Rožnov, Vsetín and Zlín – sort out the right adapter in advance.
- Shop and fill up in the towns – Olomouc, Hranice, Kopřivnice, Frenštát, Rožnov, Vsetín and Zlín. On Pustevny and in the mountain villages the choice is small and more expensive; in kemps, huts and at parking machines in the countryside, cash in crowns (CZK) is still useful.
Vehicle size & traffic rules
- Speed: motorhomes up to 3.5 t 50 km/h in built-up areas, 90 outside them, 130 km/h on motorways, usually 110 on expressways. Over 3.5 t and with a caravan, 80 km/h outside built-up areas and on motorways and expressways. Lower limits are often signposted in the Beskid villages, and mobile speed checks are common.
- Vignette: for vehicles up to 3.5 t, motorways and marked expressways require the electronic vignette (dálniční známka), linked to the number plate, available as a one-day, 10-day, 30-day or annual vignette. Buy only via the official portal edalnice.cz or official sales points, not from third-party sellers charging a mark-up. On this route this mainly concerns the D35, D1, D48 and D55; the country roads of the stages are free. With a caravan or trailer, only the towing vehicle needs a vignette. Vehicles over 3.5 t pay distance-based electronic tolls with an on-board unit (Myto CZ) and must be registered before driving.
- Alcohol: 0.0 limit with no tolerance, cyclists included – at slivovitz and wine tastings only those who are not driving drink. Dipped headlights or daytime running lights all year round, phone only hands-free; a high-visibility vest, warning triangle and first-aid kit belong in the vehicle.
- Winter: from 1 November to 31 March winter tyres are compulsory in wintry road conditions and on signposted routes. On the Beskid roads to Pustevny, over Pindula and Soláň, snow is possible as early as October. There are currently no low-emission zones in the Czech Republic (as of 2026-10).
- Dimensions and rear racks: the mountain roads to Pustevny and over the Soláň are narrow, with few passing places – with long vehicles and caravans choose alternatives via the valley roads. On a rear rack, the number plate and lights must remain visible; otherwise a lighting board with a repeater plate is required.
CampingSpirit packing & preparation checklist
- Sturdy hiking boots and a windproof jacket for the Pustevny–Radhošť ridge walk: rooty paths, stones and often a cool wind on the ridge.
- A jumper or light jacket for the cave tour in Zbrašov and the chateau cellars in Kroměříž, which are cool even in high summer.
- Levelling ramps: the kemps in Frenštát, Velké Karlovice and Prostřední Bečva are on sloping meadows, and ramps belong on campsites only, not in car parks.
- An LPG adapter for Czech filling stations or a second full gas cylinder – nights in the Beskids are cold in spring and autumn.
- An airtight box for Olomoucké tvarůžky, Štramberské uši and slivovitz from Vizovice, so that provisions and souvenirs survive the journey.
- Cash in crowns for the parking machines at the chairlift, small kemps and huts in the mountains.
As of 2026-10. Closures, fees and booking rules change: check official sources before you go.
