As well as state-run tourist offices ( www.sacr.sk ) there's a chain of private AICES information points ( www.infoslovak.sk ; in Slovak only), which, in smaller towns, are often better. In summer they're generally open Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat & Sun 9am-2pm; in winter they tend to be shut on Sundays and close an hour earlier on other days. Most tourist offices have English speakers.

All kinds of maps are available in the country. You can buy them, often very cheaply, from bookshops and some hotels - ask for a plán mesta or orientacná mapa (both town plans). Bookshops sell a huge range of Autoatlases, and a specific booklet, Autokempingy , produced by the Slovak tourist board, detailing routes, campsites, petrol stations, border crossings and even sites of historic interest. For hiking, the 1:100,000 turistická mapa series details the country's complex network of footpaths.