Kojsówka for motorcyclists: a base below the Tatras, or a stop on the way

A motorcyclist needs three things from a place to stay: somewhere to leave the bike without worrying, a departure that does not start in a queue, and someone who does not look twice when you turn up for one night, wet and hungry.

Witów does all three, and it happens to sit where several of the best roads in this part of Poland — and half of Orawa on the Slovak side — are within an hour's ride.

Why this is the easiest place to ride out from

For a motorcyclist, Zakopane is a trap: staying in the centre means every morning starts by squeezing through town and every return means sitting in a line of cars on the main road. Witów lies before that bottleneck, on the western side, so you ride straight out into open country.

In practice: Orawa and Slovakia in one direction, Nowy Targ, the Gorce and the Pieniny in the other, and Zakopane becomes an option for the evening rather than a daily obligation. The thermal baths in Chochołów are a few minutes away, and after a whole day in the saddle that is a more sensible idea than it sounds.

Routes within a day's ride

We usually suggest starting on the Slovak side. There is less traffic, the surfaces are mostly good, and the road along the foot of the Tatras from Orawa towards Liptov gives you views the Polish side simply does not have. You cross the border without stopping, but it is worth carrying identification.

What you will find here

• A large free car park on the grounds, with room for several bikes side by side.
• To be straight about it: the car park is neither guarded nor covered. If you carry a cover, bring it.
• Breakfast included, so the day starts with a hot meal rather than a hunt for an open shop.
• A wood-fired hot tub, for a surcharge (300 zł). After eight hours in the saddle it does more than a shower.
• A fire pit and barbecue in the garden, for when you do not want to ride anywhere else in the evening.
• Quiet. After dark all you hear is the river behind the garden.

If you arrive soaked, say so straight away. We will help you hang things up so they are dry by morning. It is a matter of goodwill rather than equipment, so it is better settled on the spot than assumed in advance.

A one-night stop

Plenty of places in season will not hear of a single night. We take those bookings, because Witów is on the route towards the Tatras and western Podhale, so some guests stop here simply because this is where their day ends.

For a one-night stay it is simplest to call rather than use the form. We can settle faster whether we have a room free and what time you will arrive, especially if it is going to be late in the evening.

The owner rides too

This is not a place that added motorcyclists to a list of target groups. The owner of Kojsówka rides himself and knows what a day looks like after which all you want is to take the helmet off.

In the garage stands a BMW R 1200 C, a model even someone with no interest in motorcycles will recognise. It is the same cruiser James Bond and Wai Lin escaped across the rooftops of Saigon on in Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), jumping over a helicopter rotor. Fifteen were used for the filming, of which twelve were destroyed.

The practical upshot is that over breakfast you can talk routes with someone who has ridden them rather than read them off a map. We will tell you which way to go on a given day, where the roadworks are and which stretch is better left alone after rain.

When to come

The season starts once the snow has gone from the passes, usually in April, though higher roads can stay blocked for longer. The best months are May, June and September: warm, dry, and without the summer crush on the roads.

July and August mean queues on the approaches to Zakopane, which makes staying on this side all the more worthwhile. In late autumn, allow for morning frost and wet leaves in the shade. On mountain bends that is a more serious matter than rain.