Why Slovakia? We don’t really know. Somehow, at some point, the idea popped into our heads and wouldn’t let go. A Slovakia tour? Why not? We didn’t know what to expect, but we were eager to try something new. Above all, we wanted to be outdoors in nature, hike a lot, and truly unwind. Other people truly unwind with wellness, but we’re particularly good at that on tours. Slovakia truly impressed us, and not just with its landscape. In the following article we will tell you everything you need to know for your round trip including travel tips and information.
This might also interest you:
- Best time to travel to Slovakia
- Costs of our trip to Slovakia
- Country overview of Slovakia
- Bratislava Highlights & Tips
- Other countries in Europe
- Mala Fatra National Park
- Slovak Paradise
- Štrbské Pleso Mountain Lake
- Low Tatras National Park
- Slovakia Sights
- This might also interest you:
- Best time to travel to Slovakia
- Arriving by train
- Booking a rental car
- Driving in Slovakia
- Transportation within the country
- Duration and route of the tour
- Safety in Slovakia
- Language and communication
- Costs & budget
- Booking accommodation
- Slovakia tour – Sights
- Activities and tours
Best time to travel to Slovakia
We spent almost two weeks in the country at the beginning of September. The climate is continental with hot summers and cold, snowy winters. Due to the many mountain ranges in the country, the climate is naturally quite varied. We were very lucky, and the weather was great almost every day, with plenty of sun and blue skies. It was simply perfect “late summer weather.” In midsummer, temperatures are ideal for a vacation in the mountains.
September was truly ideal for us. There were few tourists and vacationers in the country, it was cheaper than during peak season, and the weather was really good (usually 18°C – 22°C). Spring and autumn are therefore ideal times for such an adventure. But winter also has its advantages. The ski season lasts from December to April and offers plenty of action and plenty of snow. Most vacationers arrive in February and March.
Arriving by train
You really don’t need a plane to reach Slovakia. The country is easily accessible by train. We took the IC from Rostock on the Baltic Sea to Berlin, from there the ICE to Vienna, and then the train to Bratislava. In total, we were on the road for about 12 hours. The ICE to Vienna was particularly great and actually on time. On the way back, we took the Eurocity from Hungary to Berlin. From there, we continued on to Rostock by regional train.
Most visitors arrive via Vienna. From Vienna, you can take the train to Bratislava or one of the long-distance buses. The two cities are only 60 km apart. Flixbus* also operates in Austria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia. There’s also the NightJet train, which travels from Berlin to Bratislava (and back). Tickets start at just €59. You can even book beds in a sleeper car. We originally wanted to book this train, but the night trip didn’t fit into our schedule.
Example train connections:
We booked our tickets on the Deutsche Bahn website and with the Slovak railway company ZSSK (Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko). The outbound trip cost around €69 per person, and the return trip to Berlin cost €39. If you book early and avoid traveling on weekends or Mondays and Fridays, you can get even cheaper tickets. With the EC ticket, we made a seat reservation at the main train station in Bratislava for €2 each. This was a very good decision, as the train was very crowded on the way back to Germany.
Note: Often, you can only reserve a seat directly at the ticket counter on “foreign” trains. For some connections, the Deutsche Bahn website didn’t provide any information about prices. So, you end up having to go directly to a ticket counter at the train station anyway.
Book a rental car
For our Slovakia tour, we wanted a rental car again. If you’ve been following us for a while, you’ll surely know that we book 95% of our cars at www.billiger-mietwagen.de*. We’ve never had any problems with the platform in recent years. We always make sure to select “no excess” and the “full/full” fuel policy. We also always book glass and tire protection. You can get a rental car for around €180 for 2 weeks. Depending on the travel period, the price can sometimes be lower.
We picked up the rental car at the airport in Bratislava. Prices are usually better if you rent the car at the airport. We took the bus from the Dream Hostel* to the airport. The ride took about 25 minutes and cost only €1.20 per person.
When you’re at the airport entrance, go through the door and then immediately left. At the end, you’ll find several rental car counters. Everything went very quickly there; it took less than five minutes before we had the car key and all the formalities sorted out.
Driving in Slovakia
We were amazed at how good the roads are in Slovakia. Germany could really learn a lot from them. The country’s road network is excellently developed, with expressways and motorways. Even the less developed roads were really great. The speed limit within municipalities is 50 km/h, on country roads it is 90 km/h, and on motorways and expressways it is 130 km/h.
Motorway tolls have been collected electronically since January 1, 2016 (vignette required!!). However, we didn’t have to do anything else; it’s already included in the rental car price (pre-paid). If you want to travel to Slovakia with your own car, you can order the “e-vignette” online before crossing the border. You can also buy it at gas stations and sales outlets at the border.
But back to the actual topic: driving in Slovakia. The police keep a close eye on drivers. If you don’t follow the rules, you can quickly be fined. While beer is very popular and good in the country, the 0.0 blood alcohol limit must be observed. There is no tolerance here! Using a cell phone while driving is also strictly punished. In general, however, the traffic regulations are the same as those in Germany or other European countries.
Transportation within the country
If you don’t want to travel through the country in a rental car, we recommend using the public buses. Slovakia has a very good train and bus network. You can reach almost every corner of the country by bus. The trains may not make the best impression, but the fares are reasonable. So don’t be surprised if you feel like you’re in the GDR on the train. Some of the rolling stock is still from that era (reworked, of course). You can purchase train tickets from the state railway company ZSSK.
What’s really cool is that children under 15, students under 26, and seniors travel free on ZSSK trains. All you have to do is go to the ZSSK ticket counter, show your ID, and register. Before the journey, you then have to purchase a ticket at the ticket counter—free of charge, of course.
And did you also know that Slovakia is one of the countries with the most developed bus service? Most buses depart from Bratislava (Mlynské Nivy bus station). You can buy tickets directly from the driver or at the bus stations in larger cities. Click here for bus information.
Duration and Route of the Round Trip
We weren’t entirely sure beforehand how long we should travel through Slovakia. So we contacted the local tourist board. They told us that most tourists from Vienna come to Bratislava for a day trip and then leave again. They recommended at least 7 days.
While hiking tourism is an important pillar, only a few people travel across the country. We decided to stay for 12 full days. In retrospect, we can definitely say that the duration was almost perfect. Of course, it’s always possible to stay longer, but we were very satisfied.
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We didn’t have to rush; we had enough buffer time for bad weather. This also allowed us to travel flexibly and always follow the sun. We recommend that you plan at least a week for Slovakia. The country is small, and the distances aren’t that long. This meant we could just go with the flow, exploring the nature and the cool cities at our leisure. You should also plan days for hiking, as the country’s nature is truly unique. We started in the capital, Bratislava. From there, we traveled clockwise through the country.
Safety in Slovakia
Some people asked us directly about safety in Slovakia. To be honest, it was never a big issue for us when planning our trip. But we can reassure you: the country is very safe for tourists. There are certainly some bad apples there, but we haven’t experienced any incidents. We also never felt unsafe. We always travel through the various countries with common sense; nothing has ever happened to us. The people in Slovakia are very friendly and helpful.
You should park your car in a guarded parking lot in Bratislava and in holiday regions. There have apparently been cases of car break-ins and thefts. German luxury brands are said to be very popular. But it’s no worse than in other countries. It’s best never to leave valuables visible in your car; that only attracts thieves. It’s better to stow everything in the trunk and/or carry a small backpack with the most important things.
Language and Communication
The locals speak Slovak, a West Slavic language. While this language is similar to Czech, there are significant differences. It’s really not that easy to even read the words and sentences. Try it yourself: “Strbske Pleso” or “Nehovorím po slovensky.”
But we can reassure you: English is also spoken in the holiday regions. Occasionally, people even speak a little German. And if all else fails, the Google language app can help. This is how we had a great conversation with one of our Airbnb hosts.
Costs & Budget
Slovakia is definitely not as cheap a country as, for example, Albania or Greece. Prices here are comparable to those in Germany. You currently pay €1.35 for a liter of gasoline. You can shop cheaply at Lidl, Tesco, or Kaufland, as usual. We spent around €250 on food and drink for the two of us (including restaurants and cafes) over the almost two weeks.
You can also find inexpensive small restaurants, but also expensive ones. Sometimes we paid €30 for the two of us, and sometimes only €12. It depends entirely on the region and location. But in Slovakia, you can get absolutely everything you can get at home. So you don’t have to miss out on anything.
We paid an average of €18 per person per night for accommodation. You can find just about anything in the country: hostels, guesthouses, private rooms, hotels, vacation apartments, etc. You can get a small apartment for around €30 per night. Depending on the region, it can be cheaper. We spent around €60 per person on excursions, train rides to the peaks, museums, entrance fees, and caves. Our rental car, by the way, cost around €15 per day. On average, we spent around €49 per person per day. You can find a detailed article about the expenses of our tour here: Costs Slovakia.
Booking Accommodation
We always booked our accommodation the evening before. This allowed us complete flexibility in our travels throughout the country. Finding accommodation was also no problem. You can find everything here, from inexpensive shared rooms to expensive star-rated hotels. We stayed in small apartments and vacation homes for most of the time. This allowed us to cook for ourselves and even do laundry. For 11 nights we ended up paying 193€ per person, an average of just 17.50€ per night.
We mostly use the platforms Booking.com* or Airbnb*. We’ve had nothing but positive experiences with both sites so far. Before booking, we always read reviews from previous guests and are happy to send the owners a message if anything is unclear. If you don’t have an Airbnb account yet, you can create one using our invitation link* and receive 25€ free for your first booking.
- 1 night | Dream Hostel in Bratislava* – per person 15€
- 2 nights | Holiday apartment in Žilina* – per person 31€
- 2 nights | Room in Stará Lesná* – per person 33€
- 1 night | Apartment Košice* – per person 22€
- 1 night | Room in Fiľakovo* – per person 20€
- 3 nights | Holiday apartment Banská Bystrica* – per person 60€
- 1 night | Dream Hostel in Bratislava* – per person 12€
Slovakia Tour – Sights
The country is bursting with highlights and sights. We don’t really know where to begin. But let’s just start with the cool capital city of Bratislava. The old town is truly beautiful, with lots to see and countless cool cafés and restaurants. Be sure to enjoy the view from the UFO! Also visit some of the castles and palaces in the country. Recommended are Beckov Castle, Spiš Castle, Devín Castle, Orava Castle, and the fairytale castle in Bojnice. Trenčiansky Hrad Castle is also truly beautiful to look at. You can find a great overview here: Castles & Palaces in Slovakia.
Mountains, Lakes, and National Parks
On your way through the country, you will pass many amazing places. The 9 national parks, the mountains, the lakes, and the many smaller towns are particularly beautiful. Don’t miss the Strbske Pleso (mountain lake), take a hike in the Mala Fatra, and explore the Sucha-Bela Gorge in the Slovak Paradise. The country is dotted with hiking trails and viewpoints. We were out in nature almost every day and enjoyed the time to the fullest.
Of course, you shouldn’t miss the peaks of the High Tatras. You can take the lift up or go on a day hike. There are also many mountain lakes, waterfalls, and great hiking trails in the area. We also recommend visiting one of the many caves (e.g., Dobsina Ice Cave). There are more than 200 caves throughout the country, but only a few are open to the public. More information here: Caves in Slovakia.
Also visit the charming city of Košice in the east of the country, the Little Carpathians above Bratislava, the city of Kremnica, Banska Bystrica, and the truly beautiful mountain town of Banska Stiavnica. The Šútovo Waterfall and Lake are also said to be impressive. If you browse through the travel guides, you’ll discover plenty of other highlights. You’ll find a detailed article about this soon here on our blog.
Activities and Tours
You can book numerous tours and excursions in advance on the GetYourGuide* website. In the following section, we have selected the best offers for you, but you can also book numerous offers directly on site. We definitely recommend a walking tour of Bratislava (alone or with a guide) as well as hikes in the various national parks.
- City tour by bus through Bratislava*
- Bratislava: 1-hour small group walking tour*
- Bratislava: Exploration tour by speedboat*
- Slovakia: Day tour to the most beautiful castles*
- From Krakow: Slovakia Treetop Walk and Zakopane Tour*
- Devin Castle: 3-hour guided tour from Bratislava*
- The best routes in the High Tatras*
- From Krakow: Rafting on the Dunajec River and Treetop Walk*