8 Reasons to include Slovakia in your Europe plan

Slovakia doesn’t list in most Indian’s Europe trip plan, as it doesn’t have any major tourist attractions like France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Greece etc. But in my opinion Slovakia is worth a short trip, maybe a day or two when you are in the neighborhood. If you are visiting Austria or Hungary, Slovakia is just a few hours bus ride away. There is also a ferry between Bratislava and Vienna.

Bratislava has a UFO tower, few churches & monuments, Indian restaurants, viewpoints and other attractions to keep you busy for a day or two. Full day public transport pass costs only 4 Euros in Bratislava, one of the lowest in Europe. Bratislava is also tech savvy- BMW has a large office here, you can legally buy cryptocurrency from Crypto ATMs. Below are 8 reasons to include Slovakia in your plan.

1 Cheapest public transport:

A one day public transport pass costs just 4 Euros, one of the lowest in Europe. You can travel as much as you want all day and visit all places of interest. There is no need to worry about zones.

2. India connection:

Jawaharlal Nehru & Indira Gandhi have visited Bratislava 50 years ago. It was great to know that India and Czechoslovakia had good diplomatic relationships. Read more here.

3. Quick stopover between Hungary and Austria.

If you are visiting either Vienna (Austria) or Budapest (Hungary), and have some spare time, you can plan a half day, one day or 2 day trip to Bratislava, Slovakian capital. Buses, ferries are available for reasonable price

4. Tech savvy nation- crypto is legal

Slovakia is a tech savvy nation. Crypto currency is legal here. You can buy bitcoin or other crypto currencies from Crypto ATMs available at various spots in town, including bus terminals

5. Excellent bus terminal

I entered and exited Bratislava via bus. (Came from Hungary, reached at 2 AM, left for Vienna by bus by 4 PM). Bratislava bus terminal was very impressive, at par with airports.

• Free toilets
• Free lounge for international travelers (cross country travelers)- 7 AM to 10 PM
• Crypto ATM
• Robot coffee vending machine
• Supermarket
• Piano
• Free lockers

I didn’t have a chance to check train stations and airports in Bratislava. I assume they are also equally good.

6 Has enough attractions to keep you busy for a day or two

• UFO Tower
• Bratislava castle
• Devin’s castle
• Slavin hill top war monument
• Old town
• Casino
• Multiple museums
• Danube river cruises

7 A country with limited flights

Slovakia has an airport at Bratislava but flights to here are very limited. If you are trying to fly into Bratislava from say Paris, or Frankfurt or some other major hub in Europe you may not find any direct flights. There are some direct flights to Bratislava from London. Most likely you will find a complicated one stop or two stop option or a flight+bus option. This is probably because there isn’t enough demand to operate direct flights to Slovakia and the majority of visitors find it convenient to fly to nearby Vienna and take a bus to Slovakia (Bratislava is around 2-3 hours by bus from Vienna). Thus it might be a little complex to plan a standalone visit to Slovakia but a lot easier if you are visiting Austria or Hungary.

8 Bratislava is lesser known and offbeat

Everyone goes to the most popular destinations, Bratislava gives you some bragging opportunities as not many Indian tourists include Slovakia in their plan. Without having to spend a huge sum of money you can include another country in your count and explore Bratislava. If you are visiting Hungary/Austria you can even plan a day trip to Bratislava and return to your main destination by night, without even having to book a hotel in Bratislava. 

Do not confuse Slovakia with Slovenia. Many other lesser popular, lesser visited Schengen countries include Lithuania, Estonia, Luxembourg etc.