Whether you are travelling to or from the Slovak Republic, by air, rail, road or boat you will almost definitely spend some time in Bratislava. It is the main entry for all forms of transport, and far and away Slovakia's transport hub. As such, much of the information on getting to and from Slovakia is the same as getting to and from Bratislava.

Start in Bratislava, and use it as a launching point to explore the rest of this beautiful country!

This Slovakia Transportation Guide will tell you all you need to know about travelling in and around Slovakia, particularly Bratislava. To know more about travelling within Bratislava itself, go to our Bratislava Transportation Guide or Slovakia Parks Transportation Guide. Alternatively, click on our Slovakia Country Guide if you want to know more about what to see and do to beautiful Slovakia.

Slovakia Transportation Guide

Getting to Slovakia by Air

The easiest way to get to Slovakia is by air. The Bratislava International Airport or Milan Rastislav Stefanik Airport is the biggest international airport in Slovakia, catering to both international and domestic sectors. It is only 30 minutes from the city centre of Bratislava and is reasonably well connected to the rest of world. The Bratislava Airport can be reached from the city centre by the D1 motorway. Public tramline 61 connects the airport to the city centre and main railway station. Many shuttle buses also operate between this airport and Vienna. Taxis are available at the entrance of the airport. The Kosice Airport is 10 kilometres from the Kosice city centre.

Flights from Europe

There are regular flights from Amsterdam, Birmingham, London, Brussels, Paris, Stuttgart, Venice, Milan, Barcelona, Leipzig, Munich, Frankfurt, Rome, Warsaw, and Copenhagen.

Other sectors:

Slovakia is connected to the Indian subcontinent by flights to Delhi, to Israel by flights from TelAviv, and to the Middle East by flights from Kuwait.

If you do not find direct a connection from your country to Bratislava, then the next best option is to travel to Vienna, Austria, which is just half an hour from Bratislava, or to Prague, which is 4 hours from Bratislava. You can get either train or bus connections to Bratislava from these cities. If you are travelling via Ukraine a connection to Kosice will take you to Slovakia.

Airlines operating in Slovakia

CSA-Czech Airlines, Sky Europe Airlines, Air Berlin, Deutche Lufthansa, Aeroflot, Slovak Airlines, LOT-Polish Airlines, Seagle Air, Aeromost Charkov, British Airways, Easyjet.

There are also chartered airlines such as Bulgarian Air Charter, Karthago Airlines, Hemus Air, Nouvelair, and Koral Blue.

Getting to Slovakia by Bus

Skyeurope Airlines and Eurolines are two companies that manage Coachline Bratislava, which runs a network of international bus routes to and from Prague, Brussels, London, Munich, Stuttgart, Paris, Vienna, Salzburg, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Rotterdam, and Milan.

The bus station Mlynske Nivy, from where the buses originate, is located very close to the city centre. Connections from the bus station to the airport are provided by the joint stock company SAD, a division of Euroline. You can also reach the International Airport of Schwechat from here.

Getting To Slovakia by Boat

The Danube River is Europe's second longest river and has been an important port in Bratislava for international passenger and freight transportation. The Slovaks call the Danube ‘Dunaj' and the port is very important to the country's economy. International connections from Austria and Hungary are possible on the Danube, which is also linked with the Rhine, Main and the Black Sea. Passenger boats primarily use the port for excursion cruises to Devi, Hainburg, and Vienna on one side of the Danube and to Gabickovo and Budapest on the other.

To Slovakia By Train

Bratislava is a railway hub and connects Slovakia with Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary. The Petržalka railway station connects Bratislava with Austria.

From the Czech Republic:

(Berlin - Dresden) - Decin - Prague - Brno - Břeclav - Kuty - Bratislava (Warszaw - Katowice) - Ostrava - Otrokovice - Břeclav - Kuty - Bratislava

From Poland:

Krakow - Cadca - Zilina - Trencin - Trnava - Bratislava

From Austria:

Vienna - Marcheg - Devinska Nova Ves - Bratislava and Vienna - Kittsee - Bratislava-Petrzalka

From Hungary:

Budapest - Gyor - Rajka - Bratislava OR Budapest - Szob - Sturovo - Nove Zamky - Galanta - Bratislava.

There are major railway connections to other towns and municipalities in Slovakia from Bratislava, both to the north (Bratislava - Trnava - Trencin - Zilina - Poprad-Tatry - Kysak - Kosice) and south (Kosice - Banska Bystrica - Zvolen - Galanta - Bratislava).

Regular connections between Bratislava and Vienna lead through the station Bratislava-Petrzalka, from where trains depart almost every hour. You can find more information on railway transport on the site http://www.zsr.sk/. The following lines go from the main railway station to all parts of the city through the centre: 1, 2, 3, 8, 32, 41, 61, 74, 81, 93, 201, 210. All night lines depart from the main railway station.

You can find more detailed information at http://www.dpb.sk/ or http://www.bratislava.sk/doprava/akosapohybovatpomeste/mhd.sk

To Slovakia By Car

Slovakia is interlinked to international transport routes and motorways through the motorway E65 to the Czech Republic, the motorway D-2 to Hungary and through international transport routes E75 and E58 to Austria. The international transport route E 58 connects Bratislava with the international airport of Schwechat at Vienna, while the route E75 goes on farther across Slovakia to Poland and to the Ukraine.

At present, a motorway bypass of the city is under construction in order to unburden the traffic situation in the centre. Despite that, you are unlikely to experience large traffic jams in Bratislava, which are the norm in many big European towns or cities.