Is Bratislava Worth Visiting? The Truth + Better Alternatives

Is Bratislava worth visiting?

The city is crawling onto the travel radar, but most people still prefer Prague, Vienna or Budapest.

What’s the deal with Bratislava then?

Is it worth a trip or is it just meh?

As Slovak locals, we won’t just tell you the truth. We’ll also tell you what alternatives you can consider instead (no, Vienna and Prague are not the only alternatives!).

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Here’s a little bit about our journey, if you are new here! If you know us, feel free to skip this part.

After leaving our old life in Scotland in March 2022 (it rains too much there), we travelled full-time for almost 2 years. Sounds fancy, doesn’t it? Well, it was. If you think that carrying overpacked backpacks in 45°C heat around streets that aren’t even on Google Maps is fancy. And that’s just 1% of all the fun we had! 😆

During the 2 years we volunteered in Italy and Bulgaria (free travel while learning new skills, anyone?), explored other amazing European countries and backpacked Southeast Asia. Even our secret wedding was more of an expedition than a wedding. 😅

And, of course, we researched and planned everything ourselves, because you gotta keep the budget low, right? If you are like us, you’ve come to the right place, because we want to share all the useful tips and info with you!

Excited? Good. Let’s get into it so you can go on your own adventures too!

Is Bratislava worth visiting?

TLDR?

Yes, Bratislava is worth visiting. But only for 1 or 2 days.

After that, you should venture further – we’ll tell you more shortly.

Basically, you should stop by Bratislava, especially if you are already in the area, for example, if you are visiting Vienna or Budapest. Might as well!

But the city is quite small and lacks big attractions (big like the Colosseum or the Eiffel Tower), so you can cover it in one full day.

Taking into account travelling, you can do the whole trip in 2 days:

Day 1: arrive (e.g. from Vienna) and sightsee

Day 2: sightsee and leave

Simple!

The thing is, what to do next?

We’ll tell you.

First though, here is why you should trust us.

Why should you trust us?

We mentioned we are locals right? 

If you follow us on Instagram, you probably know this. If you don’t what are you even doing? Go give us a follow now – you are missing out on all our unhinged “wtf is this new hell” stories that we share all the time, because we have the worst luck ever. 😅

Basically:

• Mirka is originally from Slovakia
• After travelling full-time for almost 2 years, we set up a temporary home base near Bratislava

This means we know a thing or two not just about Bratislava, but the whole country, so we would say we are a pretty reliable source. 

We can be trusted with information on Slovakia.

What we can’t be trusted with is not making crazy travel plans, like flying across half the world to a gig or quitting our whole life in Scotland to lug backpacks around, in the heat.

Now, though, why is Bratislava worth visiting?

Why is Bratislava worth visiting?

So, you don’t wanna take our word for it when we say Bratislava is worth visiting?

Okay, okay. That’s fair!

Here are the reasons we think Bratislava should be on your travel list:

• It’s a pretty European city with its own cool sights. (Blue Church? A guy peeking out of a canal? A UFO??)
• For a capital city, it’s quite peaceful and calm – don’t expect the chaos of London there.
• That means it makes for a perfect stopover if you want to slow down a bit, for example, on a busy interrail route or a European road trip. If your feet are killing you from rushing around Vienna, stop by Bratislava for a more relaxing experience, before you make them suffer again walking up and down the Charles Bridge in Prague.
• It’s also still a relatively unknown destination, which means you won’t have to be elbowing your way through massive tour groups in the city centre.
• Being undiscovered also means you’ll have bragging rights in front of friends, family or work colleagues – how many of them have been to Paris? Or Rome? Or Barcelona? And how many have been to Bratislava?
• Despite the increase in prices in Slovakia, it’s still a relatively cheap country to visit. It’s definitely a cheaper capital city getaway than if you went to, say, Amsterdam.
• Location! Bratislava is positioned so centrally in Europe, you can: 1. get there pretty easily, 2. use it as a base to explore other places, such as Vienna.

So, is Bratislava worth visiting? Yes! But don’t spend too much of your trip there. 

See the town in a day or two and then do other fun things. 

Need inspo? That’s what we are here for! Read on.

Ideas for making your trip to Bratislava better

While Bratislava is worth visiting, you won’t fly over just for the 1 day it takes to see it.

What can you do with the rest of your time then?

Fear not, we’ve got awesome suggestions for you!

Idea no. 1: day trips

City day trip

We’ve already touched on this here, but you can easily do a day trip to Vienna from Bratislava, saving yourself money on the more expensive accommodation there.

To get to Vienna, take the bus (Flixbus, Slovak Lines or RegioJet) from the centre of Bratislava to Vienna Central Station. You’ll be there in around 1:20h.

Time travel day trip

If you want to travel back to medieval times, make sure to check out the second castle in Bratislava.

What? 

You didn’t know Bratislava had two castles?

Well yes! There is the Bratislava Castle, which all tourists know about, because you just can’t miss it, towering over the city centre.

But then there is also Devin Castle – just a bit outside of the centre.

It is a ruined castle, but it has been partially reconstructed. That means two things: 1. There is more to see, including exhibitions. 2. You have to pay a fee to get inside the castle.

You can get there on public transport straight from the city centre of Bratislava, though, so it is a relatively easy and short day trip idea.

Adventure day trip

Another day trip idea?

How about spending it in a fairy tale? 

There is a beautiful palace not far from Bratislava with a huge garden and lots of surprises. 

Oh, and to get there, you’ll have to do something you’ve probably never done before.

We wrote a full guide for this day trip here, covering all you need to know to have a magical experience.

Easy day trip

Want a cheap, easy day trip idea?

How about a charming town, with beautiful architecture, peaceful atmosphere, cool events and even an interactive city game?

Just a 30-min train ride from Bratislava lies the hidden gem called Trnava. 

Do visit. It’s one of Slovakia’s best cities (we would say the very best one, but we are trying to avoid favouritism here).

Idea no. 2: beyond Bratislava

If you have more days, don’t waste them on Bratislava.

Explore further. There is Trnava, as we recommended, but also many other cool places you can visit.

We wrote a whole post about the 19 weird experiences you can have in Slovakia – check them out, we are sure you’ll find something there you’d be desperate to do!

If awesome and unusual experiences are not your thing, you can also do the “normal” travel activities, like exploring towns, sightseeing open-air museums and going on hikes.

Need help figuring out the perfect places for you to visit, outside of Bratislava?

Book a call with us and we can help you plan it all!

Idea no. 3: make it multi-city

One of our favourite tips for people visiting Bratislava?

Combine your trip with the other awesome cities!

Yes, we think Bratislava is worth visiting.

But we also appreciate how beautiful and awesome Budapest, Vienna, Prague or Krakow are.

And you can visit them all, if you have enough time, of course.

Here is some info on transport, to give you an idea of distances:

• Vienna – 1.2hrs by bus  (Flixbus, Slovak Lines or RegioJet)
• Budapest – 2.5hrs by a bus or a train (local train or Flixbus)
• Prague – 4.5hrs by train or a bus (RegioJet or Flixbus)
• Krakow – 6-7hrs direct bus

Don’t skip Bratislava. Combine it with one or more of these other popular cities and have one epic, city-hopping holiday! It’s one of the best things about travelling in central Europe!

What you should do next

If we have convinced you that Bratislava is worth visiting, this is what you should do next:

• Set up flight alerts on Skyscanner to start tracking prices for your flight to Bratislava. Do keep in mind, though, that you can fly to any of the other cities we mentioned here. For example, Vienna airport is just 1 hour from Bratislava by bus! (We fly from there all the time!)
• Read this post about safety in Slovakia. We want you to know what you are getting yourself into, especially if you venture outside of Bratislava.
• Speaking of safety, make sure you have travel insurance for your trip. We use True Traveller for our trips, because the experience we had submitting a claim with them was mind-blowing.
• And when in Slovakia? Stay hydrated! Here is all you need to know about drinking tap water in the country.

If you need help planning your trip to Slovakia, book a call with us and we can chat about your ideas together (and help you translate any confusing information, because the English translations in Slovakia often feel like codes even Dan Brown would be proud of. 😬).

We hope this post not only showed you that Bratislava is worth visiting, but also gave you plenty of ideas for how to make your trip there even more epic.

If you have any questions, give us a shout in the comments below or DM us on our Instagram – we are always happy to hear that someone is coming to Slovakia because of our recommendations!