How to Plan 2 Days in Slovakia & Bratislava

Road Trip Slovakia: Bratislava, Communism, Castles and Countryside

That’s our plan. Literally. Drive through Slovakia over 2 days, spending 1 day in Bratislava and learn about post-communism, food, beer, castles and countryside. Interesting and mmmmm. As we drive up from Budapest in Hungary to Czech Republic, Slovakia is where it’s at. It’s what we want to learn about and see. Doubtful we could ever experience or see a place like this back home (except the UFO bridge looks remarkably similar in style to the Space Needle in Seattle…hmmm).

Once we arrive in Slovakia’s capital city of Bratislava we are staying in the Old Town area which sounds like a nice walkable area to explore. But we are really excited about the amazing tour lined up in Bratislava (see below) which will be followed the next day by driving north while along the way stopping to see iconic castles and smaller towns. Sounds great, what could go wrong?

Bratislava will be the second sightseeing start for our Eastern European Road Trip that spans 8 days and 5 countries; Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland and Austria.

Our Plan for a 2 Day Slovakia Road Trip:

Day 1: Drive from Budpest to Bratislava (2 hr drive)

The plan is to likely pitstop in Gyor on the border area (looks charming!) and then in Bratislava stay in Old Town area, and go see the UFO bridge, plus shop and get food. THEN the a super cool custom Bratislava experience with Authentic Slovakia (more below).

DAY 2: Drive from Bratislava, Slovakia to Ostrava, Czech Republic (4 hr drive?)

Castles and Countryside is the theme of the day. Stops include the iconic Bojnice Castle in Nitra, and just outside of Bratislava stopping at the ruins of Devin Castle. Other pitstops? Hopefully a delicious lunch and maybe something else, depends on time. One thing is for sure is no pub stops for a drink. Slovakia has zero tolerance for any level of blood alcohol rumor has it they are strict.

Wondering what Bratislava looks like? Here’s a picture from Walterssk from the Pixabay website:

Bratislava – A Custom Half Day Tour

Bratislava looks very interesting. Nestled between iconic and architecturally rich cities of Vienna and Budapest, it stands out as different. It doesn’t compete with their splendor and luxury… instead, it is Bratislava. The proud capital city of Slovakia, which only became a recognized country recently in 1993. Bratislava looks to be a fascinating mix of communist architecture and relics, combined with green nature and a modern urban city. All in one package. At least that what it seems to be from research, without visiting yet.

SO – only half a day to see what Bratislava has to offer? Wow. What to choose? It was hard, so we didn’t. Instead, we found the local tour company (Authentic Slovakia) through Get Your Guide who offers a tour that looked so unique, we simply HAVE to do it. Here’s that tour:

Bratislava: Soviet Era and Post-Communist Tour. Intrigued? We were. But we also liked their authentic food tour and pub tour. Too many good things to experience, too little time. What to do? Well, we found their email on their website, explained our limited time and asked if they could create a custom tour. And they said yes. We’re positively thrilled.

In looking at the Lonely Planet guidebook to Eastern Europe, when you get to Bratislava, only one tour company is mentioned in the book and it is Authentic Slovakia. Here is how Lonely Planet describes them:

“Always with ribald humor and an eye for the dark side, Authentic Slovakia leads you into Bratislsava’s seamy history and wacky architecture (usually aboard a retro Skoda car). Want to see ‘Bratislava Beverly Hills’ Brutalist cityscapes or drink your way around Devin Castle? You’re in safe hands.”

Sounds like a very interesting way to learn about and explore Slovakia… we’re in. Looking forward to meeting Authentic Slovakia and sharing with you virtual experiences from that tour through stories told on the podcast, plus stories and photos here on this website and/or social media. So check back if you’re curious!

A lesson learned – it’s your vacation, would you ask for a custom tour?

For me, it’s a great lesson learned. I tend to limit my experience choices from tours, schedules and time I find online to book. But here I took a different approach. I looked at Lonely Planet and Get Your Guide, found a cool tour company in Bratislava that I wanted to wanted to take a tour with and then sent an email to ask for something custom.

Did you know you could do this? The lesson learned is that yes, you can at least try. If you don’t have enough time to see everything you hope to, go ahead and ask if one of the tour companies will create something custom and/or private for you. Yes, you will likely pay a premium price for that custom tour, but it just might be the best and most perfect tour for you and worth every penny.

Road Trip: Castles and Countryside of Slovakia

Two of the places we plan to stop on our way out of Bratislava on the drive up to Ostrava; Bojnice Castle in Nitra and the ruins of Devin Castle just outside of Bratislava. Here are a couple of pictures found on the free photo website Pixabay, in case you’re curious what they look like and are too impatient to wait and follow for our future blog posts.