Getting around
Hitching
Hitchhiking is not unheard of in the hinterlands. You’ll see plenty of others holding up destination placquards roadside. If you do hitch, it is safer to travel in pairs.
Bus & tram
Bus
Intercity buses run by Slovak Bus Transport (Slovenská autobusová doprava, SAD; www.eurolines.sk, in Slovak). To search for schedules, go to www.busy.sk; it’s in Slovak, but decipherable if you remember ‘odkial’ means ‘from’ and ‘kam’ means ‘to’. When looking at bus schedules in person beware of footnotes (a lot fewer buses go on weekends).
Car & motorcycle
To use Slovakia’s motorways (denoted by green signs) vehicles must have a nálepka (motorway sticker) displayed on the windshield. You can buy stickers at border crossings and petrol stations (120Sk for a week, 600Sk for a year; for vehicles up to 1.5 tonnes). Rental cars already have them. Parking restrictions are eagerly enforced: always buy a ticket from a machine, or the person wandering around with a satchel, and display it on your dashboard.
Train
Slovak Republic Railways (Železnice Slovenskej republiky; www.zsr.sk) provides a cheap and efficient national service.
Local transport
City buses and trams operate from around 4.30am to 11.30pm daily. Tickets are sold at public transport offices, at news-stands and from ticket machines, and must be validated once you’re aboard.
Bicycle
Roads are often narrow and in towns cobblestones and tram tracks can be a dangerous combination. Theft is also a problem, so a lock is a must. The cost of transporting a bicycle by rail is usually 10% of the train ticket.
Slovakia
- Slovakia Overview
- Places in Slovakia
-
Getting there & around
- Practical information
- History
- Work & study
