If you need to travel outside of the center, use the trams or trolley buses if you need to get from one point to another quickly. Bratislava has a rather good public transportation system although a lot of the vehicles are quite old. Buses tend to be the slowest means of transportation. Stops normally don't need to be requested unless stated otherwise - request stops are marked "zastávka na znamenie" at the bus stop sign as well as on electronic information displays in most buses/trams. Bus doors are opened by the driver; tram and trolleybus doors usually have to be opened by yourself by pushing a green or yellow button at the doors.
A single-journey ticket costs €0.70. It's valid for 15 minutes and doesn't allow change - you need to stamp a new 15 min. ticket every time you change bus/tram. There is a transfer ticket available for €0.90 (valid for 60 minutes on weekdays and 90 minutes on weekends and holidays), which you can use for any number of travels within the specified time period. If you are staying for a holiday, consider buying one from a choice of longer term tickets valid for 1, 2, 3 and 7 days for €4.50, €8.30, €10 and €15 respectively.
You must validate your ticket in the validation machines on the bus/tram immediately after boarding (via any door). When it comes to proving that you have not exceeded the time stated on your ticket (e.g. 15 minutes on a 15-minute ticket), official schedule times are decisive - not actual travel times (do not give in to unfriendly ticket inspectors claiming the contrary). You can find out the scheduled travel times in the left-most column of the schedules, left of the stop name or via the internet (see below).
Bus and tram drivers in Bratislava do not sell tickets, therefore you need to obtain a ticket prior to entering a bus or a tram. There are ticket vending machines at most stops in the town. No bills or credit cards can be used at the machines (which can be quite frustrating if you need to buy a longer term ticket). If you purchased a return ticket in Vienna, it also serves as a pass for all public transportation and does not need to be validated.
Besides vending machines, tickets are also sold in many newsstands and - very conveniently for travelers arriving by train, late in the evening or at weekends - in railway stations at the ticket counters (ticket counter 16 at the main railway station). You can also purchase tickets for public transport in every tourist information bureau . Try asking for the Bratislava City Card which combines a 1 to 3-day ticket with various discounts and is available at information bureaus.
There are 3 main interchange points in the close city center where you can get a bus or tram to nearly anywhere else:
Hodžovo námestie (Presidential palace) for northwest- and east-bound bus connections
Poštová (down the ped area below Hodžovo námestie) for trams
Nový Most (close to St. Martin's Cathedral and the Danube banks) for trams and for west-bound buses as well as bus connections to Petržalka.
Main tram, bus and trolley lines operate from 4:30AM until approximately 11:30PM. If you need to travel by bus at night, go to the main railway station which is the main night line interchange point or use the bus stops at Presidential palace (Hodzovo namestie). All night lines have common departure times from the main railway station at 11:30PM and then every 60 minutes for every line and outbound direction until 3:30AM. Some lines have an extra outbound departure at midnight. You will need a night ticket for €1.40 in night lines. When traveling by night lines, please remember that every stop needs to be requested. Also note that especially around midnight on Fridays and Saturdays, the buses tend to be very crowded on some lines as young people return from clubs.
You can get all relevant information about public transportation in Bratislava (including schedules, maps and an online route planner) at imhd.sk . Although this is not the site of the transportation company, it always contains official and up-to-date data.
If necessary, it is also possible to walk to Petrzalka station from the city (some 25 minutes). The path is clearly marked now but note that Petržalka is just a little more than the biggest block flats housing estate in Central Europe. Head for the bridge with the UFO-like looking tower atop it (Nový most). Once you reach the bridge, you will notice that there is a walkway running along the underside of it, for pedestrians. Once on the other side of the Danube river, follow the right hand-side of the bridge with a walkway made of red paving. This will lead you to the station. Alternatively, you can walk through Bratislava's equivalent of the Central Park called Sad Janka Kráľa and visit the Aupark Shopping Mall at the park. Once exiting Aupark on the other side, turn right and follow the street to get to the pavement mentioned above. The route is very safe during the day, but for typically western-looking tourists, it might be dangerous at night (although not more than in any other European "panelák" (see above) housing estate). Take a guide, if needed. If you want to walk from the station to the city, turn right outside of the station building and follow the path described above in reverse direction.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Bratislava
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Bratislava - updated May 2024
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Bratislava Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
