As we were only staying one night in Bratislava and needed to get a 10:00 flight to London, we decided to stay at the Orea Club Garni Hotel, which is conveniently located near to the Polus Shopping Centre and not far from the airport.

We travelled to Bratislava by train and began using Bratislava 3G as soon as we arrived at the Hlavna Stanica (Main Station). Clicking on the Club Hotel’s presentation, we were able to determine directions to the hotel from the station and we soon realised that rather than splash out on a taxi we might as well use the tram to get to our destination.

Again Bratislava 3G was used, this time to call up a Tram Map to find out which tram we needed to catch: we saw that we had a choice of two, number 2 or 4. Onboard the tram, which was an older model, there were no maps of the route displayed, so out came Bratislava 3G again, letting us know exactly when our stop was coming up.

Having booked into the Orea Club Garni, which was a clean, comfortable place with friendly helpful staff, we decided to spend the early evening at the nearby Polus Shopping Centre. Again the Bratislava 3G application was used to call up a list of shops, together with their location.

Finally, that evening we used Bratislava 3G to phone up an English-speaking taxi company and order a taxi for the next morning, getting a rate that was less than half what it would have cost through the hotel.

Although our stay in Bratislava was short and sweet, we still benefited from having the Slovak capital right in the palm of our hands, through Bratislava 3G.

Bratislava Bus

Using the Tram and Trolleybus system in Bratislava is an excellent way of getting around the capital quickly and at a very reasonable cost.  If you are on a budget and cannot afford to explore Bratislava by taxi, then using the trams and buses is your best bet.

Bratislava’s public transport system can seem a little daunting to the tourist at first glance, but it need not be.  There are some excellent information resources out there, where you can download timetables and routes.  There are even some cool maps at your disposal:

- Day Bus Routes

- Night Bus Routes

- Tram Routes

- Trolley Bus Routes

The bus/tram tickets are remarkably inexpensive – a half hour ticket (45 minutes on the weekend or public holidays) will only set you back 50 cents. Tickets are available from newsagents, cigarette kiosks, hotels (not always) and from ticket machines at the tram/bus stops.   In my experience, it is always a good idea to buy up a load of tickets in advance, in case you don’t have any coins to feed into one of the machines, or in case that the newsagent/kiosk you thought you would get the ticket from is shut.

In general, Bratislava boasts an excellent Public Transport system, which usually runs on time and, as previously said, at a very reasonable cost.  However, a word of warning, please make sure you always stamp your ticket as soon as you get on the bus/tram.  The ‘Tram Inspectors’ are always only a stop a way and are ruthless to say the least – even with the poor unsuspecting tourist.

I know, from my personal experience, that civilly explaining that the stamp machine was not working, is no excuse.  And while the ticket prices are cheap, the fines are horrendous!!!  So, if when you get on the tram or bus, the stamping machine you try is not working, go and try another (there is usually at least three of them depending on the size of the vehicle).  In the very unlikely event that none of the stamping machines work, my advice would be to go and inform the driver (please wait of course until the tram or bus is stationary).  This way you can avoid any hefty fines, while enjoying a great way of getting around Bratislava.

Useful Resources:

- Passenger Info (in English)

- List of stops on each route (in Slovak, but still a great way of seeing how many stops before yours!!!)