I'm wanting to set off travelling again next week and I have been looking into getting a train to Slovakia. However, the routes are somewhat cumbersome.
To get into Slovakia, the train routes (according to PKP) go all the way around the country into either Czech or Ukraine, just to get back into Slovakia.
Most trains divert west to Bohumin first, and then come into Slovakia from there. Stupid Tatry!
Does anyone know of other less well-known stops that I can go to, to get through to Slovakia a shorter and quicker way?
I heard about travelling to Muszyna, then getting transport through from there.
Which is the best way to do it?
Are there some buses that I can take to Slovakia, that are more favourable than the train?
There are two passes that i know trought the Carpathians where trains cross them. One is near Muszyna (rout Nowy Sącz - Poprad), second is further east near Komańcza (route Sanok - Koszyce). But you can make it easier by bus for example.
Thank you for your reply. I checked the PKP.pl web site for trains and the results are somewhat ambigous. There are 3 stops apparently in Muszyna. "Muszyna", "Muszyna Zdroj" and "Muszyna Poprad". I don't know which is the correct one to choose.
Also, a bus sounds like a great alternative. Would that be a bus going from Muszyna or Nowy Sącz?
How long is it likely to take, and how much does it roughly cost? Oh, and do you have some bus companies and their contact numbers, as I would like to pre-book if possible.
Are there any public transport routes still operating between Eastern Slovakia and South Eastern Poland? None are shown in the Summer 2011 Thomas Cook European timetable.
historically in communist times there were no such services - and actually there is only one such railroad line that links Eastern Slovakia with that southeasterly corner of Poland - I have no idea if because being not used it's fallen in complete disrepair but I doubt there is any service between the two countries on the line -
- the areas in question are only sparsely inhabited so appart so no everyday traffic makes sense - I have looked the line up and it seems there are passenger trains on the line crossing the international borders only in July and August (school vacation time) - still the Zagórz-£upków-Medzilaborce line can be put out of service altogether when a bridge over Poprad river that was destroyed in the flood of 2010 is finally repaired (now all of the cargo traffic from Poland to eastern Slovakia is directed through Zagórz-£upków-Medzilaborce)
unfortunately the wikipedia entry on the railroad line in question is only in Polish pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linia_kolejowa_nr_107
I am looking to take an overnight train from Krakow to Bratislava but have not been able to find a way to book it online. I am currently living in France. Is there a way to book in advance or would I have to book at the station? how much is the ticket? Any info is extremely appreciated thanks!
You can't book it directly from the train companies online - but you can use the highly recommend PolRail service - polrail.com. I've got no connection to them, except as a very satisified customer - they're able to book all sorts of things, and they even tried to book a Serbian Motorail train for me!
You'll pay a bit extra through them, but - they are very, very professional.
