We'll be arriving Vienna VIE airport, then going straight to Bratislava for 2 nights, then back to Vienna to stay for several days.

Best way to go from airport to Bratislava? Staying north side of Danube.

Then back to central Vienna, ring road area. Best way to return? thanks!

The fastest way back may be the train - about a one-hour trek with frequent trains from both the central station and a secondary station on the other side of the Danube - you can take a fast boat too on the Danube.

From Vienna airport to Bratislava go by bus. The stop is just outside the doors (exit near the McCafe). The stop is clearly marked.

A bus will come every 30 minutes or so to the airport and go directly to Bratislava.

Blaguss bus company goes to the Novy Most bus stop (under the Novy most bridge) Which is right in old town.

Slovak lines goes to the main bus station which is about a 15 minute walk to old town (arrive with a map, the taxi will rob you blind).

Either bus can be paid cash to the driver (around 7 euro)... And sometimes they take 1 euro per bag stowed below. The 2 companies rotate into the same airport stop.

Which hotel are you staying at? For those in or near old town, Eurovea (the Sheraton), etc... I would take the bus from under the Novy most bridge (you can easily check the schedule while in town.... Just pop into the small station and the schedule is posted at the stop). The bus drops you across the street from the erdburg metro stop in Vienna. It is an easy ride into town.

The train from the main station goes hourly (the bus is every 2 hours). I would only do this if I were staying near the train station (in which case, I would change hotels)! The train station is on the same metro line as erdburg... Just a bit further down.

And yes, you could take a boat back depending on the time of year. Explore this option from the docks as soon as you arrive (tickets do sell out).

if we take the Blaguss bus from VIE to Novy Most bus stop, can we walk to the Sheraton? Or would we get a taxi? I would normally ask the driver for a price or at least an approximation of the cost, but I don't think I can do that in Slovakia!

I would walk... It is about a half mile... Walk to the Danube... Turn left... And walk the path along the Danube. You will go under the old bridge, and the Eurovea mall is on your left. The Sheraton is on the back side (non river side) of the Eurovea mall.

In Slovakia, you have to call a taxi or get one from a stand. There is not a stand that I can think of at Novy most.... On a nice day, it is a beautiful walk.

And yes, not much English in the cab driver space in Bratislava.

Let me know if you need anything on Bratislava. I wrote a 3 days in" blog with a lot of info.

You can find it at www.centraleuropebeyondprague.com

thanks for all the info. Blog looks interesting, I will look at it in more detail later.

Question- I looked at the Vienna airport website, just to see what it said about the bus, timing etc, but only Eurolines and Postbus are listed in the Bus Connections section for Bratislava- no mention of Blaguss- why is that do you suppose?

We'll be arriving afternoon of day 1, the next full day there in Bratislava, then leaving the next day for Vienna. I assumed we'd explore Old Town, go to a museum, eat. Not much time, but if you have a specific suggestion, I'd be interested!

Not sure... Here is the link to the blaguss schedule:

http://www.blaguss.sk/media/PDF/Brat....08.2012en.pdf

You could take a bus to Devin and see the castle ( short ride, buses leave Novy most), walk up to Slavin monument (get a good map) and the castle, of course see old town, catch a symphony at the spectacular Reduta, walk across stary most to the park....

I am not sure if I mentioned this, I lived in Bratislava for 18 months... That is actually why I started the blog.

In any event.... Enjoy. It is a fun little city.

Blaguss - the same as Eurolines

There are two different lines which service the airport... One is logo'd blaguss and the other Slovak lines.

They both come to the same stop at the Vienna airport. But Slovak lines goes to the main bus terminal (at which point, do not panic!. It looks worse than it is). And blaguss goes to the more convenient Novy most.

I guess blaguss and euro lines are the same... The buses say blaguss.

Why do you want to travel north of the Danube (lots of flood plains surely)?

North of the danube in bratislava is the old town. I have never seen the city substantially flood, even during the most recent floods.

I am not sure i understand the concern, bilboburgler?

I am looking at the Danube now... With the hot and dry weather, we will not be seeing floods for a while.

The OP wanted to stay north of the Danube from the airport to Brat. I was interested why? I know Bratislava is north of the Danube and up a hill ;-)

Ah, I read it differently.. I thought she was saying that she was staying north of the Danube (as in her hotel was north of the Danube)... Vs. the bus had to stay north of the Danube (which isn't going to happen!).

I admit that it isn't typical Slovakian but when staying at the Sheraton I really liked the option to take dinner at one of the restaurants at the Danube directly behind the hotel instead of walking back to the old town.

I thought that the octopus at the Brasserie La Marine was quite perfect after a hot summer day, the wine was also okay and it's a nice place for people watching.

btw, Bilbo... Bratislava is on both sides of the Danube. But Old Town is on the North. And more hotels are certainly on the north side.

Hans, Eurovea is fine. I have stayed there myself (before I moved). Tons of Slovaks hang out on the grass between the mall and the Danube on warm summer days.

If going by train to Vienna then more trains run - at least hourly I believe - from the south side of Bratislava - an area of more modern socialist-era housing blocks - I walked from the town center and took about 20-30 minutes by foot - there are also trams and buses linking that secondary station to old town center on the North Side of the not-so-blue-here Danube.

Every 30 minutes a train leaves bratislava for Vienna... They rotate between the main station and the Petrazalka station.... So from each station, they are hourly.