Day Trip to Bojnice Castle: Finding a Fairy Tale Castle

Here’s a fun fact… Slovakia has more castles and châteaux per capita than any other country in the world. Even more fun is taking the opportunity to visit as many of them as possible, and I highly recommend you start with a day trip to Bojnice Castle.

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Why Visit Bojnice Castle?

Are you seeking out “the perfect castle” or rather what Disney has imprinted on your mind as “this is a castle”? Bojnice Castle is it. Never heard of it? Not surprised. It’s about three hours outside of Bratislava between the middle of nowhere and small towns. The full name is actually: Bojnicky zamok Slovakia to furthur complicate things.

I stumbled upon it in my research and thus became fixated on figuring out how to get there. Fortunately with time on my hands, I was able to day trip to Bojnice Castle from Bratislava. One tram, one train, and a 3km walk later, there I was, staring at castle perfection. From the turrets to the moat to the one lone swam swimming around it, it really did live up to its hype.

How to Get from Bratislava to Bojnice Castle

Getting from Bratislava to Bojnice Castle is actually pretty simple. Head to Bratislava Hlavna Stanica, the main train station in Bratislava, and take a train east to Prievidza. It’s about a 3 hours journey and costs ~$10 each way. From there it’s a pretty straight 3km walk to get to the castle, or you can of course take a taxi. I decided to walk, as I often do, and it took about half an hour.

What to Expect on Arrival at Bojnice Castle

As you might expect, foreign tourism is not particularly high here, so it’s an excellent time to practice your Slovak! Taking a tour in Slovak is actually not bad, as they offer English write ups to go along with it. And how else would I learn that Slovak for camera seems pretty similar to English??

In any case, the tour is about an hour and a half long, and takes you through the full castle, from the chapel to the underground caves. And it is magnificent. The only downside is you will likely miss a joke or two along the way from the tour guide as they do not seem to translate well…

If you’re anything like me though, Bojnice Castle will make your castle dreams come true. (You do have those too, right?) Of course, the downside is that it does unfortunately mean every castle is downhill from here. (Oh the horror!!!)

What Else to Do on a Day Trip to Bojnice Castle and Prievidza

When I visited, I had a bit of extra time before my return train, so I checked out the towns of Bojnice and Prievidza. (Prievidza is where the train station is located.) It was a Saturday and while I had hopes there might be activity, these sleepy little towns were very quiet.

Although, I did hit the equivalent of what we would call in the United States “Bike Week”. Now, I have no idea, and high doubts, that it was a week long event, but there was indeed a motorcycle event going on out front of the castle. Interesting to say the least.

Around Bonice Castle and Prievidza

In case you do NOT have the pleasure of hitting Bike Week…. here are a few other things in the area to consider visiting on your day trip to Bojnice Castle, or you can enjoy the sleepy town scenery:

The Bojnice Zoo: Národná zoologická záhrada Bojnice
The Prehistoric Cave Museum: Museum of Prehistoric Cave Prepoštská
The Museum: Hornonitranské muzeum
The Monastery: Kostel Nejsvětější Trojice

Concluding Your Day Trip to Bojnice Castle

All in all, Bojnice Castle is an easy day trip from Bratislava and brought me a sense of satisfaction. A new adventure exploring a new place, and as a bonus, it’s not overcrowded! Have extra time in Bratislava? Give it a try! If you want more ideas, check out my other posts for Slovakia:

Planning for your fairy tale? Pin this for later.