Top Castle Day Trips from Bratislava: Finding the Royal Feeling
There are so many castles in Slovakia, the biggest challenge is deciding which ones to check out. (Oh what a problem to have.) I’ve gone ahead and taken the liberty of compiling a few of the best castle day trips from Bratislava to make your trip planning easier.
Castle Day Trips from Bratislava
One thing I was not clear about before arriving in Bratislava was just how small it really is. As it turns out, you can cover most of it in one day. So it begs the question of what should you do with your other days in Bratislava? I set out on the quest to find a few options and landed on a few options…. all castle day trips:
- Devin’s Castle
Located just 15 minutes outside of Bratislava, you do not need a full day to get to Devin’s Castle, but you DO need to go to it. - Red Stone Castle
Located about 1 hour from Bratislava, it is a solid option to spend half a day. - Bojnice Castle
Located a solid 3 hours from Bratislava, it certainly takes a full day on it’s own.
In this post we’ll take a look at visiting Devin’s Castle and the Red Stone Castle. For more details on Bojnice Castle, here’s the full post for it including details on how to get there.
Journey to the Red Stone Castle
Let’s start with the Red Stone Castle in Cerveny Kamen. Surprisingly, it’s only about an hour from Bratislava but not the easiest castle to get to. Let me tell you the cautionary tale of my journey.
I went to the bus station to find a bus to Casta – Cerveny Kamen. First off, the screen on the bus saying which station we were approaching was not working so I was able to practice my understanding of Slovak. (Hint: it doesn’t exist.) But fortunately, I was able to find a list of the stops and try to match the pronunciation to the stop which enabled me to get off at the correct stop… In the rain… In a field.
Why yes, the bus stop was in the middle of nowhere but with a giant driveway ahead of me, so I made a solid guess and started up the driveway. Behold, a castle! Granted it was certainly not made of red stone. Any clues you may have as to why it is called the Red Stone Castle I would greatly appreciate.
Anyway, I walked my way through to the ticket counter to discover that the next tour was in an hour and a half and was in Slovak. You may not enter other than on a guided tour. So at that point, I put on my thinking hat and decided I’d rather return to Bratislava and go to Devin’s Castle than continue learning Slovak through the castle tour.
Brilliant plan, except the next bus was about an hour wait, in the rain, and I was hungry. So I did what anyone would do and started my walk towards Casta, the town the castle is outside of. Having no map, I followed the direction the bus was headed when I jumped off – another solid plan. After a very peaceful thirty minute walk in the rain through the countryside of Slovakia, which is very pretty, I discovered Casta. It was not much of a town, but it was enough to find some food and another bus stop on the route back to Bratslava. Overall, Cerveny Kamen was a bust for me, but fortunately the countryside is lovely!
I tell you this cautionary tale for a few reasons. If you want to go to the Red Castle:
- Check tour times (and languages)
- Take a map
- Be ready to walk – a lot
- Consider renting a car
- But most of all, be prepared for an adventure!
For all of the necessary details, and more, check out the castle’s website. It is an affordable adventure with admission running just 7 euros.
Next Up: Visiting Devin’s Castle
Determined to make up for my earlier castle failure, that same afternoon I decided add in visiting Devin’s Castle, one of the oldest castles in Slovakia – dating back to 864.
Getting to Devin’s Castle from Bratislava
The journey from Bratislava to Devin’s Castle is so EASY. It is located just 12km away from the city center and has a direct bus that will take only 20 minutes. To catch the bus go to the “Most SNP” station under the “UFO bridge” and take bus 29. (.90 euro each way) The bus’s final destination, which should be written on the front of the bus, is Opletalova.
The stop you want is ล trbskรก (No I did not spell that wrong… nor was I too broke to buy a vowel, that is literally how it is spelled.) You’ll know you’re in the right place based on the large parking lot, hotel, and restaurants.
What to See at Devin’s Castle
Devin’s Castle sits on a hilltop overlooking the river. Maybe I should clarify, the ruins of Devin’s Castle, sit on a hilltop overlooking the river. Having had my doubts about the ruins, I was impressed! The scale and setting were far more grandiose than I had imagined, and it created a lovely afternoon completely wiping out my morning blunder.
There are two key parts to explore at Devin’s Castle:
- The actual castle/museum (5 Euro entrance fee)
- The castle grounds and the path along the river
All in all, it will take 2 – 4 hours to thoroughly explore and walk around, depending on how much you like ruins and history, or they offer a 3 hour guided tour.ย Find all critical details on their website.ย It’s a perfect way to spend half a day in the Bratislava area.
Explore Beyond the Castles of Bratislava
Having taken all of the castle day trips from Bratislava, it’s probably time to look for additional things to do in the region. Take a look at the rest of my Slovakia posts, including:
- Bojnice Castle: Finding a Fairy Tale Castle
- Finding the Bratislava of Eurotrip: โI open my own hotel!โ
- Traveling to Koลกice โ Can you pronounce it?
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