Originally Posted by
ofto
Other stop off points that would be directly on the way include Györ (a similar town to Bratislava in Hungary, but a bit smaller),
Mosonmagyaróvár (the best of dental tourism--but moreover a spa town) or any other number of Hungarian thermal spa towns.
Personally, I wouldn't recommend either Győr or Mosonmagyaróvár - there's hardly anything of interest there, especially in the latter which is little more than a large village. If you deviate from your route somewhat, Sopron is a pleasant provincial town to stop off at; it's on the border with Austria.
From Vienna there are trains every 30 minutes to Bratislava. It might make sense just to do it as a day trip from Vienna.
Probably the best option if you really want to visit Bratislava.
Although you are supposed to buy the SparSchiene Ticket (option 2, €13) at least three days in advance, they often sell them same-day.
I certainly wouldn't rely on this.
There is a city ticket-office and an international ticket office on the side of the (Kelti) (sic) train station (take a number and wait for your number to come up). Visa & MC cards accepted.
The city office is the best place to buy tickets because there's hardly ever anyone in there. If you must buy at Keleti, forget the international ticket office and buy from the Wasteels agency on platform 9 - usually shorter queues and reasonable customer service in passable English.