I'm headed over to Germany in a couple weeks, and I'd like to visit some friends in Slovakia. Some of them live in Bratislava, in the western part of the country, whilst others live in the east, near Kosice. I am flying to/from Frankfurt, Germany, and will be travelling north to the Netherlands, then south towards Munich. I only have three or four days to give to visiting Slovakia, and I'd rather go to the east than to Bratislava if I had to choose one or the other.

Do you have any advice as to the most efficient way to travel to Slovakia from Germany? I first thought that flying to Kosice would be best. I've read of the some of the European flight passes and flat rate segments. But, I'm flying US Airways to FRA, so I can't use many of the alliance passes, and EuropeByAir doesn't serve Slovakia at all (not even Bratislava). I think I'm also limited to the Czech airline to Kosice.

Another thought was flying to Vienna and taking a train from there--first to Bratislava, then to the east and back--but I'm not sure if that's at all cost- or time-effective either.

I'm also considering the train, but it's overnight to/from Munich and Bratislava, plus probably 5-7 hours to cross Slovakia to Kosice. By then, I've used a lot of my time (3-4 days) travelling rather than visiting.

Any thoughts on a good way to accomplish this trip, either by plane or train? By train, I'd probably be coming from Munich. By plane, I could travel from Frankfurt, Munich, or Amsterdam. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

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Have you thought about driving? It's quite easy and you get to see a lot of the country. I would fly to Vienna or Bratislava and rent a car. Or if you have time, drive all the way from FRA or MUC.

What's the problem with CSA? They are quite a good airline and you should be able to earn Delta miles as they are now a partner in Skyteam. In fact, I don't think they are entirely out of OnePass as yet, and you might be able to earn OnePass miles, instead. However, that all depends on when you are flying them.

Thanks for those reponses. There's nothing wrong with CSA (that I know of, since I've never flown them). I was just stating that I think it's my only option if I want to fly to eastern Slovakia, in case people were thinking to recommend anything involving other carriers.

Driving might be an alternative worth considering too. Does anyone know how long it would take to drive from Munich to Bratislava and then east to Kosice, or how much this would cost compared to the train?

Otherwise, I'm still open to flight/train suggestions if there are any more out there. Thanks again!

[This message has been edited by ThisFlightNoFuel (edited 02-15-2001).]

[Duplicate...sorry]

[This message has been edited by ThisFlightNoFuel (edited 02-15-2001).]