Getting the boat to Bratislava from Vienna
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On our summer travels we were travelling, mostly by train around Europe. We heard about the river ferry connecting Austria and Slovakia along the Danube. As a break from trains, we decided to take the boat to Bratislava from Vienna. This turned out to be a great experience and we got to have a mini-cruise on the Danube as well!
Why choose the boat to Bratislava from Vienna?
For us, it was a new experience and a different mode of transport to the rest of our trip. We had arrived in Vienna on the overnight train from Amsterdam, so departing on the river Danube was quite novel. The boat was more expensive than the train but we wanted to experience a boat trip on the Danube. We weighed up the cost of the river ferry with paying for a separate boat trip to help justify the extra cost.
The bonus of the river ferry is that on arrival in Bratislava you are already in the heart of the old town. The train station is a taxi or tram ride away.
Pros and Cons of taking the Boat to Bratislava from Vienna
Pros
Cons
- Arrive straight into the old town of Bratislava.
- Beautiful views along the Danube.
- Snacks and drinks served onboard.
- More unique experience.
- Commentary on landmarks as you approach Bratislava.
- More expensive than the train.
- Can get booked up in high season.
- Only three departures per day compared to trains every 30 minutes.
Booking the boat to Bratislava from Vienna
In high season there are three departures per day and they can get booked up. It is definitely worth booking in advance. Lots of tourists use this boat to make a day trip to Bratislava (or from Bratislava to Vienna). Tickets are easily booked on the twin city liner website. As well as choosing the time of your departure there are also options for which type of seat to book. The booked seats are all inside but once the boat departs you are free to move around and sit on one of the outside seats if you would like. The most expensive seats are in the captain’s lounge. This is on the top deck, offering the best views. In my opinion though these seats aren’t worth the extra price as you can sit in the outside seats just by the captain’s lounge anyway.
The downstairs seats also have different prices depending on whether you are central or near a window. If it is bad weather a window seat is definitely worth the extra cost. However in summer if you’re happy to go and sit outside it’s probably not necessary. We booked two seats that were by the window and then three in central area.
Getting to the dock in Vienna
The easiest way to the river ferry dock is to get the U-bahn to Schweden-platz. You should be able to follow signs for the dock from there. Once you get outside you can see the river across the road and the twin city liner dock.
Depending on where you are staying in Vienna, the other option would be to take a taxi to the dock.
Boarding the twin city river ferry
When we were travelling, the ferry arrived only 5 minutes before it was due to depart. It was slightly chaotic with the dock full of passengers waiting to board and passengers alighting having to push their way through. We thought that the boat would be late departing but once they started boarding it was very efficient and we did depart just about on time. If like us you have luggage, there is a storage area for larger items by the rear doors that go out onto the deck.
Onboard the boat to Bratislava from Vienna
The seats are airline style seats and in general pretty comfortable. The journey is only around an hour so we didn’t sit in our seats a lot and chose to spend time on deck taking in the views. There are floor to ceiling windows in the boat so you are still able to take in the views from there if you prefer. Also if you want to listen to the commentary, this was only audible from inside the boat. The commentary only began around 15 minutes before arriving in Bratislava and pointed out the main landmarks.
A bar inside serves hot and cold drinks and snacks. They were quite pricey so we didn’t have anything.
Outside there is a small area downstairs where you can stand or upstairs there are seats looking over the back of the boat. There were times that some of the seats got quite a bit of spray. I imagine this is variable depending on the wind conditions of the day.
Arriving in Bratislava by boat
In my opinion you can’t beat arriving in Bratislava by boat. It is fantastic to see the castle perched above the Danube as you edge closer to the Slovak capital. For us the other main advantage was that the river dock is right next to the old town, which is where our accommodation was booked. This meant that we only had a short walk to our apartment. In contrast when leaving Bratislava by train we had to take a tram to the main train station on the edge of the city.
Overall we were really pleased with our decision to take the boat from Austria to Slovakia rather than the train. Our ride down the Danube was definitely worth it and I would really recommend to anyone travelling between the two cities. Since Bratislava is quite small it is also a great choice for a day trip when staying in Vienna.
