Bratislava, Slovakia

Two of my closest friends and I decided to head to the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava for the weekend! We booked return hand luggage only flights from London Stansted to Bratislava direct on Ryanair for £57.98 per person. We also pre-booked the Stansted Express on their 30 days before travel offer for £16 return each from Liverpool Street station.

Our accommodation of choice was this incredible apartment we found on Air B&B, which comfortably housed all three of us and was a short 5 mins walk to the Old Town:

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/5362649?checkin=21-08-2015&checkout=23-08-2015&guests=3&s=rRq4

The apartment cost 122.50 EUR each for three nights. It was spotless and modern with a very impressive roof terrace overlooking the city and a huge bathroom with a separate bath and shower. There was a well equipped kitchen, lovely table to spread out at and two large lounging sofa's. There was enough space for a double wardrobe each to hang our things. 

Transfers to the airport cost between 10-25 EUR depending on what time of day you land, which is super cheap when split three ways and the journey is 10-15 mins max! 

There isn't a huge amount to do in Bratislava, you can take the picturesque tourist trains around the city and up to the castle. We also took a boat ride up the Danube for 10 EUR each from Bratislava to Devin, which has a castle ruin and was a pleasant 90 mins ride on the way and 30 mins on the return. As an FYI beer on the boat was 90 cents for half a pint, BARGAIN! 

You can also take a day trip to Vienna from here for around 30 EUR. However, enjoying the incredible cafe culture and the Old Town is the ideal way to while away the days and we were lucky with over 30 degree heat, which was perfect for gossiping with an Aperol Spritz.

On our last day we decided to get adventurous and took a crazy bridge swing. The below company organised everything for us at a cost of 45 EUR per person:

http://www.stag-bratislava.com/activity-bridge-swinging-bratislava

We were met at our apartment and escorted by public transport to the jump site. We were harnessed in and then literally threw ourselves off of the bridge to swing for a couple of minutes before being winched back up! Each person was allowed two jumps! It was terrifying, however, the thrill was amazing and we were so pleased we took the plunge and felt the adrenaline rush!

I would really recommend Bratislava for a little cheap weekend away! A couple of nights is enough and expect a very slow paced capital city. No cars are allowed in the Old Town and it's very picturesque. Maybe also visit in winter for the Christmas markets, which I can imagine are festive and enhance the beauty of this wonderful tiny city.