General Information

GEOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

Area: 49.035 sq. km (18.933 sq. miles)

Location

The Slovak Republic lies in the Central Europe. The country geography is characteristic with major differences in the height above sea. The central and northern Slovakia is a mountainous region - the Carpathian mountains cross this area. The southern and eastern Slovakia is a lowland region, being an important agricultural area of the country. The Danube river connects Slovakia with Vienna, the Rhine-Main channel, and harbours at the Black sea.

Borders

Hungary (679 km),

Poland (597.5 km),

Czech Republic (265 km),

Austria (127.2 km),

Ukraine (98 km)

Climate

The Slovak Republic lies in the mild zone with continental climate, with

distinctive rotation of seasons. The average daily temperature is -2 °C in winter, 21 °C in summer. The coldest month is January, the warmest months are July and August. In average, the snow keeps up in the highest locations 130 days a year.

Time Zone

1 hr ahead of GMT, the summer time which lasts from March to October is 2 hrs ahead of GMT, as in all European countries.

Currency

Slovak Crown (Sk) - Slovenská koruna = 100 halier.
Notes are in denominations of Sk 5000, 1000, 500, 100, 50 and 20.
Coins are in denominations of Sk 10, 5, 2, 1 and halier 50, 20 and 10 .
Foreign currency (including travellers cheques) can be exchanged at bureaux de change, main hotels all banks, road border crossings, as well as major travel agencies.

Telephone

Direct international telephone calls can be made to many countries in the world. IDD is available. Country code: 421. Outgoing international code: 00+the code of the appropriate state + area code + telephone/fax number

Home and foreign calls are enabled by public telephones working on coins or cards. Telephone calls on significant numbers (see lower) are free of charge. Emergency centres offer permanent service including aid on car accidents and repair on practical all types of vehicles.

Important telephone numbers

These numbers work on the whole territory of Slovakia.

National and public holidays

All shops and institutions are closed on national holidays.

Credit cards

Major credit cards (American Express, Diners Club, Visa and MasterCard/Eurocard) and debit cards (Maestro and Visa Electron) may be used to withdraw cash from automatic dispensers of major banks (VÚB, TatraBanka, Slovenská Sporiteľňa) and for payments in hotels, restaurants, shops and petrol stations. Credit cards can also be used to obtain currency. Check with your credit card company for details of merchant acceptability and other services which may be available.

Travellers cheques

Thomas Cook, American Express and Visa travellers cheques are accepted in most major banks (VÚB, TatraBanka, Slovenská Sporiteľňa) and at bureaux de change. Exchange rate charges are at least 1% of the nominal cheque value. To avoid additional charges, travellers are advised to take travellers cheques in US Dollars or Pounds Sterling.

Eurocheque

These must be used with a cheque guarantee card and may be cashed up to a maximum of 6500 Sk per cheque. Up to 10 cheques may be presented at any one time.
Currency restrictions:

The import and export of local and foreign currency is permitted up to the equivalent of 150.000 Sk. All currency must be declared.

Passports and visas

PASSPORT

It is needed to have a valid passport for duration of stay in Slovakia or for 2 months from date of expiration, if visa is required. The citizen of Czech Republic, Germany and Switzerland can enter Slovakia just with a valid national ID card.

VISAS

Required by all nationals except the following:
(a) nationals of the UK for stays of up to 180 days;
(b) nationals of other EU countries for stays of up to 90 days (except nationals of Italy for up to 30 days);
(c) nationals of Canada, Estonia, Hungary, Israel, Korea (Rep. of), Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malaysia, Poland, Slovenia, New Zealand, Andorra, Aruba from Chile for stays up to 90 days;
(d) nationals of Iceland, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Switzerland for up to 3 months
(e) nationals of Bulgaria, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Romania, San Marino, South Africa, USA and Vatican City for up to 30 days;
(e) nationals of Singapore and Hong Kong for up to 14 days;
(f) nationals of the Czech Republic for an unlimited period.

Visa requirement is available to obtain in every Embassy of Slovak Republic, which has the accreditation for the appropriate country. Contact the Embassy for further information.

Important customs rules

Duty-free items allowed to be brought by the travellers to Slovakia:

Tobacco products: 200 cigarettes or 100 cigarillos or 50cigars or 250 g tobacco or a combination in the respective amount
Alcoholic beverages:1 l of spirits, 2 l of wine
Petrol: maximum reserve of 10 l
Perfumes: 50 g
Toilet water: 250 ml
Drugs: according to personal need
Presents and other things up to the value of 175,- EUR
Home animals can be transported only with the respective veterinary permission
Weapons : with the covering letter only

On leaving the country approximately the same rules are valid. Objects of art and historical value need license and custom duty.

Accommodation

There are more than 1,000 hotels in Slovakia [hotel guide- www.travelguide.sk], and the number of private lodging facilities is increasing. The hotels are classified in accordance with the international standards from one-star to five-star - according to their equipment and services offered. Tourists may also stay in private lodgings, guesthouses, quarters and camps. There are many small villages in the mountains and below, with well-equipped family houses, partly serving as lodgings for tourists. In holiday resorts there are many individual cottages to rent.

Shopping - opening hours

Most shops are open on Mondays-Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Smaller shops have lunch breaks. Big storehouses and shopping centres are open to 7 p.m. or to 9 p.m. The hyper-markets TESCO (Banska Bystrica, Bratislava, Kosice, Nitra, Trnava) trade net is open non-stop. Basic food can be bought in smaller shops (Večierka) open seven days a week and also during the nights.

Gastronomy

Gastronomy shows the influence of a narrow contact with the neighbouring countries. European meals, home specialities and foreign meals are available. In Bratislava they offer unlimited choice, including kosher food, French meals, as well as the "smorgasbord". Motorests and original "tchardas" present all kinds of regional specialities - from Slovak cooking in the north of the country to Hungarian and fish meals in the Danubian region in the southern part of the country.