Kosice Transportation

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I must admit that I didn't use public transportation in Kosice. Nevertheless, the tram lines seem to be especially useful to get from the train station to the city centre as they stop directly in front of the station.

Kosice has about 16 tram lines which together with buses and trolleybuses form the public transportation system run by DPMK (Dopravny Podnik Mesta Kosice).

A single ticket cost 12 SKK (2007) and can be bought from machines and special kiosks. When changing the vehicle a new ticket must be validated.

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I flew to Kosice with Czech Airlines from Dusseldorf (D), but via Prague (CZ). Kosice is Slovakia's second largest international airport. It is located about 6 km south of the city centre.

The cheapest way to get to town is the local bus #23, but unfortunately it goes less than once per hour, therefore the only possibility is to take a taxi.

Please read my "From the airport to the city centre by taxi" tip for more details.

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From Kosice we used trains to get to Poprad (High Tatry) and to get to Lviv (Ukraine).

Kosice's train station is an important transport hub in the East of Europe. There are regular services to Bratislava, Poprad and many other local destinations. International trains go to Vienna (A), Budapest (H), Moscow (RUS) or Kiev (UA).

Train fares in Slovakia depend on the type of train, which means that regional trains are cheaper than Intercity trains.

In general train tickets are rather cheap. For example the trip Kosice to Poprad (101 km) on a fast Intercity train cost about 214 SKK (about 6,25 Euro, 2007).

Kosice's train station is located about 15 minutes on foot east of the city centre.

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There are very infrequent public buses at the airport. They run about every 2 hours. So both times I came here I took a taxi. This time the taxi driver was a very stiff guy not saying one word. There were only taxis by the company "VIP taxi". They seem to hold the monopoly and quite pricey by Slovakian standards. The 6 km to the railway station cost 273 SKK. We weren't quite sure whether the meter was manipulated.

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You can take a plane to Kosice from either Prague or Bratislava. Both times I arrived here by CSA from Prague. The Kosice airport has changed a lot and it became modern. There is a Kosice map on the hall in the arrival hall but unfortunately, I didn't see any tourist information office.

I came from Prague to Kosice by train and arrived in the eve arouind 21hrs.

At the station i asked for a bus but they didnt go that time of the evening to Uzhgorod.
So i went to some cab in front of the station (where there are many) and askefor the price in advance.
It cost me 50 $. Otherwise i had to stay overnight at a hotel which cost as much but i preferred the trip from about 1,5 hour by cab so i would be with my family and friends before midnight:-)
Ask the price in advance. 50 dollar is a lot but safe:-)

We spent most of what little time we had in Kosice around the main square/street, or just wandering very centrally by foot. However, the city has a good transportation network as you'd expect.

The journey to Kosice from other parts of Slovakia can take quite a few hours as buses and trains wind their way through the Tatra Mountain range for example.

The bus station is right next to the train station. If you're travelling a shorter journey from or to Kosice it's likely that you'll be using buses rather than the train.

Note also that Kosice train station has a left luggage room.

There's a left luggage office in the Train Station, opened 24 hours (maybe closed for a 15 to 30 minutes break, lunch hours).Kosice is a hub for trains to/from Poland & Hungary.
Some good infos :
Prague, 11 hours, 708 km
Brno, 9 hours, 493 km
Bratislava, 6 hours, 445 kmThe daily Cracovia between Krakow & Budapest pass through Kosice.