12 reviews

Post-Communist Bratislava Tour

This is popular! 35 travellers have booked this experience.

From

25 EUR

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A funky retro tour in a legendary Czechoslovak 70s Škoda car or a crappy 8-seater Škoda 1203 van. We’ll take you to off-the-beaten-track places tied to Bratislava’s communist past and also show you some of the city’s recent transformations. Local insights are guaranteed!

Duration: 2 hours

Available in

English

What was out of anyone's control: We had bad luck and booked our tour on one of the coldest days of recent history (down to -14° C), so we couldn't take the Skodas - it just too cold. Definitely not our guide's fault. Instead we got to do the tour with a VW Caravan from 92.

Having said that, this tour was amazing and I'd recommend it to everyone! Our guide Peter knew a lot about the city, gave the tour a personal touch with his stories and (for this kind of tour not unimportant) drove us safely around town, in spite of the weather conditions.

I specifically like how Peter is interested in ruins and abandoned buildings (I am too) and knows where to find them. They are getting fewer, sadly.

I can only imagine how much cooler it would be with warm weather and in the retro cars. Seems I've to take the tour again some time ;)

If you get the chance, take the tour. Period.

Reviewed by Christoph

Highlights

See the first prefabricated socialist apartment block in Czechoslovakia
Check out abandoned industrial buildings (a brewery and a textiles factory)
Explore the largest socialist housing project in Europe
Discover political buildings and structures from Soviet times
Ride under the controversial UFO-like SNP Bridge
See border fortifications built by the Czechoslovak government in the 1930s
Visit the Slovak-Austrian border – once part of the Iron Curtain

Description

See a vast concrete housing estate, the Slavín war memorial, abandoned factories, riverside developments, a 1930s bunker, the former Iron Curtain border zone and lots of communist architecture on our post-communist Bratislava tour. Local insights are guaranteed!

Our guides will bring the story of 20th-century Bratislava to life: political changes, the city’s location, contrasts between rich and poor, development of the society, architecture and more.

Please note that in some cases we cannot guarantee the retro car (winter weather, car repairs, etc.) Instead we’ll get around in a funky green 1992 VW Caravelle or another ordinary car that’s in good health and has decent heating. Thank you for understanding.

What’s included & not included

Local English-speaking guide
Transport
Authentic refreshments

Check availability of the tour:

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Meeting point

Namestie SNP 30 or at your accommodation

Reviews from travellers (12)

5.0/5

A Great Experience

We had a very nice tour with the fancy guids and their busses. They let us known all types of history of the city Bratislava. We were talking about a lot of things and there was enough space for a good joke on the tour.
When you are in Bratislava, call these boys!!!

Reviewed by Marloes • October 11, 2018

Awesome tour!

This was an awesome of the beaten track tour. The old van was great and our guide such a nice guy! Reccomend bog time!!

Reviewed by Nout • August 11, 2018

Great Tour!

What a great tour! Informative in a nice way, lots of great sights and a beer at the lake. In fact, after the tour we went back to the lake by ourself to enjoy it even more! Thanks!

Reviewed by Rob • June 05, 2018

Fun and different experience

The trip can certainly be recommended to others. It was a fun and different way to experience the history of the city. Both the car and the driver made the experience really good :-)

Reviewed by Karsten • April 09, 2018

Fantastic alternative view of Bratislava

My husband, 15yr old son and I loved our tour with Juro. We were met in an original 1971 Skoda 100 - such a cool little car. We learnt so much about Bratislava that we would not have known or seen otherwise. Juro kept us entertained the whole trip. We would definitely recommend this tour to everyone.

Reviewed by Laurel • July 15, 2017

Very interesting tour with a great guide!

Reviewed by Gunilla • April 19, 2017

A not to missed tour of Bratislava

I'm so pleased that I booked this alternative real view of the city. Our delightful guide and driver Juro was engaging and knowledgeable, driving my party in the "luxurious" and "modern" VW Caravelle! We learnt a great deal about the turbulent events that took place here in the 20thC. I had booked for four people but had three extras join, we were part of a choir visiting Bratislava. A brilliant morning. I highly recommend this to anyone. Juro returned the compliment by attending our concert in the evening.

Reviewed by Sarah • April 12, 2017

A unique morning in Bratislava

We kicked off our first morning in Bratislava with this great tour and got much more than we expected. Thank you to Authentic Slovakia for the best part of our trip and for sharing your personal stories along with some unique sights! I can highly recommend Authentic Slovakia to anyone visiting!

We did this tour as a group of friends aged 35-40 and also took the Iron Curtain Bike Tour.

Reviewed by Mats • April 03, 2017

Sweet Tour, worth the money!

Reviewed by Christoph • January 09, 2017

Interesting recent history of Bratislava

I'd like to thank our guide Brano for taking me and two others around the post-Socialist parts of Bratislava in his grandfather's old Skoda. It was a two-hour "Post Socialist City Tour" but the tour was so interesting and we enjoyed listening to Brano's tales of living in the city so much that it ran a little over time ... and no one cared. When you have seen enough of the pretty old town and feel like learning about it's more recent history, join one of Authentic Slovakia's tours.

Reviewed by ChristoforoM / TripAdvisor • October 19, 2016

Post Socialist city tour

We took the tour with Yuro and was a educational and interesting. He was fun, spoke very good English, and was very knowledgeable about the area and the history. We enjoyed his Skoda and his honest opinions! Really made the country more interesting!

Reviewed by theTicofive / TripAdvisor • October 19, 2016

Post socialist tour

I had a great time in Bratislava overall, but the highlight of my stay was the Post socialist tour with Authentic Slovakia. Together with a nice Dutch couple I spent two hours + in a Skoda from the 1970's with a very knowledgeable and humorous guide (Juro). He really could tie Slovakia's communist past to the present and took us to places we would never have visited on our own. With a bit more time in Bratislava I would also have taken the "Iron curtain" cycle tour. Authentic Slovakia makes ordinary guided tours look hollow and boring.
Bjarne, Malmo. Sweden

Reviewed by Bjarne S / TripAdvisor • October 19, 2016

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