Seven wild things you can do in Bratislava!

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This article was published in the latest edition of our Bratislava City Guide, which can be obtained from our online shop with Spectacular Slovakia travel guides.

There’s plenty of time to explore the city’s historical monuments, cultural sites and exceptional architecture, but if you want to cut loose and do something crazy on your trip to Bratislava, there is also a world of extreme sports waiting for you in the city.

Tank ride 

In an abandoned Bratislava factory, you will turn into a soldier standing and holding firmly to a bar of a Czechoslovak wheeled armoured personnel carrier.  

“It is as if you are sitting in a cabriolet, but you have to stand and avoid tree branches,” Tomáš Tvarožek from Hero Factory said. Air pushing against your face, the sound of a military vehicle and its speed add to the experience. “You feel like the member of a garrison, heading to a warzone,” he added.

Hero Factory owns two wheeled and two tracked armoured personnel carriers. All their machines are certified and registered. 

Hero Factory also owns three mini tanks. “Their power could be compared to small tractors,” Tvarožek said. Adults and children can enjoy an off-road ride or use them during paintball and airsoft games.

Extreme Bratislava (5 photos)

Extreme sports hall

Lovers of extreme sports have a place to pump up their adrenaline. Complex Hangair offers jumps with three platforms. A six-metre platform made from birch plywood is designed mostly for BMX bike riders, rollerbladers and skateboarders. Another two platforms, seven- and nine-metres tall, are designed for skiers and snowboarders. People jump into a foam pool measuring 12 x 9 metres.

Rafting

Even though the jump will certainly increase the adrenalin pumping around your body, you won’t even get wet. The same cannot be said of the experiences on offer at Čunovo, Slovakia’s paradise for water sports, where visitors are invited to paddle their way down a number of courses of rapids. The area known as Divoká Voda was established in 1995 and since then it has hosted numerous prestigious European and world canoeing and kayaking events. No other place in Slovakia offers you a better rafting ride than Čunovo, but newcomers are as welcome as the experienced. One-hour raft trips are available with five other people and an instructor.

“It begins peacefully, but suddenly water drags you in like a sink and there is no way back,” said Slavo Mrug from Stará Ľubovňa, who experienced the power of waves in Čunovo. “If somebody makes a mistake, the raft starts turning around, it rolls down the bank backwards and you do not know whether you will bump into a rock, or capsize or fall from the boat. That’s why you have to follow the directions of the instructor and paddle the way he navigates you.” Rafting demands humility from its participants and respect for all the safety rules.

On the river

“For waterskiing, water scooters, kneeboarding and other extreme rides we  take tourists from Eurovea or several different places on the Danube river,” said Jaromír Minařík from Hot Chilli Lode company, who owns several boats and other equipment he uses for water attractions in Bratislava. Speedboat rides are one of the most popular excursions. During the trip visitors can enjoy the view from the river of Devín Castle, the historical centre, bridges as well as quiet areas with houseboats which are among visitors the most popular even though the  ride is slower there. “During the trip we usually stop in Marina café where we can stay in touch with water,” Minařík said. Water attractions are available in Čilistov. The group usually pay for the speedboat rental and all other equipments well as special neoprene clothing and life jackets. 

Smash away stress

Whether you are angry at your boss or want to forget your ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend, you can shake off all the negative emotions in a rage room.  

The room is furnished with wardrobes, screens, electronics, and kitchen equipment. “Anything we manage to find, in fact,” said Bohuš Zach of the zazito.ooo agency. On average, it takes 20 minutes to smash things in the room unless you are creative, or you are filming yourself. 

“One girl keeps on returning to us,” Zach said, adding that she prefers the activity rather than a work-out or therapy session.

Put on overalls and a helmet, grab a baseball bat, and go smash away your problems, too.

Escape games

For brave spirits it may be interesting to play interactive “escape” games in which small teams must solve thematic tasks in order to get out. One of the most known games, mainly in Japan, China and the United States, is Izba č. 13 (Room Thirteen), situated in a crime scene with lots of brain-teasers and logical story lines. “One third of our customers are coming from abroad,” Lucia Pšenicová from Izba č. 13 said.

Visitors can take part in other escape games such as Go Escape with virtual reality escape rooms, funny EscapeRoom.sk rooms or Paniq Room’s Secrets of Da Vinci focused on finding the Holy Grail.

The Team Up park, gives teams twenty tasks testing their physical strength, mental endurance, logical thinking, communication skills and team spirit.

Flight simulation

The Simulátor centrum in Bratislava’s Prievoz is the only place in Slovakia where the general public can pilot either a Boeing 737 or Piper PA34 without any necessary documents or training. Even though these are not real airplanes, but fixed base simulators replicating the actual aircraft cockpits with all controls, panels, knobs, switches and other components, they allow visitors to fly under various weather conditions, land at the most dangerous airports in the world or even save the airplane after both pilots became incapacitated.