Opening hours for shops in Slovakia are Mon-Fri 9am-6pm, Sat 8am-noon, with some shops and most supermarkets staying open later. Smaller shops close for lunch for an hour or so sometime between noon and 2pm. Most shops are closed on Sunday, but supermarkets and out-of-town hypermarkets are open all day in large towns and cities.

The basic opening hours for castles and monasteries are Tues-Sun 9am-5pm, though last admission will be half an hour before closing. In April and October, opening hours are often restricted to weekends and holidays. From the end of October to the beginning of April, most castles are closed. When visiting a sight, always ask for an anglicky text , an often unintentionally hilarious English resumé. In Bratislava the main museums open Tues-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat & Sun 11am-6pm, though there are exceptions. In winter, many museums close half an hour earlier than the times quoted in this guide. Entrance tickets for all sights never cost more than £1/$1.50 - hence no prices are quoted in the text.

Public holidays include Jan 1 (Independence Day); Jan 6 (Epiphany); Easter Monday; May 1 (Labour Day); July 5 (SS Cyril and Methodius day); Aug 29 (Slovak National Uprising); Sept 1 (Constitution Day); Sept 15 (Our Lady of Sorrows); Nov 1 (All Saints' Day); and Dec 24, 25 & 26.