How Much Do Things Cost in Slovakia?
Many people who navigate to this Website do so searching for information on what are the average costs for items in Slovakia today. The best way to find that information is to do a little shopping of course. Even though the cost of goods and services is fluid and prices change all the time, I wanted to provide this information for those who are planning to spend time in Slovakia and are curious about budgeting.
First I’ll start with prices for groceries. In the table below is a short list of this week’s specials from a Slovak grocery chain called Nitrazdroj. I don’t want to provide too extensive of a list, but simply give you an idea of the cost of basic staples:
| yogurt | jogurt | 125g 0,23 € | ||
| milk | mlieko | 1l 0,76 € | ||
| margarine | margarin | 400g 1,32 € | ||
| sliced cheese | plátky syr | 100g 0,59 € | ||
| bread (loaf) | chlieb | 1 € | ||
| instant soup | instantná polievka | 3porcie 0,59 € | ||
| can of sardines | sardinky | 125g 0,76 € | ||
| instant cofee | instantná káva | 100g 3,65 € | ||
| mineral water | minerálna voda | 1,5l 0,23 € | ||
| orange juice | pomarančový dzus | 250ml 0,23 € | ||
| cola | cola | 2l 1,09 € | ||
| beer | pivo | 0,5l bottle 0,45 € | ||
| shampoo | šampón | 250ml 2,65 € | ||
| tooth paste | zubná pasta | 100ml 0,86 € |
See my collection of images below from several grocery store insert advertisements. I collected them from the larger chain stores in Slovakia:
Click on the picture to start the slideshow
I also wanted to provide a list of popular home electronic appliances, such as an electric kettle or coffee maker, but there is such a range of prices that there is no point really to pick an average. If you are curious, go to Datart, the Website for a popular home electronics chain store. Even if you don’t speak Slovak there are plenty of pictures of items with accompanying price.
The other area of pricing that people are curious about is eating out in a restaurant. Of course pricing will also vary depending on location — a restaurant in the Old Town of Bratislava will cost significantly more that a restaurant or pub in a neighborhood outside of the center — and the type of restaurant — traditional Slovak menu versus something more exotic such as Mexican or Chinese.
My compass for gaging restaurant pricing comes from better restaurants that serve basic Slovak foods such as Vyprážané šampióny – breaded mushrooms served with something like rice or potatoes, and also serve Italian-style pasta for example. The best place in Bratislava that serves great Slovak food in my opinion, and has their menu online is Slovak Pub. Their menu offering ranges from a plate of bryndzové halušky for about 100 Skk (3,50 €) to a steak with plum sauce for 390Skk (13 €).
There is the concern that there will be a jump in prices when the euro is officially adopted this coming January 2009. Even though the government is working hard to make the transfer as transparent as possible I can imagine that there will be some who take advantage of changing prices. But from my own experiences of living in Austria when the euro was adopted there, these fears are largely exaggerated. Time will tell.
