How to Get to Slovak Tokaj by Train or Car

Malá Tŕňa, in the middle of the region, is about 57 km south-east of Košice: roughly 1 h 10 min by car. Regional trains reach Čerhov in about an hour, so you can visit without driving at all.

By train

Regional trains (osobný vlak, marked Os) on line 190 from Košice to Čierna nad Tisou stop at four stations in or near the region. Times are from the 2026 timetable.

Station	Serves	From Košice
Čerhov	Čerhov; Malá Tŕňa and Veľká Tŕňa about 3 km away	about 1 h
Slovenské Nové Mesto	Slovenské Nové Mesto, Bara	1 h 04 min
Borša	Borša and its Rákóczi manor (outside the wine region), Viničky	just over 1 h
Streda nad Bodrogom	Streda nad Bodrogom (outside the wine region); bus to Viničky	about 1 h 13 min

Sample departures from Košice to Čerhov on a weekday in October 2026 were 07:06 (arrives 08:06), 09:07 (10:06) and 11:07 (12:06); regional trains ran roughly every two hours during the day. Look up your return train before you set out. Timetables change every December, so check cp.sk, where the CP.sk app also sells tickets. Bikes are allowed on line 190 trains.

From Bratislava it takes about 6 h 55 min to Slovenské Nové Mesto with one change in Košice (for example, 07:16 express to Košice, arriving 13:03, then the 13:07 regional train, arriving 14:11). Four minutes is a tight connection, so take an earlier express if you can; they run hourly.

From the station to the cellars

Čerhov is the most useful station. The tourist information office, which rents bikes and e-bikes, is next to the halt, and the cellars of Malá Tŕňa and Veľká Tŕňa are about 3 km away on foot (allow 45 minutes).
Slovenské Nové Mesto and Borša stations are in the villages they serve; Viničky is a few kilometres from Borša station.
Buses run by ARRIVA link the villages with Trebišov and the stations, but not often. On the day we checked, the 09:07 train reached Streda nad Bodrogom at 10:20, connecting with a 10:33 bus to Viničky.
Taxis: we have not found a taxi service we can confirm. Ask your guesthouse or winery to recommend a driver or arrange a pick-up.

Festival trains and shuttles

For the Tokaj Harvest Festival in 2026 a historic "Pantograf" train ran from Košice at 08:30 to Čerhov (arriving 09:35) and back at 19:15/19:30, and free shuttles linked the villages every 30 minutes. The Open Tokaj Cellars Day uses a free circular bus from Čerhov station, and a special "Tokaj Express" from Košice has run in some years. Arrangements change every year; see events.

By car

Road I/79 runs from Trebišov south through Čerhov towards Viničky and Streda nad Bodrogom. Road I/79A leads to the Hungarian border at Slovenské Nové Mesto and continues as Hungarian road 37 to Sátoraljaújhely.

Distances to Malá Tŕňa from city centres, calculated with the OSRM route planner. They exclude traffic and border waits, so treat them as approximate.

From	Distance	Driving time
Košice	57 km	about 1 h 10 min
Košice airport	59 km	about 1 h 10 min
Trebišov	25 km	about 25 min
Michalovce	52 km	about 1 h
Miskolc (HU)	93 km	about 1 h 30 min
Debrecen (HU)	139 km	about 2 h 20 min
Budapest (HU)	268 km	about 3 h 15 min
Kraków (PL)	315 km	about 4 h 25 min
Bratislava	467 km	about 5 h 20 min
Vienna (AT)	511 km	about 5 h 50 min
Uzhhorod (UA)	75 km	about 1 h 30 min, plus border waiting time

Motorways in Slovakia and Hungary need an electronic vignette, bought separately for each country (eznamka.sk, ematrica.nemzetiutdij.hu). If you are hiring a car, ask whether a vignette is included.

From Ukraine: the Slovak–Ukrainian border is an external Schengen border with passport controls, and waits can be long.

Note: Slovakia and Hungary both have zero tolerance for alcohol when driving (0.0 ‰). If you come by car, the driver does not drink at all, or you stay overnight.

By plane

Košice International Airport (KSC) is the nearest, 59 km from Malá Tŕňa. In 2026 it had scheduled flights from Vienna, Warsaw, Zurich, London, Dublin, Liverpool, Prague, Málaga and Rome, among others, but routes change. Bus 23 takes about 20 minutes to the railway station square in Košice.

The alternatives are much further away, and from them you realistically need a car (we have not checked public transport):

Debrecen (DEB): 145 km, about 2 h 30 min
Poprad-Tatry (TAT): 172 km, about 2 h 10 min
Rzeszów-Jasionka (RZE): 234 km, about 4 h 20 min
Budapest (BUD): 273 km, about 3 h 20 min
Kraków: allow for the drive from the city, 315 km and about 4 h 25 min

Uzhhorod in Ukraine is close on the map, but we could not confirm civilian flights there.

Car hire at Košice airport

Enterprise has a desk in the arrivals hall of Terminal A (daily 07:00–21:00, after-hours returns), and Sixt is also at the airport. Booking sites list other brands too, so check that yours actually has a desk there. If you plan to drive into Hungary, say so when you book.

Crossing into Hungary

Use the road crossing at Slovenské Nové Mesto – Sátoraljaújhely (I/79A to road 37). It is an internal Schengen border without routine checks, but carry your passport or ID card. The two towns are effectively one: Slovenské Nové Mesto was part of Sátoraljaújhely until 1920. From Malá Tŕňa it is 9 km (about 13 minutes) to Sátoraljaújhely, 21 km (about 25 minutes) to Sárospatak and 56 km (about an hour) to the town of Tokaj. We could not confirm regular passenger trains across the border. Hungary uses forints. See one Tokaj, two countries.

Getting around the villages

No two village centres are more than about 10 km apart as the crow flies, and Malá Tŕňa and Veľká Tŕňa are practically one place.

On foot: from Čerhov station it is about 3 km to Malá Tŕňa or Veľká Tŕňa. The lookout tower is about 30 minutes' walk from Malá Tŕňa or about an hour from Černochov.
By bike: the information office in Čerhov rents bikes and e-bikes (call +421 915 999 009; prices are not published), and Víno Kapraľ in Veľká Tŕňa also rents bikes. Marked routes (lengths approximate):
- an easy 29 km loop from Malá Tŕňa past the tower, Bara and Viničky to the Bodrog, about 2 hours on asphalt and paved paths
- the green wine route 5710 from Čerhov via Malá Tŕňa to Bara, about 16 km
- the yellow route 8717 from Slovenské Nové Mesto via Bara to Viničky, about 15 km
By car: distances are short, and the lookout tower has a car park.

Coming from Poland

Kraków is 315 km from Malá Tŕňa, about 4 h 25 min by car, and Rzeszów-Jasionka airport is 234 km away. LOT flies from Warsaw to Košice. If you are driving to Hungarian Tokaj, the Slovak villages make a natural stop, with the town of Tokaj about an hour further on. We have not yet researched buses and trains from Kraków.

Getting to Slovak Tokaj