Banská Bystrica is well connected by bus and rail. The train station is about 1 km south of the main square; there are connections to Bratislava (around 3 hours), Žilina, and Zvolen. Buses are generally faster and more frequent than trains on many routes — the bus station is near the train station.
By car, Banská Bystrica is on the E77 trunk road and is roughly 200 km northeast of Bratislava. The drive takes around 2 hours in normal conditions.