What is the best way to get from the town of Zakopane to Bratislava, Slovakia?

I just looked it up on Rome to Rio and it said that I have to catch a bus from Zakopane Targowica in Zakopane, Poland at 9:42 which goes to Trstena Autobus Stanica, go by bus and takes 53 minutes then walk 4 minutes to the train Station Trstena which leaves at 11:42 AM, then transfer at Kralovany, Stankoveny , (16 minutes) and go through Bratislava Hlavana Stanica at 4:33 PM.

When I looked earlier at an earlier time the bus left at 6:28 going to Vyoske Tatry with an 11 min transfer and then to Propad-Tatry with a 23 min transfer and then arriving in Bratislava Hilvana Stanica. I like the 9:42 time frame better!

Any thoughts?

Backyard

It may be faster to take the train from Zakopane to Krakow (2:10) and then another train (5:55) to Bratislava from Krakow. Connections from Zakopane into Slovakia are far and few between. When I was there some years back, to reach Poprad from Zakopane required taking a bus to the border. I got off the bus ( the only passenger) and walked to the Polish/Slovak border where a surprised soldier in a border post in the forest stamped my US passport. I walked on a bit and caught a different bus to Poprad on the Slovak side of the border. The whole experience was surreal.
Apparently, not much has changed since then.

Thanks Kenko.
I will give that a try. I have read about people doing that. Is there an actual train station in the town of Zakopane?
Thanks,
Backyard

Of course there is a train station in Zakopane. However, you need to be careful which train you take- regional (Polregio) trains can take up to 4 hours (they stop at about 40 stations), Intercity trains are faster

Backyard, Yes— the Zakopane train station is in a medium-sized building with the bus station just outside.
The Tatra Mountain range—which becomes the Polish/Slovak border in southern Poland—is a physical impediment to overland travel with the train line hitting a dead end where the mountains are. Were it Norway or Switzerland, there likely would be tunnels through the mountains to extend the train line. In Eastern Europe, train routes were not fully developed during the Soviet era. That’s why buses generally ( but not in this case) are more time-efficient than the train routes.
Enjoy your trip!

Hey Backyard, I did the hop over the Tatras from Zakopane to Poprad last October. From Poprad, trains run pretty much every hour to Bratislava. (I headed the opposite way toward Kosice instead.)
To get to Poprad from Zakopane, FlixBus runs a bus twice a day around 9am and noon. It takes two hours with lots of stops. We pushed the boat out a bit splurging on a taxi. Door to door service from our hotel to Poprad train station took one hour through magnificent mountain scenery with wonderful narrative in English from our driver for 400 zlotny ($100) flat rate. Crossing into Slovakia, we thought it was charming to see all the Route 66 signs. A little Americana in the high Tatras. Our over inflated big headed egos quickly realized we aren’t the only country with a Route 66.
You can check train schedules and purchase your train tickets directly from the Slovak train company at www.zssk.sk. The website is easy to use. Once you do buy your tickets take a screenshot of your ticket. Once onboard, we had lots of connectivity problems. Conductors checked our tickets after practically every stop. Having a screenshot of the QWERTY code for them to scan saved us.
Cheers

Thanks for all of the replies. and tip to use the intercity train. thenosbigs I like the idea of getting a taxi to see the mountains on the way to Poprad! It sounds like great scenery. How long before the train trip did you buy the ticket for the train to where you were going in Slovakia?
Backyard