01
Belgrade
Two or three days for the fortress, Dorćol and Zemun, and the starting point for every day trip on this page — north by train from Beograd Centar station, to Đerdap and the mountains by car.
Destination
Serbia
The north an hour away by train, the mountains three or four by car — Serbia divides by the time you have
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Serbia beyond Belgrade sorts itself by how much time you have. A day is enough for Novi Sad and Subotica — the Soko high-speed train reaches them in 36 and 79 minutes — and for the Đerdap gorge, two hours' drive to Golubac. The mountains — Tara, Zlatibor, Rtanj, Uvac, Stara Planina — are three to four and a half hours' drive away, which makes them a weekend, and a weekend with a car.
The north is the one part of the country you can do without a car. From Novi Sad, city buses 61 and 62 run to Sremski Karlovci; from Subotica, Palić is eight kilometres by cycle path or city bus. Vršac is an hour and a half by bus from Belgrade. The exception is the Deliblato Sands: only 75 kilometres from Belgrade, but hard to reach by public transport, and at their best in April and May, when the wild peonies flower.
Where next
Cities and places in Serbia
Each place has its own page — what makes it worth the detour, and how long you need.
The full list
All 277 places we write about sit on one page — narrow them down by continent, country, price or what you are travelling for.
Everything else needs a car, and the route is chosen by compass point. In the east are Đerdap, Rtanj, about three hours' drive via Paraćin or Aleksinac, and Stara Planina, about four via Zaječar or Niš. In the west, Tara, Mokra Gora and Zlatibor combine into one weekend, and Sirogojno is fifteen kilometres from Zlatibor as the crow flies. In the south, Niš is the base for Sokobanja, an hour and a quarter by bus, and for Đavolja Varoš near Kuršumlija.
Blog
Stories from Serbia
How it actually was when we were there, and what was worth it.
Fleeing 1000 degrees: two mothers, two daughters, one mountain
→Two mothers who'd known each other for years got out of the same car with two daughters meeting for the first time — a day later…
Serbia got a glass skywalk, and everyone went the same month
→More than three thousand people went up Kablar on the first weekend, while entry was free, and over twenty thousand in the first…
Fruška Gora has 16 monasteries. Here are six worth the detour
→Sixteen monasteries don't get seen in one day, and don't need to. Each has its own story — some for their tombs, some for their…
Six lakes across Serbia, and no two look alike
→Vlasina has islands that physically float on the surface. Perućac fills and drains on the hydro plant's schedule, not the season's…
Zlatibor in three days: Drvengrad, the Šargan Eight and a terrace with no plan
→Drvengrad ahead of the tour buses, the Šargan Eight without a phone in hand, and a third day on a cottage terrace — a two-day weekend…
Kragujevac, Šumarice: how to read 21 October 1941
→The order fixed a figure of 2,300 people in advance, and nearly five hundred more were shot. Šumarice reads as that gap.
Palić: a spa built for a lake no one swims in now
→Everything at Palić was built because of the lake, and the lake is the one thing not used. That's not bad luck but the result of a…
What it's known for
Six things Serbia means
Where the Sava meets the Danube
Belgrade grew on the headland above the confluence, where Roman Singidunum was the camp of the IV Flavia legion. Kalemegdan stands on the same spot.
Monasteries and an imperial palace on the UNESCO list
Stari Ras with Sopoćani (1979), Studenica (1986) and Gamzigrad, Emperor Galerius's palace of Felix Romuliana near Zaječar (2007).
Šljivovica on the UNESCO list
On the intangible heritage list since 2022 — not the brandy itself, but the knowledge and customs of distilling and drinking it at home.
A fast line to Subotica
Since October 2025 the Soko trains have run the whole Belgrade–Novi Sad–Subotica line at up to 200 km/h, turning the north of the country into a train day trip.
Guča
The Dragačevo trumpet festival has been held every August since 1961 in a small town near Lučani; bands from all over the country compete, and the music is in the streets as much as on the stage.
Lepenski Vir
A Mesolithic settlement on the Danube, about eight thousand years old, with stone sculptures of fish-like figures. When the Đerdap dam raised the river in 1971, the whole site was moved 29.7 metres higher.
What to see
Five places for a first visit
This isn't a ranking — it's a route. Any one of these could carry a whole trip.
02
Novi Sad and Petrovaradin
A day from Belgrade by train, two with Fruška Gora and Sremski Karlovci. The easiest trip in the country without a car — the centre, the fortress and the Štrand beach are all within walking distance.
03
The Iron Gates and Lepenski Vir
A day by car: Golubac, the gorge and Lepenski Vir sit on the same road along the Danube. The boat trips from Donji Milanovac run from spring to autumn, so in winter you have only the road and the view from it.
04
Tara and the Drina
A weekend of viewpoints and shade, best combined with Mokra Gora and the Šargan Eight railway. For summer, buy the train ticket first and the room second.
05
Đavolja Varoš
Half a day, best as part of a trip south with Niš or Prolom Banja; the path has no shade, so in summer go in the morning. If a photograph is enough for you, nearly four hours' drive from Belgrade is a lot for one site.
Did you know
Two things you probably did not know
History
More than fifteen Roman emperors were born on the territory of today's Serbia, Constantine the Great among them, in Nis. After Italy, no country has more.
Geography
The Iron Gates gorge is the longest gorge in Europe. The Danube narrows there to around 150 metres and drops to some eighty metres deep, one of the deepest points on any river in the world.
Frequently asked
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Is Exit still held at Petrovaradin fortress?
No. After 2025 Exit left Novi Sad and in 2026 runs as a tour of other countries; what remains in Serbia from the same organisers is the No Sleep festival.
How many days for western Serbia?
Three: a day for Tara and the viewpoints over the Drina, a day for Mokra Gora and the Šargan Eight, a day for Zlatibor with Sirogojno. Uvac is a separate day, because the canyon is reached via Sjenica, just over four hours from Belgrade.
Do you need to book the Soko train in advance?
Yes — you can only board the Soko with a reserved seat. Tickets are sold at the counter, from machines or online through Srbijavoz; on Fridays and Sundays, when the trains are fullest, buy a day or two ahead.
Plan the trip
Ready for Serbia?
Where next
If you liked this
Keep going — these destinations and stories pair well with this one.
On the map
Belgrade, Novi Sad, The Iron Gates and Tara, and so on
The whole of Serbia fits into one query — six questions and you know which of them suits you.
Front row for the next trip
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