Day trips from Novi Sad
Karlovci by bus, Fruška Gora by car, Belgrade by train — and one trip into the plain with no sight at all.
- Sremski Karlovci
- about 30 minutes on bus 61 or 62
- Fruška Gora
- 30–60 minutes by car
- The farmsteads
- 20–40 minutes by car
Day trips from Novi Sad divide by transport. Sremski Karlovci is about half an hour on a city bus and Belgrade 36 minutes on the Soko fast train; the Fruška Gora monasteries and the farmsteads need a car.
Sremski Karlovci — the easiest
Bus 61 or 62 runs downstream in about half an hour. The town is walked in two hours: the grammar school of 1791, the patriarchal palace, the cathedral and the Four Lions fountain on the square. The rest of the day is cellars and bermet, a dessert wine made with herbs and spices and tied to Fruška Gora.
Fruška Gora — needs a car
Sixteen monasteries still in use, built between the late fifteenth and the eighteenth century, are scattered across wooded hills, with a wine road running between them. Krušedol is the nearest to Karlovci and pairs with it most easily; Grgeteg is about twenty kilometres further west as the crow flies and needs its own share of the day.
The plain — a salaš and Zasavica
At a salaš there is nothing to tour: you go for the lunch, the horses in the yard and the quiet, and the day does not carry on afterwards. Zasavica is the plain of another kind — a special nature reserve near Sremska Mitrovica, protected since 1997, with beavers reintroduced in 2004, Mangalica pigs and Balkan donkeys out on the pasture. It is seen from the visitor centre, by boat on the river and on foot.
What to know in advance
- A cellar tasting is arranged in advance. The Karlovci cellars take visitors by appointment, not like a bar with a terrace.
- Whoever drives does not drink. A wine road and a salaš are pleasant problems for one car — better that someone abstains or that you go with a driver.
Before you go
Short answers to what people ask most before setting out.
Can Fruška Gora be done without a car?
Partly. The bus covers the main routes and the nearest monasteries, but not the wine road or the smaller monasteries — those need a car or an organised departure.
What is bermet?
An aromatised dessert wine made with herbs and spices, tied to Fruška Gora and Sremski Karlovci; the name has been protected in Serbia since 2007. A tasting is arranged with the cellar before you arrive.
Is Belgrade worth a day trip from Novi Sad?
It can be seen in a day, but Belgrade wants two. It works better as a continuation of the journey than as an excursion.
Ready for Novi Sad?
Where to next
Where to stay in Novi Sad
→In Novi Sad the area is chosen by how much you walk, not by the hotel photo: the centre is all on foot…
Sremski Karlovci · 9 km
→The peace of 1699, a school from 1791, and bermet from the cellars
How well does Novi Sad suit you?
→Six questions: a score for this place and others like it.
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