Social ConventionsAvoid taking pictures of military installations and of obvious bomb damage from 1999, which may cause ill feeling.
International Travel:Getting There by AirThe national airline is
Jat Airways (JU) (website:
www.jat.com).
Departure TaxRSD1,200. This is usually included in the price of the ticket. Exempt are transit passengers continuing within 24 hours, and children under two years of age.
Main AirportsBelgrade (BEG) (Nikola Tesla) (website:
www.airport-belgrade.co.yu or www.beg.aero) is 19km (12 miles)
west of the city.
To/from the airport: Buses and taxis are available into Belgrade. There are a number of car hire agencies at the airport.
Facilities: Banks, bars, restaurants, duty-free, car hire, post office and ATM.
Nis (INI) (Constantine the Great) (website:
www.airportnis.co.yu) is 3.5km (2 miles) from central Nis. A small number of ski charter flights land here and this is used as an alternative if Belgrade is closed due to bad weather.
To/from the airport: Buses and taxis serve the city center. Car hire is available.
Facilities: Bank, bureau de change, shop and restaurant.
Getting There by RailRail services to Belgrade run from Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Hungary, Montenegro, Romania and Turkey. Trains from western Europe travel via Budapest. For up-to-date information, contact
Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064, in the UK; website:
www.raileurope.co.uk). International trains have couchette coaches as well as bar and dining cars. On some lines, transport for cars is provided.
Note: Train travel should be undertaken with care as assaults and robberies have been reported.
Rail PassesInterRail: offers unlimited first- or second-class travel in up to 30 European countries for European residents of over six months with two pass options. The
Global Pass allows travel for 22 days, one month, five days in 10 days or 10 days in 22 days across all countries. The
One-Country Pass offers travel for three, four, six or eight days in one month in any of the countries except Bosnia & Herzegovina and Montenegro. Travel is not allowed in the passenger’s country of residence. Travelers under 26 years receive a reduction. Children’s tickets are reduced by about 50%. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on
Eurostar and some ferry routes. Available from
Rail Europe (website:
www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail).
Getting There by RoadThe following frontier posts are open for road traffic:
From
Bosnia & Herzegovina: Badovinci; Bajina Basta; Kotroman; Loznica; Ljubovija-Bratunac; Mali Zvornik-Zvornik; Sremska Raca-Velino Selo; and Uvac.
From
Croatia: Backa Palanka;
Batrovci-Bajakovo; Bezdan; Bogojevo-Erdut; Ljuba; Nestin; Odzaci; and Sid-Tovarnik.
From
Hungary: Hercegszanto-Backi Breg (Bezdan); Tompa-Kelebija; Szeged Roszke-Horgos; Bacsalmas-Bajmok; and Tiszasziget-Djala (both crossings for nationals of Serbia and Hungary only).
From
Romania: Jimbolia-Srpska Crnja; Stamora Moravita-Vatin; Naidas-Kaludjerova (Bela Crkva); and Portile de Fier-(Turnu Severin)-Djerdap (Kladovo).
From
Bulgaria: Bregovo-Mokranje (Negotin); Kula-Vrska Cuka (Zajecar); Kalotina-Gradina; Otomanci-Ribarci; Kjustendil-Deve Bair (Kriva Palanka); Blagoevgrad-Delcevo; and Petric-Novo Selo.
From
Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of): Presevo-Tabanovce and Pohor Pcinjski.
From
Montenegro: The main border crossings are at Gostun (near Bijelo Polje); Rozaje; and near Pljevlja.
Bus: Connections are available to Belgrade from destinations including Berlin, Budapest, Lyon, Munich, Brussels, Paris, Thessaloniki and Zurich.
OverviewThe following items may be imported into Serbia without incurring customs duty:
• 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250g of tobacco.
• 1l of wine and 1l of spirits.
• 250ml of eau de toilette and a reasonable quantity of perfume.
• Jewelry and clothing.
• Two photo cameras, one video camera.
• One pair of binoculars.
• One pocket electronic calculator.
• Camping equipment.
• One bicycle.
• One engine.
• Sporting requisites (enquire for further details).
• If portable, one musical instrument, one music player, one radio receiver, one laptop.
Restricted itemsWeapons and ammunition are prohibited, unless they are for hunting purposes and the hunt is organized by the Hunters Association of Serbia. Animals may be imported as long as there is proof of the health condition of the animal. Cats and dogs must have a vet certificate.
Internal Travel:Getting Around by RailInternal rail services are generally poor. Services are often unreliable and slow. Destinations accessible by rail include Belgrade, Nis, Novi Sad, Subotica and Bar on the Montenegrin coast. For further information, contact
Serbian Railways (website:
www.serbianrailways.com or www.yurail.co.yu/eng).
Rail PassesInterRail One-Country Pass: offers travel for three, four, six or eight days in one month within Serbia. Travelers under 26 years receive a reduction. Children’s tickets are reduced by about 50%. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Available from
Rail Europe (website:
www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail).
Getting Around by RoadTraffic drives on the right. Driving at night is not advisable on minor roads in the countryside, owing to the poor condition of some roads. There are tollbooths along the motorways. Foreign-registered vehicles are charged at a higher toll than local vehicles. The toll also depends on the size of a vehicle. Foreigners may pay in Euros, but at a 20% premium. The Ibarska Magistrala is a notoriously bad road and should be avoided when possible.
Bus: There are good, comfortable services between most towns and from Belgrade there are regular departures to all parts of the country.
Tickets may be bought in advance or the driver can be paid directly if there are any seats available. There are a number of regional bus companies operating in Serbia. The national long-distance bus company is Lasta (website:
www.lasta.co.yu).
Taxi: Main cities have metered taxis. It is possible to negotiate a fare when the meters are not in use. In this case, agree a fare before setting off. Only use officially marked taxis.
Car hire: Both major international and local firms offer car hire at airports and main towns.
Regulations: Speed limits are 120kph (75mph) on motorways, 100kph (62mph) on other roads and 60kph (37mph) in built-up areas. Road signs may be poorly marked and new signs are likely to be in Cyrillic script in some areas of the country. Seat belts must be worn at all times. Children under 12 are not allowed to sit in the front passenger seat.
Emergency breakdown service: roadside assistance (tel: 987); traffic police (tel: 92).
Documentation: International Driving License is required. No customs documents are required but car log books, a Green Card and vehicle registration/ownership documents and locally valid insurance policy are necessary.
Getting Around Towns and CitiesThere are good
bus services in the main towns, with
tramways and
trolleybuses in
Belgrade. Multi-journey tickets are available and are sold in advance at kiosks. The passenger punches the ticket in a machine on board. Some trolleybuses have a conductor seated near the rear of the vehicle. Fares paid to the driver are around 50% more than the pre-purchase price.
Journey TimesThe following chart gives approximate journey times (in hours and minutes) from
Belgrade to other major cities and towns in Serbia.
| Air | Road | Rail |
| Novi Sad | - | 1.30 | 2.00 |
| Nis | - | 3.30 | 5.00 |
| Subotica | - | 3.00 | 4.00 |
| Kragujevac | - | 2.30 | 3.30 |
Next Page »
