Serbia | Travel By Air, Water & Road

Getting Around by Rail

Internal 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 Passes

InterRail One-Country Pass: offers travel for three, four, six or eight days in one month within Serbia. Travellers 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 Road

Traffic 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 Licence 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 Cities

There 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.