Serbia Is an Orthodox country in the Balkan region with lots of National Parks, clear rivers and 30% of the country being covered with forests.
Tourism in Serbia is underestimated by guests from Western Europe which is very surprising as it is much closer than people used to think:
from London to Belgrade a direct flight lasts only 2:45 at a price of 90 EUR return ticket;
from Amsterdam to Belgrade a direct flight lasts only 2:30 at a price of 170 EUR return ticket.
Tourists usually start their Serbia trip from its capital - Belgrade.
Belgrade
You can easily devote 1 week of your trip to Belgrade tours only as only a shortlist of what to visit includes:
Belgrade Fortress is more than 2000 years old, located where the Sava river flows into the Danube. It includes Kalemegdan Park and the oldest church in Belgrade - Ružica Church.
Near Belgrade Fortress you can visit ZOO with around 270 different species.
Ada Ciganlija is an island on the Sava river right in the center of Belgrade where you can lay down on the beach and sunbathe. If you prefer activities, you can do jogging, rowing/kayaking/swimming on the Savsko jezero lake, play golf, tennis, basketball.
Skadarlija is an old quarter of Belgrade full of authentic cafes and restaurants and resembles Montmartre in Paris.
Church of St Sava which is the largest Orthodox Church in the Balkans.
Stari Dvor where the Obrenović royal family lived and Novi Dvor where Karađorđević royal family lived.
Museums: Historical Museum of Serbia, Museum of Aviation, Museum of Yugoslav History, Belgrade Military Museum, etc.
Splavovi. Taking into account that Belgrade is located on 2 rivers it is not surprising that locals use boats and barges as restaurants and disco bars.
Nightlife. The majority of night clubs in Belgrade play house music, progressive, tech-house.
Novi-Sad
Novi-Sad should definitely be included in any Serbia vacation packages. You can visit the Museum of Vojvodina, Petrovaradin catacombs or Strand beach where you can sunbathe on a sunny day.
Destinations around Novi-Sad include:
Just 10 km from Novi Sad there is Fruska Gora - a small mountainous region with 17 old monasteries (Krušedol, Velika Remeta, Beočin, etc.). On the southern slope of Fruska Gora, you find a SPA resort Vrdnik which is a unique ecological oasis that combines an abundance of clean air, vegetation and 200 sunny days a year. The SPA is rich in thermal mineral waters and guests from Western Europe will be pleasantly surprised by the prices - a double room in Vrdnik cost 30 EUR/day with rating 9.5+ and 70 minutes Relax Massage cost 22 EUR.
Koh Chang Island on the Danube river has a nice sand beach and is 10 km from Novi Sad.
If you take a 1 hour drive north from Novi-Sad you get to Subotica & Palic. In Palić there is a Nature Park and it also hosts a film festival (in July) and World Ethno Music Festival - https://www.etnofest.org/.
You can also drive 1 hour south to Sremska Mitrovica and visit Special Nature Reserve ''Zasavica''.
Tara National Park
When you visit Serbia buy a tour to Tara National Park - an outstanding region in the west part of Serbia with wild nature, beautiful mountains and lakes combined with the Drina river flowing in the canyon.
You can easily spend 3-4 days in Tara Park area and see:
Zaovine lake. We recommend you book accommodation in one of the rural houses in mountains surrounding Zaovine lake or in Perucac/Bajina Basta on Driva river.
Perucac lake. First, take photos from the viewpoint of Banjska Stena, second - get the strongest travel emotions and take a 1 day boat trip through Drina river from Perucac to Bosnian city Visegrad and back.
Mokra Gora Park is south of Zaovinezxz lake where you can enjoy Drvengrad (Mecavnik/Kustendorf) - a wooden Ethno village with a stunning view of the Mokra Gora mountains.
Another attraction is taking a ride on Sargan Eight Railway. It starts from Mokra Gora station, the journey lasts around 3 hours and costs 7 Euro.
Bajina Basta is an authentic village 10 km from Tara park where you see the Drina river house (Kućica na Drini). You can also go rafting here.
Gvozdac and Gornje Košlje. If you take a drive from Perucac north you can first visit Gvozdačke stene and the beautiful village Gornje Košlje with Trešnjica river canyon.
Djerdap National Park
One of the “must-see” routes during your Serbia trip is Djerdap National Park - a mountainous forest that goes nearly 100 kilometers along the Danube. Usually, the tour package includes the following sights:
Golubac fortress - a medieval fortress on the Danube right at the entrance to the Iron Gates gorge;
Donji Milanovac - nice and attractive village in the middle of Djerdap National Park on the Danube river bank;
Danube Boat trip with views of Djerdapska klisura, Tabula Traiana and Rock sculpture of Decebalus;
Museum Lepenski Vir - a site of the oldest planned settlement in Europe of the Neolithic and Mesolithic eras.
Kopaonik ski resort
Kopaonik is the most popular Serbia ski resort with 30 km of blue slopes, 19 km of red and 6 km of black ones and is one of the reasons why tourism in Serbia should grow considerably: with ski pass price in 2022 like 20 EUR/day and a double room with rating 9.5+ at 50 EUR/day.
Besides skiing, snowboarding, tasting local foods and drinks you can see the picturesque Ibar river and Studenica Monastery (1 hour 20 minutes driving).
Zlatibor
Another reason to travel to Serbia is Zlatibor - a climatic health resort 1000 meters above sea level in the western part of Serbia. There are lots of activities like:
for children - a school of skiing, riding and swimming, playgrounds, swimming pools.
for adults - discos, nightclubs, swimming pools with a fitness center, saunas, massage parlors, tennis courts, golf courses, basketball courts, football fields.
in winter time you can ski and snowboard in Tornik - a small ski center with 7 km slopes including 4 km of red slopes.
Uvac
Just a 1-hour drive south from Zlatibor and you can spend 1-2 days in a small wild region with the Uvac river and its meander, Sjenicko lake and Zlatar mountain.
Niš
Travel to the southeast part of Serbia and visit Niš - a city 2.5 hours driving from Belgrade. You can enter Niš National Museum, Niš fortress and SPA resort Niška Banja.
Options around the city:
Sokobanja. A balneological resort located in Eastern Serbia on Moravica River, 1 hour from Niš. There are lots of accommodation options at a price of 25 EUR/day.
Nature Park Sicevo Canyon is just 10 kilometers from Niš with the beautiful Nishava river flowing in the gorge.
If you drive 1:45 hours south, you get to Devil's Town - 200 stone formations, 2 to 15 meters high and up to 3 meters wide, with strange stone caps.
Just 70 kilometers south-east from Nis on the Bulgarian border there is one more mountain range called Stara Planina. Book accommodation in one of the hotels on Zavojsko Lake and you will see stunning lake views + Cunguljski vodopad + Vidlič mountain + lovely small town Pirot.
FAQ
How to spend 10 days on a Serbia trip?
It is most likely that you will arrive in Belgrade and fly back to Europe from there. So you can start your Serbia visit by spending 4 days in Belgrade. After that take a 2 days tour to Djerdap National Park (Golubac fortress, boat trip through Iron Gates on Danube river, 1 night in Donji Milanovac).
From Djerdap, travel to the western part of Serbia and enjoy 2 days in Tara National Park (Zaovine lake, Perucac lake, Drina boat trip).
Then spend 1 day in Zlatibor or, if you have time and desire, continue your Serbia trip to Novi Sad.
What are the best Serbia SPA resorts?
Serbia has huge potential for medical tourism due to low salaries in the country compared even with Hungary and Slovenia - not the richest European countries. A 1-hour professional massage will only cost you 20 EUR in Serbia and the accommodation prices are as low as 20 EUR for a double room with a 9.5+ rating on booking.com.
Top 3 Serbia SPA resorts are:
- Vrdnik - thermal mineral water resort just 30 minutes from Novi Sad.
- Sokobanja - balneological resort 1 hour north from Nis.
- Vrnjacka Banja - balneological resort 3 hours south from Belgrade.
What other cities should I see during my Serbia visit?
We recommend you to include in your Serbia trip:
- Gamzigrad - a city in the eastern part of Serbia with a fortress from the late period of the Roman Empire (end of III and the beginning of IV century).
- Kraljevo - is located where the Ibar river flows into the Western Morava, 30 minutes from Vrnjacka Banja SPA resort.
- Chachak - is famous for its Ovčar-Kablar Gorge. The gorge is part of the West Morava river valley with over 30 monasteries built since the 14th century.