Travel from Serbia to Montenegro. A sudden trip to Serbia by car from Montenegro. Independent trips around Montenegro
Since today we arrived from Montenegro to Serbia by car for the fifth time, I decided to briefly write something like instructions for independent travel. Let me start with the fact that Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians do not require a visa to enter Serbia.
I live in Herceg Novi, from this city of Montenegro the road to Belgrade (the main and most interesting city in Serbia) takes 10 hours, taking into account the time it takes to have lunch 11 hours.
Which cities in Serbia are worth visiting? It all depends on how much time you have. If time permits, on the way to Belgrade visit the city of Zlatibor. This is a famous ski resort in Serbia, if you come on holiday to Serbia in winter, it is quite possible that you need to stay in this city for a few days and go skiing. What to do in the city outside the ski season? Take a walk around the city, it’s a small, cozy town, it’s nice to walk around.
This is a popular holiday resort at any time of the year, not only in winter, so it’s definitely worth a visit. Unfortunately, the city does not have any historical sights, so you probably won’t be able to just walk there for a long time; it’s not very clear what to see. But there are other entertainments, which I will briefly talk about. There are national parks near the city that you can visit, which are very interesting. I’m telling you this as a person who doesn’t really like to see natural beauty; I’m more interested in cities and medieval castles, in a word, something ancient. But even I liked the national parks of Serbia.
In Zlatibor you can go shopping; there are quite a lot of boutiques in the city, as well as many good cafes and restaurants.
There is an amusement park for children; I don’t know if it’s open all year round, but it was already open in April. Not far from the amusement park, there is an extreme park for children and adults. Extreme is only conditional, everything there is insured, absolutely safe, children are delighted with such entertainment. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a photo, in general, it’s something like a huge playground, only the climbing frames are higher, more unusual, and more complex. Children put on special suits with insurance and are launched onto the chosen track. There are several trails, varying in difficulty, and designed for different ages.
In a word, we conclude that if you come to Zlatibor in winter, stop for a few days to ski. If you come to Zlatibor in the summer, you can hang out in the city for one day, but taking into account the time it will take to explore the nearby national parks, you can easily stay in Zlatibor for 2-3 days.
You can go to national parks in your own car, or rent a vehicle like this.
Yes, I almost forgot, the road from Montenegro to Zlatibor by car takes 6-7 hours, depending on how long you will have lunch, and whether you will have lunch at all. We travel by car to Serbia through the northern part of Montenegro, the road looks like this.
The places are mostly deserted, there are almost no car repair shops along the way, so make sure that everything is in order with your car.
If you want to have lunch on the road, I can recommend the restaurant at the Polar Stars Hotel, in Zabljak. This is what the hotel looks like. We stayed at this hotel twice, in the winter season. I think that this is one of the best hotels in Zabljak, so if anyone is going on a ski holiday, I recommend it. The hotel is not cheap, we chose it mainly because it is the only hotel in the resort that has infrastructure for small children. You can live on site in the main building or in nearby bungalows.
By the way, those who don’t have a car can easily get to Zlatibor by bus; a ticket costs about 20 euros.
Regarding the cost of living, look at booking. Yesterday I booked accommodation there, prices start from 24 euros, but there is nothing normal for less than 40. Maybe there are some months when housing is cheaper, I don’t know, it seems like the season is all year round.
Your next destination is Belgrade. If you are traveling from Montenegro to Serbia by car and did not stop in Belgrade, then it is not clear why you went to Serbia at all. Belgrade is the largest and most interesting city in Serbia. The journey by car from Zlatibor to Belgrade takes about 4 hours. What to do in Belgrade, decide for yourself, the city is big, it has everything for a happy holiday. You can take a walk and see the sights. Visit the museums, the most interesting of which I have been is the Tesla Museum, I highly recommend it. Go shopping in Belgrade. In the end, eat, in Belgrade there are restaurants for every taste and budget, in the city you can find any cuisine, including exotic. Thanks to Belgrade, I learned that Mexican cuisine is very tasty. In Belgrade you can find any kind of entertainment, by the way, at reasonable prices, no more expensive than in Montenegro.
I won’t advise how long you should stay in Belgrade, it all depends on your finances and plans. You can stay in the city for 2 days or two months.
Please note the following, in Belgrade it is very difficult to move around in your own car, even with a navigator, there are a lot of bridges, junctions, and traffic lanes. And, unfortunately, in old Belgrade there are big problems with parking. Therefore, book your accommodation exclusively in the city center in order to travel as little as possible. Ideally, book accommodation somewhere near Kalemegdan, to hell with it, if it turns out that you will overpay for accommodation, something in the region of 10-15 euros, in the end it will be cheaper than the hassle of getting around the city by car or paying for a taxi .
Many “houses” in Belgrade are very nice, for example, this one.
Or this one.
There are also a lot of beautiful parks in Belgrade with excellent playgrounds. For example, here is a photo from one park. I didn’t photograph the entire park; I only filmed one of the children’s playgrounds. This park has 3 or 4 playgrounds, a huge fountain and a sports ground with horizontal bars and other exercise equipment. There is also a place to play chess. Overall, a great park. And there are a lot of such parks in Belgrade.
There is generally a lot of interesting things for children in the city; they will not be bored.
Russians are loved in Serbia no less than in Montenegro. The photo below was taken in the center of Belgrade, such inscriptions are not uncommon in Serbia, I have already seen them several times.
And in Belgrade, a Monument to Nicholas II was erected.
Your next destination in Serbia is Novi Sad. The journey from Belgrade to Novi Sad by car will take about an hour. Novi Sad was under the Austrians for a long time, so the spirit of the Austro-Hungarian Empire is felt in the city. The town is beautiful, much smaller than Belgrade, therefore, getting around by car is much easier, and there are no such serious problems with parking as in the capital.
I like Novi Sad. By the way, prices in the cafe are lower than in Belgrade, at least it seemed so to me. How long will you stay in this city? In my opinion, 2-3 days is quite enough.
And the last town that I recommend visiting in Serbia is Subotica. A small and cozy town that I liked. We never stop in this city, we just come for a walk. The city has an excellent zoo, yes, I know, you can go to the zoo in Belgrade, but here it is completely different.
Well, this is roughly what brief instructions for traveling from Montenegro to Serbia by car turned out to be. I can’t say that I’m a huge expert on Serbia, naturally, I know Montenegro much better, since I live there, but I know these four cities quite well, and I recommend you visit them.
Also, once again I draw your attention to the fact that there are a lot of national parks in Serbia, which you can go to from all the cities that I named in this article, some national parks are closer to some cities in Serbia, and others to others, look at map. Many parks are very interesting, I appreciated them, despite the fact that I value historical sights much more than natural ones.
If you want to travel from Montenegro to Serbia by car, you can rent from us rent a car or book a transfer.
The most vivid impressions of our overland journey from Albania to Russia and back were the train ride from Belgrade to Podgorica.
The railway connection between Belgrade and the port city of Bar in Montenegro was opened in 1976. The route is 467 km long, of which 301 km the train travels through Serbia with incredible scenery of mountain and plain landscapes. On the way from Albania to Russia we traveled by night train, and on the way back in March we specially bought tickets for the day train to admire the spring nature.
From Belgrade the train departs at 9 am and arrives in Podgorica at 19.30. A whole day on the road doesn't bother us! The train has only 5 cars, of which 3 are passenger cars, 1 is a restaurant car and the driver's head car. The cost of our 2 tickets in a soft carriage one way was 34.5 euros. Additionally, you can pay about 6 euros for reserving seats. We weren't really able to sit in our seats during the trip, because... Almost all the way we were glued to the open windows, letting in the fresh air of fields, mountains and rivers and revealing the incredible beauty of Serbia before us...
From green meadows we found ourselves in snow-capped mountains...
The train continually dove into tunnels, of which there are more than 200 along the route with a total length of 114 km...
We climbed several hundred meters into the mountains (the maximum height is 1032 m in Montenegrin Kolasin, this is where the popular ski resort is located)...
And then they descended again onto the green plains...
There are 435 bridges on the way from Belgrade to Bar...The trip is breathtaking!
Photos, of course, will not convey half of the emotions and feelings that you can experience while traveling by train along the Serbia - Montenegro route. The Balkans never cease to amaze us with their sincerity, calmness and warmth of soul...
And this is the border station, in a couple of hours we will arrive in Podgorica, from where we will go to Albania.
Many tourists prefer to have fun in Belgrade, and then head to the beaches of the Adriatic Sea - to neighboring Montenegro. And rightly so, especially in the summer. And to achieve this goal there is no better transport than the good old train. Why? Firstly, traveling by train will cost you 3 times cheaper than traveling by plane. Secondly, the railway is laid mostly in the mountains, so from the windows of the compartment you will find such stunning views that you will remember more than once.
By the way, if you need inexpensive but high-quality accommodation, I recommend using the search for cheap hotels in Serbia and Montenegro.
So, let's start buying tickets. First, let's decide where exactly we are going? With a high degree of probability you will choose between Budva and Bar - the most popular Montenegrin resorts. The first is famous for its historical part and beaches, the second for its more developed infrastructure. True, the railway does not pass through Budva, so you will have to get off at the station closest to the city and then travel by bus.
Let's say you're heading from Belgrade to Bar. First, you need to find out what time the train leaves in a given direction. We go to the Serbian Railways website and, choosing the English version, register - w3.srbrail.rs/eticketing/. We go to the site again, but using our username and password, and we see the following picture:
Do not pay attention to the last option Purchase tickets, this service does not work. The first option, Train times and prices, is also useless: you need to know the exact departure time of the train. How can we recognize it if we are looking for it ourselves? And here the middle option Seat reservation comes to the rescue. Here you can quickly find the information you need and, if desired, book tickets. Let's go:
We have a search form that you need to fill out. Departure city – Beograd, final destination – Bar, then desired travel date. There is also a sign on the right with a choice of ticket class. Don't let the "assortment" scare you. At least a third will not be available. In general, if you are traveling during the day, don’t bother and feel free to take 2nd class tickets. When we bought tickets for the first time and got seats in second class, we were afraid that it would be something between a shabby train and a reserved seat. In fact, it turned out to be a very decent coupe with six seats that can be transformed into folding beds. It’s another matter if your train leaves at night, you won’t get away with “folding beds”, and you need to take a full-fledged compartment in order to get a good night’s sleep. I will only note that the Tourist cabin is a compartment with shelves located one above the other.
Having marked the positions you are interested in, press the search button. As a result we get:
Here you can select the appropriate Departure time by clicking on the desired direction. Next, an addition to the page will appear:
“Type of seat” – where you want to sit: by the window (window), in the middle (Middle) or on the edge (Passage).
“Number of reservations” means the number of tickets. If you take two marked “window”, it means that one person will be at the window, and the second next to it, in the middle. In order for two people to be at the window, opposite each other, you need to book each ticket separately.
"Car transport?" – if you are without a car, and I suspect that this will be the case, just leave a tick next to “No”.
note, that when you select options, the cost of the reservation (not the ticket!) automatically pops up in dinars. The ticket will cost many times more. For comparison: in the summer of 2015, the cost of booking two tickets to the city of Bar was 732 dinars (6 euros), and tickets directly at the box office were sold for 4,615 dinars (38 euros).
By clicking on the “Next” button, we see the following:
All ticket information is summarized here for reference. If you were just interested, don’t do anything, just close the page. Otherwise, click “Finish”, and your reservation will be sent to your email address specified during registration (rezervacija in Serbian). The pdf file will need to be printed and presented at the box office within 24 hours to redeem tickets.
If you are already in Belgrade, then go straight to the central railway station. By the way, I haven’t seen such a run-down station since the late 90s. The last time I saw something like this was in a run-down Ukrainian town. And here is the capital... In general, if your nerves are strong, we enter through the central entrance, go forward and a little to the left we find a window for international directions. Here we have a long and painful conversation ahead of us. The fact is that in 99% of cases the cashier will not know any language other than Serbian. Therefore, if you were expecting to communicate in English, you will be embarrassed. To avoid it, I suggest making a preparation.
For this we will need a piece of paper with a ballpoint pen and Google Translator. Based on the data received from the site, we write the following in Serbian:
BAR
2 MECTA
12.07.2015
09:10
2 CLASS
RED CLEARANCE
The latter means "by the window." With the rest of the points, I think everything is clear.
You say hello and hand the piece of paper to the cashier. If the declared places are available, take out your wallet. If your aunt starts asking questions in an unknown language, use your intuition. She is the only one who helps me understand the Serbian language, despite all its closeness to its Russian or Ukrainian counterparts.
And one more very important point. If you come to the box office without a reservation, then before selling the ticket, the cashier will definitely ask: will you take it with a reservation (reservation) or without? And our people, taken aback, say “without.” And, really, why overpay for booking if you buy a ticket right away! The catch is that in Serbia there are two types of tickets - with and without reservation. In practice, this means a ticket with or without a seat. Yes Yes! If you have a ticket without a “reservation”, you approach the train conductor, and if there is an empty seat, he will seat you there. If not, wait for the next train with the hope that there will be unsold seats. The wait can be long, depending on the season. But such tickets have a validity period of one and a half months. So if you're not in a hurry, you can save a little. But a reasonable question arises: is it worth it?
Bar (Sutomore) -Uzice The first train departs from Bar at 07.10 am and arrives at 15.25. The second train leaves Bar at 16.50 and arrives in Uzice at 01.05. In principle, this is also a possible option. Then you’ll just have to spend the night in Uzhice. I recommend Hostel Uzice, a 5-minute walk from the bus and train stations, which are located very close. A double room (3-bed) with its own shower and toilet cost 25 euros per night, paid in cash. We used this option on the way back, since we arrived by the morning train and were returning by the night train. From the train stations (if they are behind you) you need to go left, following the arrows with the “Hostel” sign, they will lead to the right place. So, having left the main luggage in Petrovac with the owner of the apartment where we stayed, at 6.30 in the morning we went to Bar with two backpacks. The same owner, Marco, took us straight to the station, where we bought tickets and safely boarded the train. Almost the entire way we took pictures of stunning views, noted the names of stations and drank delicious coffee in the restaurant. The train arrived in Uzice on time, at 15.30. But, as expected, the regular bus to Bosnia and Herzegovina, where we planned to go first, had already left. This was confirmed by driver Sasha, who happened to be right on the platform and offered to take us to Visegrad. The road (about 80 km cost 3,000 dinars (about 25 euros).
Visegrad (Andrichgrad) We headed straight to Visegrad to save time. Nothing stood in the way of exploring its main attractions in the evening upon arrival and the next day in the morning, before the departure of the Visegrad-Uzice bus at 11.30, on which we were going to return to Mokra Gora. On the way, the driver told us about the interesting places we passed. People of the middle and older generations studied Russian. And, at least a few words, they remember. The attitude towards Russian tourists is very good: everyone we contacted tried to somehow understand what we were asking and help as much as possible. Even tipsy teenagers. You could often hear “we are bratcha” - it was very pleasant. Visegrad interested us because of the same Kusturca: here he built a complex called Andricgrad in memory of the writer, Nobel Prize winner Ivo Andric. There is an Orthodox church of St. Lazarus and the Kosovo martyrs (they died in the battle for the independence of Serbia from the Ottomans). You can’t miss the mosaic depicting members of the Mlada Bosna organization - Ivo Andric was a member of it in his youth. It was this organization that organized the assassination attempt on the Archduke in Sarajevo, which was the beginning of World War I. Remember the beginning of “The Adventures of the Good Soldier Schweik” by Jaroslav Hasek? “So they killed our Ferdinand!” his maid told Schweik. The opening of Andrichgrad in 2014 was timed to coincide with the centenary of this event. Beer Shveyka, by the way, is also there. There is also a bookstore “EITHER-OR”, named after one of the books of the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, who was fond of Ivo Andric. In Andrichgrad we had dinner at a nice restaurant (the prices are very reasonable compared to Montenegro), but in general there are many places where you can have an inexpensive and tasty snack.
One of the common routes to Montenegro lies through Serbia; its capital, Belgrade, is connected to most European cities by air and rail. You can get from Montenegro to Belgrade by bus or train.
Amazing landscapes of the mountainous regions of Montenegro
Trains leave from the city of Bar, one in the morning at 9:00, the second in the evening at 19:00. Tickets are inexpensive, their prices range from 20 to 30 euros. The train takes 12 hours to travel, so if you decide to travel, try to stock up on food for the trip.
When it comes to public transport for a trip to Belgrade, the morning train is the most interesting means of transportation. It allows you to take an amazing excursion through the mountains of Montenegro and Serbia, see beautiful rivers and picturesque canyons, high-mountain villages and ancient fortresses.
Lake Skadar appears as the train departing from Bar emerges from a long tunnel
The Moraca River Canyon is considered one of the most beautiful in Montenegro
Podgorica railway station
After the train leaves Podgorica, it begins to gradually gain altitude
The height of the supports of this bridge is 200 meters!!! It takes your breath away when the train passes through it
On one section of the route, the train climbs so high into the mountains that snow-capped peaks become visible
The mountains in the east of Montenegro are less rocky and seem to be covered with velvet
Kolasin – an alpine village in Montenegro
The border crossing between Montenegro and Serbia is the only thing that separates these countries
In Serbia, the color of the water in the rivers is no longer azure, but brown
Gradually the train descends from the mountains and beautiful Serbian cities begin to come across along the way.
comments 4
- Olga writes:
There are various ways to get from Montenegro to Serbia. It's cheaper by train, of course. But there is one inconvenience - the trains are always late. So keep that in mind. But otherwise, traveling by train is a pleasure.
According to my feelings, we spent half of the journey in some tunnels. But the remaining half saw incredible landscapes outside the train window, similar to those presented in the photographs by the author of the article. Rocks 40 centimeters from the window, it seems, I could stick my hand out and touch :) Chasms, mountain rivers, gorges, there are a lot of running mountain goats everywhere, the sea and Lake Skadar.
As for the Bar-Belgrade-Bar train itself, it is very long. But very comfortable. Don't even compare it to a bus. But I would advise not to take the cheapest tickets. A coupe would be the best option. We arrived rested and incredibly happy. And if you are traveling from Bar to Belgrade and back, then it is better to buy tickets back to Serbia in its capital, since in Bar tickets are sold only at train stations, and there are a limited number of them there, which will not be very pleasant.
- Natalia writes:
Thank you for the photo report, these are wonderful places I already want to visit.
- HHH writes:
I traveled to Serbia from Montenegro both by train and by bus. And every time the trip delighted me. Canyons of incredible beauty and at the same time chilling mountain serpentines. But this will remain in memory for a lifetime. I would also like to take a backpack one day and walk along the canyon.
- Anton writes:
You are not the only one who has noticed the danger of Montenegro’s roads. In Europe, Montenegrin roads have long been considered one of the most difficult. They received this rating due to the large number of inconvenient serpentines, limited visibility and places from where you can easily slide into the abyss. Another unpleasant factor on the roads of Montenegro is frequent landslides. And sometimes even a small collapse of stones can play a fatal role in someone’s life.
They say that drivers in Montenegro are already accustomed to the incidents of local roads and drive there calmly. However, statistics show the opposite - there are a lot of accidents on mountain roads in Montenegro. Therefore, I support the idea of traveling from Montenegro to Serbia by train.
Here are some more negative facts about the roads of Montenegro:
— many tunnels in Montenegro are not illuminated
— in Montenegro there are tunnels with a lot of turns
— the roads of Montenegro are often used for cattle transportation
- most mountain roads in Montenegro have one lane in each direction, and there are cases of a long line of cars due to one extremely slow driver