Serbia travel guide: Everything you need to know

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Buzzing cities, elegant architecture, a mind-bendingly varied history and some truly astonishing landscapes make Serbia one of the most compelling countries in Eastern Europe. It’s exuberant, hospitable (bring a big appetite) and crammed with cultural and culinary legacies from Ottoman and Habsburg times.

It’s also one of the most affordable places to visit: some of the prices, particularly food, drink and transport, will make you do a double take. Its national parks – encompassing river canyons, mountains, lakes, caves and forests – show off Serbia’s untamed nature and beauty.

Travel restrictions and entry requirements

Serbia no longer has any Covid entry requirements, including proof of vaccination or negative Covid test. Masks aren’t mandatory, although some parts of the population are still wearing them.

Best time to go

The months from spring to autumn are the best times, as winter can be cold and snowy (unless you want to go skiing in Serbia’s main ski resort of Kopaonik). Serbia has a busy schedule of festivals from May to September, especially in the capital, Belgrade, as well as the Exit Festival in Novi Sad in early July. Niš’s Nišville Jazz Festival takes place in August, as does the Belgrade Beer Festival and the riotous Guča Trumpet Festival. The Belgrade Book Fair in October is one of the biggest and oldest in the region. Christmas is also a popular time to come, especially Orthodox Christmas which is on 7 January (with the main festivities on 6 January).

Top regions and cities

Belgrade

Serbia’s capital hums with activity and is constantly on the move. With more and more of Stari Grad (Old Town) becoming pedestrianised, it’s a pleasure to wander its café-filled thoroughfares using the main artery, Knez Mihailova, as your starting point. Check out the fabulous art at the National Museum of Serbia in Republic Square before ambling along to Kalemegdan, the enormous and historic park that overlooks the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers. You’ll see the riversides teeming with floating restaurants and clubs, while wide waterside paths invite lazy strolls and bike rides. Cross the Sava to the old Habsburg suburb of Zemun and wonderful views from its Gardoš Tower. Back in Stari Grad, you’ll be faced with the dizzying choices of places to eat and drink in the tree-lined streets of Dorćol. Further south in Vračar, you can’t miss the round white neo-Byzantine domes of Sveti Sava temple, whose fantastically glittering interior is finally nearly finished after more than a century in the making.

Novi Sad

There’s a wonderfully relaxed pace of life in Novi Sad, the European Capital of Culture for 2022 and the largest city in northern Serbia’s multicultural Vojvodina region. Its pedestrianised centre is filled with handsome Habsburg architecture harbouring café terraces, with more bars and restaurants tucked away in little alleyways and minuscule squares. Start off among the pastel-coloured townhouses of Zmaj Jovina and along to Dunavska where you’ll soon come to the Museum of Vojvodina – an excellent place to bone up on the history of the region. Cross the Danube to reach the massive 18th-century Petrovaradin Fortress (where the Exit Festival takes place) and the Novi Sad City Museum within. When the weather warms up, follow the wide footpath along the Danube to reach the city’s beach at Štrand.

Niš

The southern Serbian birthplace of Constantine the Great has some fascinating things to see, including the imposing Niš Fortress built by the Turks in the 18th century. It’s now part of a collection of sights in the main city park that features an amphitheatre for summertime events, the 16th-century Bali-Beg Mosque, a zoo and a 15th-century Turkish hammam that’s now a café. Join the evening korso (the Serbian version of the Italian passeggiata – a leisurely evening stroll) along pedestrianised Obrenovića and the Ottoman-style cafés and restaurants of Kopitareva. For a more sobering look at Serbian history, there’s the infamous Skull Tower, erected by the Turks in 1809, which is studded with the skulls of Serbs who died defying Ottoman rule.

Western Serbia

The region of western Serbia is packed with sights, including the mountains of Zlatibor, the Gostilje waterfall and the marvellous subterranean world of Stopića cave. You’ll find a few delightful oddities too: the open-air museum of Sirogojno reconstructed to look like a 19th-century village, the feat of Austrian engineering that is the Šargan Eight heritage railway winding through the Mokra Gora mountain and the eccentric Drvengrad village created by the film director Emir Kusturica. The most spectacular sight, though, is the dramatic karst landscape of Tara National Park, which includes the Drina River that forms a natural border with Bosnia. It’s one of the most sublime places to hike and cycle along its 200km of trails. Hire a kayak and get a close-up look at the House on the Drina, a wooden fishing lodge perched on a rock in the middle of the river.

Fruška Gora National Park

Just south of Novi Sad is Fruška Gora, whose thickly forested mountains shelter 16 monasteries dating from the 15th to the 18th centuries, hiking and cycling trails and, in the foothills, vineyards producing top-class wines. Keep an eye out for wildlife including eagles, deer and lynx. It’s easy to visit from Novi Sad and the nearby town of Sremski Karlovci, the latter an enchanting place of baroque and neoclassical architecture.

Best under-the-radar destinations

Subotica

You’re barely a dozen kilometres from the Hungarian border at Subotica, so it won’t come as a surprise to see this northern Serbian city decked out in bilingual signs. In fact, it was part of Hungary longer than it’s been in Serbia. It’s not just the liberal use of paprika in its restaurants that gives this city its spice. Subotica is a riot of colourful art nouveau/secessionist architecture, from its city hall (whose clocktower you can climb) to the wonderfully over-the-top Raichle Palace, now a modern art gallery. There’s more art nouveau loveliness in the neighbouring spa resort at Lake Palić, a 10km bus ride or cycle away.

Vršac

At the point where the flatlands of Vojvodina’s Banat region get close to the Romanian border and the Carpathian mountains, the welcome sight of the Vršac hills come into view, with the attractive city of Vršac at its base. Some of Serbia’s best wine comes from the vineyards that cover the slopes above Vršac, and the city’s streets of 18th-century classical and neo-gothic architecture make it a pleasure to explore. Go hiking in the Vršac hills and look out for the 14th-century defensive tower from where you can get sweeping countryside views.

Sokobanja

The Romans were among the first people to make use of Sokobanja’s thermal springs, and they’ve been enjoyed ever since. The hammam built by the Turks in the 17th century is still in use today within this attractive spa resort an hour north of Niš. Surrounded by forested peaks and bisected by the Moravica River (which offers several river beaches to cool off in), Sokobanja is also in prime hiking and mountain biking territory. One of the trails leads to the ruins of Sokograd, a medieval fortress that offers impressive mountain vistas.

Best things to do

Explore Uvac Nature Reserve

The crazily serpentine Uvac River has the sort of twists and turns that can be best appreciated from one of several viewpoints above. Here you can see the steep forested slopes rising above vivid turquoise waters, while griffon vultures fly above. While you’re there, add a boat trip or a kayak journey along the river to your list of must-do activities.

Go to Djerdap National Park

Serbia’s largest national park hugs the right bank of the Danube and has several of the country’s most extraordinary sights. Nicknamed the Iron Gates, the Djerdap Gorge – actually a series of four gorges and three ravines – turns up on itineraries of river cruises and really is quite jaw dropping. At its head is the medieval Golubac Fortress, the sort of castle that belongs in a fairy tale. Soon you’ll come across one of Serbia’s most important historical sights: the Mesolithic and Neolithic Lepenski Vir archaeological site, which dates back to at least 7000BC.

Visit the monasteries

Serbia’s medieval monasteries are a fundamental part of the country’s heritage and history. One of the most visited is the 12th-century Studenica Monastery in central Serbia, which is a Unesco World Heritage Site and is in the suitably peaceful setting of the Golija-Studenica biosphere reserve. It’s about an hour from one of Serbia’s prettiest monasteries, Žiča, which, like most of the others, is built in lavish neo-Byzantine style.

Follow the wine routes

Serbia makes superb wine that regularly wins international awards, but isn’t particularly well known outside its borders. Luckily there are official wine routes where you can visit vineyards for tastings, including around Subotica, Fruška Gora, Vršac and the Tuscan-like countryside outside Belgrade. In eastern Serbia where the borders of Romania and Bulgaria meet is Negotin; here, delectable Prokupac red wines are made in absurdly picturesque village stone cellars called pimnice.

Getting around

Serbia’s public transport is very affordable. While the Serbian Railways network is relatively limited, there’s a new high-speed train that connects Belgrade to Novi Sad in only 30 minutes. There are frequent buses around the country, although you might want to hire a car if you’re exploring beyond the major cities.

How to get there

The quickest way to get to Serbia is to fly to Belgrade, although flights can be very expensive unless booked far in advance. Other airports in Niš and Kraljevo are used for internal and regional flights. Getting there by train takes at least two days: take the Eurostar to Paris, change for the Munich train to Zagreb. Unfortunately, the Zagreb-Belgrade train is currently suspended and is replaced by a bus service.

Money-saving tip

If you arrive in Belgrade airport and need a taxi, order one from the official tourist information desk in the baggage claim area. You will pay a set price and avoid the touts outside the terminal charging more.

FAQs

What’s the weather like?

Serbia has a typically Continental climate – long, hot summers and cold, snowy winters. It can get very hot in the summer and regularly is in the 30Cs.

What time zone is it in?

BST+1

What currency do I need?

Serbian dinar.

What language is spoken?

Serbian is spoken, and many people in tourism and the hospitality business speak English.

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7 thoughts on “Serbia travel guide: Everything you need to know”

  1. Orthopedic surgeons usually discourage lifting over 25 pounds post-surgery to
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    When you do a conventional bench press, the brunt of the work
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    Like the back session, your shoulder exercise consists of five exercises,
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    You don’t need to ignore any a half of this complicated muscle
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    Shoulder pain sucks and it’s quite frequent with anyone who has been lifting for some time.
    I won’t go into all the explanations that could presumably
    be inflicting it as I will depart that to the rehab pros like Dr.
    John Rusin. Grip and shoulder stability are tied very tightly collectively
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    The deltoid is a big muscle responsible for lifting the arm and giving
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    Throughout this period, light resistance exercises
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    rest durations is important to forestall re-injury when starting to carry weights once more.
    As you’ll find a way to see, it’s a giant raise that
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    dumbbells, for instance, you might bounce from 25 to fifteen to ten to five-pound weights.
    By default, I suggest 2–4 units of 10–15 reps accomplished 2–3 instances per week.
    The traditional approach has you standing and raising dumbbells out to your sides.

    If you want to develop better muscle particularly, do not overlook
    that including workouts specializing in different features of your training program is extra
    beneficial. This helps to isolate the lateral deltoid muscle tissue and cut back the involvement
    of other muscle teams. Some examples of variations
    embrace single-arm raises, chest-supported aspect raises, and dumbbell lateral to-front
    raises. The Bradford Press involves alternating barbell
    presses to the entrance and back of the head without totally locking out the arms.
    This row is rather more efficient for concentrating on the again muscles as a end result of it doesn’t require other muscular tissues to stay steady throughout the motion. The
    chest-supported row exercise is an efficient variation of the bent-over barbell row.

    Sit on an train ball and also you add much more instability, which helps you’re employed on steadiness, stability,
    core, and shoulder energy all at the identical time. However if you
    need to actually build power and measurement in your
    traps, you need to lift instead of roll. From the position of your head to your movement, you’re going to wish to overhaul your type.

    Biceps tendonitis is a condition that happens when you’ve inflammation in your higher biceps tendon. This tendon — also called
    the lengthy head of the biceps tendon — connects your biceps muscle to your shoulder
    blade bone. Biceps tendonitis is irritation and irritation within the lengthy head of the biceps tendon.
    That’s why you should watch out when you work out
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    Longer rest occasions permit you to use heavier weights and achieve a larger coaching volume, one of many primary components regulating muscle progress.

    Of course, your workouts take for a lot longer if you relaxation for five minutes between each set.
    Robust biceps muscles play a vital position in numerous sports activities and activities involving
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    There are a quantity of variations of every lift, and each has some nuance to it.
    Furthermore, the shoulders are a tough joint, and not everybody will be ready to carry out all three actions without aggravating their shoulders (i.e.
    shoulder impingement). Right Here are some straightforward shoulder exercises that you can do to strengthen your
    shoulder muscular tissues and prevent accidents. The heavier the
    weights, the more stable your shoulders must be — so give them some extra attention. Yes, scapular wall slides help posture by strengthening the again and shoulders, targeting the traps and
    rhomboids.
    This maximizes the mind-muscle connection, but also helps to build balanced shoulders.
    The upright row is a barbell exercise that works not only your side delts, but additionally
    your upper trapezius. The stability of the
    bench will let you focus on your front and facet delts with out worrying as much about balance,
    though the dumbbells will challenge and develop your shoulder stability.
    If the push press is more of an athletic power train,
    the seated dumbbell press is more of a bodybuilding train. This train will primarily
    work your entrance delts, along with your triceps and aspect delts as secondarily working muscular tissues.

    Once More, this reduces the subacromial house leading to shoulder impingement syndrome.
    Nerve pain could additionally be felt on the source of
    the problem e.g. in the neck if there might be arthritis or a slipped disc, however in many cases signs may be referred down the
    arm. Left shoulder pain that travels down the arm, with or without neck pain, is commonly associated, at least partially, to neural issues.

    Relying on the place the nerve is irritated, symptoms may be in a single or
    each arms. Damage or irritation to the nerves that offer the shoulder and arm could cause left shoulder ache.
    There may be a problem in the neck or somewhere alongside the
    trail of the nerve that causes pinching, or irritation of
    the nerve which results in pain and/or altered sensations.

    In addition, you will use your core, hips, and rotator cuff as
    stabilizing musculature throughout the exercise.
    Whether you’re a beginner or superior lifter, these exercises will assist you to pack on muscle and improve
    your shoulder strength shortly. That’s why we’ve compiled a list
    of the 10 best shoulder exercises for muscle and power.

    Repetitive rubbing of the muscles against the bone can lead to tendinitis,
    which is a form of inflammation, and even presumably lead to tears that may require surgery in the future.
    It is necessary to have the flexibility to tell the difference
    between normal soreness and ache. Regular ache, weakness within the
    arm, or limitation of joint movement will turn into
    nearly second nature to some folks, main them to not
    seek treatment. However, ignoring the pain and “playing through” a
    shoulder injury solely aggravates the situation and should possibly trigger more issues.
    Dip on the knees and use your legs to help explosively press the load overhead.
    If you’ve been stretching your shoulders to alleviate stiffness but aren’t seeing outcomes — or worse, are feeling more discomfort —
    it’s time to rethink your method. By practicing the targeted energy,
    mobility and breathing exercises above, you probably
    can tackle the basis causes of the stress, improve perform and
    forestall future discomfort.
    Unlike cortisone drugs, occasional cortisone injections rarely trigger severe side effects.
    With impingement syndrome, ache is persistent and impacts
    on an everyday basis actions. Motions such as reaching up behind the
    again or reaching up overhead to put on a coat or shirt,
    for example, could trigger pain. Regularly carry out stretches that concentrate on the chest, shoulders, and
    higher back to take care of flexibility and stop tightness.
    Also often recognized as Parsonage-Turner syndrome, this extremely uncommon condition is characterized by the sudden onset of a piercing and sharp pain.
    The severe pain tends to last for several days, after which the arm and shoulder are normally very
    weak. Different signs could embrace numbness or irregular sensations (such as tingling or burning) within the shoulder or arm.

    Scapular wall slides might help improve this by rising the vary of movement.
    They additionally work the muscles important for shoulder mobility and enhance
    general functional movements (2). The Place the overhead press
    shines, though, is in its ability to stimulate each the front and facet delts, which we’ll get to within the next part.

    Also, this submit just isn’t supposed to replace
    analysis by physician. If you’ve suffered a shoulder harm and
    have specific questions or medical considerations, you must think about going to
    the emergency room or seeing your physician or orthopaedic surgeon. Recurrent dislocations and instability can commonly result from these accidents,
    and sports medicine surgeons often treat these injuries
    with surgical stabilization. Surgery may be needed for extra severe tears that do not readily heal.

    They will search for the presence of a painful arc, or elevated ache with
    movements overhead and will take a look at the power of your
    shoulder muscles. The rotator cuff tendons most commonly affected bu subacromial impingement are supraspinatus and
    lengthy head of biceps as they runs directly by way
    of the subacromial area. Irritation in these tendons is called supraspinatus tendonitis aka painful arc syndrome and biceps tendonitis.
    Tendonitis can happen from a one-off harm, repetitive movements or overuse.

    A entrance delt raise is an exercise where slightly goes a good
    distance, as they’re involved in plenty of urgent movements.
    One overhead press cue is to make sure to push your head through the bar once it’s above your head.
    Leaving the bar in front of you prevents resistance from getting vertical and puts stress on your shoulder joint.
    A frequent mistake you would possibly make on shoulder day is doing lifts with poor form.

    You can begin your exercise with either back or shoulders with out it affecting the muscle
    group you practice last. If you prioritize shoulders, practice them
    first, and in case your primary objective
    is building your back, hit it first within the exercise.

    Nonetheless, for a bodybuilder or athlete, the again muscles are a
    number of the most crucial for performance and aesthetics.
    Without a back to match the relaxation of your body, your physique will never be the most effective it can be.

    5 of the best no-equipment shoulder workouts are highlighted
    beneath. The following record consists of ten totally different lateral raise variations that help construct shoulder power and definition. Beneath is an inventory of the 9 most necessary shoulder
    workouts and their advantages.
    The shoulder and arm workout is intended for intermediate to advanced lifters.
    They discover them sturdy and well-made, suitable for shifting heavy gadgets like entrance
    load washers. The straps are thick and simple to use, with
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    They work well for moving dressers and smaller items, with shoulder
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