Belgrade goes out harder than anywhere in Europe and costs less than most of the EU. Behind it: monasteries, mountains and a Habsburg city on the Danube.
Belgrade sits on a ridge where the Sava runs into the Danube, with a fortress on the point that has been destroyed and rebuilt more than forty times. It is not a pretty city in the way Prague is — it has been flattened too often for that — but it is one of the most alive, and the nightlife is genuinely without equal in Europe.
The splavovi, floating clubs moored on both rivers, run from spring to autumn and until dawn. Savamala and Cetinjska, a former brewery courtyard, do the bar side. None of it costs much: a beer is €2 and a night out is what a round costs in Vienna.
Outside the capital, Novi Sad is calmer and Habsburg, with the Petrovaradin fortress above the Danube. Further out, the Tara and Zlatibor mountains, Drvengrad, and a set of medieval monasteries that are among the most important buildings in Orthodox Christianity.
Buses cover the country cheaply, and Belgrade to Novi Sad is an hour.
A fortress over two rivers, floating clubs, and the best value night out in Europe.
I travel often internationally, but Belgrade is special because of the culture and friendliness of the people. Prices are budget friendly.
A traveller, on Hostelworld
Habsburg, calmer and prettier, with the Petrovaradin fortress above the Danube.
Southern, Roman in origin, with an Ottoman fortress and a jazz festival in August.
City of Nis is a hidden gem of Balkans. Great location of the city - just of 2hours from Belgrade, Sofia, Skopje and Pristina. Fortress of Nis is the best preserved fortress in Serbia dating from 1710s. Skull tower was amazing, Nisava river and city vibe is great.
A traveller, on Hostelworld
On the Hungarian border, with the most extraordinary art nouveau architecture in the Balkans.
A mountain resort of hiking, skiing and the Šargan Eight narrow-gauge railway.
Serbia is a nightlife country first and a mountain country second, and both are cheap.
Splavovi, courtyards and a city that does not close.
Four days across Belgrade and Novi Sad.
Orthodox monasteries, Ottoman forts and Yugoslav history.
Cheaper than most EU countries, and not by a little.
Mountains, canyons and a narrow-gauge railway that loops over itself.
Kalemegdan fortress is free, sits where the Sava meets the Danube, and is where Belgrade goes at sunset. Below it, Skadarlija is the cobbled nineteenth-century street of kafanas with live music, which is touristy and still worth one evening.
The Museum of Yugoslavia, with Tito's mausoleum, is the best place in the region to understand the country that was, and it is neither nostalgic nor dismissive about it.
Outside the capital, Novi Sad's Petrovaradin fortress looks over the Danube; EXIT festival, held there every July for 25 years, left Serbia after its 2025 edition. The Šargan Eight is a narrow-gauge railway that loops over itself through the mountains, and Studenica and Sopoćani are UNESCO-listed monasteries with frescoes from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Serbian food is grilled meat in quantity. Ćevapi, pljeskavica — a large minced-meat patty in flatbread — and mixed grills arrive in portions that defeat most people, and cost €4 to €8.
Burek is the breakfast: a coiled filled pastry with yoghurt on the side, about €1.50 from a bakery, eaten standing up.
Kafanas are the traditional taverns and the right place for an evening: a full dinner with a carafe of wine or a rakija runs €8 to €14, usually with live music after nine. Rakija itself is homemade fruit brandy, offered constantly, and considerably stronger than it tastes.
Belgrade's reputation is deserved. The splavovi — barges moored along the Sava and Danube, converted into clubs — run from spring to autumn, most charge nothing to get in, and they go until the sun comes up. Different barges do different music, and the crowd moves between them.
In winter and all year round, Cetinjska, a former brewery courtyard, holds half a dozen bars in one space, and Savamala has the clubs and galleries.
Prices are the other half of the story: a beer is around €2, a cocktail €4 to €6, and nobody starts before midnight. Novi Sad has its own scene, smaller and student-driven.
Buses are the network and they are cheap and frequent. Belgrade to Novi Sad is about an hour and €5 to €8; Belgrade to Niš around three hours. The main bus station in Belgrade has moved in recent years, so check which one your ticket uses.
Trains are limited but the new high-speed line between Belgrade and Novi Sad is fast and cheap where it runs. The Šargan Eight and the Belgrade to Bar line through Montenegro are journeys rather than transport.
In Belgrade, buses and trams are inexpensive, and the centre is walkable. Taxis should be booked by app — Yandex Go and CarGo are used locally — rather than hailed near tourist spots.
Serbia is cheaper than most EU countries. Dorms start around €10, a grill dinner is €6 to €10, a beer is €2, and a night out that would cost €80 in western Europe costs €20 here.
Belgrade is the most expensive part of the country and still inexpensive. Niš, Novi Sad and the mountain towns are cheaper again.
The dinar is the currency, not the euro. Cards work in cities but cash is still common, and exchange offices — menjačnica — are everywhere and give better rates than banks or hotels.
Serbia is safe for travellers and Belgrade is comfortable to walk around at night. Violent crime against visitors is very rare and the hospitality is genuine.
Taxi overcharging around the bus station, the airport and outside clubs is the main nuisance — use an app, and agree a price before setting off if you cannot.
Football rivalries produce occasional trouble around match days, which is worth avoiding rather than fearing. Politics, particularly around Kosovo and the 1990s, is a sensitive subject and best listened to rather than debated. Large anti-government protests have taken place across Serbia since late 2024; they have been largely peaceful, but avoid them and check current advice.
Serbia is not in the EU or the Schengen area, so time spent here does not count against the 90-day Schengen allowance — which makes it a common reset point for long European trips.
EU, UK, US, Canadian and Australian citizens enter visa-free for 90 days in a 180-day period. Passports should be valid for the length of the stay.
Foreign visitors are technically required to register their address with the police within 24 hours, which hostels and hotels do automatically — keep the white card they give you, as it is occasionally checked on exit.
Spring and autumn are the most comfortable, summer is when the river clubs and festivals run, and winter is cheap and grey.
Average highs for Belgrade, which is continental and gets properly hot in July and August. The floating clubs run roughly April to October.
Pick how you travel and how long for. Per night, for one person, at Serbian prices.
Prices are in dinar locally; these are euro equivalents. Big festival weeks run above these figures.
One of these involves several hundred trumpeters, and none of them costs much.
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