How to Efficently Move Around Belgrade, Serbia Solo

Another day, another opportunity to travel solo. Recently I decided to visit a country that was part of Yugoslavia. Belgrade is the capital of Serbia, so welcome to Serbia. If you’re wondering – Serbia is not the same as Siberia; they are entirely different places!

I have visited 12 countries so far. I was surprised to find that the public transportation in Belgrade is not as easy to use as in other countries.

Thankfully, a friend warned me about this before my trip to Serbia. Here we go! Don’t forget to read till the end!

If you’re a Muslim Solo Traveler who plans to visit Serbia, here are some helpful tips to ease your future trip to Serbia!

Communicating With Locals When Traveling as a Hijabi: My Personal Experience!

Serbia is a beautiful country with amiable people.

I’ve been here twice, and I’d love to visit again. What draws me back?

Serbia’s nature is breathtaking, with many mesmerizing lakes, mountains, and forests. In addition to its natural beauty, the historical buildings are also impressive.

As a Muslimah who wears a hijab, I can say that the people are friendly and helpful, and their hospitality towards tourists is excellent.

I initially thought the language barrier would be challenging, but surprisingly, most people in the city center speak English very well.

How to get to Serbia: Flights, Train or Bus?

Before we talk about moving around in Serbia, how do you first get to the country?

In today’s travel-savvy era, there are many ways that you can get there.

Depending on your risk tolerance and appetite for slow travel, you can travel into and out of the country by flight, train, or bus. A quick search on Google or whichever transport map you prefer will show you the different options.

In my case, I flew directly from Istanbul Airport to Nikola Tesla Airport, having taken a two-hour flight.

The main airport which acts as a getaway to Serbia is Nikola Tesla Airport in the capital city of Belgrade. It has many international flights coming from neighboring European nations, and even far-flung destinations.

Bring cash as much as you need because some cards may not work there. You can also use Euros and Serbian dinars and check out our Monthly Deals page for the latest offers on flights!

MST Tip

How to Move Around Belgrade, Serbia? Spoiler: SMS!

If you come to Belgrade for the first time, you’ll be shocked to find out that the capital only uses main public transportation means such as the bus and tram.

There’s no subway, or MRT. So city folks, keep this in your mind. SMS is also used all around the city for paid transportation. How can this be possible? Yes, it is!

Travel humbles you as you learn through the different ways of a country, and in Belgrade, you’ll have to buy a SIM card in the Kiosks to move around effectively.

It costs 400 or Serbian Dinar (3.5 euro) for 20GB of internet, but you must top up the SIM card to pay for public transportation.

How To Reload On The Go?

You need to figure out which area you’ll arrive in or where is your end-point, as there are different transport fare options that will match your needs.

Here are the varieties of tickets available for public transport in Belgrade.

• You can use the buses and trams and enjoy 90 minutes of unrestricted travel for less than 1 euro.
• A daily ticket costs 120 RSD (approx 1 euro).
• A seven-day ticket for one zone costs 800 RDS (around 7 euros), and for two zones, it costs 1,000 RSD (approximately 8.50 euros).
• Monthly tickets are available, but I suggest purchasing them only if you plan to stay in Belgrade for an extended period. The cost of a monthly ticket is 2,200 RSD (19 euros) for one zone and 3,300 RSD (29 euros) for two zones.

For example, I went to Zone A for 90 minutes of validity period, so I put A90 and then sent it to 9011. Make sure you pay for it.

Even though you probably got the wrong SMS, it’s better to have paid for the SMS than not paying because the police will check it. 

How To Know If The Police Would check you?

The communal police will sometimes check passengers for tickets. They wear a blue uniform, so ensure you pay for the ticket when you see them. If you are caught without a ticket on public transport in Belgrade, you must pay 2,000 RSD (approximately 17 euros).

Plus having the police checking the passengers makes me feel at ease traveling alone as a Muslimah!

Similar to Euro train across Europe, it is better to buy book for seats even though you have Flexible Eurail. Because the police / immigration passing on the trains would check your passport and ticket one by one. This happened to one of our MSTer while in France!

Stories from The Muslimah Solo Travelers!

You Can Also Use Beogard Plus for Public Transportation!

How to use Beograd Plus?

• Download Beogard Plus on Apple Store or Android Store.
• Login to the app interface
• Choose a Payment Method (with a bank card) you can use Mastercard, Visa, or DinaCard (aka national payment in Serbia).

How Do I Know Which Bus To Take?

In a country where the language and alphabet (Serbia uses Serbian cyrillic) is different from your mother tongue, it can be quite confusing seeing so many buses!

So one way that will help you make the most out of your travel time is by having a reliable advisor – aka truthful transportation source!

With my past experience traveling around Serbia, I highly suggest you to download Google Maps. It will show you many options and help you quickly determine which bus to take. And it’s free!

How Can I Find Alternative Transportation Options in Belgrade?

“I’m tired of taking the tram or the bus and figuring out where to go, or where to exchange!” – a relatable situation that we all go through when traveling. According to my past experience, I do not recommend taking a cab or online taxis as these are expensive transportation means in Belgrade.

But if you need one, I suggest downloading CarGo and Yandex – especially if you’re traveling with a luggage.

You can pay with cash or a card upon downloading the app(s)

MST Tip: Many taxi drivers may not speak English fluently, but you should be fine as long as you know your destination.

How to Efficently Move Around Belgrade, Serbia Solo (Things I Didn’t Know As a Muslimah!)

I hope my experience on navigating around Serbia can in some way help you plan your trip to the Balkans next! Whether it is Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania or Montenegro, you should not discredit a trip to Serbia.

Especially its capital of Belgrade!

Serbia is the perfect choice for a Balkan trip located at the crossroads of Southeast and Central Europe. With affordable prices and less crowds than other touristy European countries!

If you want more inspiration on which cities to explore while traveling solo or with a travel buddy in Serbia, check out my previous article here.

Are you ready to travel around Serbia? Comment down below!