Belgrade Transportation

U neko moje vrijeme, kad' je bilo svega i nicega, mi smo se palili na dobre pile. Nema tog' iz moje generacije koji barem dvaput nije gledao kultni film "Easy rider". A u tom filmu Harley Davidson, kojeg je jahao Peter Fonda, bio je naš nikad dosanjani san. Ova pila me malo vratila u doba te moje mladosti, bar na trenutak.

Most popular train Belgrade-Sarajevo and vica versa has been running for some years now.. Which is very convinient, as it was very dificult to connect both Capitals after the war.
Trains Sarejevo - Belgrade. Here are details...

Frequency: 1 direct, or change at Strizivojna-Vrpolje
Times: Direct train: departs 11:35, arrives 20:09; (via S-Vr) departs 0655, arrives 17:05)
Price: 33 KM

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We traveled with Jat Airways as it was the only direct flight from London to Belgrade. It is fair to say that the flights were quite smooth, and only just before return arrival at Heathrow did we experience turbulence.

The service was a little limited, however you do get an in flight sandwich and drinks free of charge.

The seats are loose and I found that even though I did not use the recline function it kept slipping; the tables were also very loose.

The washrooms were old fashioned and have seen better days.

If you are taking a taxi into Belgrade from the airport, there is a taxi info desk just past customs. You will be given a receipt with the name of your destination and the appropriate price – most hotels are within Zone 1 = 1,500 RSD. Your hotel will use reliable cabs, as well, and they can call one up for you and you can watch the meter roll. I took several cabs and never had any problems, but another in our group did.

For only 250 RSD you can catch a bus a-1 from the airport to Slavija Square with earlier stops at New Belgrade and the train station. You buy a ticket in the bus and they leave every twenty minutes in each direction. Of course, you need to know where you are going to go from the bus stop. The train station means a fairly big hill to climb and Trg Slavija is only good if you are staying at the Slavija Hotel.

In contrast to the trains, buses go all over Serbia and into adjacent countries. The main bus station is adjacent to the train station. Most buses go out of the main terminal though some buses to destinations that are not so far out of Belgrade use the two smaller terminals across the street to the north. Pay for your ticket in the appropriate terminal and you will also get a seat reservation – important for long bus journeys. The reservation system worked fine out from Belgrade, but not so good coming back. You will also need to buy a token that you use to gain entry onto the bus platforms themselves.

While in Serbia I took two overnight buses and two medium range buses. The overnight buses were nowhere near as comfortable as Mexican overnight buses which I have ridden and the ride between Belgrade and Kotor was longer than the time it took me to fly from the West Coast of the US to Istanbul – including two layovers en route. Traffic was the main problem, especially along the Montenegrin coast near Budva where everything is a bit of a chaotic mess. It also takes awhile to get across the Serbo-Montenegrin border, maybe the bus schedules were drawn up before the two countries split and haven’t been revised? As non-luxurious as the bus ride had been, I shudder to think what the train journey to Podgorica would have been like in lieu of the locals negative comments – “Do not take the train!”

I remember seeing cars with the “JZ” on them in the Sûdbahnhof of Wien thinking that Western Europe definitely ended there. Trains in Serbia don’t seem to have gotten much better in the intervening years. Originally, I had thought about taking the train from Istanbul to Belgrade but 48 hours on the train versus two by plane – plus the cost of for air travel wasn’t that significantly higher – swung my plans towards Turkish Air. I had heard that the train trip to Podgorica, Montenegro was very beautiful – taking ‘business class’ – but everyone in Belgrade that I talked to – including the Serbian Tourist Agency – said, “Don’t take the train! Take the bus!” They were quite emphatic about it too. In Belgrade, the train and bus stations are right next to each other. The train station is very quiet – there aren’t a lot of trains to anywhere to begin with. The bus station, in contrast, is abuzz with activity.

This may not be the best place to put a tip regarding the Danube, but since it is the latest place where I have seen this amazing river, this is where it goes for now. (If there is a groundswell of opinion, I could move, or duplicate, it in other locations.) My most enduring adventure on the Danube was a hydroplane ride from Budapest to Bratislava, at the end of which I discovered that my hostess was coming down with the flu and I had to pretty much be my own tour guide. I saw a lot but it would have been even nicer had I been able to get to know her a bit better.
The Danube is a fascinating source of diversity and opportunity from its source (wherever that may be) to its mouth.
Throughout recorded history, and certainly even before, the Danube has served as a transportation link and a border, a lifeline and a site of warfare, a challenge and an inspiration. Migration and colonization have occurred all along her shores creating a diversity of cultures and traditions which are both communicated and protected by the river.
It is the longest east-west waterway in Europe, at almost 3000 km, and the second longest river in Europe. Ten nations, four capital cities, and numerous regions and ethnicities are linked by the Danube. It has been said that traveling on or along the Danube is like visiting a museum of European history and I can heartily agree. Almost anywhere that you might choose to stop along her shores, you will find varied European landscapes, lifestyles, festivals, and other celebrations.
Countries within which I have visited and/or traveled on the Danube are Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, and Romania. Somehow, I missed Croatia, Bulgaria, Moldova, and The Ukraine. I have visited her in each of the capital cities which sit on her shores: Belgrade, Vienna, Bratislava, and Budapest.