Serbia

Driving in Serbia

You must have a valid international driver’s licence to drive in Serbia. If you are taking your car, you must have vehicle registration/ownership documents and a locally valid insurance policy. European green card vehicle insurance is now valid in Serbia. If you do not have a green card valid for Serbia - denoted by SRB - you will be charged a border insurance fee, the price of which depends on your vehicle. You are advised to confirm that your insurance company recognises that your policy covers Serbia. You are required by law to wear a seatbelt. You are advised to drive defensively and to avoid confrontation with other drivers.

You should be aware that many Serbian car hire firms will not allow their vehicles to be driven in Kosovo, Albania or Bulgaria due to concerns about the security situation. There have been some incidents where Serbian registered cars have been targeted in more isolated areas of Kosovo.

The general standard of roads is fair to poor with conditions worsening in rural areas, especially in and after bad weather. One particularly notorious road is the Ibarska Magistrala (linking Belgrade, via Čačak and Užice, to Montenegro). Bad conditions and overcrowding can make it dangerous.

Roadworks on the main highways across Serbia (from the Croatian and Hungarian border to Bulgaria and Macedonia) may cause delays.

There are several toll booths along motorways. Toll charges vary from 20 - 200 Euros depending on the size of your vehicle. Foreign registered vehicles are charged a higher toll than those registered locally. You are advised to have sufficient cash (Dinars preferred, although Euros are accepted) to pay these toll charges.

You should also be aware that some parts of the motorway between Novi Sad and Belgrade have two-lanes with a hard shoulder on only one side. Some drivers use the ‘middle’ lane to overtake, thus forcing the ongoing traffic onto the hard shoulder. We advise you to take additional care when driving on these stretches.

Public transport is outdated and overcrowded although there have been improvements in the major cities. When using taxis, it is possible to negotiate fares where a meter is not in use. You should only use taxis that are officially registered (look out for a municipal registration number in addition to the cab number). For further information on using public transport and general driving conditions visit the website of the Belgrade Tourism Organisation