Serbia Holidays

Serbia is the Balkan city-break destination that runs on grilled meat, fortress views and a nightlife scene that starts at midnight and finishes when it finishes. Belgrade is the headline, a capital city built at the meeting point of the Danube and Sava rivers with 7,000 years of history, a fortress you can walk through for free and some of the best-value food and drink in Europe.

Highlights of your holidays to Serbia

• 🏰 Belgrade Fortress and Kalemegdan Park – a Roman, Ottoman and Serbian fortification complex sitting above the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers, free to walk through and the best viewpoint in the city. The surrounding park is where locals run, play chess and watch the sunset.

• ⛪ Temple of Saint Sava – one of the largest Orthodox churches in the world, modelled on Hagia Sophia in Istanbul and visible from across the city. The interior mosaics were completed in 2024 after decades of work, and the crypt underneath is covered in gold.

• 🎵 EXIT Festival – one of Europe's biggest music festivals, held every July at the Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad, about 80km north of Belgrade. Four days of international headliners across 40+ stages, with the fortress itself as the backdrop.

• 🍖 Serbian food – ćevapi (grilled minced-meat sausages), pljeskavica (the Serbian burger, often stuffed with cheese and kajmak), burek from a pekara at 3am, and rakija with everything. Portions are serious and prices are not.

• 🏖️ Ada Ciganlija – Belgrade's river island turned peninsula, known locally as "Belgrade's Sea". A 7km pebble beach on an artificial lake in the middle of the city, with swimming, watersports, cycling trails and beach bars that fill up every summer weekend.

• 🎺 Guča Trumpet Festival – held every August in the small western Serbian town of Guča, a four-day celebration of brass-band music, roast meat and rakija that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors. One of the most distinctive festivals in Europe.

Good to Know

• ☀️ Weather – Belgrade summers hit 27-32°C with long sunny days. Winters drop below freezing with occasional snow. Spring (April to May) and autumn (September to October) are the best city-break windows at 15-24°C with fewer crowds.

• 💶 Money – Serbia uses the Serbian Dinar (RSD), not the euro. A sit-down meal in Belgrade runs €5-€10, a pint of local beer is €1.50-€2.50, and a three-course dinner with wine at a proper restaurant rarely tops €25. One of the cheapest city breaks you can fly to from the UK & Ireland.

• 🏛️ Fun Fact – Nikola Tesla was Serbian (born in modern-day Croatia to Serbian parents), and the Nikola Tesla Museum in central Belgrade holds more than 160,000 original documents, thousands of technical drawings and his personal urn. One of the most visited museums in the city and worth an hour of anyone's time.

🏨 Hotels

All our hotels in Serbia sit in Belgrade. The selection covers four-star city-centre hotels through to five-star spa properties, with prices that make Belgrade one of the best-value European city breaks going.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Families

• Crowne Plaza Belgrade is a four-star in New Belgrade with a heated indoor pool, on-site casino and the kind of full-service IHG setup that takes the guesswork out of a family trip. Well connected to the city centre by bus and tram, with Sava Promenade and the riverside parks on the doorstep.

• Mercure Belgrade Excelsior is the pick for families who want historic character alongside the reliability of an Accor brand. A four-star in central Belgrade with multiple dining options, wheelchair-accessible rooms and a location within walking distance of the Republic Square, Knez Mihailova shopping street and the fortress.

💑 Couples

• Belgrade Art Hotel, Radisson Individuals is a four-star art-themed hotel with Florentine-inspired interiors, sauna and massage services, and consistently strong guest reviews. Central Belgrade location with the Skadarlija bohemian quarter and its candle-lit restaurants within walking distance.

• Radisson RED Belgrade brings modern design-hotel energy to the city, with a cocktail bar, hearty breakfast buffet and minimalist rooms with a colour pop. Well reviewed and the kind of setup that suits couples who want a social base without the corporate feel.

✨ Luxury

• Hyatt Regency Belgrade is the most established five-star in the city, with an indoor pool, full-service spa and the kind of consistent Hyatt standard that delivers every time. The most reviewed luxury hotel in Belgrade and a strong base for couples or families who want the five-star tier.

• Square Nine Hotel Belgrade is a design-led five-star on Student Square in central old Belgrade, with two indoor pools, a spa centre and designer furniture throughout. Consistently well reviewed and a proper statement address for a Belgrade city break.

👉 Belgrade hotels

🗣️ Local Lingo

English is widely spoken in Belgrade's hotels, restaurants and tourist areas, but a few phrases in Serbian always land well. Don't worry about the accent – the effort is what counts:

• Zdravo, ZDRAH-voh, Hello

• Hvala, HVAH-lah, Thank you

• Molim, MOH-leem, Please / You're welcome

• Jedno pivo, molim, YED-noh PEE-voh, MOH-leem, One beer, please

• Živeli!, ZHEE-veh-lee, Cheers!

• Gde je...?, GDEH yeh, Where is...?

🧳 Travel Guide

👩‍❤️‍👨 Things to do in Serbia for couples

• The Skadarlija quarter in Belgrade is the city's answer to Montmartre – a cobbled street of candle-lit restaurants with live Serbian folk music, waiters in traditional dress and grilled-meat menus that go well with a bottle of local wine. The atmosphere is best in the evening, and the whole street fills up on weekends.

• A day trip to Novi Sad (about 80km north, 1.5 hours by bus or train) gives couples the Petrovaradin Fortress, a smaller and more relaxed city centre, wine bars in the Fruška Gora hills and a proper change of pace from Belgrade's energy.

• Belgrade's floating river clubs (splavovi) line the Sava and Danube banks, from chilled sunset-cocktail boats to serious late-night venues. The Savamala and Ada Ciganlija stretches have the best concentration.

👪 Things to do in Serbia for families

• Belgrade Fortress and Kalemegdan Park are a full morning out – the fortress itself is free, the views are worth the walk, and the park has playgrounds, a small zoo and a dinosaur park that younger children enjoy.

• Ada Ciganlija is the family day out in summer, with a pebble beach, swimming lake, cycling trails, mini-golf and beach-bar food. Locals treat it as their seaside, and on a 30°C day it has proper summer-holiday energy.

• The Nikola Tesla Museum in central Belgrade runs interactive demonstrations of Tesla's experiments (including the Tesla coil), which tend to hold the attention of children and adults equally. About an hour is plenty.

👯 Things to do in Serbia for groups

• Belgrade's nightlife starts late and runs until morning. The floating river clubs (splavovi) along the Sava are the main event, with DJ sets, table service and a dress code that gets more serious as the weekend goes on. Freestyler and Lasta are among the most established.

• A rakija tasting evening in the Skadarlija quarter or at one of the craft-distillery bars in Dorćol covers Serbia's national spirit across plum (šljivovica), quince, apricot and honey varieties. Paired with a proper Serbian dinner, this is a strong group-activity option.

• For something different, the Zemun district on the north bank of the Danube has a more relaxed, almost village-like atmosphere with fish restaurants on the waterfront, the Gardoš Tower viewpoint and a Saturday morning market. About 20 minutes from central Belgrade by bus.

🌍 More Destinations

• 🇷🇸 Belgrade – Serbia's capital, a city built at the meeting point of the Danube and Sava with a fortress, floating nightclubs and some of the cheapest food and drink in Europe.

• 🇷🇴 Romania – Transylvania's castles, Bucharest's Belle Epoque boulevards and the Carpathian Mountains. The eastern neighbour with a similar Balkan-meets-European feel and strong city-break value.

• 🇲🇪 Montenegro – the Adriatic coastline Serbia doesn't have, with the Bay of Kotor, Budva's beaches and medieval walled towns. A popular add-on or alternative for travellers exploring the Balkans.

• 🇭🇷 Croatia – Dubrovnik, Split and the Dalmatian islands. The more established Adriatic holiday destination, with island-hopping, Venetian old towns and some of the Mediterranean's cleanest water.

• 🇭🇺 Hungary – Budapest's thermal baths, ruin bars and Danube views, about 5 hours north of Belgrade by road. Another strong-value European city break with direct flights from the UK & Ireland.

• 🇧🇬 Bulgaria – Black Sea beach resorts, Sofia city breaks and ski resorts in winter. The south-eastern neighbour with proper beach-holiday options alongside the city-break scene.

• 🇬🇷 Greece – island-hopping, ancient ruins and beach holidays with a longer season than the Balkans. The Mediterranean big-hitter a short flight south.