One of the countries I visited this summer was Serbia, and I have to say it was a slightly different experience to my travel in other Balkan countries. I was with my friend at this point, which I was quite grateful for due to the difficulty we had with some of the transport. This isn’t to say don’t go to Serbia as a solo female traveller, but maybe don’t have it as your first destination.
Subotica
Going down from Budapest, we decided to spend a couple of nights in a place just across the border of Serbia: Subotica. I’d say that it’s definitely worth a day here to visit the city hall, fountains, synagogue and explore some of the markets however you don’t need to spend too long here. We definitely noticed in Subotica that there were a lot less backpacker hostels and routes set up than we’d experienced in the rest of the Balkans – coming from small towns in Montenegro or Albania that at least have a few hostels rather than just rooms to rent. I have to admit though, as my first non-dorm in over a month, I was extremely grateful for this, a chance to have a catch up and to just chill out, chat and cook a proper meal (and be able to set the aircon to whatever temperature we preferred.)
However, if social experience is a must for you then maybe move straight to Belgrade, especially if you’re solo travelling. The other travellers we met at this point were all on the same trains coming down from Budapest (after one stopped, we had to get a bus and then missed the connecting train into Serbia so had a lovely meal altogether).
Belgrade
Belgrade itself was a really interesting city to spend a few days in – with stunning churches, streets and plenty of places to grab some traditional food like cevapi or Pljeskavica. (Note: if you are vegetarian, you’ll need to pick your restaurants carefully, however some do offer meals like vegetarian cevapi, which we hadn’t seen anywhere else in the Balkans). In terms of the clubbing scene in Belgrade, we found it remarkably difficult to actually find any larger clubs, even after being in the Balkans for over a month and thinking we’d finally started to understand how and where to find the best places! After talking to some people, we realised the clubs were over the other side of the river – which as two girls we decided that unless larger groups from the hostel were going, it wasn’t worth it from a safety point of view (20 minute taxis). However there are plenty of bars and many hostels run party nights (themed rodeo party at Cabbage Hostel?)
Extra things to bear in mind as a girl travelling solo/small groups in Serbia:
- It’s not a country that is on many solo female travellers lists! Most of the solo female travellers I met had no intention of going to Serbia – so it’s maybe not the place if you’re looking for an extremely social hostel experience.
- You will need cover ups for shoulders in some places! I wore cover ups and long skirts a lot more in Serbia than I did in places like Albania and North Macedonia – with less tourists it helps to blend into local culture and life a little bit more
- Plan your transport routes out with SEVERAL options. Our train from Subotica to Belgrade didn’t exist, then the first bus was full and plan C was a bus about 6 hours later. You need your back up plans. (Free transport in Belgrade though so can’t complain too much!)
- If you can find other people to travel/wait in bus stations with then do! It could have happened anywhere but there were some places in which we joined together with some other girls to stay in larger numbers due to being asked questions and sat very close next to in bus stations.
This is by no means saying don’t go to Serbia! I’m so glad I did – navigating the transport gave us plenty of travel stories and it was amazing to see a different side of the Balkans with currently less tourism. Just make sure you’ve got a carefully researched and planned route (even better if you can speak to girls who have travelled the route already!)
More Travel in the Balkans
Looking for some Balkan places well suited to solo female travel? Have a look at Montenegro and Skopje: North Macedonia. Albania is also such a good up and coming destination to go for with a little bit more tourist infrastructure: more articles coming soon when I finally get round to writing about one of my favourite hikes this summer!
Enjoyed this read? Other posts similar to this: Backpacking as a Girl in the Balkans
