Information about Serbia
Visa regime
Citizens of most countries do not need a visa to enter Serbia. For a complete list of contries and visa regimes, check the Consular affairs page at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs site.
Serbia does not have restrictions on the amount of money that can be imported to the country. For more information check the customs formalities page
Currency & credit cards
Official currency in Serbia is the Dinar (RSD). Coins: 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 Dinars, Banknotes: 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 1000 and 5000 Dinars. (Banknotes in circulation)
There are numerous exchange offices across Novi Sad (and most of the other cities), which usually do not charge the commission.
All major credit cards are accepted. However, Master card and Visa are more widely present than the others. ATMs are widely spread across the city streets and walking areas in Novi Sad.
Area Codes
The phone code for Serbia is +381, for Belgrade (0)11, for Novi Sad (0)21, for Niš (0)18 etc. For international calls from Serbia dial 00 (or + on mobile phones) followed by the code of the desired country
Time zone
Central European Time (CET), UTC+1. The same time as in Amsterdam, Budapest, Berlin, Rome, Copenhagen, Brussels, Madrid, Paris.
In the summer, Central European Summer Time (CEST) applies, with UTC+2.
How to get here
By Plane
The closest airport to Novi Sad is in Belgrade (70 km away), which is served by major European flight-carriers and several low-cost carriers. Daily departures and arrivals are available with European countries. Viable alternatives are the airports in Budapest (Hungary) and Niš (Serbia), both of which are about 300km away.
When you arrive to the Belgrage (or other) airport you can easily get to Novi Sad. You can preorder a (private, direct, with fixed price) transfer from the airports to Novi Sad (please arrange it with your hosts or find the service on the internet), or you can use the regular buses and trains to get to Novi Sad.
More info about getting to Novi Sad by plane, including flight schedules, and a more detailed guide.
More links:
the official site of the Belgrade airport.
The national carrier Air Serbia.
By Train
Novi Sad is on the international railway route Vienna - Budapest - Belgrade - Istanbul (Novi Sad is between Budapest and Belgrade). From Belgrade (70 km away) there are also railway routes to Timişoara and Bucharest (Romania) as well as to Zagreb (Croatia), Ljubljana (Slovenia) and further to Italy and Austria.
The train station in Belgrade is next to the coach (bus) station.
For more information on international train schedule to/from Novi Sad and Belgrade visit www.bahn.de.
More info on Serbian Railways (timetables).
Trains from Belgrade to Novi Sad
There is a regular train line to Novi Sad. The train ticket is around 4 EUR, though it can vary depending on the types of trains
As of 2017, there is a new train station in Belgrade, called "Center", but is also known locally as "Prokop", and it handles most of the local trains. It is away from the city center (although the name suggest differently), and sadly not very well connected (at least at the time of writing this). Please keep this in mind if you are connecting different modes of transport.
Direct trains from Belgrade to Novi Sad timetable can be found on the list of timetables on the site of Serbia Trains, or you can use the interactive timetables.
By Bus (Coach)
There is a regular coach line to Novi Sad from almost every major city in Europe.
Also note that there is a regular coach line Belgrade - Novi Sad every 30 mins in average. The ticket is 6-8 EUR, depending on the coach company.
By Car
Novi Sad is on the main highway E75 Budapest - Belgrade, 350km from Budapest and 70km from Belgrade. Novi Sad is also near the highway E70 Belgrade - Zagreb (Croatia). For more info check out the route planner and maps on ViaMichelin.com.
By Boat
Novi Sad is on the boat-route Rhein-Main-Danube. This route connects nine countries and six European capitals.