Difference between revisions of "Belgrade"

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Ask the driver to let you off at Batajnica for the entrance to the motorway. You'll see the signs anyway, but the ride is quite long. Be careful of pickpockets on the bus..an old man may look harmless but has quick hands, oh! When you get out, have a sign for Novi Sad and get out at the péage, the toll booth which is quite a way before Novi but the best place to stand to get a long distance ride..here you can whip out a sign for [[Budapest]]..it'll take a while, but beside you will be a bar just in case of thirst with quite cheap beers.
 
Ask the driver to let you off at Batajnica for the entrance to the motorway. You'll see the signs anyway, but the ride is quite long. Be careful of pickpockets on the bus..an old man may look harmless but has quick hands, oh! When you get out, have a sign for Novi Sad and get out at the péage, the toll booth which is quite a way before Novi but the best place to stand to get a long distance ride..here you can whip out a sign for [[Budapest]]..it'll take a while, but beside you will be a bar just in case of thirst with quite cheap beers.
 
*[[User:MaxHermens]] got out of the bus just before the main highway, and walked on it until there was a big safety lane on the right. This way, you don't just get the traffic at the onramp, but every car going north. The safety lane is about 10m wide, so even trucks can stop here.
 
*[[User:MaxHermens]] got out of the bus just before the main highway, and walked on it until there was a big safety lane on the right. This way, you don't just get the traffic at the onramp, but every car going north. The safety lane is about 10m wide, so even trucks can stop here.
*[[User:xnothingxheldxbackxx]] There is construction now (Jan.2012) so until it finishes you should walk about ~2km to where it opens up into 4 lanes again - as it is currently there is very little space for people to stop!
+
*[[User:xnothingxheldxbackx]] There is construction now (Jan.2012) so until it finishes you should walk about ~2km to where it opens up into 4 lanes again - as it is currently there is very little space for people to stop!
 
There is a map on http://www.serbiatravelers.org/en/index.php/hitchhiking/145-beograd
 
There is a map on http://www.serbiatravelers.org/en/index.php/hitchhiking/145-beograd
  

Revision as of 13:37, 20 January 2012

Belgrade
<map lat="44.80401" lng="20.46513" zoom="11" view="0" float="right" />
Information
Country:
Flag of Serbia
Serbia
State: Belgrade-City
Population: 2,000,000
Licence plate: BG
More info: Hitchbase
Meet fellow hitchhikers on Trustroots

Belgrade (Serbian: Beograd) is the capital of Serbia, home to around 2 million people. The main motorway (Autoput) runs close to the centre of the city from the northwest to the southeast. Most cars also use this as a normal road so hitching out of Belgrade is quite difficult.

Hitching out

Southeast towards Niš, Sofia, Skopje

There are several possibilities.

Bus 31

Take bus no. 31 from the city centre (from the squares Trg Studentski or Trg Slavia) or in front of the large McDonalds), until you get to the intersection of the streets Ustanička and Vojislava Ilića (ask someone in the bus for the stop Shumice, but in case you miss is it two stops before the last - on the right you will see a pekarna and its a bigger intersection after going uphill for a while). Turn around and go left, walk to the bridge, cross it, go downstairs, and walk around 150m to the right from the bridge. There you will find a on-ramp to the motorway, and it is the spot from where you can hitchhike towards the toll station. (Alternatively you can walk down the motorway for a couple of hundred meters further and talk to people on a gas station. This might work better, because many people using the on-ramp are not leaving Belgrade.) You should have sign which says "RAMPA" (toll station) in order to get a lift, otherwise you risk staying there for a long time. It is possible that someone who is not going to the toll station, but to Leštane will give you lift, but it is no problem, since after he turns, you have only 10 minutes on foot to the toll station. Once you reach the toll station, it is easy to get direct rides all the way to Greece, Bulgaria, Macedonia or even Turkey if the driver allows you to sleep the night in his truck.

  • Rozwal (October 2011) had a sign RAMPA and got a ride with a man going out of the highway just before Rampa so the sign proved very very useful.

Bus 29

Alternative (worked very well, a number of times, requires very little walking/riding on busses): If you are in the downtown area, past Slavia, near the big market and Mackenzia (sp?) street, you can take bus 29 out until it comes to a long bridge with blue railings. This bridge crosses the motorway (among many other things). If you get out before the bridge and cross to the side where traffic is coming in the opposite direction (don't go all the way across the length of the bridge), there are stairs going down that lead to the motorway, from which, you can walk just a few meters and find a shoulder with enough space for cars to pull over, perfect for hitchhiking!

Note: Jeremie used this spot and would like it made clear that it is dangereous, even if it works well.

2nd note: Wouter and Michiel used this spot an stood along the motorway for 3 hours holding a big Niš sign without being picked up. They eventually decided to take the bus to Sofia.


Tram 7

This option involves less walking along the motorway. From the city centre, take tram 7 in the direction south-east until the last stop (takes about 15 minutes, depending on the traffic). From there take bus 308, direction Veliki Mokri Lug (sometimes written as V.M.L.). After about ten minutes you will cross a bridge going over the motorway; get out at the next stop 100 meters later. From the bridge you will already see the petrol station where you want to go, which is about 200 meters walking. This petrol station is also located uphill. (This info is not entirely correct, I spent 4 hours while trying to get out of Belgrade. There is no way to reach the stop of 308 with Tram 7. You have to get off at Vukadin memorial or shortly Vuk and from there on, walk to a nearby kiosk and catch bus 6A, then go to the last stop Ustanicka and walk down the street. There you can catch 308 to VML. The gas station is a pretty good place to hitchhike, just don't be in it, cause there's just a few cars stopping and you'll be waiting quite a lot)

A sign saying "10 K.M." might be helpful in catching a local car which can take you to the first toll stop (a hitchhiking stop regularly used by locals) and out of the intense exhaust fumes.

If you're heading for Niš (or beyond) try using a sign (saying Niš). If going beyond Niš remember to leave the car *on the motorway* - not in Niš, unless you're a big fan of walking. About two hundred meters before the motorway split Niš and Sofia (Bulgaria) is an abandoned toll area where traffic is going slow and there's place for the cars to stop.

To hitchhike towards Niš, you should first reach the toll station, which can be a bit tricky, since you have to hitchhike while you are still in the city.

Find the map on http://www.serbiatravelers.org/en/index.php/hitchhiking/145-beograd

Southwest towards Sarajevo

There are 2 ways to Sarajevo, one through Čačak-Uzice, a bit south, the other one more direct but not written on online maps... The one through Čačak worked well for us. Take bus 53 from the green open market called "Zelena pijaca" in the center, to the last station. Then just follow the street for one minute, turn right, here is the exit to the motorway, climb up the bridge and try to hitchhike there, there is some place for cars to pull over, but in Serbia when they want to stop the car the dont really need a proper place ;). It seems that buses 531, 532, 533 go further, but it's not really needed, and they might be regional buses. Use signs ČA and/or UE (ČaČak-Uzice). This way through Čačak-Uzice is not the fastest but in t0ma5´s opinion very interesting, it will take you 6-7 hours to reach Sarajevo and before leaving Serbia you will pass near by GuČa, where a crazy Balkan music festival takes place every summer and just before the Bosnian border is Mokra Gora, the ethno village that the filmmaker Kustorica made for his movie, Life is a Miracle, you can visit it in few hours if you have the times but there is entrance fee. After Uzice there is not much traffic going to Bosnia since after the border and before Sarajevo there is not any big city, so if you get a ride the driver will probably take u all the way to Sarajevo :)

North towards Budapest

It's best to take bus number 706 from Zeleni Venac station (big bus station in the city center)or 73 from New Belgrade. If you wish to hitchhike on the motorway, you should exit at overpass at Batajnica. If you wish to take the old road, which is probably the better option if you travel only to Novi Sad, then you should go further with that bus to the end of Batajnica suburb, until the bus turns from that road, at the church. Just go back to the same road you were previously at, and hitchhike from there. Batajnica is around 15 kilometers far from Zeleni Venac station, and bus takes around 40 minutes, depending on traffic jams.

Ask the driver to let you off at Batajnica for the entrance to the motorway. You'll see the signs anyway, but the ride is quite long. Be careful of pickpockets on the bus..an old man may look harmless but has quick hands, oh! When you get out, have a sign for Novi Sad and get out at the péage, the toll booth which is quite a way before Novi but the best place to stand to get a long distance ride..here you can whip out a sign for Budapest..it'll take a while, but beside you will be a bar just in case of thirst with quite cheap beers.

  • User:MaxHermens got out of the bus just before the main highway, and walked on it until there was a big safety lane on the right. This way, you don't just get the traffic at the onramp, but every car going north. The safety lane is about 10m wide, so even trucks can stop here.
  • User:xnothingxheldxbackx There is construction now (Jan.2012) so until it finishes you should walk about ~2km to where it opens up into 4 lanes again - as it is currently there is very little space for people to stop!

There is a map on http://www.serbiatravelers.org/en/index.php/hitchhiking/145-beograd

North towards Novi Sad

It's best to take bus number 706 from Zeleni Venac station (big bus station in the city center)or bus 73 from New Belgrade. If you wish to hitchhike on the motorway, you should exit at overpass at Batajnica . If you wish to take the old road, which is probably the better option if you travel only to Novi Sad, then you should go further with that bus to the end of Batajnica suburb, until the bus turns from that road, at the church. Just go back to the same road you were previously at, and hitchhike from there . Batajnica is around 15 kilometers far from Zeleni Venac station, and bus takes around 40 minutes, depending on traffic jams.

Northeast towards Timisoara, Romania

You want the E-70. Take a bus from the center (25/25-P will work) to the base of the PanČevaČki Most (bridge over Dunav/Danube -- not any of the ones over the Sava). Take another bus (let's say 101, 102, 103...) over the bridge, and get off at the first stop after the bridge. Turn around and walk to the elevated motorway back in the direction the bus came (<100m). This is the E-70. Coming from the bus stop, the direction East is on the far side of the motorway, so you need to walk under it and then climb up to the level of the highway. Walk right along it (there is a guardrail, so it's not too scary) until you come to a traffic light with a place for buses/cars to pull over immediately afterwards. This is the perfect hitch spot. Continue on the E-70 towards PanČevo and Vrsac and eventually the border crossing into Romania. Hitch from directly after the checkpoint. Many (most?) Romanians expect money, in Euro or Lei, and so you should have some with you BEFORE you get to the border (Arjun arrived with only Macedonian denars, and this was a hassle that took up time and ended with the border guards asking the next car to pass the checkpoint if they would mind taking me to Timisoara :).

West towards Zagreb

Take bus no. 16 from the upper part of Zeleni Venac station towards Novi Beograd, and exit after you pass traffic circle. Cross the street, and take bus no. 611. That bus will take you to the motorway, some 20 kilometers from Belgrade. Get off as soon as the bus turns from the motorway, and then return to the motorway. Start hitchhiking there. The toll station is around 7-8 kilometers far, but there's no need to go there on foot. Once you get to the toll station, we recommend using a sign for the direction you want to go, it is a good opportunity to get a direct ride, even all the way to Zagreb.

Blackriding

Controllers wear a standard navy blue suit and tie, in Belgrade, and it's said that if you're riding the trams daily you might encounter one controller in a week, or two weeks. You can skip them just standing on the door and leaving the bus or just tell them that you don't have any ID.

Spent two weeks riding all day every day - saw them coming like a great light in the night. Elephantson (jeremie) 2010

it seems they started wearing civilian clothes again, i saw them yesterday. marko bg

June 2010. they have green - yellow fluorescent shirts so it`s easy to see them.

January 2011 - Still wearing the fluorescent jackets coming in groups of 3 or 4 at the same time. Saw them working even on Saturday morning but always near the center, they don't go too far.

April 2011 - Still in fluorescent jackets. Always in groups of 4. Actually very difficult to be controlled, even if you want to be. Have lived in Belgrade for nearly 2 years, and have been controlled maybe 10 times. In the unlikely event that you're controlled, simply get off when they get on - you can't miss them. If you're asleep, speak English and say you have no ID.

t0ma5