5 Amazing Day Trips From Novi Sad Serbia

Novi Sad is the second largest city in Serbia, but the shadow of Belgrade isn’t the only issue it has to deal with when it comes to tourism. The town is surrounded by stunning spots that demand just as much attention, although most will have to do with day trip status from the capital of Vojvodina.

Sremski Karlovci

If we’ve said it once, and we’ve said it a million times: if you only go to one village in Serbia, you would be wise to make sure that village is Sremski Karlovci. The town is less than half an hour away from Novi Sad by car, with many buses travelling between the city and Belgrade stopping off there. There isn’t much signage when you enter Karlovci, but you’ll know you are there because of all the magnificent architecture.
Once the seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church in the Habsburg Empire, Sremski Karlovci has long held a position of spiritual importance for the Serbs in this part of the country. Life in the town revolves around the main square, but the sights extend to the hills around town. It was in Karlovci that ‘peace’ was signed between the Ottomans and the Habsburg rulers in 1699, although ‘peace’ is used in a fairly liberal sense there.

Fruška Gora

Subotica

Novi Sad’s northern neighbour is the biggest pretender to the throne in these parts, and the bigger city should take heed of the warning. Subotica is a gem in its own right, an architectural wonder that displays as much Hungarian influence as it does Serbia. Expect plenty of multi-lingual signs in these parts.
Lake Palić is nearby, a sizeable body of water that is as peaceful as it is excitable during summer. Countless summers and picnickers make their way here during the winter months, and that many simply can’t be wrong.

One of the marvels of Serbian architecture

Sombor

Is Sombor’s main square the prettiest in Serbia? The squares in Sremski Karlovci, Novi Sad and others may well take umbrage with such a statement, but it is easy to see why Sombor’s might get many votes.
Life in Sombor revolves around four streets named after Serbian dukes, with all of the finest sights located on these thoroughfares. The Town Hall and the Town Museum deserve praise, but the square really does take the biscuit. The journey from Novi Sad takes less than two hours by bus.

Vukovar

A slightly left-field option, but the famous city of Vukovar is an hour and a half away from Novi Sad, just over the Croatian border. The city made headlines in the second half of 1991 for all the wrong reasons, as the 87-day siege carried out by the Yugoslav People’s Army left the entire town flattened.
Vukovar has since been rebuilt, but the bitterness from the war is going to take a lot longer to heal. Serbo-Croat relations are frequently in the news, whether about the rights of the Serbian language or the people themselves. Much of the city is a monument to the brutal conflict, making it a visit that’s as harrowing as it is vital.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

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