Hi there,

I'm posting here because Marko (mpetrovic on thorntree) recommended it to me. I'm travelling from Chisinau to Novi Sad through Romania to get to Exit and am planning on avoiding Bucharest and Belgrade as I'd like to a) take a direct route, see some of the country other than the capital and c) see places I haven't seen before. That said, I'll be on a very tight schedule and will take in only Brasov then take the night train to Timisoara (and on to Jimbolia or Kikinda if need be) before trying to get some kind of transport (Bus, shared taxi?) to Novi Sad.

Luckily, the time I get into Timisoara means I've got (according to bahn.de) a direct connection through to Kikinda via Jimbolia. I know this train only runs a couple of times a day, but is it reliable? Is my best option to take this and then get transport from Kikinda? Or is there other regular transport from Timisoara to Novi Sad? I could also go to Arad instead of Timisoara if it meant a better connection to Novi Sad.

If there's no regular transport from any of the above places I'll probably go all the way through to Kikinda and try and find a way of getting a lift. How long should it take by car? How friendly are drivers in that part of Serbia?!

Thanks for you help.

Cheers,

John

Hey!

I'm not sure for that railroad. Always thaught it's just freight traffic going through there. Also, can't find any data on possible passenger trains there... But hey, we have members in Kikinda, I bet they know the situation better...

Anyway!

One more possibility for U to consider.

If U can get to Jimbolia by any transportation, bus ot whatever, U can walk across the border to Srpska Crnja. I have cousins there, I did it couple of times, it's not far away if U don't mind walking. (2-3 km or so)

Buses from Srpska Crnja run couple of times a day, and I'll try getting a timetable.  There is also sth like a line-cab that costs same as a bus (but it's a car).

I can maybe get someone there to help U...

*note:  both Jimbolia and Srpska Crnja are just villages.

Huh !

There's a link to a Kikinda-Novi Sad bus time table, schedule...

It's via three different routes which doesn't concern you,as buses still get to Novi Sad :-D? Look to columns "iz Kikinda" (from Kikinda) and "u Novi Sad" (to Novi Sad) for departure and arrival...

+BECEJ%29&linija%5B%5D=KIKINDA+%28NOVO+MILO%8AEVO%29&linija%5B%5D=KIKINDA+%28ZRENJANIN%29'>http://www.gspns.co.yu/redvoznje.php?rv=rvmd&linija%5B%5D=KIKINDA+%28N.

+BECEJ%29&linija%5B%5D=KIKINDA+%28NOVO+MILO%8AEVO%29&linija%5B%5D=KIKINDA+%28ZRENJANIN%29

You can also try checking other buses there... (this site is only for buses going to and from Novi Sad)

Cheers!

One more thing.

Check this topic :

https://www.klubputnika.org/forum/index.php?topic=155.0

it might be useful somehow for you...

Thanks for that all your help with this.

The bus timetable link looks great - exactly what I was hoping for. How large is Kikinda? Will it be easy to find where the buses leave from - is the train station out of town? If I'm reading the timetable correctly, there are buses at 0600, 0650, 0730, 0800, 0900, 1130, etc and most journey take about two hours?

One other thing- if there is passenger traffic across this border, is it likely that foreigners (i.e. non Serbians/Romanians) can cross it? Would they have proper border facilities to cope with this? If not, I guess I'd try and walk or get a taxi/lift from Jimbolia. At the border you can walk across by Srpska Crnja would they have the facilities to let foreigners cross?

Hvala - thanks again,

John

How large is Kikinda? Will it be easy to find where the buses leave from - is the train station out of town? If I'm reading the timetable correctly, there are buses at 0600, 0650, 0730, 0800, 0900, 1130, etc and most journey take about two hours?

Kikinda is one of those typical Vojvodinian towns... Not too many inhabitants, but all of them have old-fashioned houses with large backyards, so it spreads over a large area. Make sure you spare a couple of hours for a walk around the town centre - it's among the most beautiful ones in Vojvodina!

The train station is at the edge of the town and the bus station is near the centre and easy to find, just ask any local people. You can take a 30 minutes walk from the train station to the centre or you can call a taxi - it should cost less than 90 dinars (1 euro). The taxi company we used there was "Grand taxi" and the number is 064 381 25 25.

As for the buses, if you choose the one that goes via Becej, it should take 2 hours. The other two lines take between 2 and 2.5 hours. Price of the ticket depends on the company, but is somewhere about 500 dinars (4.5 euro).

Btw, hitchhiking is also an option... I suppose drivers are as friendly as anywhere... If you're interested in this, we could give you more detailed information....

here is the number of the bus station in Kikinda.. call and check when they depart

(+381) (0)230 423-770

and here is another taxi company.. (this one is called "ki taxi"):

(+381) (0)65 8700870

Ok, there are two buses going to Novi Sad  from Srpska Crnja, one in the morning at 4:20 AM

and other one at 1:15 PM . Just gave a ring to my relative 

There is a bus from Kikinda to Novi Sad every 2 hours. First one is at 5 in the morning and the last one is at 20:30. Ticket is around 400dinars (app 5euro). Taxi from Kikinda to Novi Sad is 50euros! Too much! And you can always catch a bus to Zrenjanin from Kikinda and come from Zrenjanin to Novi Sad.

There is a direct train from Jombolia to Kikinda at 7:35 and 17:20.

About hitchhicking from Kikinda... well you can try but it will take a while to catch a ride! And you will have to take a long walk to get to other end of the city to hitchhicke.

In Kikinda you will have to take a long walk from train to the bus station.

:-D

Thanks everyone for taking to time to supply great information.

It sounds like there are enough buses for me to rely on from Kikinda to Novi Sad. If for some reason I can't get a bus or I just miss one and feel in the mood I'll try and hitch a lift.

Can't wait to be in Serbia.

Take care,

John

Anyone going to the Exit festival now in 2009 can get a bus from the airport to Novi Sad for 35 euro a head - go to www.premier-exit.com and look under Airport Transfers. Cheerio!