Posted June 12, 2010 Hi, I'm hoping someone will be able to help me decide which city to go to Novi Sad in the north of Leskovac in the south? I'm pretty sure they are probably very different places?! I'm flying from Ireland to Belgrade via Budapest in 2 days time (Monday 14th) and I'm still unsure where to go? Found great - really great priced apartment, well it's a nice room in a nice apartment near the centre of Novi Sad (an agency rents out rooms in the apartment individually) and also found a nice hotel at a great price in Leskovac (they gave a discount!), so accommodation costs aren't my concern. I'm really wondering about prices? Was in Bulgaria a few years ago (Blagoevgrad) and it was pretty cheap but Serbia seems to more expensive? This will be my first time in Serbia (except for when I went by train from Amsterdam to Athens WAY, WAY back in 1990!) I guess Leskovac would be cheaper to eat out, drinks, clubs (I found out they only have 2, I think) etc but I'm afraid I'll get realy bored there. I'm in my 30's and like to go out and relax and drink and stuff. I'm just worried that I might crack up and go nuts in Leskovac? I know it's not a tourist hot spot but in a way that's good, I hate tourist spots. Would Novi Sad be much more expensive than Leskovac? Eating out seems to be kinda expensive, when I compare it to Serbia. Not all that cheap even when compared to Ireland actually - I could go to a small cafe/restaurant here in the small town I live in and get a starter, main course, desert, coffee for about €10. Seems prices in Novi Sad, maybe Serbia in general, are similar! Wow. Anyway, if anyone has any tips for either Novi Sad or Leskovac then let me know! And if you wouldn't mind giving me an idea of normal, non-touristy alcohol and meal prices that would be great! Novi Sad or Leskovac, hmmmmmm? Oh, one memory from when I was stuck in the middle of the road near the train station in Zagreb in late 1990.....there was I trying to cross with my rucksack and I think I was right in the middle of the road when going one direction passed a truck of Yugoslav army troops and at the same moment passing in the other lane going the other direction was a Croatian police car packed with men (with guns if I'm not mistaken)......the truck slowed and the police car slowed and they peered over at each other and crept along at a snails pace for a few seconds and then each continued on their way. Yep, that was my introduction to the Balkans! And the smell of salami and spices in a supermarket near the train station or maybe under it or something...kinda hazy can't remember it all I was so tired. And sharing a hostel room with a Serb soldier, a Montenegrin, maybe a Kosovan and me......the soldier was very suspicious of me, lol....even though I was sharing my salami and salad and bread with everyone, lol. And all the soldiers getting on and getting off trains at the train station - I'd never seen anything like it! Ah, memories. Oh yeah, and I helped a mum and her daughter from Bosnia smuggle coffee into Yugoslavia way back in 1990. They started getting jumpy when Yugoslav border guards got on the train (we were coming from Austria) and I could see they were nervous and they opened their bags and took out packets of coffee and were lloking for places to hide them! I had a huge sleeping bag wrapped around me so I took them and shoved them down into it....then the old Slovenian farmer got up and took some crazy looking steel thing out of his bag and kinda shrugged at me as if saying "hide this too", I shoved it in my sleeping bag too, lol. It was a rather heavy kinda round stainless steel thing with holes in it. Anyway, Yugoslav border guards come in, don't pay much attention to me but check the other peoples bags, all clear, nothing and that was that. The farmer smiled telling me it was a part for a tractor or something and the mum gave me a Pepsi. LATER I was thinking maybe that farmer was actually a weapons smuggler and the mum and daughter had heroin packed away in that coffee, oh well! But probably not. Sorry this has nothing whatsoever to do with Novi Sad or Leskovac! Reply Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 12, 2010 Novi Sad is bigger and more expensive then Leskovac, as such i guess it has much better night life. I never been to Leskovac but that place is very famous because of grilled fast food and chilly peppers. Prices in Novi Sad: restourant meal: 3-10 euros Beer in the store: 0,45 euros-0,65 euros (can) Beer in kafana: 0,80-1,30 euros pljeskavica (kind of a burger, it's much cheaper in Leskovac and much better i guess) 1-1,50 euro burek 0,80-1 euro Novi Sad is much more visited then Leskovac (I wouldn't say tourist, because i think there are no real tourist cities in Serbia), it has very big fortress, typical Central European architecture, Danube, national park Fruska Gora with a lot of monasteries ... Novi Sad surroundings are flat, accept one small mountain (that national park), and Leskovac has much more mountains around. I never been to Leskovac, but i think it's much more about great food and hospitable people then architecture. If I'm on your place I would go to Leskovac. Novi Sad is very similar by architecture to all the Central European cities and if you traveled around those areas already i think that Leskovac will be much more unique experience. About your adventures on the Balkans. If you are going to some region and expect to see some conflict or something you will see it even on the places where there are none. Like that encounter with Croat police and JNA truck in Zagreb. And who knows, maybe your first neighbor in Ireland is a serial killer and your boss is a terrorist, who knows man..... Anyway , have a nice time in Serbia. Reply Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 12, 2010 If you decide to come in Novi Sad and if you want, write to me and I can be your host in that days...show you town, good places to eat... Have a car also, so we can go and visit Sremski Karlovci or Fruska Gora . Reply Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 12, 2010 How did U come up with Leskovac? Why not for example Niš? It's approx. the same size as Novi Sad, and yet different and down on the south. There is no way to compare Novi Sad and Leskovac... If U however come to Novi Sad, be sure to let us know, so we can show U around. Also... if U decide to go to Niš, there are people here from Niš. For Leskovac, I'm not so sure. Take care! Reply Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 13, 2010 Novi Sad for nightlife, Leskovac for unique experience. And you are staying 2 weeks, you can visit both... Reply Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 18, 2010 Thanks to everyone for your replies. I had to spend overnight in Dublin the night before my flight last Sunday and at 4am Monday morning got a call from my wife telling me, "you forgot your passport!" It was total panic then as I had to fly out at about 8am. Impossible to get back home and back to Dublin in time. I phoned the airport and Malev and was told no, I had to have my passport (just as I thought but when you're desperate you'll phone anyway) So, I haven't been able to get to Serbia. My wife told me everything happens for a reason, true, the reason being I forgot my f*cking passport! Oh well, the flight was cheap enough and I didn't have to prepay for accommodation so I didn't waste too much money. It's a pity though. Anyway, thanks to everyone for replying! Reply Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 20, 2010 Starting from 28.05.2010. citizens of EU don't need a passport to enter Serbia. That is a decision of our government. So, you could arrive with your ID. People from Malev were not informed well, you should complain! http://www.vesti-online.com/Vesti/Srbija/56388/Evropljani-od-danas-u-Srbiju-bez-pasosa Reply Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 20, 2010 Huh?!!! No passport needed, that is handy! Malev obviously didn't know about that and they should have but that still leaves a problem for me. You see, here in Ireland we don't have national ID cards - they simply don't exist. Almost every country in Europe issues national ID cards and even in some countries you have to carry them on you as far as I know but here in Ireland we don't have them at all. I don't think the UK use them either. So, you see we would still have to have our passports. The same with the British. Thanks for the information though! I'll get to Serbia sometime Goodluck in the World Cup by the way! Reply Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 20, 2010 Your driver license you can use like ID, like in USA, UK, and some other countries Reply Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted June 20, 2010 I guess a drivers licence might work, maybe. But we don't drive. While Serbia might allow people to enter simply with an ID card I'm not sure whether Irish authorities would allow someone leave with simply an ID card or driving licence? Or whether Malev or the Hungarians would allow it as I was to fly via Budapest. Thanks anyway - just watching New Zealand play Italy now! 1 - 0 to NZ, wow! Italy will get equal at some stage but maybe NZ could win, would be good! Mix it up! Reply Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites