Red Star Belgrade away.

[blueandy1mac]

I'm arriving from Milan just before one on tues morning, anyone else on this and want to share a cab to the centre.

Bump

 

[TheRubberRing]

Bump

a1 coach is £2 and takes 30 mins according to website

 

[kippaxkid]

know it’s early but anyone hear of possible pubs the night before and match day?

lots of decent bars in the skadarlija area , we will be there and heard quite a few mention too

 

[blueandy1mac]

a1 coach is £2 and takes 30 mins according to website

Last bus is before 12pm, taxi or walk.

 

[Tim of the Oak]

I know somebody with a spare match ticket if anyone is looking.

 

[Bibbers]

Hi all,

New to the site, but Belgrade-based City fan (first game was away to Oldham in c.Dec 1996).

A bit of basic info:
Buses from the airport: You can pay in cash for the A1 (400 RSD, about £3), but all other tickets must be bought in advance from a kiosk or by text message/app, and I don't think there's a kiosk at the station, but I might be wrong about this. Text messages can only be sent from Serbian numbers. For those services, the tickets are 50 RSD (40p), or an all-day ticket for all public transport is 120 RSD (about 90p).

For buying a sim, there's little difference if here for 2-3 days. You're talking about spending £4 to £5.50 unless you want to make 'real' calls (rather than Viber/WhatsApp). I use MTS. It's 400 RSD for the SIM, and the free stuff you get plus 500 RSD credit (for public transport tickets) should be more than enough to see you through less than 7 days here.

Exchange offices: Usually, they don't accept cards. They also don't accept coins. It's best to bring Euros with you (if you have any left from the summer or lying around from other away trips), because the exchange rate means you'll lose around 0.2-0.5%. On GBP - unless you go to TrangeFrange exchange offices (I don't think they have any outlets in the centre) where the exchange means you lose around 1.2% - you're talking about a 6.5%-ish commission. So, for £100 worth of Euros, you'll get £99.65 worth of dinars, but for £100 worth of GBP, you'll get around £93.50 worth of dinars. Pretty big difference.

Before the game, we'll probably be bussed in from Studentski Trg (Google it), and away fans tend to be gathered at Plato bar. Maybe a 1.5 minute walk from there is Gunners Pub (nothing to do with Arsenal), which has decent local craft beers, if you're that way inclined. Plato is good for the non-smokers, as it has a large outdoor area (I think he bar's name is a play-on-words of Greek philosopher Plato and 'plateau', as it's situated on the plateau below the philosophy faculty).

EDS game - I honestly have no idea how feasible it will be to get from that to the stadium, as it's the early kick-off and pre-game road closures will transect the route from Vozdovac (I live a 5-minute walk from that stadium) to Studentski Trg.

Post-game AVOID TAKING A TAXI BACK TO THE TOWN. Pre-COVID, the taxis parked outside the stadium were 30 quid a pop to Terazije (again, Google the location). Now you're talking in the region of £50+, I'd guess, because they're all unregulated. If you're in a group of 4, it might be worth it, but you're in for a big hit on your wallet if travelling solo. In general, the best taxi companies to use are Pink and Naxis, and Alfa Bell, Lux, Plavi and Lav are all generally reliable.

Also, expect to be held in the ground for 90-120 mins after the game. It's an early kick-off, cold December weather, and a few days before elections, so policing of the game is a bit unpredictable in this regard.

Will try to post a bit more info throughout the evening, and if anyone has any questions, please feel free to put them up here.

 

[Bibbers]

One more thing - if the tickets for the main match aren't valid for the EDS game too (I think I've read in the past that they are, but might be mistaken about this), as far as I understand, you can only buy tickets from inside the shopping centre under the stadium itself. They should be 300 RSD each, and available from 72 hours to 1 hour before kick-off. Access to the stadium itself is a bit dodgy - I went to a Serbia U21 game there, and had to climb 9 flights of pretty shoddy steps. If the weather's cold and you're not too stable on your feet, I'd seriously advise leaving before the end, to avoid a wave of fans rushing behind you.

 

[Bibbers]

For nightlife, as others have mentioned, Skadarlija is the place. I'd recommend Tri Sesire (Three Hats, but there are a few bars with similar-ish names) for lunch with beers. In the night on weekdays, the only late bar there is Red Bar, which I only go to after I've had a few. Because of the early k/o, I'd recommend going to a few other places post-match, and avoiding Skadarlija until maybe 22:00. If there are enough people in a decent bar, they may be willing to hold a lock-in, but that'd never happen on Skadarlija, and also, considering upcoming elections, it's hit-or-miss as to whether bars elsewhere would be inclined to do this.

 

[EastMidlandsBlue]

Hi all,

New to the site, but Belgrade-based City fan (first game was away to Oldham in c.Dec 1996).

A bit of basic info:
Buses from the airport: You can pay in cash for the A1 (400 RSD, about £3), but all other tickets must be bought in advance from a kiosk or by text message/app, and I don't think there's a kiosk at the station, but I might be wrong about this. Text messages can only be sent from Serbian numbers. For those services, the tickets are 50 RSD (40p), or an all-day ticket for all public transport is 120 RSD (about 90p).

For buying a sim, there's little difference if here for 2-3 days. You're talking about spending £4 to £5.50 unless you want to make 'real' calls (rather than Viber/WhatsApp). I use MTS. It's 400 RSD for the SIM, and the free stuff you get plus 500 RSD credit (for public transport tickets) should be more than enough to see you through less than 7 days here.

Exchange offices: Usually, they don't accept cards. They also don't accept coins. It's best to bring Euros with you (if you have any left from the summer or lying around from other away trips), because the exchange rate means you'll lose around 0.2-0.5%. On GBP - unless you go to TrangeFrange exchange offices (I don't think they have any outlets in the centre) where the exchange means you lose around 1.2% - you're talking about a 6.5%-ish commission. So, for £100 worth of Euros, you'll get £99.65 worth of dinars, but for £100 worth of GBP, you'll get around £93.50 worth of dinars. Pretty big difference.

Before the game, we'll probably be bussed in from Studentski Trg (Google it), and away fans tend to be gathered at Plato bar. Maybe a 1.5 minute walk from there is Gunners Pub (nothing to do with Arsenal), which has decent local craft beers, if you're that way inclined. Plato is good for the non-smokers, as it has a large outdoor area (I think he bar's name is a play-on-words of Greek philosopher Plato and 'plateau', as it's situated on the plateau below the philosophy faculty).

EDS game - I honestly have no idea how feasible it will be to get from that to the stadium, as it's the early kick-off and pre-game road closures will transect the route from Vozdovac (I live a 5-minute walk from that stadium) to Studentski Trg.

Post-game AVOID TAKING A TAXI BACK TO THE TOWN. Pre-COVID, the taxis parked outside the stadium were 30 quid a pop to Terazije (again, Google the location). Now you're talking in the region of £50+, I'd guess, because they're all unregulated. If you're in a group of 4, it might be worth it, but you're in for a big hit on your wallet if travelling solo. In general, the best taxi companies to use are Pink and Naxis, and Alfa Bell, Lux, Plavi and Lav are all generally reliable.

Also, expect to be held in the ground for 90-120 mins after the game. It's an early kick-off, cold December weather, and a few days before elections, so policing of the game is a bit unpredictable in this regard.

Will try to post a bit more info throughout the evening, and if anyone has any questions, please feel free to put them up here.

Thanks for all the info. Quick question, is card payment accepted in most restaurants/pubs/shops, or would it be best to bring some cash?

 

[Bibbers]

Thanks for all the info. Quick question, is card payment accepted in most restaurants/pubs/shops, or would it be best to bring some cash?

I'd say it's accepted in 80-90% of places you'll go, but definitely bring cash. 1. Tips can't be paid by card, and 2. (If buying a sim) phone credit can't be bought by card (for some strange reason I've never been able to fathom). Also, I don't think you'd be able to buy a ticket for the EDS game by card (if you need to - see my post above), but I can't be sure about that.

 

[Bibbers]

I'd say it's accepted in 80-90% of places you'll go, but definitely bring cash. 1. Tips can't be paid by card, and 2. (If buying a sim) phone credit can't be bought by card (for some strange reason I've never been able to fathom). Also, I don't think you'd be able to buy a ticket for the EDS game by card (if you need to - see my post above), but I can't be sure about that.

Also, last time I went to the stadium, purchases inside were cash-only, and taxis generally need to be paid by cash (although maybe 25% of those from Pink and Naxis, and slightly more from Lux, have card machines).

 

[adopted_manc]

I know somebody with a spare match ticket if anyone is looking.

My plans have also changed and I will not be able to travel to Belgrade for my first ever City away game.

Ticket available to anyone who needs a spare - for free or (even better) a small donation to your preferred charity (I won't check!). Just message me. Cmon City!!!!

 

[Mike Brock]

Also, last time I went to the stadium, purchases inside were cash-only, and taxis generally need to be paid by cash (although maybe 25% of those from Pink and Naxis, and slightly more from Lux, have card machines).

Thanks pal, I take it there are plenty of cash machines?

 

[EastMidlandsBlue]

Also, last time I went to the stadium, purchases inside were cash-only, and taxis generally need to be paid by cash (although maybe 25% of those from Pink and Naxis, and slightly more from Lux, have card machines).

Cheers for the advice mate, do you know how much a taxi from the airport to the city would be, or is it worth my time to just get the bus?

 

[Bibbers]

Thanks pal, I take it there are plenty of cash machines?

Yes, but be prepared to pay a 'withdrawal fee' on top of all the other costs. I've never used a foreign card here, but from what I understand these fees basically range from £4 to £7, depending on the bank that owns the machine and the software version currently installed in it (so different machines from the same bank might actually charge different amounts).

 

[Bibbers]

Cheers for the advice mate, do you know how much a taxi from the airport to the city would be, or is it worth my time to just get the bus?

3000 RSD if using the voucher system. If the voucher system desk is closed (I think it closes around 20:00, but I might have just been there on an 'off day' when I was last there at the end of October), you can agree a price with the driver beforehand (this should be 3000), or agree to being charged 'on the meter'. The companies I mentioned in the post above are the most reliable in this regard.

(Taxi prices are agreed by unions - at present it's 270 RSD starting price and from roughly 100 to 200 dinars per kilometre, depending on the time of day. These unions are responsible for controlling their members. Worse unions have worse reputations, so nobody orders from them, but their drivers are more 'free' to fiddle with the meter. Also, there are taxis with white taxi lights just saying 'BEOGRAD TAXI' and a number. These are independent of any union, and completely free to set their own price. They can charge you €200 for a 2-mile ride, and it's perfectly legal.)

I've only ever used the A1 bus. This takes you to the main bus station and Slavija Square on the 'Old Belgrade' side of the river. I've found it handy and fast, and I honestly can't give any experience of the other buses.

 

[Bibbers]

Just had a quick look at bus routes from the EDS game back to the centre, and it's not as chaotic as I'd feared: the number 26 route shouldn't be affected by road closures. You can catch the bus outside the north-eastern side of the stadium (on Zaplanjska street), in the direction of the centre (cross over the road from the stadium/shopping centre itself), and get off at Trg Republike. That's a 5-6 minute walk from Studentski Trg.

I don't know if anyone has received instructions from the club yet about buses being organized from Studentski Trg: as far as I'm aware, this is done for all European games, but it might be up to the away club to organize it/agree for it to be organized. If not, it might be worth heading straight from the EDS to the stadium: road closures normally affect public transport on the roads leading to/from Trg Oslobodjenja for about 2 hours before kick-off, and possibly other roads to the west of Red Star's stadium (I rarely venture into that part of town, so can't say from experience).

 

[Mike Brock]

Yes, but be prepared to pay a 'withdrawal fee' on top of all the other costs. I've never used a foreign card here, but from what I understand these fees basically range from £4 to £7, depending on the bank that owns the machine and the software version currently installed in it (so different machines from the same bank might actually charge different amounts).

Ok mate cheers. Any tips on getting back to the centre after the game?

 

[Mike Brock]

Yes, but be prepared to pay a 'withdrawal fee' on top of all the other costs. I've never used a foreign card here, but from what I understand these fees basically range from £4 to £7, depending on the bank that owns the machine and the software version currently installed in it (so different machines from the same bank might actually charge different amounts).

Also, most importantly how much is it for a pint over there?

 

[Bibbers]

Ok mate cheers. Any tips on getting back to the centre after the game?

Walk to a place marked as 'Taksi stajalište Mlekara' on Google Maps, and catch one from one of the regular companies' cabs waiting there. I gave the list of reliable firms above.