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.