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Belgrade to Pristina: Transfer Tour between Belgrade and Kosovo

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The full day transfer tour from Belgrade to Pristina is created to offer the best possible travel experience while traveling from Serbia to Kosovo, or vice versa. 

We will take you on a life time journey that will enable you to delve deep into the history puzzles and complex political situations on the margins of the different perspectives while, at the same time, enjoying the amazing Ibar Valley, learning the legends about Serbian kingdom, taking a peak into the local life of completely off the tourist trails Sandzak, admiring the UNESCO sites and walking the one of the most notorious Balkan bridges and cities – Mitrovica bridge. 

This is a full day private transfer tour which is fully customisable so please do not hesitate to contact our team with any of your ideas or preferences. 

• Optimise your time and explore the two countries in depth by conveniently connecting Belgrade and Pristina.  
• Take a lifetime journey and break the shackles of media and prejudices.
• Delve deep into the history and background of long lasting conflicts between Serbia and Kosovo.
• Enjoy a ride through Ibar Valley and admire the turquoise gorge embraced by UNESCO’s Biosphere Reservation Golija on one side, and the National Park Kopaonik on the other side.
• Admire the views and lilac trees from the medieval Maglic Fort looming over the Ibar river and learn the stories and legends of Serbian kingdom.
• Discover the completely off the tourist trails region of Sandzak and visit the town of Novi Pazar, capital city of the medieval Serbian state in the 12th–14th century.
• Have a lunch with locals and taste the famous and mouthwatering local dishes 
• Visit three UNESCO sites 
• Dare to walk one of the, according to local media, most notorious Balkan Bridges in Mitrovica.
• Understand Mitrovica, one city under the two roofs and delve deep into understanding abundance of contrasts and similarities. 

What's Included

• Traditional lunch available with vegetarian options.
• English speaking local-expert guide.
• No hidden costs. All government taxes & entrance fees included in the price.
• Cancellation Flexibility. Cancel 24hrs before departure or change dates.
• Pay safely online with a credit card. We accept payments for all types of credit cards.

NOT INCLUDED

• Personal travel insurance is not included. Please buy it at home country.
• Tips are not included in the tour costs. If you receive excellent service, please consider tipping.
• All tours are shared.

Getting There

Pickup Time Due to complexity of the trip it is recommended to start at 7 AM.  Pickup Locations We shall pick you up in whole area of Belgrade, or Pristina in case you are traveling the opposite direction.

Activity Note: Our team always strive to provide unique experiences by perfectly combining intriguing history and unbiased stories with astonishing nature and cultural sites.  This full day transfer tour is created to take you to some of the amazing and completely off the tourist trails places while conveniently connecting Serbia and Kosovo. If you would like to start/end in reverse direction, please do not hesitate to contact our team.

Meet & Greet

We will start our drive from Belgrade with a pick up from your address in early morning hours. For those who haven’t had breakfast yet, no worries, a roughly 2hrs drive through Central Serbia suburbs will provide a handful of tasty local choices along the way.

> Our team will meet you at your address in Belgrade and will make sure to provide the best possible travel experience you had so far while slowly introducing you into complex Balkan’s history and unrivalled nature beauty. 

Ibar Valley and Maglic Fort

Today we will introduce you to the story of Serbia, its rulers over the history, and start asking the questions about Kosovo with each mile we get closer to. Rest assured it will be an overwhelming day with handful of intact nature everyone wants but nobody cares for, an incredible amount of religious and cultural endowments along with the personal stories based on the self interpreted history.

After the two hours, we will reach Kraljevo and drive along the amazing Ibar Valley embraced by the mountains from both sides. For the next 2hrs expect vast space of spectacular sceneries and endless landscapes. The natural gates of Ibar Valley represent the amazing medieval fort Maglic nested 100 meters from the river and the main road. This stone crown stands on the grassy piedestal looming over the Ibar river that has guarded the canyon ever since the 13th century.

We will take a short walk and hear some legends about this fortress whose stubborn lilac trees are challenging even the best historians. Known to be a guardian of medieval Serbia, the Maglic fortress is also very often called a basin of Ibar the Valley of Kings, the Valley of Centuries, and the the Valley of Lilacs.

> The view from Maglic fort looming over the Ibar Gorge which is completely enclosed by UNESCO’s Biosphere Reservation Golija on one side and the National Park Kopaonik on the other side.

UNESCO Church of St. Apostles Peter and Paul

Ibar valley will guide us through the Raska region which, during the medieval times, was a centre of the the Serbian Kingdom. Depending who you ask for the name, the region is known either as Raska or Sandzak.

At the very entrance to Novi Pazar we will have a chance to visit the oldest Orthodox church in Serbia and further, the Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul.

According to the 17th century legend, the church was founded by Titus, follower of the Apostle Paul in the 7th century. Moreover, archeological excavations showed an Illyrian presence dating from the 5th century BC. Years of alterations and repairs made the church to become a unique religious temple which, along with the old town of Ras became protected by UNESCO list of world cultural heritage as part of the medieval monuments.

> Founded in 7th century, Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul was, besides being the oldest monument of church architecture in Serbia, also an original seat of the Raska episcopate dating from IX or X century.

It is a public secret that post-Yugoslavian countries are looking for a big brother in other world’s countries. Therefore, although Serbia is strongly connected to Russia, region of Sandzak found it a safe haven under the auspices of Turkey.

As soon as we enter Raska, it will seem we have entered a school example of cultural and religious contrasts. Sandzak, along with Kosovo, will at the beginning seem as an experiment and attempt to see how it will look if we raise the religious temples high up in the sky, glorify history, force national pride and, later on, bystand with fear the potential consequences. Which, at least on a first glance, there are none.

After some nice and easy walks in the city, enjoying panoramas from the Novi Pazar fort and vibrant carsija (bazaar), we will head for a lunch. Over the lunch we will make sure to try famous Novi pazar cevapi and mantije which are considered to be the queen of the Balkan tradition of pie making. If you ever enjoyed burek, you will love mantije. Along with the cevapi and mantije, we will try a special type of salad, Sjenica peppers, side dish commonly served as a salad from the town of Sjenica. These peppers are made completely soaked in the sour cream and the tradition of preparing it goes deep into the past of Sandzak’s families.

> Completely off the beaten tourist track of Serbia, Novi Pazar used to be a capital city of the medieval Serbian state in the 12th–14th century. With its amazingly turbulent history, Novi Pazar today stands proudly as a home to over 30 protected cultural, as well as both, muslim and orthodox monuments out of which 3 are UNESCO protected. 

UNESCO Arsa and Sopocani  

Following the path of centuries old history, we will arrive at the Old town of Ras (Lat. Arsa) which will be our next stop. Arsa was one of the first capitals of the medieval Serbian state Raška which historically also included north-eastern parts of modern Montenegro, and some of the most eastern parts of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina. Back in the time, it was the most important capital in the region which, nowadays, is known as Sandzak.

The Arsa dates back from the 4th to 6th century, and had a huge strategic importance as the crossroad and heart of trading routes between medieval civilisation and neighbouring regions. We will walk the ancient civilisation paths through the undisclosed ruins of Arsa and learn the history which put this site back to the Roman and Byzantine Empires.

> On the outskirts of Arsa, we will find another Orthodox treasure, UNESCO protected Monastery Sopocani, an endowment built from 1259 to 1270 by King Stefan Uroš I of Serbia. Frescoes we will find at the Sopocani Monastery are considered as some of the finest frescoes in Byzantine and Serbian medieval art.

Once we are introduced to Novi Pazar, Raska and Sandzak, we will head towards Kosovo and the (un)famous (Kosovska) Mitrovica. Mitrovica’s present ground was, due to its geographical position between the two rivers Ibar and Sitnica, a prehistoric centre and an Illirian necropolis.

Our time travel will go from the ancient civilisations, Roman and Byzantine Empires, Serbian kings all the way to the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, its prides and prejudices and the fact the this city was once named “Titova Mitrovica”. Due to the previous conflicts, in 2013 during the local elections, the city was divided into the municipalities of North and South Mitrovica making it a one city under the two roofs, two institutions, two systems and, moreover, two states.

After the coffee in Mitrovica, we will head for a last stop before we hit Pristina- Yugoslavian spomenik built by a famous Yugoslav architect, Bogan Bogdanovic, the same architect who was in charge of the spectacular Jasenovac monument.

> The massive concrete monument is dedicated to those who lost their lives during the World War II, and will be a perfect chance to, once again, make a short time travel back to the theatre of communism playing the socialist drama.

Just an hour of drive and we will reach Pristina, Kosovo’s capital and one of the cities that will overwhelm you only after you completely soak it in. We will drop you off at your hotel or previously agreed address.

What to Bring

What Do I Need to Bring?

• Comfortable shoes
• Sun protection (hat, sunglasses, sun block)

Trip Extensions

Kosovo Grand Bazaars: Full Day Tour of Peja, Gjakova & Prizren from Pristina

Montenegro to/from Kosovo Transfer Tour: Complimenting Dualism of Podgorica and UNESCO National Park Biogradska Gora

Full Day Tour of Pristina, Gracanica Monastery and Ulpiana Ancient City with Local Lunch included

Kosovo Unveiled: An 8-Day Authentic Cultural Journey through Time, Terrain, and Tradition

Kosovo War Tour: Burden of Independency (2Day 1Night)

The Balkan Peaks: Hajla Summit (2403m) Hiking Tour at Rugova Valley and Accursed Mountains

Frequently asked questions.

• Is this tour for me? This tour requires normal level of fitness and is doable for anyone of normal level of fitness.
• Is this a private tour? This is not a private tour.
• Can I pay this tour online with credit card? Yes of course. We accept all credit cards.
• Is the lunch included in the tour? Yes, locally prepared breakfast and lunch are included in the price of this tour.

Proceed Booking

Or continue as guest.

cassiethehag

How to take the bus from Belgrade to Pristina

Getting from Belgrade to Pristina couldn’t be easier but each bus trip I took across the Balkans had at least one little quirk. This post is for people looking for a little more information on what to expect, particularly solo travellers needing a little reassurance. (Yes, I felt safe solo travelling the Balkans by bus!)

Please note that this blog post most likely contains affiliate links to products or services I use and love! If you click on the links, it means I get a little extra pocket money at no additional cost to you. This is what keeps my website ticking over – thank you!

By the way,

Check online or with your accommodation to be sure of up to date bus times. Apparently the schedules can change! 🙂

Table of Contents

BUYING YOUR BELGRADE TO PRISTINA BUS TICKET

You can buy your ticket from Belgrade to Pristina easily at the bus station or if you prefer buy it online beforehand. Online:

You can go to bus4me to check bus times and book your ticket. When you select the time of departure, you will be relocated to the website of the local company to actually purchase the ticket. I was sent to a website called ‘Polazak’. The website wasn’t in English but it was very straightforward to know where to input card details.

Ask a local at your accommodation to help you buy your ticket if you’re not sure. Be sure to enter your email correctly as they send the ticket by email! You have to print the ticket if the bus company is ADIO. It clearly marks it on your e-ticket if it has to be printed. My hostel receptionist printed this for me without question.

Make sure you can access a printer before buying an e-ticket that needs to be printed – if not, just go to the bus station. At the bus station:

Get there 30 minutes early and ask at the ticket office for a ticket to Pristina. Easy peasy. Even with limited English, all bus stations I went to in the Balkans would understand the location names and the time in English. On the bus:

I didn’t realise beforehand but you can also buy the ticket on the bus, a single or return. I’m not sure whether the cost was different, but I did see someone paying with euros.

(Update: I later bought my bus tickets across Kosovo and North Macedonia on the bus without a problem!)

 THE BUS STATION / BUYING AN EXIT TICKET

When you arrive at the bus station, you walk through a corridor which has cafes on one side and the platforms on the other. You will see the ticket office directly opposite the exit for the platforms. Even if you bought a ticket online, you have to buy an exit ticket to the platform! This costs 190 Serbian dinar and you can’t enter the platform without it. This is a bit annoying if you’re not expecting it. I went to booth 12 in the ticket office which had a small sign with Serbian writing and ‘190’ to ask about it. I had no currency so I had to go to the atm just outside the ticket office and withdraw the minimum amount of 500. Then I went back to the ticket office and bought my exit ticket, before then being allowed on to the platform. It wasn’t clear to me what platform to go to so I asked at the exit gate. On this day it was platform 10.

I was 30 minutes early and 2 buses came and went from this platform before my bus to Pristina. The location is clearly labelled on the front of the bus. Also, the bus company logo was on the side of the bus (ADIO). The bus pulled in just past 1145 at which point I stowed my luggage and took my seat

THE ADIO BUS (BELGRADE TO PRISTINA)

The Adio bus was modern and comfortable. We departed the bus station at 1200 on the dot. Within 20 minutes they had checked tickets and also taken our ID. It was a smooth journey and I don’t have much to say haha. At one point there was a 15-minute stop where there was a cafe and small shop. People also get on and off the bus several times throughout the journey, usually for a smoking break.

BORDER CROSSING

We got to the border crossing at 530pm and it took around the 25 mins. Border crossings throughout the Balkans is very easy for us bus passengers. Just sit there as they check your passport haha.

Did I mention how easy the Belgrade to Pristina route would be? 🙂

ARRIVING IN PRISTINA

The bus arrived in Pristina at 1830. The front of the bus said arrival at 1800 but there was a little traffic. (Also on the website it says expected arrival is at 1730, but I think it is really meant to be 1800.) Probably the best way to get to your accommodation is by taxi, though there is a bus as well. You can also walk if you prefer. There are taxis waiting outside the bus station. I showed them a screenshot of my hostel address. It cost 3 euros. Walk 30 seconds to just outside the bus station to get your taxi – there will also be taxis waiting directly outside your bus, but they charge more. Overall another easy journey across the Balkans. Safe journey guys!

More Balkans bus journeys…

How to get from Sarajevo to Belgrade by bus

A scenic bus journey between Mostar and Sarajevo (+ how it compares to the train)

Kotor to Dubrovnik by bus – What to expect

Getting from Prizren to Skopje by bus

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Hi, I'm Cassie, and I've been solo travelling the globe since May 2018. In this time, I've backpacked around Southeast Asia, Japan and The Balkans, alongside living in New Zealand and Australia. Current location? Mexico

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thanks Ken!

Very helpful! Thanks!

hope it helped Emiliette 🙂

I really needed this information thank you so much!

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Travel the world like an Airline Pilot.

The Ultimate 6-7 Day Balkans Road Trip (Serbia, Kosovo, Macedonia)

The Balkans : Europe’s true hidden gem, a treasure of breathtaking Mediterranean coastline and sheer mountains. As my Serbian friend once said, “you can’t face any direction in the Balkans without seeing beauty”. And it’s true.

So after completing a magnificent 8-day road trip across Croatia , I was convinced – there’s a lot to see here. So I made my way to Belgrade, Serbia for what ended up being one of my favorite road trips ever .

Featured in this article:

• Best route to cover 4 Balkan countries in less than one week
• The highest rated budget, midscale, and luxury accommodations in Belgrade, Serbia
• How to rent a car cross country in the Balkans , including Kosovo
• Lake Ohrid : the gem of the Balkans
• Our choice of best bang-buck accommodation in Skopje , North Macedonia
• The ultimate off-the-beaten-path hidden Serbian canyon (and the best place to enjoy it)

The interior Balkan countries you wish you hadn’t missed

Most explorers love to flock to Croatia , Montengro, and Albania for their epic Mediterranean beaches and fantastically cute towns.

But this road trip is different . Here, we will take you to more off the beaten path interior countries offering incredible castles , intriguing monasteries, stunning mountains, magnificent lakes , spectacular waterfalls, and quintessential Slavic cities.

These are the countries covered:

• Serbia : Land of Castles, Fortresses, and Rivers of Beauty
• North Macedonia : Magnificent mountains, monasteries, and a giant lovely lake
• Kosovo : a quirky capital, cool cave, epic waterfall, and lovely people
• Montenegro : a brief drive through magnificent mountains
• Serbia (again): the most beautiful river valley you’ve ever seen, and a hipster town to finish

The Ultimate 6 to 7 Day Balkans Road Trip Itinerary Summed Up

We have a lot to cover in 6 days. This jam-packed itinerary ensures you see the best of these Balkan countries in the most efficient of ways:

This itinerary was curated to cover the most ground in the most efficient way, with evenly split driving times and allocated time for border crossings. It assumes an arrival by mid-afternoon on day 1 and departure after late-afternoon on day 6.

• Day 1 : Arrival in Belgrade (BEG), and seeing Serbia’s splendid capital
• Day 2 : Headed to Nīs, with incredible medieval fortress and monastery visits & a secret cave
• Day 3 : Crossing into North Macedonia, with a fabulous hike, ancient observatory, and golden wine on the way
• Day 4 : Two of the most beautiful lakes in the Balkans: Ohrid & Matka. Ending in Skopje, North Macedonia’s Capital
• Day 5 : Exploring Kosovo’s absolutely unique intricacies, then continuing to a fabulous Serbian river canyon
• Day 6 : Having an awesome Serbian morning, and flying home in the afternoon
• Optional : extending your Balkans trip by a day and exploring the hippie town of Novi Sad

This is the best 6-7 day interior Balkans road trip route:

Here are the highlights for an awesome 6-7 day road trip across the Balkans:

• Belgrade, Serbia
• Golubac Fortress & Manasija Monastery
• Nis, Serbia (overnight)
• Kokino Megalithic Observatory
• Marko’s Towers
• Lake Ohrid, North Macedonia (overnight)
• Skopje, North Macedonia (overnight)
• Pristina, Kosovo
• White Drin Waterfall
• Uvac, Serbia (overnight)
• Novi Sad, Serbia

Renting a car in the Balkans: everything you need to know about cross-border travel (including Kosovo)

When it comes to renting a car in Belgrade, you’ll want to stick with a solid rental car company that allows cross-border travel.

Though the “ Green Pass ” used to be an insurance requirement to cross borders in the Balkans, you may now obtain insurance at each individual border crossing (if you are not insured). With the rental car company we chose, we were already insured across every country and did not need to pick up insurance at the borders.

A note about driving your rental car into Kosovo

This itinerary does pass through Kosovo , as we did on our trip, but it is not a requirement if you wish to avoid it. At this time, any border conflicts are in the northwest corner of the country, far from the proposed route. There is zero expected impact.

Surprisingly, Kosovo actually had the best roads we encounter in the Balkans, and some of the friendliest people.

Note: you cannot enter Serbia from Kosovo. Serbia does not recognize Kosovo as a country. This is why this itinerary is built to cross into Kosovo from North Macedonia and exit Kosovo into Montenegro.

Day 1: Arrival in Belgrade, Serbia

Maximizing your first day in Serbia:

• Walking around the medieval Belgrade Fortress
• Exploring Old Town Belgrade
• Getting electrified by Serbia
• Serbia’s best restaurants for dinner
• Why Belgrade is the Balkan center for nightlife , and where to go for a fun night out
• Where to stay in Belgrade , Serbia

The first stop is, of course, Belgrade itself. As the capital of Serbia, there is a lot of history, some epic dining, and excellent views. I found it as thrilling to visit as Bucharest, which I visited earlier this year.

Starting your day in Belgrade with amazing food

After a long journey, you’ll likely be hungry. We found an absolute incredible Vegan restaurant that you’ll love – even if you love meat.

It’s called Rai Urban Vege and not only is the food (and coffee) amazing, it’s location is perfectly situated next to the Belgrade Fortress .

After eating, it’s only a 5 minute walk to the Belgrade Fortress. From there, you can continue walking towards the Old Town, passing through the elevated Kalemegdan Park with the best city views in Belgrade.

In the fortress area of Belgrade, you’ll also find:

• A Military Museum ,
• The Ružica Serbia Orthodox Church
• Old Defense Towers
• Incredible parks bustling with families enjoying this amazing city.

🎶 Making my way downtown, walking fast 🎶 : Old Town Belgrade

Though it’s a long walk (1-3 hours), we highly recommend continuing through the park straight into the Old Town of Belgrade , and perhaps taking an Uber or bus or tram back to where you parked. Alternately, you can attempt to park near the Old Town, but good luck finding a spot.

Must-see places in Old Town Belgrade include:

• The Old Palace
• Historical Museum of Serbia, or the National Museum
• St. Mark Orthodox Church
• Kneza Mihaila , a gorgeous street
• Saint Sava Temple

Make sure to stop at Bubamara Gelato for amazing ice cream on a hot day!

Quintessential Serbia: the Nikola Tesla Museum

It’s a little know fact that Nicola Tesla is actually from Serbia! There’s a museum dedicated to him in the center of town, the Nikola Tesla Museum .

The Museum is a fascinating tribute to this incredible scientist and his contributions to the planet.

You’re reading this thanks to him (and me).

Dinner plans after the museum

Surely, you’ve worked up an appetite after all that walking and learning.

Luckily, the Tesla Museum is located next to Vaçar , a neighborhood filled with the top restaurants in Belgrade.

Our selection for dinner here would have to be Botako for some of the best pizza of your life.

Serbia: the hotspot of European nightlife

Looking for post-dinner plans?

Did you know that Serbia is known as a European hotspot for its hip clubs and nightlife?

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Move Belgrade as an excellent place for a nightcap and festivities. It’s a club located right on the Danube offering a thrilling experience and a great way to close out the day.

Best accommodation in Belgrade, Serbia

Budget accommodation in belgrade.

The hippest (and nicest) hostel in Belgrade: San Art Floating Hostel & Apartments

This awesome Hostel is literally situated on the river, on a floating dock. This is the true Danube experience! Highly rated and offering apartments for those who aren’t inclined to the bunk bed experience, staying at the San Art Floating Hostel couldn’t be a cooler Serbian experience.

Midscale Accommodation in Belgrade

The Hotel Moskva Belgrade offers 4 star luxury and amenities at discount prices. I highly recommend it as an amazing first night in Belgrade.

Ultimate Luxury Accommodation in Belgrade

Pure luxury, with the best guest reviews of any hotel in Belgrade: The Square Nine Hotel Belgrade . With a sauna, steam room, rooftop terrace, and spa, you’ll be sure to live your best life here.

Day 2: a very Nis day to explore Serbia

Today features a sample of castles, fortresses, monasteries, caves, lakes, rivers; time to delight yourself with the true Balkan countryside experience.

• Driving to incredible Golubac Fortress
• Enjoy an off the beaten path Serbian wonder
• Stare at a monastery
• Best accommodations in Nīs, Serbia

First, we’ll start with a short drive to the beautiful Golubac Fortress .

You can actually visit the Fortress, and there’s even a visitor center and coffee shop onsite.

The complex opens at 10AM, so make sure to head there early enough for the rest of the day. Enough time to grab breakfast before starting your drive.

Hiking with magnificent Fortress views

If getting fresh air and exercise interests you more than the Fortress, make sure you check out one of the plentiful hiking paths surrounding Golubac.

And locals here love swimming in the Danube on a hot day. In fact, the riverfront cities remind me of many beachfront cities in Croatia! Great way to cool down after a hike.

Cave into true Serbia

Next up is an absolutely incredible cave with crystal clear turquoise water and some delightful fresh fish.

Krupajsko vrelo is located deep in the Serbian countryside, but not so deep that you can’t access it. In fact, you can drive basically right up to the cave. There’s even a local restaurant right with delicious fresh fish right from the river!

Stare at the monastery

The Balkans don’t have any shortage of monasteries. But trust me, this one is worth a visit.

The Manasija Monastery , dating all the way back to 1418, sits nestled in green Serbian mountains on top a hill exposing its incredible beauty to the surrounding villages.

Niš: why it’s a great Serbian road trip stop

Though there are plentiful flights from Belgrade to Niš, this road trip will demonstrate just why it’s better to explore by land . And I’m saying that as a pilot!

Niš (pronounced Nish) has a beautiful walled old city, as well as an electric and party-ful new city. The night life here is truly Serbian – that is to say wild!

So whether you’re looking for a fun night or, or just want to kick back and relax, there’s something for you in Niš.

Best hotel accommodations (with parking) in Niš

Parking in Niš can be super tough, especially on a weekend. But luckily, we found a hotel with complimentary parking that had room on perhaps the busiest day of the year. And it was actually quite nice, yet cheap!

We stayed at the New City Hotel , located in a great location near the excitement of the new town and right across the river from the walled old town, offers a good product at a great price.

Another choice for those who desire a more elevated experience is the Ambasador Hotel , a 5 star luxury hotel with amazing service and amenities.

Day 3: Ohrid – The most beautiful lake in the Balkans?

Buckle up, today is gonna be a long – and great day.

• Have a Niš Breakfast
• Cross into North Macedonia
• Enjoy one of the worlds oldest observatories
• The cheapest and one of the best lunches in the Balkans
• An incredible hike at Marko’s Towers (medieval)

Lake Ohrid: the gem of Balkan lakes

• Best accommodations in Ohrid, North Macedonia

Your first Balkans border crossing, your longest driving day, and likely your most rewarding. Just wait until you arrive at Lake Ohrid right for sunset. The splendor will overwhelm you.

But for now, it’s time to check out of Serbia – and starting checking out North Macedonia .

Breakfast in Niš

Make sure to wake up early and take full advantage of the wonderful day ahead.

As breakfast at the New City Hotel was not included, we made our way towards the old town and found a ship restaurant right on the Danube – called Porto Nuovo.

It was a great place to grab some energy before walking around the walled Old Town of Niš for about an hour before starting the exciting road trip ahead.

Crossing the border from Serbia to North Macedonia

Admittedly, this was our longest border crossing. We went on a holiday during a splendid, warm day in the heart of summer.

But despite all that, it maybe took an hour and a half. Pack a book , or download a podcast.

North Macedonia Rocks!

Next up is the Kokino Megalithic Observatory . This place has fascinating megalithic rock formations and great views on the valleys beneath.

Entrance is 2€ per person. It’s worth it – NASA lists Kokino as one of the world’s oldest observatories, dating from the Bronze Age!

For those tight on time, you can elect to skip this. We finished lunch after 330PM, and this was the part we decided to jettison.

An excellent small hidden gem of a restaurant for lunch

Since it took us so long to cross the border, we were hungry . And hangry.

We found a truly phenomenal hidden gem right off the highway on the way to Marko’s Towers. The food was of excellent quality – much like what you’d get in Italy. But the prices were fantastic. Close to 5€ for a main course.

And of course, the golden wine was great too. 😉

It’s called Avra Restaurant & Cafe.

Marko’s Towers: a must-do hike

However, there is a hike I recommend not skipping – Marko’s Towers.

Not only is it a fantastic hike, it’s interesting to explore an old medieval fortress.

The incredible 360 degree views on the cities, valleys, mountains, and rock formations all around make this a winner. You can actually drive up most of it if you wish!

It’s a 20-60 minute hike depending where you start (each way). You can drive pretty far up before the potholes get too huge.

We truly loved North Macedonia, and indeed there is so much to love here. But the absolute gem of North Macedonia is a massive lake located in the southwest corner of the country: Lake Ohrid .

Surrounded by incredible mountains, lined with gorgeous beaches and clear water, harboring magnificent monasteries and fantastically beautiful medieval towns, Ohrid was the highlight of our trip. Indeed, tens of thousands of visitors flock here from all Europe every year.

Where to stay in Lake Ohrid

As such a popular destination, it can be tough to find a place to stay here. Luckily, one can snag an excellent place for a great price if you look carefully.

We fell in love with our apartment overlooking the water at Villa St. Sofjia , a brand new hotel with amazing rooms and even better, exceptionally friendly customer service.

They even upgraded us for free to a balcony room.

So go ahead, enjoy the beautiful sunset over the lake, go for a stroll around town, you won’t regret it.

Day 4: Time to Explore the best of the Balkans

You’re going to want to wake up early for this one. No – it’s not a terribly long day – but trust me. The sunrise over Lake Ohrid is sublime and you won’t want to miss it.

• A delightful morning at Lake Ohrid
• Xhamia e Larme: A stop you mosque visit
• Matka: a gorge-ous place to kayak and swim
• The local spot for epic Macedonian sunset views
• A top recommendation for awesome Balkan dinner
• Best accommodations in Skopje

There’s even more to Balkan beauty than monasteries

Though the monasteries in the Balkans are astounding, there’s another place of religious worship you’ll want to visit.

Catholicism may be the biggest religion in the Balkans, but Islam is a close second. As such, there are some gorgeous Mosques you really Mosque see.

One of these is called Xhamia e Larme , located up in Tetovo. This also makes a great lunch stop on your way to the next adventure in the outskirts of Skopje.

Kayak, canoe, boats, and a massive gorgeous lake

It’s true there are many places in the world you can go kayaking. But there’s something special about the Matka Canyon in the outskirts of Skopje.

This absolutely enormous reservoir extends for over 20 miles towards the south, located in a massive canyon.

There’s no entry fee, and renting a kayak here is really cheap. We had a kayak for 20€ for an hour. There are actually 2 vendors, and you have to walk pretty much as far south (even past the dam) to get to the second one. It’s so, so worth it.

Lake Matka’s waters are surprisingly turquoise and clear – and shockingly cold. Even in the heart of summer, the water stood at 8°C, or a frightening 46°F.

Did I go for a swim?

Did I know it was that cold before I went in?

But I enjoyed it so much, I actually jumped back in a second time.

You can kayak down to the Vrelo Cave , one of the world’s deepest underwater caves. It’s pretty far, but luckily you can take an organized tour by motor boat as well. Additionally, there’s also an old monastery (of course), or you can just enjoy the views of stunning mountains and cliffs surrounding you.

Enjoy sunset views over Skopje, North Macedonia like the locals do

If you still have time after all this adventuring, make sure to drive up to Sredno Vodno for epic mountaintop views over the Skopje valley.

It’s an amazing place for an overview of one of the most beautiful Old Towns I’ve ever seen. Thanks to the golden sunset glow lighting up the monasteries, mosques, bazaars, alleyways, and eclectic mix of old & new, surrounded by magnificent mountains, you will love it.

One of my best meals ever: Skopje & its food scene

My partner chose this one, so I cannot take credit.

We made a somewhat haphazard stop at one of the Vegan places in town, Dren Restaurant .

Both of us were shocked by the phenomenal flavors, incredible freshness, and amazing taste of our meals.

So even if you’re a meat lover – prepare for a culinary surprise.

The absolute best places to stay in Skopje, North Macedonia

There are tons of choices for hotels in Skopje. Many are good, few are great, and some are to be avoided.

We wanted to stay somewhere nice near the Old Town, yet budget friendly.

After coming across the highly-rated Hotel Premium , we decided it would make a great place to rest after a lot of adventuring.

Day 5: 4 Balkans in one day

• Walking around the incredible town of Skopje, North Macedonia’s historic capital
• Entering Kosovo, the highlight of the Balkan disputes
• Fascinating sights of Kosovo’s capital, Pristina
• Why you’ll fall for Kosovo
• The most epic border crossing in the Balkans

Prepare for a lovely day filled with plenty of border crossings to keep you entertained. Luckily, none of them are terribly difficult.

After enjoying your free (early, 7AM) breakfast on the top floor of Hotel Premium, with incredible views on the Skopje valley, you’ll have a bit of time to walk around an explore.

Best walking tour of Skopje, North Macedonia

Here’s how you can get the most out of a short walking tour around Skopje.

1. First, enter the Old Bazaar through the side gate near hotel premium.

2. Start your morning with some incredible Turkish coffee at Ottoman Caffe .

1.5 On your way there from the hotel, stop to admire the eclectic mix of cathedrals, mosques, shiny jewelry shops, cafes, museums, and unique culture.

3. Afterwards, head towards the old Stone Bridge to see where old meets new . This area is breathtaking, with massive statues including the wonderful monument to mothers, and epic valley views. It’s a rich, vibrant area where you truly feel like you’re in the middle of history in it’s making.

4. Cross the bridge, walk through a bit of the new town along the river, then head back to the hotel via the Mother Teresa Square.

5. Get ready to strap in for an adventure.

Kosovo: Visiting the Balkan Center of Dispute

The border between North Macedonia and Skopje is super close to Skopje. A mere 30-40 minutes and you’re there.

Our experience crossing the border into Kosovo was strangely easy, even with a rental car. We were told our insurance was still valid there, but there was one thing we were asked to do;

Cover any part of our license plate showing it was licensed in Serbia. Luckily, the border police hands you perfectly sized blank stickers that do the job perfectly.

After that, you’re on your way towards Pristina! The next thing you’ll notice is just how incredible smooth roads in Kosovo are. They’re the best we encountered in the Balkans!

Brace for a long drive – our destination is all the way in Uvac, Serbia.

Cave Lovers Rejoice!

Right on the drive is the Gadima Cave known for its epic limestone formations and mineral crystals.

The Strange but Interesting Sights of Pristina, Kosovo

I didn’t find Pristina very interesting, but there are a couple particularities / oddities worth seeing.

For one, there’s a life sized Bill Clinton statue in the heart of town. Thanks for recognizing Kosovo!

Then there’s an abandoned National Library that looks like it belongs in a Marvel movie, next to an abandoned beautiful mosque located in an abandoned-feeling park.

And there’s particularly great food. We had literally the best food of the trip here at Thana Rostoçeri .

How you’ll fall for Kosovo

Our next stop before one of the most beautiful border crossings I’ve ever done is the White Drin Waterfall . It’s an absolutely incredible clear water massive waterfall, totally accessible.

Make sure to buy some fresh strawberries and raspberries from one of the local vendors!

Crossing into Montenegro: the most beautiful border crossing

We found the border crossing at Kufiri to be super easy. On both sides, it’s a tiny station with very few cars waiting ahead of you.

And the 20km of “no-man’s land” between leaving Kosovo and entering Montenegro is one of the most beautiful roads I’ve ever driven. Pine trees, flowers, colossal mountains, and huge boulders make it feel like the Alps.

However, the road on the Montenegro side is in horrific shape. Expect massive potholes, lots of construction (and accompanying construction trucks and equipment)… This part is slower than Google Maps accounts for…

The crossing back into Serbia is very straightforward thereafter.

Uvac: the ultimate off the beaten path stop in Serbia

Another 1.5-2 hours of driving brings you to the final rest stop: Uvac , Serbia. Luckily (for you), we saved the best for last.

Uvac is a hidden treasure, one that took a lot of research to find, and one we are extremely thankful we found. This ancient river canyon is farrrr off the beaten path, located deep in farmland. But that’s what makes it oh—-so—-special…

Think you’ve hit a pot of gold yet? Just wait until you check out the lodge..

Hand built cottages located on the edge of a massive cliff overlooking the canyon, with nothing around for miles and miles.

A pair of brothers living in this rural farmland set out the construct their epic dream in possibly the most beautiful location of Serbia, one that none has heard of, and I can say one thing: they were successful. It was our favorite accommodation of the entire trip.

The name? Etno selo Molitva .

The final frontier (Day 6)

It’s a 4 hour drive from Uvac to Belgrade International Airport for your flight home (or onwards), so factor that in. If you have an extra day (for a full week) and you haven’t checked it out yet, make sure to stop in Novi Sad .

Considered the cultural hotspot of Serbia, this hippy, vibrant town is full of life.

But whether you’re headed to the airport or exploring more of Serbia, this is what you won’t want to miss:

• The main viewpoint, or observation deck of the Uvac river canyon
• Delicious, fresh breakfast at Etno selo Molitva

Most of the trip back to the airport is very smooth highway, but plan ahead for any extra traffic. We did not have any issues, and ended up with enough extra time to head back to Rai Urban Vege to reinvigorate our taste buds one last time.

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Travel Bred

Balkan road trip: serbia and kosovo.

Returning to the Balkans for the second time this year was definitely not on my agenda for 2020. But then again, neither was a pandemic. With most of the world closed, options were limited to just a few countries—at the time of planning, U.S. passport holders could only travel to Mexico, Belarus, and Serbia. That’s it.

Logistically, Serbia was the best option—especially since Kosovo remained open without restrictions. Knowing just about everyone’s summer travel plans had been affected by COVID-19, I decided to open the trip for other fellow travelers to join.

Here is what we did:

[Day 1] Belgrade Arrive at Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport in Belgrade, Serbia on Thursday, July 2, 2020. Pick up rental car and drive to the city center. Overnight at ArkaBarka Floating Hostel and Apartments.

[Day 2] Belgrade – Nis – Pristina – Prizren – Peja Leave Belgrade for Nis, Serbia. Explore the third largest city in Serbia and have brunch. Visit Memorial Park Bubanj (World War II memorial complex) and Skull Tower (stone structure embedded with human skulls). Leave Nis for Kosovo via internal border; en route, stop at Devil’s Town (unusual rock formation). Following border formalities, continue on to Pristina, Kosovo. Explore the capital and largest city of Kosovo. Visit the Statue of Bill Clinton. Leave Pristina for Prizren, Kosovo. Wander around the picturesque city and have dinner. Leave Prizren for Peja, Kosovo. Head out for drinks in the city center. Overnight at Stone Bridge Guesthouse.

[Day 3] Peja – Rugova Canyon – Belgrade Leave Peja for a drive through Rugova Canyon (river canyon in the Prokletije mountains). Continue on to Serbia via internal border. Following border formalities, continue on to Belgrade; en route, have lunch and stop at Uvac Special Nature Reserve (special nature reserve) and Drina River House (house on a rock in the middle of the Drina river). Head out for dinner and drinks in the city center. Overnight at Courtyard by Marriott Belgrade City Center.

[Day 4] Belgrade – Novi Sad – Belgrade Drive to Novi Sad, Serbia. After breakfast, explore the second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. Return to Belgrade and go for a walking tour of the city. Visit the city’s main attractions. Head out for dinner and drinks in the city center. Overnight at Courtyard by Marriott Belgrade City Center.

[Day 5] Belgrade Head back to the airport for an early morning flight to Chicago via New York City. Drop off rental car.

Note: Kosovo is a self-declared, partially-recognized independent country. While many countries recognized Kosovo’s declaration of independence from Serbia in 2008, others including Serbia did not. So, keep this in mind when planning your route. A quick Google search will provide you with ample information about how to travel legally between Serbia and Kosovo—do your research first!

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The comprehensive guide to traveling between Kosovo and Serbia

Short answer: You need a Serbian stamp less than three months old.

Whether you’ve got the Balkan bug or you just want to plan a weekend partying all night on Belgrade’s splavs, one of the city’s unique diversions, especially for those of us living in this city without a river, you might have questions about how to travel from Kosovo to Serbia. Here in the Balkans many of us expats love the region’s idiosyncrasies, but there is just one that is infinitely frustrating and — dare I say — downright detestable.

As an expat who’s been working in the Balkans for more than seven years now, I’ve fielded my share of questions about bus schedules (which are more often than not still not published on the internet), phone plans and, most confounding of all, the logistics of traveling from Kosovo to and through Serbia, which for many still remains an odyssey . I’ve always wanted to find a link to send these curious, mobile folk and as the old adage goes, if you want a thing done well, do it yourself. So here goes.

If you’re from Kosovo, you have no problem getting to Serbia. Most of the countries of Europe may be closed to you if you don’t have a visa, but neighboring Serbia beckons! A 2011 deal on free movement between Belgrade and Prishtina means all you need is your ID card. You will receive a temporary paper visa that you MUST have when you leave Serbia and return to Kosovo. If you’re traveling with Kosovo number plates, you can buy a temporary license plate at the border and your insurance is now recognized by Serbia, which will save you at least one hundred euros.

You can stop reading here if you are from one of the other former Yugoslav countries (you probably have anyway) besides Bosnia, since Kosovo has applied a visa regime due to non-recognition, which likely includes the precise crossing where you can enter and exit Kosovo. If you’re from a European country that issues national identity cards to its citizens, then you can cross at any border between Kosovo and Serbia by using only your ID card!

But if you’re like me and other nationals of countries that don’t make national IDs, a group of people who are used to their passports opening a lot of doors, or, erm, borders for them, * you can only enter Serbia from Kosovo if you originally entered Kosovo from Serbia and don’t have proof that you went elsewhere. You need to have a Serbian entry stamp that was issued less than three months before your attempted (re)entry . 

There are several borders you can use – the most direct trip to Belgrade, for instance, is Merdare, near Podujevo. You can also cross north of Leposavic at Jarinje and west of Mitrovica at Brnjak. To the east, you can cross at Konculj (Dheu e Bardhe or Bela Zemlja), which goes towards Bujanovac and at – my personal favorite name – Mucibaba, which goes towards Presevo. There is a tiny border north of Prapashtica called Mutivoda, which goes in the direction of Medvedja.

Illustration Jeta Dobranja/ Trembelat.

So what can you do to get around this?

Many people unfortunately make the five hour “stamp run” journey in advance of a planned trip to Serbia. It involves driving to Skopje, getting stamped in Serbia at Miratovac, and then returning to Kosovo via Presevo and Mucibaba. You’ll need good humor and a good friend you haven’t seen in ages or a few good podcasts.

Other people go to Skopje and fly to Belgrade via Air Serbia, which can cost as little as 50 euros per flight when purchased in advance.

If you need to travel regularly to Serbia like I do, you might be able to get a second passport and use one just for travel to and from Serbia. The catch here is that you still need to get that entry stamp every three months, and you won’t get one when you enter from Kosovo.

Serbia and Kosovo were able to find a solution for citizens of the countries of this region using national ID cards. It found solutions paving the way for Kosovo to get its own country code and to enable motorists to use stickers to cover up offending bits of their car license plates. (This agreement stalled, no joke, because of the sticker tender.) Surely the prime ministers, or presidents, or really just the technical dialogue teams can find a creative way to get around this problem for expats, tourists, students, and whoever else wants to spend time here. Both countries have spent a lot of time, money and energy trying to show that they are normal now, and this idiosyncrasy is in stark contradiction to that desired image.   For years now , Belgrade has been talking about creating direct flights to and from Prishtina (or resuming them, as it were). In fact, this flight may be the primary way to make Air Serbia and its recently-instituted weekly flights to the United States financially sustainable, a Serbian businessman told me. A win for those living in Kosovo, who’d get access to the greater variety of flights from Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport, and a win for Serbia, who would have more traffic at its airport and more passengers on its aircraft.

One wonders how Belgrade might get around its travel restrictions if and when these flights start landing from Prishtina. With or without the flights though, I hope for the sake of my sanity and the tourism and travel dollars that Kosovo and Serbia are missing out on that this gets resolved sooner rather than later. Until then, we have another case of Balkan politicians cutting off their noses to spite their face, one of the region’s unlovable idiosyncrasies, the infamous Balkan inat.

[*] The following countries do not issue national identification cards: Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, India, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States.

• freedom of movement

22 June 2017 - 10:31

New normality or old politics?

New research reveals challenges to reconciliation in kosovo.

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Belgrade to Pristina by train

Travel from Belgrade (Serbia) to Pristina (Kosovo) by train (245km): schedule and information to the train connection. Compare fares and buy your ticket.

To travel by train from Belgrade in Serbia to Pristina in Kosovo, please read the following information and blog posts.

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1a Travelling from Belgrade (Serbia) to Pristina (Kosovo)

The travel from Serbia to Kosovo by direct train is not possible. You have to travel with a bus. If you want to include trains, you have these two travel options: 1) Serbian Railways run two daily trains from Kraljevo (Serbia) to Kosovska Mitrovica in the north part of Kosovo. From Kosovska Mitrovica continue by bus or minibus. The departure times in Kraljevo are 06:50 and 14:40. The arrival times in Kosovska Mitrovica are 10:22 and 18:22. 2) Or you travel by train or bus from Niš to the Serbian border town of Merdare. There you travel by taxi to Podujeve (Kosovo). From Podujeve you continue by bus or minibus.

Where to buy a ticket from Belgrade to Pristina?

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Kosovo Tours & Vacations

Tiny Kosovo is Europe’s newest (official) country: a handful of landlocked mountains, poppy-dotted meadows and oak forests smack bang in the middle of the Balkans.

The shadow of conflict in the late 90s has kept Kosovo off the holiday radar, which is a real shame. But go there today and you can feel that shadow lifting. NATO troops may still guard Serbian monasteries, and proper independence is an ongoing struggle, but the headlines now are increasingly good ones: an emerging tourist trade, film festivals in Peja, Pristina’s trendy cafe scene and world-class walking in the Rugova Mountains. Yep, Europe’s youngest member is definitely making up for lost time.

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Learn more about Kosovo

Best time to visit kosovo.

Kosovo’s mountainous terrain means cold, snowy winters, hot summers and some pleasant months in between. Between December and January the temperatures can drop below freezing, particularly up in the hills, but life down on the plains is a little more stable. July and August are the warmest, with average daily temperatures around 80°F with very little rain. If you’re after outdoor activities like hiking and swimming, try late spring or early autumn when the days are mild and the sun is shining.

Geography and environment

It’s hard to drop a ball in Kosovo and not have it roll away from you. Most of the country is steep and mountainous, except for two big plains: the Metohija Basin in the west and the Plain of Kosovo in the east. The countryside is mostly rolling fields and meadows – poppies, wildflowers and so on – with dense forests of deciduous oak and beech trees in between. Every so often you’ll come across a Serbian monastery high up in the hills, or a red-roofed town by a riverbank. You could drive across the whole country in a couple of hours. Fun fact: Kosovo has the only river in Europe (the Nerodimka) that splits and flows into two different seas.

Top 5 travel myths about Kosovo

1. there’s a war going on.

Not true anymore. The Kosovo War between Albanian rebels and the Republic of Yugoslavia ended in 1999. These days there is still some tension between the Albanian majority and Serbia (NATO troops still guard isolated Serbian monasteries around Pristina), but the war as it stood is over. Kosovo got its independence in 2008 and has now been recognised by most UN member countries.It’s even on the International Olympic Committee.

2. It’s dangerous

While the scars of war still exist, they’re fading fast. The vast majority of old landmines from the Kosovo War have been cleared, conflict with Serbia has eased considerably and the majority of the country is busy looking to the future. Kosovo has the youngest and fastest growing population in Europe, with major cities like Pristina expanding day by day. All that’s required for traveling there are common sense and a little sensitivity. That’s it.

3. We’re not allowed to travel there

Travel warnings for Kosovo advise caution, but they don’t say not to travel there (except in some areas of the country, check with your relevant government department). It’s always a good idea to keep an eye on the current political climate, which is why a group trip in Kosovo makes the most sense. You can travel with a local leader who has their finger on the pulse, and you’ll be informed well in advance if there is any unrest on the horizon.

4. There’s not much history

Even though it’s Europe’s youngest official country, Kosovo has an old soul. Rome conquered the province in the second century BC and ruins of their cities can be found at sites like Ulpiana. Since then it’s been ruled by Bulgarians, Byzantines, Ottomans, Serbians, Hungarians and (recently) Kosovars themselves. There are 13th-century mosques, old churches, Ottoman-style bazaars and crumbling ruins dotted throughout the country – more than enough to keep a history buff happy.

5. The people are unfriendly

Don’t mistake conflict with unfriendliness. The people of Kosovo have earned a reputation in recent years as some of the friendliest in Europe. Ask directions and it’s not uncommon you’ll be led all the way there. Invitations to family meals are common. It’s probably Kosovo’s exposure to international visitors: after the war over 200,000 international workers came to help the country get back on its feet, and the locals have never forgotten it.

Further reading

Kosovo travel faqs, do i need a covid-19 vaccine to join an intrepid trip.

Trips from 1 January 2023 onwards

From 1 January 2023, Intrepid will no longer require travelers to provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 (excluding all Polar trips and select adventure cruises).

However, we continue to strongly recommend that all Intrepid travelers and leaders get vaccinated to protect themselves and others.

Specific proof of testing or vaccination may still be required by your destination or airline. Please ensure you check travel and entry requirements carefully.

Do I need a visa in Kosovo?

Australia: No - not required Belgium: No – not required Canada: No - not required Germany: No - not required Ireland: No - not required Netherlands: No - not required New Zealand: No - not required South Africa: No - not required United Kingdom: No - not required USA: No - not required

Is tipping customary in Kosovo?

In restaurants, bars and taxis, travelers are expected to leave a small tip.

What is internet access like in Kosovo?

Internet access is fairly simple in Kosovo. The country has a good broadband network and there are plenty of internet cafes in city centers like Pristina and Prizren. Though more rural areas have been known to suffer outages.

Can I use my cell phone in Kosovo?

Most Kosovars communicate by cell phone, and the coverage is pretty consistent across the country. Prepaid SIM cards are available in most convenience stores and supermarkets if you want to avoid international roaming charges.

What are the toilets like in Kosovo?

Most toilets in Kosovo are flush toilets, but access can be tricky. There are no public restrooms in Pristina, so your best bet is to call in at a cafe or restaurant. It’s not uncommon for Kosovo toilets to be out of toilet paper, so carry a stash of your own just in case. Using a public toilet or a toilet in a café will require payment, so it’s best to have some loose change on hand.

What will it cost for a…?

Beer: 50c Coffee: 1 EUR Simple lunch at a cafe: 3 EUR Dinner for two in a restaurant: 17 EUR Bottle of water: 33c

Can I drink the water in Kosovo?

Although the locals say the tap water is safe to drink, it’s probably best to stick with filtered water while in Kosovo, as there have been accounts of contamination.

Are credit cards widely accepted in Kosovo?

Cash is still the king in Kosovo. While major supermarkets and upmarket restaurants accept all major credit cards, there are plenty more who don’t, so be prepared and keep some euros on you at all times.

What is ATM access like in Kosovo?

ATMs are the safest and easiest way to get cash in Kosovo, and there are plenty around in major towns like Pristina and Prizren. You’ll struggle to find them in smaller towns though, so make sure to withdraw enough cash to see you through until the next big city.

What public holidays are celebrated in Kosovo?

• 1 Jan New Year's Day
• 7 Jan Orthodox Christmas
• 17 Feb Kosovo Independence Day
• 9 Apr Kosovo Constitution Day
• *Easter Monday
• 1 May International Labor Day
• 9 May Europe Day
• *Eid Al-Fitr / End of Ramadan
• *Eid Al-Adha / Feast of Sacrifice
• 25 Dec Christmas Day

*Please note these dates may vary. For a current list of public holidays in Kosovo, go to the World Travel Guide Website

How do I stay safe and healthy while traveling?

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Home > 12 Recommended Day Trips From Belgrade, Serbia

12 Recommended Day Trips From Belgrade, Serbia

Written by our local expert Bram

Bram was born and raised in Belgium and has traveled the Balkans & beyond. He is a professional freelance travel writer and photographer specializing in outdoor travel with an emphasis on national parks, nature, and wildlife.

While there are plenty of things to do in Belgrade, you should definitely also take the time to explore some other places in Serbia when visiting the country. Here is a list of the best day trips from Belgrade, Serbia.

While there may be plenty of things to do in Belgrade , you should take the time to explore some other places in Serbia when visiting the country, even if you try the great Serban food.

Belgrade is the nation’s premier tourist destination and a great home base for exploring the country as the capital city. It’s the hub of commerce, arts, culture, etc. That all, of course, makes the city quite a busy place . So, if you’d like to escape the big bustling city, you can go on one of these day trips from Belgrade .

Skip Ahead To My Advice Here!

Day Trip Ideas From Belgrade

Serbia is not that big a country, and you can get pretty much anywhere in the country from Belgrade within just a few hours’ drive . Most day trips from Belgrade below are less than two hours by car from the capital. Easy-peasy! It’s time to rent a car and hit the road with this list of great ideas!

1. Fruška Gora National Park

Undoubtedly, one of Belgrade’s most popular destinations, Fruška Gora National Park, is named after Fruška Gora. The mountain is the park’s centerpiece, but there’s much more to it. This mountain used to be an island in the ancient Pannonian Sea.

This gorgeous area in northern Serbia is characterized by everything from rolling meadows and vineyards to waterfalls and natural hot springs . On top of that, there are also more than a dozen centuries-old monasteries . Serbia’s oldest national park should be among your first options if you want to leave the busy city behind and get back to nature.

2. Novi Sad

Serbia’s second-largest city, Novi Sad , lies near Fruška Gora National Park and is one of the country’s most livable cities. This is where you’ll find welcoming city parks, a thriving music scene, great art galleries, charming outdoor cafes, and busy bars. Architecture lovers will also appreciate this historic city boasting both Serbian and Hungarian architecture.

Additionally, Novi Sad hosts the famous EXIT Festival each year. This is one of southeastern Europe’s biggest music festivals , attracting many thousands of party-goers from all over the continent.

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3. golubac fortress.

The imposing Golubac Fortress, dating from the 14th century, is one of Serbia’s most remarkable historic structures. It lies on the banks of the Danube River in northeastern Serbia and on the border with Romania .

Its strategic location, the very spot where the river is at its most powerful as it squeezes through a majestic gorge in the Carpathian Mountains, known as the Iron Gates of the Danube, has made it a much-desired stronghold over the centuries.

Everyone from the Hungarians and the Austrians to the Turks and the Serbs themselves once controlled this mighty fortress. Its setting is unquestionably gorgeous, situated right at the entrance of Đerdap National Park.

4. Đerdap National Park

Đerdap National Park protects about 100 kilometers of land along the Danube River, from the Golubac Fortress to the Novi Sip dam. The park’s width ranges between 2 and 8 kilometers. Its main feature is Đerdap Gorge—the Iron Gate—a narrow gateway through the Carpathians’ rocky slopes.

The park is open year-round and can be explored by boat on the Danube, by car on its main road, and foot or bicycle on various mountain trails.

5. Sremski Karlovci

The village of Sremski Karlovci might not be big at all, but its sheer beauty makes it one of Belgrade’s most incredible day trips. Located near Novi Sad , about an hour’s drive from the capital, this might be the prettiest village in the entire country.

Set on the Danube’s banks and within striking distance from the green hills of Fruška Gora, Sremski Karlovci is renowned for its long history, rich cultural heritage , and—most of all—for its wineries. Check out the numerous religious buildings in the village center before heading out for an afternoon of wine tasting .

6. Studenica Monastery

One of the five UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Serbia , the Studenica Monastery is probably the grandest Orthodox monastery in the country. A complex fortified dates from 1190, when it was founded by Stevan Nemanja, who incidentally also founded the very state of Serbia.

Religion and culture go hand in hand in Serbia , two essential aspects of the country’s national heritage, and there’s no better structure to show that to you than this impressive monastery. Take the time to admire the 13th- and 14th-century Byzantine art inside its two large churches.

For more info on Serbia’s UNESCO sites, check out this guide.

The small town of Topola in central Serbia may seem rather unassuming, but it does have a serious claim to fame. The beauty of this off-the-beaten-path region did not go unnoticed by the former Serbian royal family. It was most specifically the house of Karađorđević who constructed the magnificent St. George Church on Oplenac Hill. Now, the church is the family’s mausoleum.

Topola still is a great, albeit undiscovered, wine region in Serbia. This is another excellent destination for day trips from Belgrade, particularly if you’re after a combination of local history, architecture, wine, and a great place to pick up a bottle of wine or two to take home! House Karađorđević also had several vineyards and cellars built in and around the town.

8. Drvengrad

One of Belgrade’s most fun day trips is the drive to Drvengrad , located about 200 kilometers from the Serbian capital. Film director Emir Kusturica built this wonderful traditional ethno village for his movie Life Is a Miracle .

This collection of beautiful wooden buildings sits on Mećavnik Hill in the Mokra Gora Nature Park, where the iconic Serbian mountains Zlatibor and Tara meet. Its name means “Timber Town,” Drvengrad is better known worldwide as Küstendorf. The town has a library, cinema, cake shop, art gallery, and a restaurant serving traditional Serbian food .

9. Smederevo (Fortress)

Back in the Middle Ages, the fortified town of Smederevo was the capital of Serbia. Its star attraction is the imposing Smederevo Fortress. Built between 1427 and 1430, it is one of the most significant military structures ever constructed in Serbia and one of the largest fortresses in southeastern Europe.

This mighty fortress on the Danube River’s right bank weathered several sieges by both Ottomans and Serbs and is now regarded as the last major masterpiece of Serbian architecture of the time. Currently, it is open to the public and is an urban park. A theater stands inside, a popular venue for concerts, fairs, and festivals.

The Smederevo Fortress is no more than 45 kilometers southeast of Belgrade, making it a top destination for short Belgrade excursions.

10. Obedska Bara Nature Reserve

Less famous than other nature reserves and parks in this list of Belgrade day trips, the Obedska Bara Nature Reserve is no less beautiful. This expansive area of swamps and forests is one of the best birding destinations near Belgrade . It is an official Important Bird Area on UNESCO’s list of most essential wetland areas globally.

Obadska Bara is an oxbow-shaped lake, a previous part of the scenic Sava River. Its shallow water offers ideal habitat for all kinds of fauna and flora. The lake is thirteen kilometers long and up to 750 meters wide at specific points, yet the average water level doesn’t exceed 2.5 meters.

This is a fantastic place for Belgrade day tours , particularly for nature lovers, because it’s one of the oldest protected natural areas in the world. It was first preserved as early as 1874 by the Habsburg Empire—that’s only two years later than Yellowstone National Park, the world’s oldest national park!

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11. Resava Cave

Another beautiful natural attraction you can visit on day trips from Belgrade is the Resava Cave. Situated near the town of Jelovac in eastern Serbia, this impressive cave has guided tours that lead through majestic subterranean halls and passageways. It is one of Serbia’s most extensive cave systems.

12. Lepenski Vir And Viminacium

History buffs will certainly be interested in visiting Lepenski Vir from Belgrade . Located in eastern Serbia, this fascinating archaeological site comprises one of the oldest preserved settlements in Europe. The place was used by the Balkans’ Mesolithic Iron Gates culture, which dates from about 9,500 to 7,200 BC. Numerous beautifully preserved architectural features and sculptures have been discovered at Lepenski Vir, called “the first city in Europe.”

Additionally, there’s another fantastic archaeological site nearby. Known as Viminacium, this site was a major military camp and city in the Roman province of Moesia, modern-day Serbia.

This ancient city dates from the 1st century AD and its archaeological remains consist of temples, palaces, streets, Roman baths, amphitheaters, and squares. Viminacium is famous for its unusually high number of graves. There are 15,000 of those, the highest number of Roman archaeological sites worldwide .

Don’t miss our favorite, secure, cross-body bags for day tripping.

• Hostels In Serbia And Hotels In Serbia
• Day Trips From Belgrade
• Things To Do In Belgrade
• Guide To Airports In Serbia
• Hiking Via Dinarica
• Best Souvenirs To Bring Home From Serbia
• A Guide To Bring Your Pet To Serbia.
• 7 Best Ski Resorts In Serbia

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The Man in Seat 61

Travel by train from London to

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Train travel UK & Ireland...

Train travel in europe..., train travel in asia..., train travel in africa..., train travel in america..., train travel in australasia, to belgrade & serbia by train.

You can travel by train from London or Paris to Belgrade in Serbia, Skopje in North Macedonia or even Pristina in Kosovo.  Leave London mid-morning, travel via Paris and Zagreb and you'll be in Belgrade by early evening the next day, with good-quality air-conditioned trains throughout.  It's safe, scenic & comfortable, too.  It can cost little more than flying, yet it's a memorable travel experience not a soulless flight.  This page explains how to plan, book and make a train journey from the UK to each of these countries.

UPDATE 2024:  The Zagreb-Belgrade train was suspended during the pandemic and has not resumed.  With the Budapest-Belgrade route also suspended for rebuilding until at least 2025, Serbia is now cut off from the outside world.  You can reach Budapest or Zagreb, but there are currently no trains at all into Serbia, only buses.

Train times, fares & tickets

Useful country information

Which route to choose.

The Budapest-Belgrade route has been closed for several years for complete rebuilding, leaving just the daily Zagreb-Belgrade train linking the outside world to Serbia.  This was suspended during the pandemic, but has not resumed, the fault of either Serbian or Croatian Railways, or both.  However, assuming it resumes at some point, or you can get a bus over this section instead, there are several options:

Option 1 , you leave London in the morning on day 1 by Eurostar & TGV to Stuttgart, travel overnight on the excellent Croatian sleeper train to Zagreb, then take a comfortable train from Zagreb to Belgrade arriving in the early evening on day 2.

Option 2 is similar to option 1, but via Zurich.  You take a morning Eurostar to Paris, a high-speed TGV-Lyria to Zurich, then the excellent Croatian sleeper train from Zurich to Zagreb, for an onward train to Belgrade on day 2.

Option 2 is a 3-day all-daytime journey with 2 overnight hotel stops, one in Munich & one in Zagreb.  It takes longer than the other options, but some people prefer leisurely daytime journeys through great scenery and sleeping in hotels to using a sleeper train.  Again, high-quality trains throughout.

The route via Italy & the Adriatic ferry to Bar in Montenegro is covered in the London to Montenegro page .

Back to top

Option 1:  London to Belgrade via Paris, Stuttgart & Zagreb

This is the fastest option, taking a high-speed TGV from Paris to Stuttgart, the excellent Croatian sleeper train from Stuttgart to Zagreb then a train to Belgrade.

London ► Belgrade

Belgrade ► london, how much does it cost.

Each train is ticketed separately, so add up the price for each leg of the journey.

How to buy tickets

Step 1, book from London to Stuttgart at www.thetrainline.com .  Who are Thetrainline.com?

Using www.thetrainline.com allows you to book all your tickets in one place, in €, £ or $, international cards no problem, small booking fee.

Booking opens up to 6 months ahead for Eurostar, up to 4 months ahead for Paris-Stuttgart, and usually 90 days ahead for Stuttgart-Zagreb, see more about when train bookings open .  I recommend waiting until onward trains have opened for booking and times are confirmed before buying a non-refundable Eurostar ticket, unless you're prepared to take a calculated risk.

Tip:   Click via/avoid and enter Paris as a via station to limit the search to routes via Paris. 

Tip:   You can book from London to Stuttgart all in one go if you like, but for more control over the connection in Paris, I'd book London-Paris first, add to basket, then book Paris-Stuttgart and add to basket, ensuring at least an hour between trains.  That way you can allow a more robust connection than the system would give you, and you can see if earlier Eurostars have cheaper prices.

Tip:   If you are making a round trip, London-Paris return fares are significantly cheaper than two one-ways so it's cheaper to book this as a return.  All other trains are one-way ticketed so it makes no difference how you book, and it can be easier to book one way at a time!

Tip:   After booking you can use the Manage booking facility at www.eurostar.com to choose an exact seat from a seating plan, see tips on choosing a seat on Eurostar .

Alternatively, you can book London to Paris at www.eurostar.com , then Paris to Stuttgart at the German Railways website int.bahn.de , then Stuttgart to Zagreb at the Austrian Railways website www.oebb.at .  This is more work on multiple websites, the prices should be the same, but no booking fees.

How to buy tickets by phone

Let railbookers arrange it as a package.

Railbookers are a train travel specialist who can put together a tour or holiday for you as a package, including train travel, hotels & transfers.  On their website you'll find a range of suggested tours & holidays which can be varied or customised to your requirements.  As you're booking a package, they'll take care of you if anything happens to one part of the itinerary such as a strike or delay.

What's the journey like?

1. London to Paris by Eurostar

Eurostar trains link London & Paris in 2h20, travelling at up to 300 km/h (186 mph).  There are two bar cars, power sockets at all seats and free WiFi.  Standard Premier and Business Premier fares include a light meal with wine (or breakfast, on departures before 11:00).  There's a 30-minute minimum check-in as all border formalities are carried out before you board the train.  More about Eurostar & check-in procedure .  St Pancras station guide .  Gare du Nord station guide .

2. Paris to Stuttgart by TGV Duplex   See the video guide

In Paris it's an easy 7 minute 500m walk from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est for the TGV to Germany.  Sit back with a glass of red and enjoy the ride - book an upper deck seat for the best views.  The train is equipped with power sockets for laptops & mobiles at all seats in both classes, and a cafe-bar serves drinks, snacks & microwaved hot dishes.  The train soon leaves the Paris suburbs behind and speeds across a vast wide open plateau of woods & farmland at up to 320 km/h (199 mph), past picturesque French villages of the Champagne region.  An hour or two later, the train leaves the high-speed line and slowly meanders through pretty wooded hills, the countryside eventually flattening out towards Strasbourg.  On leaving Strasbourg, look out for Strasbourg cathedral on the left with its famously missing second tower.  Minutes afterwards you rumble across the river Rhine into Germany, before heading on to Stuttgart.  Paris Gare de l'Est station guide .

3. Stuttgart to Zagreb by sleeper train Lisinski   Watch the video

This modern sleeper train is a pleasure to travel on, whether in the privacy of your own sleeper or in economical couchettes.  Zagreb station guide .

4. Zagreb to Belgrade by train

This is a comfortable air-conditioned Serbian train, with modern 2nd class seats - there's no 1st class.  There's also no restaurant car, so take a picnic and some beer or wine with you.  Below right, the Belgrade to Zagreb train.  Below left, 2nd class seats.  Belgrade station guide .

Option 2 :  London to Belgrade via Paris, Zurich & Zagreb

This is similar to option 1, but instead of TGV to Stuttgart and the Croatian sleeper train from Stuttgart to Zagreb, you taka a TGV-Lyria to Zurich and the Croatian sleeper train from Zurich to Zagreb.  There are two minor disadvantages compared to option 1:  First, departure from London is a little earlier in the morning with an identical arrival in Belgrade.  Second, you need to cross Paris by taxi or metro from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de Lyon, whereas in option 1 it's just a 7 minute walk from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est next door.  This option also has lovely scenery in the morning on the way to Zagreb along the Sava river!

Day 1, travel from Zagreb to Zurich by Croatian sleeper train, leaving Zagreb at 19:40 and arriving in Zurich HB at 09:20 next morning.

Step 1, book from London to Zurich at www.thetrainline.com . 

Using www.thetrainline.com allows you to book all your tickets together in one place, in €, £ or $, international cards no problem.  There's a small booking fee.  Who are Thetrainline.com?

Booking opens up to 6 months ahead for Eurostar, up to 4 months ahead for Paris-Zurich, and up to 6 months ahead for the Zurich-Zagreb sleeper, see more about when bookings open .  I recommend waiting until all 3 trains have opened for booking and times are confirmed before buying a non-refundable Eurostar ticket, unless you're prepared to take a calculated risk.

Tip:   Click via/avoid and enter Paris as a via station to limit the search to routes via Paris.

Tip:   You can book from London to Zurich all in one go if you like, but for more control over the connection in Paris, I'd book London-Paris first, add to basket, then book Paris-Zurich and add to basket, ensuring at least an hour between trains.  That way you can allow a more robust connection than the system would give you, and you can see if earlier Eurostars have cheaper prices.

Alternatively, you can book London to Paris at www.eurostar.com , then Paris to Zurich at the French Railways website www.sncf-connect.com , then Zurich to Zagreb at the Austrian Railways website www.oebb.at .  This is more work on multiple websites and sometimes more fiddly, prices should be the same, but no booking fees.

Eurostar trains link London & Paris in 2h20, travelling at up to 300 km/h (186 mph).  There are two bar cars, power sockets at all seats & free WiFi.  Standard Premier & Business Premier fares include a light meal with wine (or breakfast, on departures before 11:00).  There's a 30-minute minimum check-in as all border formalities are carried out before you board the train.  More about Eurostar & check-in procedure .  St Pancras station guide .  Paris Gare du Nord station guide .  How to cross Paris by metro or taxi .

2. Paris to Zurich by TGV-Lyria

All TGV-Lyria trains are now 320km/h (199 mph) double-deck TGV Duplex like the one shown below.  TGV-Lyria trains have 3 classes:  Standard class (2nd), standard premiere (1st class) and business premiere (1st class with hot meal & drinks included in the fare).  There's a cafe-bar car selling drinks & snacks.  There are power points for mobiles & laptops at all seats in all classes.  Lyria is a consortium of the French and Swiss national railways.  More about TGV-Lyria .  Zurich HB station guide .

3. Zurich to Zagreb by sleeper train    Watch the video

This modern sleeper train is a pleasure to travel on, whether in the privacy of your own sleeper or in economical couchettes.  There's time for dinner in Zurich before boarding at a local restaurant, try the Brasserie Federal inside Zurich HB.  Zagreb station guide .

This is a comfortable air-conditioned Serbian train, with modern 2nd class seats - there's no 1st class.  There's also no restaurant car, so take a picnic and some beer or wine with you.  Below right, the Belgrade to Zagreb train about to leave Belgrade.  Below left, 2nd class seats.  Belgrade station guide .

Option 3:  London to Belgrade by daytime trains with overnight stops

This takes longer than using a time-effective sleeper train, 3 days/2 nights instead of 2 days/1 night, but if you prefer daytime scenery and hotels to sleeper trains this is the route for you, London to Belgrade with overnight stops in Munich and Zagreb.

Belgrade  ► London

London to Paris by Eurostar starts at £52 one-way or £78 return in standard class, £97 one-way, £168 return standard premier (1st class).

Paris to Munich by TGV starts at €39 each way in 2nd class or €69 in 1st class.

Munich to Zagreb starts at €37.90 each way in 2nd class or €56.90 in 1st class.

Zagreb to Belgrade is approximately €25 each way if bought at the station in Zagreb or  188 Croatian kuna (€25) if bought on board the train.

The Zagreb to Belgrade fare is fixed-price, but the other fares vary like air fares, rising as departure date approaches, so book in advance.

The easiest and cheapest way to book this journey is online, as there's no booking fees and all the cheap deals are there for you to see.  Booking for Eurostar & TGV opens up to 6 months ahead, the Munich-Zagreb sleeper only opens 3 months ahead.  You cannot book before booking opens.

Step 1, book the TGV from Paris to Munich at the German Railways website int.bahn.de .  You print your own ticket.  I strongly recommend registering when prompted, as you can then log in from any computer and check or re-print your tickets.

Step 2, still on int.bahn.de , book your Munich to Zagreb train, looking for a cheap Sparpreis fare and print your own ticket.

Step 3, now book the London-Paris Eurostar at www.eurostar.com .  You book online and print your own ticket.  I recommend confirming the timings of the Paris-Munich train before booking a suitable Eurostar connection, which is this is step 3 not step 1.  Make sure you allow at least 60 minutes in Paris between trains.

Step 4, the Zagreb to Belgrade train cannot be booked online, but is easy to book at the station in Zagreb, which is the cheapest way to do it.  There are always places available, it cannot sell out.

It's better to book online, but if you want to book by phone, call Deutsche Bahn's English-speaking telesales line on 00 49 (0)30 311 68 29 04 (lines open 08:30-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday UK time, 1.5% fee for phone bookings).  Other agencies selling European tickets by phone .

2. Paris to Munich by TGV Duplex   See the video guide

In Paris it's an easy 7 minute 500m walk from the Gare du Nord to the Gare de l'Est for the TGV to Germany.  Sit back with a glass of red and enjoy the ride - book an upper deck seat for the best views.  The train is equipped with power sockets for laptops & mobiles at all seats in both classes, and a cafe-bar serves drinks, snacks & microwaved hot dishes.  The train soon leaves the Paris suburbs behind and speeds across a vast wide open plateau of woods & farmland at up to 320 km/h (199 mph), past picturesque French villages of the Champagne region.  An hour or two later, the train leaves the high-speed line and slowly meanders through pretty wooded hills, the countryside eventually flattening out towards Strasbourg.  On leaving Strasbourg, look out for Strasbourg cathedral on the left with its famously missing second tower.  Minutes afterwards you rumble across the river Rhine into Germany, before heading on to Stuttgart & Munich.  Paris Gare de l'Est station guide .  Munich Hbf station guide .

3. Munich to Zagreb by daytime train

This is a comfortable air-conditioned Serbian train, with modern 2nd class seats - there's no 1st class.  There's also no restaurant car, so take a picnic and some beer or wine with you.  Below right, the Belgrade to Zagreb train about to leave Belgrade.  Below left, 2nd class seats.

North Macedonia & Kosovo

London ► skopje & pristina.

Step 1, travel from London to Belgrade using any of the options shown in the London to Belgrade section above .

Step 2, travel from Belgrade to Nis & Skopje. 

Unfortunately, the only daily train between Belgrade & Skopje became summer-only, and was then suspended during the pandemic and n ever reinstated.  There are now no trains at all.  The last resort is 6h15 in a bus, try Omio.com for buses.

Step 3, there used to be one train a day between Skopje & Pristina in Kosovo, departing Skopje at 16:20 and arriving Pristina 19:20.  However, this train is also not running.

Pristina & Skopje ► London

Step 1, there used to be one train a day between Pristina & Skopje, leaving Pristina at 07:10 and arriving Skopje at 09:52.    However, this train is not running.

Step 2, travel from Skopje to Belgrade.

Unfortunately, the only daily train between Skopje & Belgrade became summer-only, and was then suspended during the pandemic and n ever reinstated.  There are now no trains at all.  The last resort is 6h15 in a bus, try Omio.com for buses.

Step 3, travel from Belgrade to London as shown above .

See the London-Belgrade section above for fares to Belgrade .

Belgrade to Skopje costs around £29 each way 2nd class if bought in the UK.  Bought locally, it costs around 2,700 dinars (€24 or £21).

Skopje to Pristina bought locally costs about €4.25 one-way.

Skopje to Pristina by train

Traveller Jeroen van Marle reports :  "I took the train from Priština in Kosovo to Skopje. Absolutely freezing cold as there was no heating, but the ride was lovely, very scenic compared to the highway blight that the buses pass."  This train has ceased running.

Booking trains in Serbia

The Serbian Railways reservation system is linked to the western European railway computer reservation systems, so seat, couchette or sleeper reservations can be made on domestic or international trains starting in Belgrade from most reservation offices or train booking agencies across Europe, including UK European rail booking agencies .  In practice however, the computer link sometimes goes down, and in any case agencies outside Serbia can only sell full-price 'TCV' international-tariff tickets, they can't sell you the various cheap fares that are available directly from Serbian Railways themselves.

Buy tickets at the station

The easiest option is simply to buy tickets when you reach Belgrade, at the ticket office.  There is hardly ever a problem doing this, there are almost always places available on all trains, even on the day.

European Rail Timetable & maps

Rail Map Europe is the map I recommend, covering all of Europe from Portugal in the west to Moscow & Istanbul in the east, Finland in the north to Sicily & Athens in the south.  Scenic routes & high-speed lines are highlighted.  See an extract from the map .  Buy online at www.europeanrailtimetable.eu (shipping worldwide) or at www.amazon.co.uk (UK addresses).

Click to buy online at Amazon

Hotels in belgrade & balkans.

Look no further for a hotel in Belgrade than the historic Hotel Moskva .  Opened in 1906, anyone who is anyone who has visited Belgrade has stayed here, from British author Graham Green to Ethiopian emperor Haile Salassie.  It served as Gestapo Headquarters in 1941-44, although fortunately no trace of these former occupants remains.  It's right in the centre of Belgrade at the end of the pedestrianised main street that leads to Belgrade fortress.  It was only 10 minutes walk (admittedly uphill) from Belgrade's old station, but now a taxi ride from Belgrade Centar station or Topcider.  The hotel has immaculate rooms, friendly staff and a good cooked breakfast.  Book the Hotel Moskva .

Backpacker hostels

www.hostelworld.com :  If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels.  Hostelworld offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in most cities at rock-bottom prices.

Travel insurance & other tips

Always take out travel insurance.

You should take out travel insurance with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover from a reliable insurer.  It should cover trip cancellation and loss of cash & belongings up to a reasonable limit.  These days, check you're covered for covid-19-related issues, and use an insurer whose cover isn't invalidated by well-meant but excessive Foreign Office travel advice against non-essential travel. An annual policy is usually cheapest even for just 2 or 3 trips a year, I have an annual policy with Staysure.co.uk myself.  Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed connection, see the advice on missed connections here .  Here are some suggested insurers, I get a little commission if you buy through these links, feedback always welcome.

Get an eSIM with mobile data package

Don't rely on WiFi, download an eSIM with a European mobile data package and stay connected.  Most newer mobile phones can download a virtual SIM including iPhone 11 & later, see device compatibility list .  There's no need to buy a physical SIM card!  Maya.net is a reliable eSIM data retailer with a 4.5 out of 5 Trustpilot rating and a range of packages including unlimited data .

Get a Curve card for foreign travel

Most banks give you a poor exchange rate then add a foreign transaction fee on top.  A Curve MasterCard means no foreign transaction fees and gives you the mid-market exchange rate, at least up to a certain limit, £500 per month as I write this.  The money you spend on your Curve card goes straight onto one of your existing debit or credit cards.  And you can get a Curve card for free.

How it works:   1. Download the Curve app for iPhone or Android .  2. Enter your details & they'll send you a Curve MasterCard - they send to the UK and most European addresses.  3. Link your existing credit & debit cards to the app, you can link up to two cards with the free version of Curve, I link my normal debit card and my normal credit card.  4. Now use the Curve MasterCard to buy things online or in person or take cash from ATMs, exactly like a normal MasterCard. Curve does the currency conversion and puts the balance in your own currency onto whichever debit or credit card is currently selected in the Curve app.  You can even change your mind about which card it goes onto, within 14 days of the transaction.

I have a Curve Blue card myself, it means I can buy a coffee on a foreign station on a card without being stung by fees and lousy exchange rates, just by tapping the Curve card on their card reader.  The money goes through Curve to my normal debit card and is taken directly from my account (in fact I have the Curve card set up as payment card on Apple Pay on my iPhone, so can double-click my phone, let it do Face ID then tap the reader with the phone - even easier than getting a card out).  I get a little commission if you sign up to Curve, but I recommend it here because I think it's great.  See details, download the app and get a Curve card , they'll give you £5 cashback through that link.

Get a VPN for safe browsing.  Why you need a VPN

When travelling you may use free public WiFi which is often insecure.  A VPN encrypts your connection so it's always secure, even on unsecured WiFi.  It also means you can select the geographic location of the IP address you browse with, to get around geoblocking which a surprising number of websites apply.  See VPNs & why you need one explained .  ExpressVPN is a best buy with a 4.7 out of 5 Trustpilot ranking which I use myself - I've signed up as an ExpressVPN affiliate, and if you go with expressvpn.com using this link you should see a special deal, 3 months free with an annual subscription.  I also get some commission to help support this site.

Carry an Anker powerbank

Tickets, reservations, hotel bookings and Interrail or Eurail passes are often now held on your mobile phone.  You daren't let it run out of power, and you can't always rely on the phone's internal battery or on being near a power outlet.  I always carry an Anker powerbank which can recharge my phone several times over.  Buy from Amazon.co.uk or Buy from Amazon.com .

Touring cities?  Use hill walking shoes!

One of the best things I've done is swap my normal shoes for hill-walking shoes, in my case from Scarpa.  They're intended for hiking across the Pennines not wandering around Florence, but the support and cushioning for hiking works equally well when you're on your feet all day exploring foreign cities.  My feet used to give out first and limit my day, now the rest of me gives up before they do!

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Entry requirements

This advice reflects the UK government’s understanding of current rules for people travelling on a full ‘British citizen’ passport from the UK, for the most common types of travel.

The authorities in Kosovo set and enforce entry rules. If you’re not sure how these requirements apply to you, contact the Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo in the UK .

COVID-19 rules

There are no COVID-19 testing or vaccination requirements for travellers entering Kosovo.

Passport validity requirements

Check with your travel provider to make sure your passport and other travel documents meet requirements.

Your passport must be undamaged and valid for the duration of your stay. You do not need an additional period of validity beyond this.

Checks at border control

Make sure you get your passport stamped.

Kosovo-Serbia border

The authorities in Serbia do not consider the designated crossing points with Kosovo to be official international border crossing points.

However, it is possible to travel from Serbia to Kosovo, and back again.

You cannot travel from Kosovo to Serbia without a Serbian entry stamp from Belgrade, Niš or Kraljevo airports, or one of Serbia’s other border crossings with:

• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• North Macedonia

You are likely to be refused entry without a valid Serbian entry stamp. You should take a route through a third country.

Border guards have denied foreign nationals entry to Serbia if they have Republic of Kosovo stamps in their passports.

We are also aware of isolated incidents where Serbian authorities have cancelled Kosovo stamps in passports of foreign nationals.

Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo can cause difficulties at border crossings with Kosovo.

Visa requirements

You do not need a visa to enter or travel through Kosovo as a visitor.

You may be asked to provide documentary evidence giving a reason for your stay or showing you have sufficient finances. Officials will issue 90-day entry stamp, which is renewable for longer stays. Citizens of EU member states can enter Kosovo on a photo ID card.

If you plan to stay in Kosovo for longer than 90 days, you will need to register with the Ministry of Internal Affairs for a residence permit .

Vaccination requirements

At least 8 weeks before your trip, check the vaccinations and certificates you need in TravelHealthPro Kosovo guide .

Customs rules

There are strict rules about goods you can take into or out of Kosovo . You must declare anything that may be prohibited or subject to tax or duty.

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How to plan a weekend in southern Kosovo, where Europe's newest adventure scene is blossoming

Explore this largely unsung Balkan nation and its burgeoning adventure travel scene, with monasteries and minarets on the doorstep of mighty mountain canyons in the southwest of the country. 

A youthful energy pervades Kosovo. Europe’s youngest country is also home to the region’s youngest population, with 55% under 30. In the 20 years since the Kosovo War of 1998 to 1999, which culminated in the nation’s 2008 declaration of independence, Ottoman-era villages have been rebuilt, Byzantine fortresses have been restored and nature tourism has taken off, with activities centred in the mountain ranges Kosovo shares with its Balkan neighbours.  

Prizren, the country’s cultural centre during the period of Ottoman rule (1455 to 1912), remains Kosovo’s most charming city. A 90-minute drive north, smaller Peja’s appeal lies in its location at the foot of the Rugova Canyon. Carved over millennia by a retreating glacier, the gorge has been central to the city’s rebirth as an adventure hub. These contrasting cities offer a well-rounded taste of the country — one of Europe’s only Muslim-majority nations — within easy reach of the capital, Pristina. Euros stretch further here than just about anywhere else in Europe, and while Kosovo’s tourism infrastructure is still developing, a reliable bus network makes getting around a breeze.  

Day 1: Culture & cuisine in Prizren

Morning Prizren is home to an intriguing clutch of museums overlooking its namesake river’s undulating northern bank. Begin at the Archaeology Museum, home to hundreds of artefacts unearthed in and around the city. The collection is housed in a 15th-century former Ottoman bathhouse, set beneath a clocktower dating from 1912. Climb its 100-odd stairs for sweeping views over the Old Town before moving on to the Ethnographical Museum on Bujar Godeni Street. Set in one of the city’s few remaining Ottoman era homes, its eclectic displays of clothing, furniture and curios offer a window into 19th-century Prizren, then ablaze with radical ideas. For further insight, pay a visit to the Complex of the Albanian League of Prizren, the site of a 1878 assembly that saw local leaders first propose a united Albanian state that would have included what is now Kosovo.

Afternoon Cross the 16th-century stone bridge spanning the river and tuck into a traditional lunch at Ambient , a restaurant with tables spread along the waterfront. Work off your tava(a casserole-style dish cooked in a clay pot) with a short but steep hike up past the Old Town’s lofty hillside church to Prizren Fortress. Originally built by the Byzantines and expanded by a succession of Serbian kings and Ottoman rulers, the fortress site has been in use since the Bronze Age. Damaged during the Yugoslav Wars, the fortification has since undergone a major restoration, offering a glimpse of its former glory. Don’t miss the main building’s displays of Neolithic pottery and Ottoman-era relics, and be sure to time your visit for sunset, when the city below takes on a golden hue. The fortress occasionally hosts concerts in the summer months.

Evening Prizren’s Old Town cafes swell as evening falls. Most of the locals stick to coffee and cigarettes (macchiatos are a popular choice), although traditional food and booze is also served. Try the wine; the vineyards of Rahovec, Kosovo’s main wine-producing region, are just 19 miles away. For a break from the meat-heavy dishes that dominate most local menus, seek out Noja Kuzhine . A homely vegetarian restaurant run by a welcoming grandma and her small team, its daily menu could include anything from a delicately spiced falafel wrap to a generous plate of pasta made with local cheese and dill. Turn in at the timber-framed Hotel Prizreni, a chalet-style property in the heart of the Old Town. For views onto cobblestone streets and the gushing river, upgrade to a balcony room.

Day 2: History & nature in Peja

Morning Rise early and make for the city of Peja, in the mountainous Rugova region. Its Old Bazaar, which was razed to the ground during the Kosovo War, has since been rebuilt and is worth a look. Follow your nose to the Saturday cheese market in the nearby marketplace before visiting the Museum of Peja , which is set in the restored former home of a merchant. Inside, artfully reconstructed rooms transport visitors to bygone eras. On the ground floor, displays of shimmering ceramics, local textiles and everyday items like coffee grinders and cooking pots give an intimate insight into the region. A 10-minute walk west from here, the Art Design restaurant straddles a gurgling mountain stream, making for a relaxing lunch stop. Traditional bites include meaty stuffed peppers known as speca dollma.  

Afternoon Seven miles north of Peja, the White Drin Waterfall plunges 82ft from the tip of a rocky outcrop on a mossy mountain gorge. From the modern resort at its base, follow a paved pathway through a forest to the foot of the falls, then up a steep flight of stairs to its gushing brink. On your way home, stop off in the nearby village of Radavc to peek inside Bërdynaj Mill. Thought to have been built over 300 years ago, the stone flour mill has been owned by the same family since 1925 and still relies on the river to power its hulking millstone. Back in Peja, pick up a cultural trail map from the tourist information centre opposite Hotel Dukagjini and stroll the town in search of historical relics, from a crumbling former hammam to the 16th-century Kursumli Mosque, one of the oldest buildings in the city.  

Evening Wind down with drinks at any of the convivial bars on William Walker Street. Keep it local and order a belly-warming shot of rakia (fruit brandy) or try a glass of Birra Peja’s Crudo beer, brewed with water from the mountain spring-fed White Drin River. Wine lists tend to be dominated by bottles produced by Stone Castle Vineyards and Winery, Kosovo’s largest winery, but keep an eye out for drops by boutique operations such as family-run Daka Wine. For dinner, soak up Peja’s architectural heritage at the Hotel Kulla e Zenel Beut , a renovated homestead serving traditional food from its ground-floor restaurant. Characterised by beautiful masonry and narrow, arched windows, the Kulla harks back to a time when homes were built to protect occupants from enemy invasion.

Outdoor adventures to try

Prizren and Peja are ideal gateways for exploring southern Kosovo’s wild and rugged landscapes. Here’s where to sample the region’s best outdoor pursuits — and savour its most breathtaking views.

Via ferrata   The Accursed Mountains have become a hotspot for via ferrata (climbing via a metal rail bolted into the mountain). Around Peja, you’ll find four routes up Rugova Canyon. Mat, the lowest and shortest, is best for kids. Nearby, Ari and Shpellat follow the same route before splitting halfway, with the latter weaving through a series of caves to a summit around 200 metres above the canyon floor. Completed in 2021, Marimangat is Kosovo’s newest and most challenging route. Often slippery due to its shady location, it takes three hours to complete. Outdoor Kosovo and Balkan Natural Adventure run guided tours and rent gear.

Hiking Rising up behind Prizren, Sharr Mountains National Park is one of Europe’s newest protected wilderness areas. Infrastructure is minimal, so you’ll need to contact Prizren-based Sharri Ecotour , Balkan Natural Adventure or Outdoor Kosovo to organise a guided hike among the park’s alpine lakes and wildflowers. Peja, located at the gateway to the Accursed Mountains, is a more established jumping-off point for single- and multi-day hikes, including the famed Via Dinarica, which links seven countries. Day hikes include trips to Gjeravica — at   2,656 metres, Kosovo’s highest mountain — and a scenic trek to a pair of turquoise lakes high above the village of Kuqishtë.  

Caving Outdoor Kosovo’s Fatos Katallozi has played a pioneering role in exploring the vast limestone cave systems of the Peja region, making their surreal formations more accessible to the public in the process. His company offers tours of the cathedralesque Sleeping Beauty Cave, a web of subterranean canals a mere stone’s throw from Peja’s White Drin Waterfall, as well as the more challenging Great Canyon Cave in the Rugova Canyon. Caving experience isn’t required for either tour, although you will need to be fit enough to undertake up to four hours of scrambling along underground river passages on the Great Canyon Cave Trekking tour.

Related Topics

• SHORT TRIPS
• WALKING TOURS
• FOOD TOURISM
• CULTURAL TOURISM
• SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

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• Introduction
• The North’s Double System
• Two Years of Escalation
• September 2023: The Banjska Incident
• Pristina’s Objectives
• The Northern Kosovo Serbs
• The Normalisation Deal: Brussels Tries to Break the Impasse
• Off the Rails
• Hard Truths
• Another Way Forward

Appendix A: Map of Northern Kosovo

Northern Kosovo: Asserting Sovereignty amid Divided Loyalties

Tensions are rising in Kosovo’s restive Serb-majority north, as Pristina enforces its writ against the backdrop of continuing disputes with Belgrade. The parties and outside supporters should first work on defusing the short-term risk of violence and then look for ways to foster lasting stability.

What’s new?  A clash between police and Serb paramilitaries has given Kosovo impetus to fully integrate its rebellious northern region, pushing out the remaining Serbian institutions on which the population relies. An EU-brokered deal to normalise relations between Pristina and Belgrade, while granting Kosovo Serbs a degree of self-government, is stalled.

Why does it matter?  Kosovo’s heavy-handed campaign to assert its authority in the north risks provoking further violent resistance and setting back prospects for resolution of its dispute with Serbia over its declaration of independence in 2008.

What should be done?  Kosovo should cooperate with NATO peacekeepers to demilitarise the north. In line with past unfulfilled agreements, Pristina should take credible steps toward assuring self-rule for the northern Serb minority. New local elections should follow, along with an end to the northern Serbs’ boycott of government institutions.

Executive Summary

Kosovo is winning the battle for control of its rebellious, Serb-majority north, while hopes for normalisation between Pristina and Belgrade are fading. The remaining Serbian institutions on Kosovo territory, which survived the war of 1999 and Kosovo’s independence in 2008, are being dismantled in the aftermath of a Serbian-supported paramilitary operation in September 2023. While limited violent resistance remains possible, northern Kosovo, which was hoping for autonomy or union with Serbia, is grudgingly submitting to Pristina’s authority. These are hard days for the Serb minority, whose future is vital for rapprochement between Belgrade and Pristina. To remain a community capable of self-government, they need continued access to Serbian institutions, notably in education and health care, plus financial support. They also need a sense of security, which can only come with the return of Serbs to the Kosovo police force, from which they resigned in protest in November 2022. Pristina should pull its special police back from the north, and Belgrade should help prevent further paramilitary activity. 

In 2021, Pristina started enforcing its authority in northern Kosovo with a large, militarised special police force that confronted a hostile local population. Its measures prompted a boycott and mass resignations by Serbs, so that the police and public officials in this heavily Serb-majority area are now almost all Albanian. Several rounds of barricades put up by locals mobilised the population, many of whom are armed; Serbia also infiltrated several hundred troops to bolster resistance on two occasions in 2022. Police and Serb outlaws exchanged gunfire frequently. In May 2023, an enraged Serb mob trying to attack a special police unit clashed with NATO peacekeepers separating the two groups, leaving many wounded on both sides. Months later, in September, police clashed with a paramilitary group armed with military-grade weapons; an officer was killed by a remotely detonated mine, while three Serbs died in the shootout.

International revulsion, and the group’s amateurish look, broke northern resistance to government authority. Pristina took advantage, moving quickly to cement its authority over the north. In December 2023, it struck a deal with Serbia for mutual recognition of licence plates. In January 2024, the government banned import and use of the Serbian dinar, cutting off financing to Serbia’s remaining institutions along with pensions and other benefits. In February, it began raiding and closing Serbian government offices in villages in southern Kosovo and confiscating dinars found in Serbian post offices. Pristina ignored U.S. and European demands to suspend these measures until a workable solution could be negotiated.

In fact, a reasonable solution is already on the table. In December 2022, the EU, which has been mediating the Belgrade-Pristina dispute since 2011, proposed a far-reaching normalisation deal by which Serbia would not recognise Kosovo’s independence formally but would act as though it had. In return, Kosovo would give its Serb minority a self-governing unit comprising its ten Serb-majority municipalities (as it promised a decade ago but has not yet done). The deal was a compromise that gave all parties what they most urgently need. Brussels reportedly cajoled Belgrade and Pristina into accepting it verbally but could neither get them to sign it nor agree to all-important details regarding how it was to be put in place. It remains unimplemented and may well be overtaken by events. 

One bone of contention is the planned Serb autonomous unit, which Kosovo calls an Association, and the Serbs a Community, of Serb-majority municipalities, the divergent names reflecting disagreement about its scope and powers. The two sides agreed to create it in a landmark 2013 deal, to balance major Serbian concessions to Pristina. Since then, disputes over the unit’s powers – and visceral Kosovar (Kosovo Albanian) opposition to autonomy – kept it on the drawing board. Serbia touted it as a state within a state, modelled on Bosnia’s Republika Srpska, which was unrealistic for a rural region of scarcely 50,000 residents. Kosovo sought the opposite, a minimal body with a purely coordinating role for its member municipalities.

The other stumbling block is Serbian de facto recognition of Kosovo. The EU agreement is vague on this matter, but France, Germany and Italy spelled it out in later statements, and Serbia flatly rejects the demand. De facto recognition means treating Kosovo like an independent state without a formal declaration and consenting to other countries and international bodies like the UN recognising and accepting it as a member. Serbia is grudgingly willing to deal with Kosovo one on one but determined to keep its status an open question. 

There is scant hope that the EU dialogue can get over these hurdles, and the Belgrade-Pristina relationship is likely to remain frozen. Against this backdrop, both the parties and outside actors that want calm in the Western Balkans should turn their attention first to defusing the short-term risk of violence and after that to achievable goals that can encourage political stability failing a breakthrough on the normalisation deal.

The top priority is demilitarisation. Kosovo should withdraw its special police units from Serb-majority regions and, until it does, it should deploy them sparingly and only in coordination with NATO’s KFOR peacekeepers, who northerners see as more trustworthy given their commitment to neutrality. To increase Pristina’s sense of security, KFOR should help Kosovo control its border, prevent further smuggling of heavy weapons and find caches brought in earlier. For its part, Serbia should cease supporting paramilitary activity and prosecute those involved in the killing of Kosovo police to the extent they are under its jurisdiction. Absent an overarching political settlement the burden will be on the EU, the U.S. and NATO to maintain the peace and ward off escalation until conditions for a negotiated deal are ripe. That will mean pressing both Pristina on special police withdrawal and Belgrade to take the above-referenced steps, while retaining and, if need be, reinforcing the NATO peacekeeping presence. 

Another priority is securing the Kosovo Serb minority’s needs – with or without a formal framework for autonomy. The northerners depend on schools, universities and health care facilities operated by Serbia. Most of the population works in jobs paid directly or indirectly by Belgrade, and many receive social security, all in Serbian dinars, through a network of post offices and banks Pristina wants to shutter. Ethnic discrimination and language barriers keep all but a few Kosovo Serbs from the regular job market. If they lose access to Serbian jobs and benefits, many will emigrate. The EU and U.S. should urge Kosovo to guarantee that these core Serbian services will remain in place. They should also continue pressing Pristina to end its ban on food and medicine imports from Serbia, as on use of the Serbian dinar. On all these items, Kosovo should follow the EU and U.S. lead.

Finally, the Serb minority needs a voice. It has lost faith in its political representatives, who were appointed by Serbia’s ruling Serbian Progressive Party and take their cues from its leaders. Many fear Pristina and feel betrayed by Belgrade, while feeling ignored by Brussels and Washington. The EU called on Kosovo to set up sustainable participatory democratic institutions for its Serb minority, to no avail. Instead, Pristina is slow-walking new elections in the northern municipalities. Fresh polls should be held no later than the summer of 2024.  

Even as Brussels and Washington pursue these objectives, however, they should continue to explore with Pristina whether it might embrace the terms of the EU normalisation deal on offer, including for the creation of a Community/Association of Serb municipalities. This deal would be good for the northern Serbs but also for Pristina: moving toward northern autonomy will surely be an essential part of any arrangement that brings Kosovo more fully into the international system, and Kosovo may never get a better offer than this one. Belgrade may baulk at acquiescing in Kosovo’s independence, but if Pristina takes such an important step, the pressure on it to reciprocate by accepting Brussels’ terms would almost surely mount. For Pristina, the political risk is manageable, and the potential upside is great. It should take the plunge.

Pristina/Belgrade/Brussels, 2 April 2024

I. Introduction

Tensions between Serbia and Kosovo have been a source of conflict and acrimony in the Western Balkans since the former Yugoslavia broke up in the 1990s. [1] That decade ended with full-fledged war between the parties, NATO intervention and the separation of Kosovo (with its ethnic Albanian majority) from Serbia. The U.S. and most European Union member states supported Kosovo’s declaration of independence in 2008. They have since tried to help it gain entry to international institutions but with only partial success. Belgrade and Pristina have never normalised their relations, and because of Kosovo’s unresolved political status, its access to membership in organisations like the EU and UN remains blocked. 

The Serbia-Kosovo relationship faces two main issues. One is Serbia’s persistent refusal to join over 100 other countries (including all but five EU member states) in recognising Kosovo’s independence. The other is the question of how to integrate Kosovo’s minority Serb population into its government architecture, particularly in the four northernmost municipalities where Serbs form the majority.

[1]   This report builds on and draws from prior reporting by Crisis Group on the Western Balkans. For recent analysis, see Crisis Group Commentaries, “ Toward Normal Relations between Kosovo and Serbia ”, 30 January 2024; “ Behind the Renewed Troubles in Northern Kosovo ”, 7 June 2023; and “ Kosovo-Serbia: Finding a Way Forward ”, 12 May 2023; as well as Crisis Group Europe Report N°262,  Relaunching the Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue , 25 January 2021. For earlier reporting, see Crisis Group Europe Reports N°223, Serbia and Kosovo: The Path to Normalisation , 19 February 2013; N°218, Setting Kosovo Free: Remaining Challenges , 10 September 2012; N°215, Kosovo and Serbia: A Little Good Will Could Go a Long Way , 2 February 2012; N°206, Kosovo and Serbia after the ICJ Opinion , 26 August 2010; N°188, Kosovo Countdown: A Blueprint for Transition , 6 December 2007; N°182, Kosovo: No Good Alternatives to the Ahtisaari Plan , 14 May 2007; and N°177, Kosovo Status: Delay is Risky , 10 November 2006. See also Crisis Group Europe Briefing N°47, Kosovo’s First Month , 18 March 2008.

The four Serb-majority municipalities of Leposavić, North Mitrovica, Zubin Potok and Zvečan, which this report will refer to as “the north”, play an outsized role in the Kosovo-Serbia dispute. Home to about half of Kosovo’s Serb minority, they are small and rural, with a total population of about 50,000 – about 90 per cent Serb and the rest mostly Albanian – and a single urban area in the northern half of the divided town of Mitrovica. While Kosovo claims jurisdiction over the four municipalities, they are under Serbia’s partial control. Several times, most recently in 2018, Belgrade and Pristina discussed swapping most of the north for part of Serbia’s Albanian-majority Preševo valley, but the talks failed in part because of European discomfort with the idea of redrawing national borders as a mode of dispute resolution. Another potential compromise, which Crisis Group has recommended, would be for Pristina to devolve greater autonomy to the region while retaining sovereignty over it. [1] The parties have committed to this approach, but implementation has foundered. 

The search for resolutions to the overlapping issues of Kosovo’s status and the north’s quest for self-governance has acquired greater urgency in the last several years, as hostilities have flared between Pristina and the Serb minority. Starting in 2021, a series of confrontations ratcheted up tensions, culminating in two serious incidents in 2023. That May, Pristina decided to instal Kosovar mayors in local government, resulting in violence. Months later, in September, there was a deadly confrontation between Kosovo police and well-armed northern paramilitaries seemingly outfitted by Belgrade. Even against this backdrop, diplomacy has continued. An EU-led effort has produced the proposed contours of a political settlement. But the further the Kosovars go in consolidating control of the north, and the more Serbia correspondingly digs in against recognition as a result, the lower the chance that the negotiations can solve the long-running Serbia-Kosovo dispute.

Absent a political settlement, the situation is primed to get worse. Beyond its support for paramilitaries, Serbia has flirted with intervention by repeatedly moving its armed forces close to the border, most recently in September 2023, around the time of the clash between the paramilitaries and Kosovo police. [2] According to reports, it has covertly sent troops into Kosovo at least twice, but so far these forces have refrained from action. [3] Meanwhile, Kosovo is increasingly deploying special police – heavily armed, ethnic Albanian units equipped with armoured personnel carriers – to the north, where armed elements are better equipped than before to resist them. As the potential for clashes grows, NATO’s KFOR peacekeepers and EULEX, a smaller EU police mission, are caught in the middle. EU- and U.S.-led efforts to broker a compromise on the key points of friction between the parties have produced apparent agreement but no meaningful policy change.

This report looks at the security situation in northern Kosovo amid efforts to resolve the broader Kosovo-Serbia dispute. Building on previous Crisis Group reporting, it explains the roots of the crisis, identifies risks of further escalation and offers recommendations for easing tensions. It is based on dozens of interviews in Pristina, Belgrade, Brussels and throughout northern Kosovo with government officials, civil society members and international officials. An appendix offers background on the Kosovo-Serbia conflict from the 1990s through 2013.

[1]   Crisis Group Report,  Relaunching the Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue , op. cit.

[2]   Katie Rogers, “ White House warns Serbian military to leave Kosovo border ”, The New York Times , 29 September 2023.

[3] Crisis Group interviews, KFOR, EULEX and UN officials, Pristina and North Mitrovica, January and July 2023.

II. Trouble in the North

Kosovo and Serbia both exercise sovereign powers in northern Kosovo in an uneasy equilibrium that has kept the peace but is now falling apart. Since September 2021, Pristina has upped the ante through a series of increasingly confrontational actions toward the Serb minority in the north. These have produced sometimes violent pushback, culminating in the clash between Kosovo law enforcement and paramilitaries near Banjska in September 2023. The crisis has arrested a decade of halting progress in reconciliation and Serb integration, and it threatens efforts to reach a political settlement between Belgrade and Pristina.

A. The North’s Double System

The four northern municipalities have bespoke governance arrangements, the product of unresolved disputes and tacit, ad hoc compromises, although that system is being dismantled under pressure from Pristina. Kosovo and Serbia both exercise sovereign powers in the north. In some fields, like municipal government, both countries have systems in place. Each municipality has two official websites, one for each system. Residents can get both Kosovo and Serbian personal documents; they can also register births, marriages and deaths, and apply for grants or jobs in either or both systems. The Kosovo and Serbia municipal governments share buildings everywhere outside North Mitrovica, the area’s main city, where they are separated. In some cases, staff from both systems sit side by side in the same office. [1] Until late 2022 – when all resigned from their posts in the Kosovo system – some northern Serbs held senior positions simultaneously in both jurisdictions. In Zvečan, Ivan Todosijević was deputy mayor of the Kosovo municipality and president of the “temporary council” (in effect, mayor) of the Serbian one. 

Serbia has the bigger footprint in the north, and in most (but not all) cases its system is the most prominent, though in some areas there is redundancy, and in others Kosovo is in control. Schools and health care, for example, are almost all within the Serbian system. Police and courts are in Kosovo’s. The financial system is divided – some banks dispense Serbian dinars and others euros, Kosovo’s official currency. Both the Serbian national bank and its pension fund have offices in the region. Serbia also operates a district office (serving several municipalities) and cultural centres. The region’s two biggest employers are the University of Pristina-Kosovska Mitrovica (set up by Serb staff who fled Pristina in 1999) and the North Mitrovica hospital campus. Serbia’s municipalities publish no budgets, but estimates put them at up to five times the size of parallel Kosovo system budgets. [2]

The systems are legally invisible to each other. One can register an NGO in the Kosovo system and pay taxes on salaries in euros, and then cross the hallway to the Serbian unemployment office and register for benefits in dinars. (Unlike Kosovo, Serbia offers comprehensive health insurance. [3] ) 

[1] Crisis Group telephone interview, professor, International Business College Mitrovica, 14 February 2023.

[2] This figure likely understates the lopsidedness, because Serbia’s budgets exclude education and health care (which are funded at the state level in Serbia and the municipal level in Kosovo), utilities and other spending through Serbia’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija (the full Serbian title for Kosovo). Crisis Group interviews and correspondence, Kosovo experts, February 2023.

[3] Crisis Group interview, project manager, northern Kosovo NGO, North Mitrovica, January 2023.

Most Kosovo Serbs need these links to both administrations. It is hard to live in Kosovo without at least some documentation issued by Pristina. Nine of ten local Serbs have at least one Kosovo-issued personal document. [1] Property deeds, for example, can be challenged – and revoked – if not registered in the Kosovo system. Yet many Serbs, especially in the north, have business and family ties to Serbia proper and cannot readily do without Serbia-issued documents. Travel abroad is also much easier with a Serbian passport, even though Kosovo Serbs do not benefit from Serbia’s access to visa-free travel to the EU, which it enjoys through the bloc’s visa waiver program. Some northerners are getting Kosovo passports now that Pristina also joined the program in January, but non-EU countries still tend to require visas for Kosovo passports more than for Serbian ones.

Conflicting loyalties explain and drive the persistence of overlapping sovereignty: the Albanian population believe that the north is in the independent state of Kosovo, while their Serb neighbours hold that they are living in Serbia’s province of Kosovo. When residents decide which licence plates to put on their cars and what documents to carry, they are expressing their identity as much as making practical accommodations or following the law. When Belgrade and Pristina squabble over the same issues, they are also fighting about Kosovo’s status.

[1] “ Analiza trendova: Stavovi srpske zajednice na Kosovu ” [Trend analysis: Views of the Serb community in Kosovo], NGO Aktiv, November 2022. About half of those surveyed reside in the north, and the percentage there is probably slightly lower; almost all southern Kosovo Serbs have such documents.

B. Two Years of Escalation

The system of informal dual sovereignty was enough to keep the peace in the north for more than a decade but in recent years it has begun to wear thin, as tensions have mounted and the possibility of renewed conflict has become increasingly real. A new government in Pristina set about asserting sole authority over the northern region, whose Serb population fought to hold on to Serbia’s institutions. The period of escalation began shortly after Prime Minister Albin Kurti’s election in 2021 with a dispute over licence plates. Government pressure and Serb resistance built steadily over the next two years, with sporadic outbursts of violence. Kosovo relied heavily on its police force to impose its will, leveraging one of its few international advantages: because of several UN decisions, Pristina has a monopoly on police operations on its territory. [1] Even non-recognising states like Russia and China accept as much.

The first confrontation came in September 2021, when a temporary agreement between Pristina and Belgrade on licence plates expired. Under that agreement, cars with Serbian plates were welcome in Kosovo, but vehicles with Kosovo plates had to swap them for temporary Serbian plates while driving in Serbia. The Kurti government decided to treat Serbian plates the same way, affecting not only drivers from Serbia but also the large majority of northern Kosovo Serbs who used Serbian plates. Northern Serbs protested, erecting barricades at the border posts and elsewhere in the north. In response, Kosovo deployed armoured special police units to the scene. Subsequently, police gunfire injured two northern Serbs, and unidentified assailants targeted vehicle registration centres in the northern towns of Zubin Potok and Zvečan. The episode ended with EU and U.S. mediation on 30 September 2021: Pristina withdrew the special police, the Serbs took the barricades down and each country allowed the other’s drivers to cross the border if they pasted stickers over the state symbols on the plates.

Two weeks later, a nationwide police anti-smuggling operation in Kosovo went badly wrong in North Mitrovica. Encountering mounting local opposition, police units from Pristina called for backup to restore order, after which four armoured personnel carriers from the special police base in South Mitrovica arrived. The standoff intensified, progressing from a barrage of rocks, tear gas and stun grenades in North Mitrovica to a prolonged exchange of gunfire in nearby Zvečan. The clash left ten Serbs injured, two seriously, along with six Kosovo police officers.

Kosovo Serbs called upon the Serbian government for protection, but Belgrade was loath to intervene. The resulting tensions broke into the open at a televised meeting held at a Serbian army base just across the border in October 2021. [2] A series of agitated speakers demanded assurances of support while the Serbian president, Aleksandar Vučić, sat in uncomfortable silence. Goran Rakić, leader of Serbian List, the overwhelmingly dominant Serb political party in Kosovo, warned that residents would meet further incursions with “general resistance” conducted “by all means at our disposal”. A woman asked Vučić if he wanted to see “us and our children [carried] out in coffins” before coming to the Kosovo Serbs’ defence.

Pristina kept the pressure on while Belgrade and the northern Serbs deliberated. Starting in the autumn of 2021, the police began blocking “alternative routes”, ie, the unauthorised roads traversing the northern border to Serbia used by smugglers bringing in alcohol, medications, food and sometimes arms as well as by rural Serbs seeking shortcuts. High-profile raids targeted server farms for cryptocurrency mining (banned in Kosovo) and marijuana crops. Smugglers fought back, most seriously in a 17 July 2022 shootout that left five officers wounded. Police headquarters in Pristina increasingly shut the Serb-majority regional command in North Mitrovica out of these operations, citing a lack of trust. [3] The border police also started deploying larger numbers of ethnic Albanian officers to the north’s two border posts with Serbia. The shift arguably fell afoul of Kosovo’s constitution, which mandates that police match the communities they serve in ethnic composition.

Pristina ratcheted up tensions in other ways as well. Breaking with established practice, the Kurti administration refused to allow voting in Serbian elections to take place on Kosovo territory, though the Serbs living in the north enjoy Serbian citizenship. Consequently, both the Serbian constitutional referendum of 16 January 2022 and the parliamentary election of 3 April went ahead without anyone in Kosovo casting a ballot. The Kosovo police deployed about ten armoured vehicles in the north to enforce the prohibition.

Then, on 31 July 2022, a dispute over personal documents like passports and ID cards sparked another dangerous escalation. Serbia had long refused to recognise Kosovo’s documents and issued Kosovars a temporary transit permit at the border. Kurti announced that Kosovo would act reciprocally. The move alarmed northern Serbs, some of whom lacked Kosovo documents. They barricaded roads again. Belgrade inflamed the tensions by infiltrating heavily armed troops (estimated by international officials at between 50 and 300) into Kosovo. [4] In uniform but without insignia, they joined hundreds of other Serbs, many of them armed, facing off against the police. Previous road blockages, which had become a regular feature of life in the north, had not involved such displays of armed force. Surprised and outgunned, Kosovo authorities backed down. 

The episode underscored the vulnerability of ethnic Albanian officers operating on hostile ground in the north. Kosovar officers, especially those stationed at or near the two border posts, were at risk of isolation when barricades went up. Evacuation routes to friendly territory were easily cut. In the past, when Serbs had set the border facilities on fire, Kosovo police had to withdraw through Serbia proper. 

To deal with these dangers, and to help ensure police would not be caught unprepared again, Pristina took a series of steps that northern Serbs found provocative. Pristina established four permanent, fortified bases staffed with special police – one near each border post and two more at strategic locations. Another three bases went up to monitor several of the more important “alternative routes” across the border. A new rapid intervention unit was formed for deployment in crises. [5] The special police, recognisable by their dark blue uniforms, tactical gear, assault rifles and armoured vehicles, became a constant, unwelcome presence in the north.

[1]   See Appendix B for more detail.

[2]   “ Alo! Television:  Predsednik Srbije Aleksandar Vučić uživo u Raškoj nakon nemira u Kosovskoj Mitrovici ” [President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia live from Raška after the unrest in North Mitrovia],  video, YouTube, 13 October 2021. 

[3]   Crisis Group interview, civil society activist, North Mitrovica, January 2023.

[4]   Crisis Group interviews, EU, KFOR and UN officials, North Mitrovica and Pristina, January 2023.

[5]   “ Svečlja: Izgradili smo tri policijske baze ” [Sveçla: We built three police bases], Kossev , 9 September 2022.

By the fall of 2022, escalating cycles of protests and government responses had eroded the last vestiges of trust between the northern Serbs and Pristina, and the groups were clearly moving toward a major rupture. Integration had never been more than grudging, with many northern Serbs looking to break off cooperation. Since the protests began in September 2021, northern Serb leaders had been calling for mass resignations from official jobs. The tipping point came on 2 November when Nenad Djurić, commander of the Kosovo Police northern district, refused to order his officers to enforce a new round of measures against drivers with Serbia-issued plates, and Pristina immediately suspended him. 

Within a few tumultuous days of this action, a decade of hard-won progress in integrating northern Kosovo Serbs into the Kosovo state collapsed. From 5 to 9 November, virtually all northern Serbs left their Kosovo government jobs. The four mayors went first. The Serb judges and prosecutors of the multi-ethnic Mitrovica court walked out with their complete support staff. One young lawyer said the exodus was emotional, with some Albanian colleagues shedding tears as the Serbs filed out. [1] All northern police officers turned in their sidearms and badges. A few days later, the ten Serbian List members of the Kosovo assembly resigned. Staff of the various government offices housed in the north followed soon thereafter.

Belgrade quickly offered the Serbs who had resigned temporary contracts of its own, to replace their salaries, and reactivated its own municipal administrations, which had been partly dormant since the Kosovo municipal governments in the north were established in 2013. [2] However reluctantly, the Serb officials had played a valuable moderating role as tensions mounted. Their sudden abandonment of that role after the mass resignation in early November left both sides without guardrails, and international peacekeepers were forced to step into the gap. When Pristina ordered its (now overwhelmingly Albanian) police to the northern borders to try enforcing the prohibition on Serbian plates again, KFOR warned them that if the action led to violence, they would “assume responsibility for security in the north”, that is, eject the police and maintain order themselves. [3] The Kosovo government was furious, but saw no alternative but to back down and agree to another EU-mediated delay in the licence plate dispute. [4]

EU mediation bought only about two weeks of quiet, in a sign of the darkening atmosphere and frayed nerves on both sides. A series of arrests of northern Serbs on charges of attacking police and setting fire to government property, on 9 and 10 December, brought northerners to the barricades in the third and longest episode thus far. The barriers stayed up until 28 December, again with help from armed individuals infiltrated from Serbia. This time, Pristina and the Serbs repeatedly tried to outflank each other, with Kosovo police manoeuvring to get around the roadblocks, coming at them from behind, and Serbs setting up barriers on more and more roads. Eventually, northern Kosovo was fully isolated, with no route open to the rest of the country and only a single old smugglers’ trail leading over the hills into Serbia.

The end of the barricades on 28 December, following further EU-mediated negotiations between Serbia and Kosovo, was a crushing blow to northern Serb morale. When President Vučić announced the barricades had to come down in response to modest concessions by the Kosovo government related to better treatment for the handful of Serbs it had under arrest, and without withdrawing the hated special police, it plunged the community into a sullen depression that lasted late into the following spring. Many had hoped or believed that this time it was different, that Serbia – which had been slowly scaling back its presence in Kosovo – would “come back”, in the words of a resident. [5] Their expectations were vague but included more Serbian support for northern defiance of Pristina and more integration into the Serbian system. 

In April 2023, Pristina held local elections to replace the Serbs who had resigned in November. Northern Serbs boycotted those elections. With only the small Albanian minority voting, turnout was in the low single digits and the result was a slate comprising exclusively ethnic Albanians. The Quint (a coordination body consisting of France, Germany, Italy, the UK and the U.S.) noted that the elections were “not a long-term political solution for these municipalities”. [6] The Quint’s statement warned newly elected mayors and assemblies not to take actions that might heighten tensions, suggesting they need not work from the municipal office buildings and urging them to confine their activities to administrative functions. For many weeks, Pristina took this advice and refrained from trying to instal the new officials.  

The Kosovo government changed course in late May, giving the mayors police escorts to the municipal office buildings and expelling the Serb staff who had been working there. In response, on 29 May, hundreds of northern Serbs gathered outside the buildings, guarded not only by Kosovo’s special police but also by an outer cordon of Hungarian and Italian KFOR peacekeepers in riot gear. Early in the day, a group of Serb women confronted the guards, demanding to be allowed into the municipal buildings so they could go to work. Later, groups of masked men, some in matching baseball caps, were more prominent. In Zvečan, the KFOR commander on the scene asked the crowd to allow the Kosovo police to remove two of their armoured vehicles; the Serbs refused, demanding that all the police withdraw. Fighting broke out – it remains unclear how – and quickly exploded, with the Serbs hurling rocks and improvised explosives and swinging riot sticks and the KFOR troops firing rubber bullets and tear gas. By the time KFOR restored order, more than 50 Serbs and almost 100 peacekeepers were injured.

Kurti’s decision to take over the municipal buildings and keep the special police around them earned him unprecedented rebukes from Kosovo’s strongest supporters. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken “strongly condemn[ed] the actions by the Government of Kosovo to access municipal buildings in the north of Kosovo by force, actions it took against the advice of the United States” and warned it would have “consequences for our bilateral relations”. [7] The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, called on Kosovo to “suspend police operations focusing on the municipal buildings in the north of Kosovo, and the violent protesters to stand down”. [8] On 30 May, the U.S. announced punitive measures against Kosovo, ejecting it from Defender 23, a large NATO-led exercise, suspending efforts to secure the country’s admission to international organisations and pausing high-level visits. [9]

Kosovo Serb civil society members issued an “appeal for peace” on 3 June, calling on the Quint and the EU to pressure Pristina. They called for the special police to be pulled out and the land expropriated for their bases to be returned; for the (Albanian) officials elected in May to depart and the staff of (Serbian) municipal administrations to be allowed to return to their offices pending new elections; for the formation of the Association of Serb Municipalities (a term that Kosovo uses to describe arrangements for greater northern autonomy, discussed further below) followed by new elections; and a number of other things, including a “stop to the demonisation of the Serb community” by the president, prime minister and other senior officials. [10] The government ignored the appeal.

But rather than fully demonstrating a commitment to de-escalation, the government took moves over the next several months to remind local Serbs of its authority over them. Most steps were small, but the cumulative impact is large. They include:

• Banning goods and medicines imports from Serbia, leading to shortages in the north (early June). [11]
• Stopping building work at nine sites in North Mitrovica, citing missing Kosovo documentation (late July). [12]
• Revoking the operating licence for MTS, the Kosovo-registered Serbian mobile phone provider (mid-August). [13]
• Sending police to escort fishery officials checking licences on Gazivode lake, which is shared with Serbia (3 September). [14]
• Ordering three Serbian-administration services housed in a building occupied by Serbia’s Office for Kosovo and Metohija to move out and turn the building over to Kosovo’s Prosecutorial Council (late August). [15]
• Sending tax inspectors to shops, bars and other businesses in North Mitrovica to check if they are registered in the Kosovo system, as many are not (4 September). [16]

The EU said these actions were “not in accordance with the rule of law” and risked heightening tensions, while criticising the Serb community for “continuous small-scale attacks by criminal groups and intimidation of newly recruited Kosovo Serb police cadets”. [17]

[1]   Crisis Group interview, North Mitrovica, January 2023.

[2]   “ Serbs who left Kosovo institutions start receiving salary payments from Belgrade ”, Kossev , 2 December 2022.

[3]   Crisis Group interviews, international officials, North Mitrovica and Pristina, January 2023. KFOR’s mandate includes preserving a safe and secure environment, and the mission has wide latitude to take actions it deems necessary to that end.

[4]   “ Kosovo/Serbia: Statement by the High Representative ”, 23 November 2022.

[5]   Crisis Group interview, northern Kosovo resident, Belgrade, January 2023.

[6]   “ Joint Statement on Kosovo ”, U.S. Department of State, 18 May 2023.

[7]   “ Condemning Unilateral Actions by the Government of Kosovo ”, press statement, U.S. Department of State, 26 May 2023.

[8]   “ Kosovo: Statement by High Representative Josep Borrell ”, 30 May 2023.

[9] Jeta Xharra,  “ U.S. Embassy confirms sanctions against Kosovo ”, Prishtina Insight , 30 May 2023.

[10]   “ Serbs in Kosovo urgently call on the EU and the USA to help resolve the crisis ”, Kossev , 3 June 2023.

[11]   “ Kakva je situacija sa nabavkom robe i lekova na Severu ” [What’s the situation with goods and medicines in the north], Kossev , 4 August 2023.

[12]   “ Opština potvrdila: Radovi su zaustavljeni na oko devet lokacija ” [Municipality confirms: Works stopped at about nine locations], Kossev , 2 August 2023.

[13]   “ Ambasador SAD na Kosovu kaže da se razgovara o slučaju dozvole za MTS ” [U.S. ambassador to Kosovo says there are discussions on the MTS licence], Radio Slobodna Evropa, 16 August 2023.

[14]   “ Savez ribolovaca Kosova u kontroli na Gazivodama ” [Fishing association checking permits on Gazivode], Kossev , 3 September 2023.

[15]   “ Adančić: Tužilački savet tražio da im se ustupi zgrada u Mitrovici ” [Adančić: The prosecutorial council demanded a building in Mitrovica], Kossev , 4 September 2023.

[16]   “ PAK: Vlasnicima lokala u Mitrovici dat rok da se registruju, nije nam cilj kažnjavanje ” [PAK: Owners of cafés in Mitrovica given a deadline to register, our aim is not to punish], Kossev , 4 September 2023.

[17]   “ Statement by the High Representative on Behalf of the European Union on Expectations from Serbia and Kosovo* ”, 19 September 2023.

C. September 2023: The Banjska Incident

In the autumn of 2023, a clash between Pristina’s forces and northern paramilitaries underscored just how dangerous the situation in Kosovo had become. Early on 24 September, KFOR peacekeepers detected unusual movements near Banjska, a village in the Zvečan municipality, and alerted the Kosovo police. A patrol car found trucks barring the road and came under attack. One officer was killed by an improvised explosive device and others were wounded. Reinforcements found about 30 heavily armed Serb fighters (assumed to be primarily or perhaps exclusively from northern Kosovo) who had broken into a medieval monastery near the village. In the firefight, at least three Serbs died. A tense standoff ensued between the group and Kosovo special police surrounding them. Fearing a bloodbath, KFOR negotiated the group’s withdrawal into the surrounding woods, from which they melted away. Kosovo believes that up to 200 more fighters were hidden at the time in the thick forest between Banjska and the Serbian border.

The Kosovo authorities discovered that the Serbs had left a cache of enough weapons for a small paramilitary force to inflict heavy casualties on even the best protected and armoured special police unit. Valued by the authorities at around $5 million, the arms included M80 Zolya anti-tank rocket launchers, 60mm and 82mm mortars, an M93 automatic 30mm grenade launcher, machine guns, anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, drones, night-vision equipment, an armoured vehicle, and 24 cars and SUVs. The group also had counterfeit KFOR markings for their vehicles. Kosovo determined that much of this equipment was recently manufactured or serviced in Serbia. [1] Kosovo police had earlier caught Serbs smuggling in much smaller quantities of arms and ammunition. [2] Kosovo investigators said they found evidence the group involved in the altercation had trained at Serbian army bases for a mission to wrest the north away from Kosovo so it could join Serbia. [3] Pristina believes northern Serb civilians had supplied the group by radio with information on police movements and other intelligence. [4]

Pristina released drone footage which appeared to show Milan Radoičić, a prominent figure on the Kosovo Serb scene, leading the Banjska group. Radoičić was vice president of the Serbian List political party. A wealthy businessman with interests in Serbia and the region, he is widely seen as “the informal ruler of northern Kosovo”, in the words of an opposition-aligned Belgrade newspaper. [5] A policy analyst described him as President Vučić’s trusted lieutenant in the north. [6] In December 2021, the U.S. had sanctioned Radoičić for being part of a criminal organisation engaged in “trafficking of goods, money, narcotics and weapons”. [7]

Soon after the Banjska shootout, Radoičić surfaced in Serbia, taking full responsibility for the incident and turning himself in to Serbian prosecutors, who released him on bail. [8] Kosovo then released a video showing the interior of a compound Radoičić owns by Gazivode lake on the Serbia-Kosovo border, suggesting that he was more a mob boss used to a life of luxury than a guerrilla leader. [9] International officials believe that he may still be overseeing operations in northern Kosovo even though he is unable to return in person. [10]

The incident gave Pristina a boost in several ways. It encouraged closer coordination between the Kosovo police and KFOR and EULEX, while giving Kurti further arguments for Pristina’s muscular stance in the north. KFOR tightened its cooperation with the police, especially along the border, making it harder for Serbs to smuggle in replacement arms. [11]

[1] Crisis Group telephone interview, international security official, Pristina, November 2023. See also  Sasa Dragojlo and Xhorxhina Bami, “ In Kosovo clash, new bullets and freshly-repaired mortars from Serbia ”, Balkan Insight , 9 October 2023.

[2]   “ Pronađeno 6,300 metaka u automobilu ” [6,300 bullets found in automobile], Kossev , 21 February 2023.

[3]   “ Pristina says evidence shows Serbia planned to seize Northern Kosovo after attack ”, Radio Free Europe, 1 October 2023.

[4]   Crisis Group telephone interview, Kosovo civil society leader, October 2023.

[5]   Mirjana Milenković, “ Ko je Milan Radoičić ” [Who is Milan Radoičić], Danas , 8 July 2022.

[6]   Crisis Group interview, Kosovo Serb political analyst, Belgrade, January 2023.

[7] “ Treasury Targets Corruption Networks Linked to Transnational Organized Crime ”,  press release, U.S. Department of the Treasury, 8 December 2021. A year later, the UK imposed an asset freeze on Radoičić and Veselinović on grounds of “serious corruption”. “ Financial Sanctions Notice ”, UK Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, 9 December 2022.

[8]   Lisa O’Carroll and Julian Borger, “ Kosovo Serb politician arrested over role in armed ambush of police ”, The Guardian , 3 October 2023.

[9]   “ Video: The super-luxurious villa of the terrorist Radoicic ”, Vox , 29 September 2023.

[10]   Crisis Group telephone interview, KFOR official, October 2023.

[11]   Crisis Group telephone interview, Kosovo civil society leader, October 2023.

No less important was that the shootout in Banjska shifted the optics of the northern Kosovo situation in Pristina’s favour, at least in the eyes of Brussels and Washington. It created strong suspicion that Belgrade was arming and training a paramilitary group for lethal attacks on Kosovo police. Without a convincing alternative explanation, Serbia lost much of the international good-will it had earned with its flexibility in the EU-mediated talks, discussed below, that have run parallel to the rising tensions. The U.S. and EU deemed the Kosovo policeman’s killing to be a form of terrorism and demanded Serbia cooperate in bringing those responsible to justice. As a practical matter, the seizure deprived the northern Serb paramilitary of a considerable amount of equipment. It also suggested that the paramilitaries’ training, morale and numbers were insufficient to take on the police, at least while KFOR was present to back them up.

In Banjska’s aftermath, Pristina took advantage of changed circumstances to speed up integration of the north and to expel Serbia’s remaining institutions. From its perspective, the incident confirmed that the problem it faced in the north was criminals and terrorists supported by Belgrade rather than ordinary Serbs. It saw the perceived paramilitary threat as justifying its decision to deploy heavily armed police in the area. Across the border, Vučić’s position was further weakened by Serbia’s parliamentary elections of 17 December 2023, which bought his party another mandate in office. The OSCE observation mission immediately condemned the poll for “unjust conditions”, such as “bias in the media, pressure on public-sector employees and misuse of public resources” along with many others. [1] The European Parliament followed up by calling for the deployment of an ad hoc EU fact-finding mission and a separate international expert investigation of the elections. [2]

With Vučić on the ropes, Pristina moved against Serbia’s presence in Kosovo by cutting off its financing. On 27 December 2023, the Kosovo Central Bank issued a regulation defining the euro as the sole currency valid for cash and electronic transactions inside Kosovo. [3] The measure took effect on 1 February 2024. The next day, Kosovo authorities closed Serbia’s vestigial municipal offices for Peja, Istog and Klina, seizing computers and records. [4] On 7 February, police raided the Serbian post office and bank in Goraždevac (Peja municipality) and confiscated the Serbian dinars there, which were earmarked in part for pensions drawn by elderly Serbs in surrounding villages. [5] Customs officials at the border turned back trucks carrying dinars.

Without money, the whole network of Serbian institutions is at risk, including schools and clinics. Kosovo has ignored blunt requests from the U.S. and its Quint partners to immediately suspend the dinar ban. Referring to this and other government steps, the award-winning journalist Tatjana Lazarević said Serbs in the north “are becoming foreigners on their own land, in their own towns”. [6]

[1]   OSCE International Election Observation Mission,  Preliminary Conclusions .

[2] “ Situation in Serbia Following Elections ”, European Parliament, 8 February 2024.

[3] “ Pristina’s Unilateral Action Regulating Currency Exacerbates Mistrust, Kosovo Mission Head Tells Security Council ”, press release, UN, 8 February 2024.

[4] “ KP o akcijama u Osojanu, Goraždevcu i Vidanju ” [KP on the operation in Osojane, Goraždevac and Vidanj], Kossev , 3 February 2024.

[5] See  “ Radio Goraždevac: Završena akcija u Goraždevcu, izneseni računar i arhiva ” [Radio Goraždevac: Operation in Goraždevac finished, computer and archive taken away], Kossev , 7 February 2024; and “ Sentić: Srpska i druge zajednice su sa punim pravom uznemirene ” [Sentić: the Serb and other communities are justifiably concerned], Kossev , 7 February 2024.

[6]   “ Intervju Tanja Lazarević: Srbi na Kosovu su politički obezglavljeni ” [Interview with Tanja Lazarević: the Kosovo Serbs are politically headless], Novi ,   24 January 2024.

III. What the Parties Want

As discussed in Section IV, outside mediators – in particular the EU and U.S. – are working to defuse growing tensions between Pristina and Belgrade. Success in this endeavour will require compromises that can bridge the gaps among the demands of the key parties (ie, Kosovo, Serbia and the northern Serbs), which can sometimes seem irreconcilable.

A. Pristina’s Objectives

Kosovo sees full international recognition of its independence and complete internal sovereignty as paramount goals. It wants to remove the remaining Serbian state institutions from its territory; ensure that all residents respect its authority; control its borders; and win recognition from as many countries and international organisations as possible. Non-recognising EU states, NATO, the UN and the EU itself top the list.

Kosovo’s reluctance to make concessions to Serbia rests in part on its belief that Belgrade still covets its territory and intends to sabotage its independence. [1] It believes Serbia is negotiating only to achieve greater autonomy for northern Serbs as a vehicle to sabotage Kosovo, deepen ethnic fault lines and visit upon it the kinds of challenges that Bosnia faces. It also does not trust that Serbia will keep its word. It fears that Belgrade would ignore commitments made in negotiations or, at best, fulfil them as slowly as possible. Full of mistrust, Pristina has made clear that it will strenuously resist moving forward on Serb autonomy until after Belgrade has started taking steps that begin to meet its fundamental goals – accepting Kosovo’s membership in international organisations, respecting its sovereignty and recognising its documents. 

[1]   Crisis Group interviews, Kosovo government officials and civil society leaders, Pristina, January and July 2023.

Even then it is not clear that Pristina will give the Serbs what they seek. Kurti has invested much credibility in implacably opposing Serb autonomy, which he describes as a catastrophe for Kosovo’s future. [1] His vision for the north, which he calls “self-management”, is in effect the application of Kosovo’s existing laws for minority rights, with a collective body like the Association advocating for Serb interests but not exercising any authority. [2] Kurti expects the statute spelling out the north’s status to refer explicitly to “the independence, unity of the institutional system [and] territorial integrity of the Republic” – a formula that many Kosovo Serbs reject. He has shown no interest in negotiating new powers or rights, or otherwise modifying Kosovo’s governance to make room for Serb autonomy. Indeed, he has moved in the other direction. [3] While he has agreed to establish a formal self-governing body for the Kosovo Serbs, along the lines of the “Association” discussed below, his commitment to doing so remains in question. [4]

In addition to strengthening Pristina’s writ in the north, Kurti’s government is rooting out Serbia’s institutions, replacing them with Kosovo’s and staffing local government with officials loyal to Pristina. Controlling the border with Serbia, including the mountainous backwoods or “green border” criss-crossed by dirt roads and smugglers’ tracks, is also a priority. The heavy-handed tactic of deploying greater numbers of ethnic Albanian police suggests that Kurti’s objective is showing northerners who is boss more than winning hearts and minds.

Kurti’s sovereignty campaign in the north and his defiance of Belgrade and the Quint have boosted his popularity at home, and he would have a good chance of expanding his party’s parliamentary majority if elections (expected in 2025) were to come early. His administration has few notable domestic successes to point to. He has invested much credibility in implacably opposing Serb autonomy, which he describes as a catastrophe for Kosovo’s future. [5]

[1]   Alice Taylor, “ Kurti: Association of Serb Municipalities pushed by Belgrade, not Kosovo Serbs ”, Euractiv , 16 November 2022.

[2]   “ Kurti shares vision on how the Association of Serb municipalities should look like ”, EuroNews Albania, 3 May 2023.

[3]   Ibid.

[4]   “ What are the implications of the Association of Serb-Majority Municipalities? An interview with Agon Maliqi ”, Sbunker (podcast), 1 February 2024.

[5]   Taylor, “ Kurti: Association of Serb Municipalities pushed by Belgrade, not Kosovo Serbs ”, op. cit.

B. Belgrade

For its part, Serbia wants to keep rejecting Kosovo’s independence despite international pressure, but it is also engaged in a balancing act. While supportive of the Kosovo Serbs’ demands, Belgrade also knows its help for them has limits and is expensive. Although it armed and trained the paramilitary group discovered in Banjska, it does not wholly oppose certain efforts to integrate northern Serbs into Kosovo’s institutions. For example, it has cooperated grudgingly with international efforts to bring the northern Serbs into Pristina’s legal system  and to help Kosovo gain a footing (short of formal recognition) in the international system. Yet President Vučić has invested heavily in opposing recognition of Kosovo, and it will be hard for him to backpedal to the extent that will be required by any compromise that might realistically be acceptable to Pristina. 

Although it has lost ground in its advocacy for Kosovo Serbs since 2021, looking more broadly, Serbia has a stronger geopolitical hand than its former province. It is bigger, richer and more fully integrated internationally (with links to a wide range of countries dating back to the Non-Aligned Movement, of which Yugoslavia was a member). Despite Serbia’s refusal to align fully with the EU against Russia, it has rarely enjoyed more favourable diplomatic treatment than today. [1] Its standing with the West has likely improved because – despite outward gestures suggesting an affinity for Moscow – it has been supplying ammunition, and perhaps other forms of assistance, to Ukraine in coordination with the U.S. and its allies. [2] Belgrade wants this honeymoon to continue, which means that it is unlikely to approve Kosovo Serb demands for escalation unless it is convinced that blame can be easily shifted to Pristina.

Still, Belgrade’s views on Kosovo’s independence have hardly softened. Vučić told the 2023 UN General Assembly that the West was working at “cutting my country into pieces” by supporting Kosovo’s declaration of independence. [3] He has accused the U.S., Germany and others of hypocrisy for defending Ukraine’s territorial integrity (as Belgrade does) while undermining Serbia’s.

[1]   Crisis Group interviews, current and former EU officials, Brussels, April 2023.

[2]   Crisis Group interviews, EU and member state officials, Brussels, July 2023.

[3] Address of President Aleksandar Vučić to the UN General Assembly, 21 September 2023.

C. The Northern Kosovo Serbs

Short of Serbia returning in force to eject Kosovo’s state presence, many northern Serbs dream of KFOR ejecting the Kosovo police – or at least the hated special forces – and looking after their security. NATO’s role in separating them from what they consider their motherland still rankles, but the alliance’s status-neutral mandate (ie, its institutional posture of not taking a position on Kosovo’s independence) and reputation for impartiality makes its peacekeepers a more appealing alternative than relying on Pristina for security. Failing that, they hope for a return to the situation before Kurti became prime minister in 2021 or, for the more radical among them, before Belgrade pushed them to begin integrating in 2011. That is, ideally they would have only Serbian institutions (as before 2011), and if they must have Kosovo ones, these should be staffed by local Serbs rather than bureaucrats loyal to Pristina. 

Notwithstanding their negative feelings toward Pristina, northern Serbs have an ambivalent relationship with Belgrade as well. They hold fiercely to Serbian identity, and to the benefits that flow from the Serbian state, but they know Belgrade’s interests sometimes diverge from theirs. The Serbian government is attuned to its own electorate, which is focused on issues like jobs and investments, which are in turn partly dependent on EU favour. The Kosovo Serbs fear European pressure will force Belgrade to sell them out.

Support from the north’s political leadership is key to most plausible solutions to disputes relating to the area. This leadership is made up of a small group of notables from the Serbian List party, more or less the north’s exclusive political party, who were selected by Belgrade to help meet its obligations under the landmark 2013 Brussels Agreement. That agreement contemplated the creation of a northern Serb autonomous unit – never actually established – which Kosovo calls an Association, and Serbs a Community, of Serb-majority municipalities. [1]

The leaders’ authority derives from control of the tap through which Serbian benefits flow – including employment, social security, education and health care – and whatever popularity they enjoy comes in large part from their role in coordinating resistance to Pristina, especially when tensions flare. When List leaders defy Pristina, they have strong support. Yet when Belgrade instructs them to cooperate with Kosovo authorities and take down barricades, for example, locals resent it. Kosovo Serbs especially detest leaders with a reputation for colluding with organised crime; some have been designated by the U.S. government for offering kingpins impunity in return for muscle to enforce unpopular policies and for personal enrichment. [2]

As for the Kurti administration, it has lost support even among the most integrationist Serbs. The prime minister’s political adviser Petar Miletić – himself a northern Serb – resigned in September 2023, denouncing his former boss for “hypocrisy, insolence and arrogance” and for irreparably damaging ties with the Serb community. [3] Miletić had helped found the Independent Liberal Party, which advocated participating in Kosovo institutions immediately after independence, a stance for which he was shot (though not fatally) in North Mitrovica in 2010. [4]

[1]   The nomenclature dispute is discussed further below.

[2] Crisis Group interview, Kosovo Serb civil society leader, North Mitrovica, April 2023.  See also “ Treasury Targets Corruption Networks Linked to Organized Crime ”, op. cit.

[3]   “ Petar Miletic resigned as adviser in the cabinet of Kosovo PM ”, Kossev , 21 September 2023.

[4]   Amra Zejneli Loxha, “ U Mitrovici ranjen poslanik kosovske Skupštine ” [Member of Kosovo Assembly wounded in Mitrovica], Radio Free Europe , 5 July 2010.

IV. The Diplomatic Track

Against this backdrop, the EU has spearheaded diplomatic efforts intended to bring the long-running dispute between Serbia and Kosovo to an end and, as needed, to tamp down tensions in the north. Much of this effort has been under the umbrella of a diplomatic initiative Brussels launched in August 2022, in hopes of bringing the parties together in a deal that could break the Serbia-Kosovo impasse. 

A. The Normalisation Deal: Brussels Tries to Break the Impasse

On paper, the EU’s effort has achieved some success. In February 2023, the EU announced that the two parties had reached an “[a]greement on the path to normalisation between Kosovo and Serbia”. [1] (As discussed below, there is some dispute about whether the document ever became binding.) The agreement was inspired by the 1972 Grundlagenvertrag or Basic Treaty between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic (West and East Germany). [2] The Grundlagenvertrag had paved the way for third parties to open relations with both Germanies, though neither formally recognised the other. It had also allowed both to join the UN. The “path to normalisation” agreement copied extensively, at times verbatim, from the German treaty and similarly aims to permit the five EU member states that do not recognise Kosovo’s independence (Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovakia and Spain) to change their positions, without demanding the same of Serbia. [3]  

While short on specifics, the February 2023 deal included certain notable commitments. Kosovo repeated past promises to establish “an appropriate level of self-management” for its Serb population and to “formalise” the status of the Serbian Orthodox Church. For its part, Serbia pledged not to block Kosovo’s membership in “any international organisation”, which should have paved the way for Kosovo to join the Council of Europe – the guardian of the European Convention on Human Rights – and eventually (subject to greater political and bureaucratic hurdles) other bodies including the UN and the EU. Having already accepted Pristina’s authority within Kosovo’s borders in earlier EU-mediated talks, Belgrade was now asked to consent to its sovereignty in international affairs. [4] Serbia also agreed to recognise Kosovo’s passports, diplomas, licence plates and customs stamps (Kosovo already accepts Serbia’s documents in practice).

In some respects, the February 2023 agreement builds on a foundation of past commitments. One is of particular importance. Kosovo’s promise to give its Serb minority “an appropriate level of self-management” echoes and to an extent affirms an earlier commitment by both parties to establish a framework for Serb-majority municipalities to exercise autonomy in the above-referenced 2013 Brussels Agreement. [5] This pledge concerning northern autonomy was given in return for an agreement that allowed Pristina to hold municipal elections in northern Kosovo for the first time, while also integrating Serbs into the police and judiciary. 

But this autonomous entity has yet to come into being. It was meant to be a vehicle for Serb self-government within Kosovo, letting northern Serbs integrate more fully into Kosovo’s civic and political life while keeping their identity and links to Serbia. Yet, as noted above, Belgrade and Pristina could not even agree on its name. Serbia preferred “Community” because it suggested a high level of cohesion and autonomy. Kosovo advocated for “Association” because it did not.

[1]   “ Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue: Agreement on the Path to Normalization between Kosovo and Serbia ”, press release, European External Action Service, 27 February 2023.

[2] “ Vertrag über die Grundlagen der Beziehungen zwischen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik ” [Treaty on the basis of relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic], 21 December 1972.  The veteran German diplomat Wolfgang Ischinger, among others, had proposed the idea at various times before and after Kosovo’s declaration of independence.  Bardh Shkreli, “ Two Germanies model suggested for Kosovo ”, Balkan Insight , 29 May 2013.

[3]   Private communication by senior EU member state official made available to Crisis Group, January 2023. The five states have several arguments against recognition. Most have cited the absence of an agreement or UN approval, along with their support for territorial integrity and opposition to unilateral acts. Cyprus, Romania and Spain have concerns about separatism within their own borders.

[4] Marina Vulović, “ The Normalisation of Relations between Kosovo and Serbia ”, Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, 15 March 2023.

[5] Much of the entity in Kosovo remains undefined, including its name. Kosovo wanted it to be the Association ( shoqata in Albanian) of Serb-majority municipalities because its laws already provide for similar associations that are limited only to coordinating and assisting local governments. Serbia wanted it to be a Community ( zajednica in Serbian), a word that implied a separate body with its own powers; a previous “community of municipalities” in Bosnia had become part of the breakaway Republika Srpska. (The Community of Municipalities of the Bosnian Krajina was set up in April 1991, and converted to an Autonomous Region of Krajina in September 1991 and then joined Republika Srpska as it declared its independence on 9 January 1992. The Bosnian Croat breakaway statelet, the Croatian Community of Herceg-Bosnia, used the same name.) The Brussels text awkwardly used both words, alternating between “Association/Community” and “Community/Association” to underline its agnosticism.

Serbs want a Community with a high level of autonomy that serves to guarantee Serbia’s involvement in their areas. They want assurances that the Serbian educational and health systems will remain in place, that Serbian jobs will continue and that the local economy will be integrated with Serbia’s. By contrast, Kosovo sees the Association as merely a coordinating body for its member municipalities, with no additional powers or responsibilities. At most, the Association could offer advice and training to municipal officials and lobby the governments in Pristina and Belgrade. 

The distance between these visions accounts for the lack of progress in implementing the 2013 pledge more than ten years later. Hostility to northern autonomy runs deep in Kosovar politics. Pristina has long feared that, in the leadup to independence, it had already gone as far as it could in offering self-government to the Serb minority without risking the state’s viability and integrity. Kosovar leaders frequently point to Bosnia and Herzegovina as a cautionary tale of paralysis and dysfunction caused by excessive autonomy. Kurti has argued that a Community of Serb Municipalities would be “a state of Serbia within the Republic of Kosovo”. [1] He may be marginally more negative than his predecessors, but he is hardly an outlier. Kurti wants something like Croatia’s model, where the Serb community (of similar size to Kosovo’s) has limited powers in culture and education. He proposed a “vision” for a non-territorial entity that offers such services under existing legislation governing the non-profit sector. He wants it to recognise Kosovo’s “constitutional character” including its independence, single administrative system and territorial integrity. 

Multiple draft statutes for an autonomous entity have been floated, by Kosovo Serb leaders, NGOs, the government of Albania and the EU, though none has yet satisfied both Belgrade and Pristina. The U.S. had a hand in writing the Albanian and EU drafts but preferred to let others take the credit. [2] A May 2023 draft prepared in Belgrade by a team of Kosovo Serb representatives trampled over several Kosovar red lines, by claiming enforcement powers, creating a “service for maintaining order” or parallel police force, and duplicating many central state responsibilities, while coyly referring to “the central authorities” instead of the Kosovo government. [3] Other drafts, especially the EU’s, hew closely to existing Kosovo legislation on associations and partnerships between municipalities. [4]

[1] In full, Kurti said: “On April 26 1991, fourteen municipalities with a majority Serb population formed a community [in Bosnia]. Then on 9 January 1992, [the Serbs] declared independence, and on 28 February, they received a constitution. On 14 December 1995, unfortunately, they received international recognition in Dayton. So, they want to create a state within a state. … In the Republic of Kosovo, they would like Kosovo not to be a state, and they would like the Community of Serb Municipalities, which would be a state of Serbia within the Republic of Kosovo”.  “ Kosovo PM: We won’t allow another Republika Srpska in Kosovo ”, N1 , 1 December 2022.

[2]   Crisis Group correspondence, persons involved in the talks, July-October 2023.

[3]   Unpublished draft statute made available to Crisis Group in May 2023. A 2015 agreement provided for a “management team” of Kosovo Serbs to draft a statute and submit it to the parties.

[4] The proposed statutes do little to empower the Kosovo Serbs and may instead make it harder for them to influence the policies that shape their lives. All the proposals feature a large leadership structure appointed indirectly, by the members of municipal assemblies, rather than elected directly. Except for the May 2023 Kosovo Serb draft, none makes any provision for participatory democracy. Most of the drafts, including the EU’s, are top-down affairs that foresee the central government enacting the Community statute, submitting it to the Constitutional Court for review and only then inviting Serb municipalities to join. That plan goes against the spirit, and perhaps the letter, of the Constitutional Court’s own 2015 ruling on the initial agreement to create the Community.

B. Off the Rails

The proverbial ink was hardly dry on the February 2023 agreement when it went off the rails. Serbia’s president refused to sign it, but the EU said he had already agreed to it, so it had gone into effect. [1] Kosovars immediately doubted whether a deal had, in fact, been struck. [2] Brussels’ assurances that the accord was binding in international law despite being unsigned failed to assure them. [3] As if to put a fine point on its non-acquiescence to the deal’s provisions, Serbia voted against Kosovo’s application to join the Council of Europe on 24 April 2023 and has not fulfilled other terms.

Brussels tried again to bring the parties on board with an “implementation annex” meant to provide much-needed detail and a timeline for when each provision would come into effect. Yet the parties baulked. The EU then lost patience, with Brussels pushing both sides to agree to an annex stripped of most of its draft provisions and timetable. [4] The annex, baptised the Ohrid Agreement because it was negotiated in Ohrid, a city in Macedonia, offered little beyond the earlier February deal. [5] The only tangible achievements have been setting up a “joint monitoring committee” on 18 April and agreeing to a declaration on missing persons on 2 May.

Since then, Brussels has been largely unable to nudge Belgrade and Pristina toward carrying out the terms of the February agreement. Both Brussels and Washington believe Pristina should make the first move. A U.S. official said implementation of the February 2023 agreement “begins with” the Community/Association of Serb municipalities because “normalisation is centred on the rights of minorities, particularly Serb minorities, in Kosovo”. [6] The U.S. wants the Community/Association of Serb-majority Municipalities settled irreversibly, clearing both the Assembly of Kosovo and the constitutional court. [7] “It’s our demand that we move forward on this”, the official added. [8] With clear progress toward Serb autonomy, it would be easier to push Belgrade toward fresh concessions.

[1] Press remarks by European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, 27 February 2023 and 19 March 2023. He said that since the parties were not able to agree about signing, “the Annex and Agreement are considered adopted through my statement” to that effect.

[2]   Crisis Group interviews, persons with knowledge of the talks, Pristina, July 2023.

[3]   Crisis Group interviews, persons with knowledge of the talks, July-August 2023.

[4] Draft “ Annex to the Agreement ”, made public by Petrit Selimi, former foreign minister of Kosovo on 28 February 2023.

[5] “ Implementation Annex to the Agreement ”, press release, EEAS, 18 March 2023.

[6] Press briefing with Gabriel Escobar, deputy assistant U.S. secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs and special representative for the Western Balkans, 3 May 2023.

[7]   Crisis Group correspondence, Kosovo civil society leader, May 2023. The U.S. wants the Court to approve the relevant legislation, presumably because an earlier decision by the Court gave successive Kosovo governments cover to avoid implementing the 2013 Brussels Agreement’s provisions on the Community of Serb Municipalities. 

[8] Press briefing with Escobar, op. cit.

Yet Pristina shows no sign of budging. Kosovo only agreed to the normalisation plan in expectation of improving its international position, especially with non-recognising EU states. [1] Without that, Pristina refuses to move ahead with self-government for the northern Serbs. Talks reached a dead end in September 2023 when Kurti rejected EU compromise proposals and denounced the mediators as biased. [2]  For his part, EU foreign policy chief Borrell said Kurti had “insisted on formalising de facto recognition as the first step”, while Vučić had accepted the EU plan, in which normalisation and Serb autonomy “ran in parallel”. [3] Borrell said the EU and U.S. saw this “parallel” approach as the only realistic one, since both sides would need “guarantees that their actions are rewarded by counter-actions by the other party”. [4] Kurti lashed out, accusing EU mediator Miroslav Lajčák of conspiring with Serbia. [5]

In October 2023, European leaders sweetened the deal for Kosovo, pressing Serbia to “deliver on de facto recognition”, while again urging Kosovo to set up the Community/Association. [6] It was the first time they had made the former demand explicit, even if it was an implied goal. The European approach had earlier been to win Belgrade over to steps that, individually, it could not object to but over time would amount to accepting Kosovo’s statehood. The reason for moving gradually was to optimise chances for overcoming Belgrade’s resistance. Recognition appears to be the brightest of red lines for Serbia, and Vučić has repeatedly vowed “never” to recognise an independent Kosovo, formally or de facto. [7]

The EU’s October 2023 pitch included what they called a new “modern European” draft statute for the Community/Association, which reportedly features explicit references to Kosovo as an independent republic. [8] These references make the draft more acceptable to Kurti, who at least at one point appeared to be mulling the option of moving forward with establishing the Community/Association on this basis, with or without Serbia’s cooperation. [9] In that scenario, the Kosovo Assembly would pass legislation creating the Community/Association and invite the Serbs to join it. In the unlikely event that Kurti takes this step, the ball will be squarely in Belgrade’s court. It is hard to imagine that a Community/Association that fails to offer Serbian services in schooling, health care or employment – which can only be afforded with Belgrade’s cooperation – would win popular acceptance.

[1]   Crisis Group interviews, Kosovo civil society representatives, April and July 2023.

[2]   Ksenija Pavlovic McAteer, “ DAS Gabriel Escobar condemns Albin Kurti’s ‘unjustified’ attacks on Lajcak and Borrell ”, The Pavlovic Today , 21 September 2023.

[3] Press statement by EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell, 14 September 2023.

[5] “ Kurti thotë se Lajçaku u pozicionua kundër Kosovës ”  [Kurti says Lajčák was positioned against Kosovo], Radio Evropa e Lirë , 18 September 2023.

[6]   “ Joint statement by the President of the French Republic, the Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and the President of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic ”, 27 October 2023. For an account of the EU’s use of “constructive ambiguity” in the dialogue, see Igor Mirosavljević, “ Constructive ambiguity in the dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo ”, European Western Balkans, 31 March 2023.

[7]   “ Serbian president rules out ‘factual or de jure’ recognition of Kosovo ”, Radio Free Europe , 12 March 2023.

[8]   “ Kurti: The statute of the Community of municipalities with a Serbian majority clarifies the issue of recognition of Kosovo ”, Vijesti , 3 November 2023.

[9]   Crisis Group telephone interviews, Kosovo civil society leader, Pristina, November 2023.

V. Some Hard Truths and a Way Forward

A. hard truths.

The EU’s normalisation agreement with its latest proposed timeline is a good plan. It is an updated version of the bargain Crisis Group has recommended since 2010: recognition by Serbia in exchange for expanded autonomy for Kosovo Serbs, with sweeteners from the EU in the form of expedited accession talks and financial aid. It would benefit both parties, neither of which has a better alternative. The agreement is nevertheless at high risk of collapse.

For its own sake, Serbia should accept Kosovo’s independence, formally or de facto. It permanently lost the right to govern Kosovo through UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), which notes that Serbian authorities had to withdraw “all military, police and paramilitary forces” while turning civil administration over to a UN mission. [1] Even were it possible, it shows no interest in re-incorporating Kosovo into its state framework, and its past proposals to this end (such as offering “more than autonomy, less than independence”) were delaying tactics. [2] Given that Brussels has linked resolution of this issue to joining the EU, Serbia’s leaders understand that realistically they face a choice between the prospect of taking a big step toward accession and a quixotic campaign to win back a long-lost Kosovo.

But President Vučić probably will resist recognising Kosovo nonetheless. He has vowed never to do so on so many occasions that it will be hard for him to reverse himself now, even in the face-saving and limited de facto form entailed by the EU’s plan. Recognition, whether de facto or de jure, is also the most valuable card Serbia holds in its game with the Quint, and Vučić wants to save it to trade for something big, whether that is partition of Kosovo (in which Serbia would get the north) or major EU concessions on enlargement and financial aid or both. [3] Finally, he cannot emerge from the dialogue looking like Kurti has beaten him – as the appearance of weakness is one of the few things that could threaten his hold on Serbia.

[1]   UN Security Council Resolution 1244 (1999), op. cit.

[2]   Charles A. Kupchan, “ Independence for Kosovo: Yielding to Balkan reality ”, Foreign Affairs , November-December 2005.

[3]   Crisis Group interviews, Serbian and international officials, 2023-2024.

As for Kosovo, it should honour prior commitments and establish a robust Community/Association of Serb-majority municipalities, even though Serbia may well not keep all its own promises in the normalisation agreement. By doing so, Pristina would shift international pressure to compromise onto Belgrade. Well-regulated autonomy is a sound approach to integrating culturally distinct and territorially compact minorities, one with a long track record in Europe. [1] Kosovo’s political leadership points with trepidation to Bosnia’s Republika Srpska, which has set its cap on secession. But the comparison is far from apt, as the Community/Association is a different and far more modest thing. Unlike Republika Srpska, the Community/Association would not have its own constitution, judicial system, police forces or directly elected parliament. 

Establishing the Community/Association would also be the right thing to do for Kosovo’s citizens living in the north. To the Serb minority, Serbia means jobs, health care, schooling and security. Kosovo cannot provide those vital things to the Serbs today, and until it can, it should welcome Serbia’s assistance. It has every right to expect Serbian services to be delivered in a transparent way that respects Pristina’s laws, instead of through Serbian parallel institutions. But the Community/Association can help achieve this end – incorporating Serbian services into Kosovo’s legal order and thereby strengthening rather than weakening the role of the state. 

Kurti will almost certainly be loath to take this step. His motives for continuing to resist establishing the Community/Association are as strong as Serbia’s vis-à-vis recognition. As noted, he and other Kosovar leaders have described autonomy in general and the Community specifically in apocalyptic language that is hard to walk back. Providing the north with autonomy is Kosovo’s strongest card in its game with Serbia, and Kurti wants to hold on to it until it can be traded for recognition. Rejection has also done wonders for Kurti’s domestic popularity. Changing course could make him look like he lost and Vučić won.

Reasoning along these lines has led Pristina to play hard-ball with the northern municipalities over the past two-plus years, seeking to consolidate its territorial control while letting the chips fall where they may in terms of the impact on its long-running dispute with Serbia. Kurti’s calculation seems to be that these tangible gains outweigh the risk of a major conflict erupting or (more likely) freezing contentious relations with Belgrade for the long haul. He also appears to think that working to improve its situation on the ground does not preclude Kosovo from negotiating for ever better terms within the framework of the EU initiative. 

The harsh truth, however, is that Kosovo has much more to lose from letting the dispute persist. It is in a weaker position, facing a bigger, richer state with more to offer potential allies, especially with respect to Ukraine. It is also trying to gain from negotiations while refusing to honour its main promise in earlier talks. Its support among its most important allies in Europe and the U.S. is thus rapidly eroding. [2] Time may not be on its side. An isolated Kosovo would also find it more difficult to thwart Serbia’s goal of cutting the number of recognising states to 96 or fewer in the UN General Assembly (half its membership). Should Serbia succeed, Kosovo would be unable to attain UN observer status and the right to join UN-related treaties. 

[1]   See Crisis Group Report, Relaunching the Kosovo-Serbia Dialogue , op. cit.

[2]   Crisis Group interviews, U.S. and European officials, Washington and Brussels, February-March 2024.

B. Another Way Forward

Absent a settlement that defuses tensions between Pristina and Belgrade, it will be essential for Kosovo’s outside partners to work with it and Belgrade to find other ways to address immediate conflict risks and longer-term issues relating to the north. 

The most urgent task in defusing immediate conflict risk in northern Kosovo is to pursue demilitarisation. In light of the Banjska incident, the clear priority must be to remove as many heavy weapons as possible from the area. With KFOR’s cooperation, the Kosovo police are making progress in monitoring the border and searching for arms caches. That work should continue. The other half of demilitarisation is removing Kosovo’s special police from the lives of a community where their presence undermines rather than provides security. Pristina has moved to reduce their visibility in urban areas but should go further. Their deployments should be limited to levels needed to secure the border and track down arms caches, both tasks officers should carry out in coordination with KFOR and EULEX, the EU’s rule of law mission. As security returns, their bases should be dismantled – and the land used for them returned or paid for – and they should withdraw entirely. 

Another priority is to protect the Kosovo Serb minority, even if a formal autonomy arrangement remains elusive. With the Brussels dialogue stagnant, Kosovo and its allies will have to develop a workable model of self-government for the north without much input from Belgrade. Absent an agreement on the Community/Association, the status quo in which two states exercise their sovereign powers over the same patch of land is likely to continue winding down. The transition to Kosovo’s sole authority must therefore be done in a way that ensures the needs of the Serb minority are fully met. Fortunately, most of the Serb minority’s needs can be met just as easily outside the framework of any Association or Community as within it.

The priority for the Serb minority is probably feeling safer in their own neighbourhoods. [1] In conversations with Crisis Group, Serbs across northern Kosovo testify to a pervasive sense of insecurity that has got worse since Kurti launched his pressure campaign on the area in   2021. The Kosovo police contribute to their unease: many officers are ethnic Albanians who speak hardly a word of Serbian. Like the rest of Kosovo and the Western Balkans, the Serb-majority areas have little violent crime. Their policing needs are modest. Yet they are barely being met. Instead, the Kosovo police busy themselves with combating victimless crimes like smuggling milk and other dairy products from Serbia and taking over Serbian-built buildings. [2] In their heavily fortified special police bases, the officers look to Serbs like an occupying force rather than public servants. Kosovo should bring back regular police for the Serb areas who are Serbian-speaking, to the extent possible. These police should redouble their efforts at community outreach; and the internal affairs ministry should ensure that police in Serb areas offer the services citizens need.

Jobs are the next thing to tackle. Many, perhaps most, Kosovo Serbs are on the Serbian government’s payroll, often in the health and education sectors. Their jobs are strictly speaking illegal: they are paid in Serbian dinars and their employer pays no Kosovo taxes. Few ethnic Serbs have much prospect of finding legal work in Albanian-majority parts of Kosovo because of language barriers, disputes over the validity of Serbian qualifications and ethnic discrimination. Pristina should assure the Serbs that they can keep their current jobs, regardless of questionable legal status, until comparable positions are available in the Kosovan economy. For its part, Serbia should agree to register its institutions in Kosovo’s system.

Alongside jobs come schools. Almost all Kosovo Serb children attend public schools illegally operated by Serbia on Kosovo territory, with Pristina’s tacit acquiescence. These are the only game in town because Kosovo offers no Serbian-language education to speak of. Children in Serbian schools can transfer seamlessly to schools or universities in Serbia if their families move, and their degrees are recognised in Serbia – but not in Kosovo. Although Pristina has tolerated Serbia’s schools and universities on its territory, that might not last. The best solution is simply to register Serbian schools in Kosovo and to issue dual degrees. In theory, Serb-majority municipalities have the right to operate schools already, but they lack the capacity to do so, and it is easy for the central government to gut this right by using its authority to regulate the curriculum (ie, insisting on Pristina’s take on relations with Serbia, which would go down poorly with residents). 

Health care is a further big piece of the puzzle. As with schools, most Serbs use clinics and hospitals operated illegally by Serbia, where doctors prescribe medications licensed by Belgrade and often spirited in across the border, notwithstanding Pristina’s ban on the practice. Kosovo police raid Serb-run pharmacies and confiscate their stores. There is nothing wrong with medicine brought in from Serbia, and Pristina’s efforts to block it does little but create friction with the Serb population. As with schools, Serb-majority municipalities have the right to operate their own health care facilities, but what the people really need is the existing Serbian system operating without undue interference from Kosovo authorities. The EU’s draft statute allows the Community/Association to operate the Serbian facilities for an interim period of five years, which merely shifts the problem from the municipalities to a new institution. Pristina should instead allow Serbian medical facilities to keep operating indefinitely while respecting Kosovo law.

[1] The following section draws extensively upon Crisis Group Commentary, “ Toward Normal Relations between Kosovo and Serbia ”, op. cit. 

[2] “ Zaplena robe i u magacinu u K. Mitrovici ” [Goods confiscated in North Mitrovica warehouse], Kossev , 21 December 2023; and “ Banjska dva dana nakon što KAP preuzela kompleks ‘Rajska Banja’: Lanci i katanci ” [Banjska two days after the Kosovo privatisation agency took over the Rajska Banja complex: chains and locks], Kossev , 21 December 2023.

Elections are another area where Pristina needs to make progress. Northern Kosovo needs local government that represents the population, but Pristina is slow-walking initiatives to that end. The government set out an onerous process for recalling the mayors elected during the Serb boycott discussed above. In January, Serbs completed the first step, turning in petitions to the Central Election Commission, which has thus far failed to process them. [1] The next step is a recall referendum with a high threshold for success, followed by new elections. Kurti may want to cement his authority over the northern municipalities before allowing Serbs back into government. [2] The delay contributes to Serbs’ negative perception of central government institutions and deprives them of a voice. Pristina should hold free and fair elections in the northern municipalities as soon as possible, ideally by the summer of 2024.

At the same time, if the objective is for the north to enjoy truly representative local government, the EU and U.S. should push Belgrade not to micromanage Kosovo Serb politics. Serbia should stop insisting on a single party under the control of its own ruling Serbian Progressive Party and should instead endorse political pluralism. It should also allow Kosovo Serb party leaders to emerge organically, instead of hand-picking them in Belgrade. If Serbia cannot be persuaded to let Kosovo Serbs choose their own leaders, it should at least select a diverse slate of candidates with strong local reputations. Representatives should not be simply an appendage of Serbia’s ruling party.

[1]   Biljana Radomirović, “ Srbi predali potpise, Priština na potezu ” [Serbs handed in the signatures, now it’s Pristina’s turn], Politika , 23 January 2024.

[2]   Crisis Group correspondence, Kosovo civil society leader, January 2024.

VI. Conclusion

Since the Banjska incident in the fall of 2023, the Kosovo government has set about rapidly dismantling Serbian institutions in its northern municipalities, potentially putting prospects for a political settlement to its long-running disputes with Serbia further out of reach. There is a settlement on the table – a deal that the EU put forward in December 2022 that the parties appeared to agree to, at least in principle – but neither side seems serious about pursuing it. They should give it another look: it remains the best vehicle for Serbia to advance the interests of Kosovo’s northern Serb minority and for Kosovo to achieve the international status and recognition it seeks. But failing that, the parties and their outside partners will need to develop other arrangements to demilitarise Kosovo’s north, provide its residents with the services they require and move forward with local elections so that they have political representation.

Whether it takes these measures within the framework of a formal grant of autonomy, or on an ad hoc basis, Kosovo needs to pivot to a more supportive posture toward its northern Serb communities. Further strong-arming risks continued instability, strained relations with its partners in Europe and the U.S., and even worse ones with its neighbour, Serbia. Pristina may well find that in achieving an immediate objective – consolidating control of its territory – it has pushed the overarching objective of normalisation even further beyond reach. That is an outcome it both can and should avoid. 

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