Travel along the Danube from Belgrade to the Iron Gates to see the area’s most famous sights, accompanied by live, professional guidance and in an air-conditioned vehicle. You will visit the famous Golubac Fortress and learn about its turbulent history. You will also see the stunning beauty of Europe’s longest composite valley. And of course, we will take a boat ride through the Iron Gate, one of Europe’s most dramatic natural wonders, which divides the Carpathian and Balkan mountains. You will have the opportunity to experience the unique atmosphere of Eastern Serbia and savor the region’s traditional products.
Winter season (01.11-31.3)
During the winter season, from November 1 to March 31, boat rides on the Danube and visits to the Kapetan Mišin Breg restaurant are not part of the program due to weather conditions. Instead, the itinerary focuses on cultural and historical exploration. Travelers will visit the Golubac Fortress, a medieval stronghold guarding the entrance to the Iron Gate, and the Archaeological Site Lepenski Vir, one of Europe’s oldest settlements with remarkable prehistoric artifacts. A lunch break is organized at a local restaurant, offering traditional Serbian dishes and warm hospitality, ensuring an engaging and authentic winter experience along the Danube River.
What’s included:
- Hotel pick-up and drop-off
- Transport by air-conditioned van/minibus
- Services of a professional, certified English-speaking guide
- Entrance fee for the Golubac Fortress
- 1-hour boat ride through the Iron Gates (not available during the winter season)
- Entrance fee for the Lepenski Vir museum (only during the winter season)
Exclusions:
- Full traditional Serbian lunch (optional) – 1,800 rsd (cca 15.5€) per person (payable in cash only, not available during the winter season)
- Lunch at the local restaurant (optional)
- Gratuities (optional)
Price
Shared tour (small group)
Our shared tour is still small enough to ensure a personalized experience. Although the maximum is 18 passengers (we don’t use vehicles larger than that on this tour), there’s a pretty big chance that there will be no more than 5-7 fellow travelers with you on tour.
 |
| 100€ |
 |
| 50€ |
DURATION: 11-12 hours
DEPARTURE TIME: 08:30 (pick-up from the hotel 15-30 minutes before the tour)
DEPARTURE LOCATION: from your accommodation
LANGUAGE: English
Private Tour
Aside from the convenience of having a vehicle and a guide just for you, a private tour offers greater flexibility in choosing your itinerary. This option also allows you to choose the departure time, trip duration, and language for the tour.
IMPORTANT NOTES:
1. The restaurant doesn’t accept credit cards, so payment is possible only with cash.
2. We kindly ask you to bring your passports (just in case), as the fortress is located very close to the Romanian border, and the border police in that area occasionally request documents from tourists.
3. Please wear comfortable shoes.
4. In the event of unfavorable weather conditions for sailing (which occur extremely rarely), we will substitute the boat ride with a drive to one of the scenic viewpoints and a visit to the Lepenski Vir Museum.
5. On a shared tour, the entrance ticket for “Zone 1” (the green zone) of Golubac Fortress is included. The other zones are available only on private tours, ranging from moderate to extremely challenging, and require visitors to be in excellent physical condition. Additionally, wearing appropriate clothing and footwear is mandatory, including tracksuits, trousers, capris, trainers, or hiking shoes.
Availability
April 1st – October 31st.
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
| X | ✔ | X | ✔ | X | ✔ | ✔ |
November 1st – March 31st. (WINTER SEASON ITINERARY)
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
| X | X | ✔ | X | ✔ | X | ✔ |
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DETAILED TOUR DESCRIPTION:
Our tour starts from your accommodation, and we will head toward Eastern Serbia. During two hours of the ride, we’ll enjoy the beautiful landscapes and listen to interesting stories about this part of the country.
Golubac Fortress
Our first stop is the Golubac Fortress, a defensive complex that has protected many kingdoms over the centuries. Golubac is the perfect fairy-tale castle, wonderfully set off by its location in the rugged landscape at the head of Đerdap Gorge. There are nine towers in all, each between 20 and 25m high, and the fortress’s position overlooking the Danube makes Golubac undoubtedly one of the most beautiful castles along the 2850km Danube odyssey from source to the Black Sea.
Lunch break
After visiting the mighty fortress, we will continue our ride along the Danube River. For the next 30 minutes, you will enjoy scenic views while learning about the history and present-day aspects of Djerdap National Park. Next, we will stop at a unique, authentic restaurant with a fantastic view overlooking the Danube to enjoy a traditional lunch featuring specialties of Eastern Serbian cuisine (not included).
Cruising The Iron Gates
After we’ve fed our stomachs with good food and our eyes with nice views, we’ll head for the last attraction on our tour. After around 30 minutes of driving, we will reach the most beautiful part of the Iron Gates – The Great Boilers. Here, we will board our boat, and over the next 60 minutes, you will enjoy some of the most spectacular views in this part of Europe. Cruising through the breathtaking natural marvel where the Danube River winds through towering cliffs and lush forests, we will visit the most famous sights in the gorge: Tabula Triana – a memorial plaque erected to commemorate the construction of a military road by Roman Emperor Trajan, the rock sculpture of Decebalus, the Dacian king and the rival of the Romans, Mraconia Monastery on the Romanian side of the river and the historic signal balloon stations of Varnica and Pena.
Here, we conclude this river journey, where history, nature, and legends meet.
After absorbing so many impressions, we’ll get back into our vehicle and, after roughly three hours (with one coffee and a toilet break), you’ll be back in Belgrade. We believe that, after finishing the tour, you will have a completely different perspective.
PICK-UP DETAILS:
- Pick-up will be 15-30 minutes before departure. We’ll email or WhatsApp you the pickup details the day before the trip, no earlier than 6 pm.
- Pickup from any hotel, Airbnb, or pension within 5 km of Republic Square, or from Belgrade Port, is free of charge.
- For pick-up locations more than 5 km from Republic Square, please contact us directly.
- Important note: Depending on the traffic conditions, location of your hotel/Airbnb, the number and the positions of the pick-up locations on the day of your trip, we may ask you to walk to the closest pick-up point (never more than 7-8 minutes of walking from the place where you’re staying).
ITINERARY:
08:00 – 08:30 Hotel pick-ups
08:30 – 10:30 Tour start & travel through Central & Eastern Serbia
10:30 – 12:00 Golubac Fortress sightseeing
12:00 – 12:45 drive through Djerdap National Park
12:45 – 14:00 Lunch at the „Kapetan Mišin breg“ restaurant (at own expense)
14:00 – 14:40 drive through Djerdap National Park
14:40 – 15:50 Iron Gate boat ride
16:00 – 19:30 Driving through Eastern & Central Serbia, towards Belgrade, with a short stop
19:30 – 20:00 Arrival in Belgrade and hotel drop-offs (approximate time, depending on the traffic conditions)
GENERAL NOTES:
- Confirmation will be received at the time of booking.
- Travelers should have a moderate level of physical fitness.
- The minimum number of guests required to operate a shared tour is three.
- At least 16 hours before the trip, we will inform you in case there are not enough guests on the tour, and we will offer a choice between:
1) canceling the tour with no fees applied;
2) changing the tour date;
3) moving to another available tour.
CANCELLING YOUR TOUR:
We apply very simple rules. If you cancel the tour up to 24 hours before, you’ll get a 100% refund. If you cancel the tour less than 24 hours before the trip, you will not receive any refund.
