From Zagreb to Belgrade: How to Travel

From Zagreb to Budapest. Zagreb, the pretty capital of Croatia. Belgrade is a very interesting city and is the capital of Serbia. Are you thinking of combining visits to both of them during one trip? How to travel between Zagreb and Belgrade? I will describe this in this article.

We will look at all means of transport.

Quick Links to organise your trip to and between Croatia and Serbia:

Check buses and trains and book your tickets here.

Accommodations book here.

Here, you can compare prices and rent a car.

Here, you can book guided tours and attractions.

And on this website, you can review and book your flights.

How far is it?

Croatia and Serbia are neighbouring countries. The distance between their capitals, Zagreb and Belgrade, is almost 400 km (248 miles).

You can travel between both cities by car, train, or plane. Let’s review every option in detail.

From Zagreb to Belgrade: Plane

There are no cheap flights companies flying on this route. However, there are direct flights between Zagreb and Belgrade with Air Serbia. The flight time is 1 hour and 15 minutes, and you can buy tickets for around 70 Euro one way if you book in advance.

Zagreb Airport is around 30 minutes away from Zagreb centre, and you can reach it by shuttle or public bus. Details you can read in the article about Croatian airports.

Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport is reachable in around 30-40 minutes, by minibus or public transport.

From Zagreb to Belgrade: Car

If you travel by car, it’s going to take you around 4 hours. Roads are said to be quite good, and a big part of the journey is on the highway.

If you are searching for a place for a break during your trip, look at Slavonski Brod, a Croatian city that is located exactly in the middle of journey.

You can check out and rent a car here.

From Zagreb to Belgrade: Bus

Obviously, you can take a bus as well; buses go on a daily basis. There are around 5 daily departures with Flixbus, and the journey times are around 5 hours and 30 minutes. Bus tickets cost from 20 to even 50 Euro, depending on the time of the day and how in advance you book.

There are also other bus companies going on this route, but it’s pretty hard to find a full, reliable schedule online.

The bus station in Zagreb is a little bit further from the city center and the train station. It’s around a 20-minute walk or a short tram ride from the train station to the bus.

The main bus station in Belgrade is next to the train station, which is around a 15-20 minute walk from the center.

From Zagreb to Belgrade: Train

Travelling by train in Central Europe is easy and pretty fast as well. You can even make a circuit trip as part of your travel plans and visit a few capitals by train. Unfortunately, the train connection between Zagreb and Belgrade doesn’t run at the moment.

It used to run, and travel time was around 5-6 hours. Then it was shut because of pandemics, reconstruction works, etc. Since then, it hasn’t been reopened. You can travel by train with a few train changes, but it’s going to be a long time and tiring journey.

At the moment, it’s better to take a bus; it’s going to be easier and more efficient, and it’s a rather budget-friendly option.

Summary

Hopefully this information is useful for you, and you will be able to organise your trip from Zagreb to Belgrade smoothly. You can choose your favourite mode of transportation to have the most comfortable journey for Zagreb – Belgrade route. Of course, all the information works as well in the opposite direction, from Belgrade to Zagreb.

I also hope you will enjoy both cities. They are not considered prime city-break destinations, but both are really interesting and worth visiting. Belgrade is a bit controversial; sometimes opinions are not great, but I honestly liked both of them.

If you are visiting Croatia, I have more articles that can be of help to you.

Here, you can read more about Zagreb City Facts.

Check out Croatian amazing coastal cities. And if you are planning a circuit trip, see how to travel between Budapest and Zagreb here.