After completing your luggage and passport procedures at the Istanbul Airport International Terminal, depart for Belgrade at 13:00 with a special flight by Freebird Airlines. Arrival in Belgrade at 12:45 local time. After passport and luggage procedures, we meet with our guide and depart for a city tour. During our panoramic tour in Belgrade, which means "White City" and was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire by Suleiman the Magnificent, we will see Ottoman artifacts and traces of the former Yugoslavia. In the city established at the intersection of the Danube and Sava rivers, you will visit the Castle Square, which is a touristic park, and the historical Belgrade Castle; the tomb of Silahdar Damat Ali Pasha, known as the "Conqueror of Morea", in the castle; the Military Museum and clock tower in the same region, the Sokollu Mehmed Pasha Fountain, the Roman Well; We will see the Ruzica Church, the oldest place of worship in the region, the gates of the castle given various names (such as the Dungeon Gate, Istanbul Gate, Despot Gate, Vidin Gate); Stone Square, which was severely damaged in the bombardment during the collapse of Yugoslavia, and the St. Mark's Cathedral there; Knez Mihaliova Street, one of the most dynamic places in the city; Republic Square at the southern end of the street and the theater building in the square, the museum building, and the Prince Mihailo monument, which has an important place in the independence struggle of the Balkan countries.
After our tour, transfer to the hotel where we will stay and stay overnight at our hotel.
We will take the Serbian Night Tour, which will be organized as an extra with our guests who wish. In this tour, we will have our dinner at Velika Skadarlija or Mali Vrabac Restaurant in Skadarlija (similar to Kumkapı in Istanbul) while having fun with live music.
Extra Serbian Night: 90 Euro per person (Restaurant Velika Skadarlija or Mali Vrabac // set menu excluding drinks)
DAY 2 (December 30, 2024) BELGRADE
After breakfast at the hotel, free time. Guests who wish can join the Novi Sad, Petrovaradin and Karlowitz Tour, which will be organized as an extra.
After a bus ride of about an hour, we first arrive in Karlowitz. Here we will taste wine at Bajla, the most famous wine cellar. Then we will arrive in Novi Sad, the central city of the Vojvodina region of Serbia, and walk to see the historical beauties the city has to offer. While walking on the roads that still carry the influence of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, we will look from afar at the Petrovaradin Fortress on the opposite bank of the Danube River; in Freedom Square, which forms the center of the city, we will see the cathedral built in the Neo-Gothic style, the Neo-Renaissance style town hall opposite it, and the statue of the famous politician of the region, Svetozar Miletic, standing between the two. We will leave the square and walk a little further to reach the Bishop's Palace. Then we will see the Novi Sad Synagogue, where the entire congregation was killed in World War II, and get on our bus to go to the town of Petrovaradin.
We will arrive at the castle, famous for its underground tunnels, passing through the Belgrade gate of the town, and we will watch the magnificent view of the Danube River, and see the area where the Battle of Petrovaradin took place, which resulted in the defeat of the Ottoman Empire and caused it to begin withdrawing from the Balkan lands. We will take a short break in Petrovaradin for lunch. Then we will get on our bus and take a ten-minute ride to one of the cutest and most historical towns of the city, Karlowitz.
In Karlowitz, which is located on the banks of the Danube River and famous for its vineyards, we will go to the hill where the Karlowitz Agreement, considered a turning point for the Ottoman Empire, was signed, and we will see the Peace Chapel built in memory of the agreement. Then we will see the first Grammar School (Latin language) established in the town; the library; the Wine Cellar belonging to the Zivanovic family, famous for the wines they produced being served on the Titanic; the Patriarchate; After visiting the Four Lions Fountain; the St. Nicholas Cathedral, which attracts attention with its two towers and striking mosaics, we will get on our bus and return to Belgrade, our hotel to rest and stay.
Extra Novi Sad & Petrovaradin & Karlowitz Tour: 70 Euros per person
We will organize an extra Serbian Night Tour with our guests who wish. In this tour, we will have our dinner at Velika Skadarlija or Mali Vrabac Restaurant in Skadarlija (similar to Kumkapı in Istanbul) while having fun with live music.
Extra Serbian Night: 90 Euros per person (Restaurant Velika Skadarlija or Mali Vrabac// set menu excluding drinks)
DAY 3 (December 31, 2024) BELGRADE
Free time after breakfast at the hotel in the morning. Guests who wish can join the Nikola Tesla Museum & Zemun & Gardosh Tower Tour OR the Red Belgrade Communist Tour.
Nikola Tesla Museum & Zemun & Gardosh Tower Tour:
We will visit the Museum of Nikola Tesla, the Serbian scientist who said, “If your hatred could be turned into electricity, the whole world would be enlightened.” Nikola Tesla, a Serbian-American inventor, physicist and electrophysicist, has also made many used and unused experiments/inventions that could completely change the structure of science and technology in the world. In particular, his invention of wireless transmission of electricity and his proof of this explain how unique an inventor he is. We are sure that you will be amazed by this museum.
After our museum visit, we take a Zemun Tour. Zemun is one of the 17 districts in the south of Belgrade, which was sometimes under Ottoman and sometimes under Habsburg rule. After the panoramic tour we will have here, we will spend pleasant hours in this beautiful city that looks like a fishing town.
Then we will go to the Gardoš Tower, which is the same tower located on the Gardošu hill of Zemun. It is the best viewing tower where you can watch both the Zemun region, the rivers and the distant regions. We will take a short break in Zemun for lunch. After our break, we will return to our hotel to rest and stay overnight.
Red Belgrade Communist Tour:
In the Republic Square, where Josip Broz Tito announced the birth of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia with his inspiring speech, we will learn about the fall and rise of communism in Yugoslavia, and listen to conspiracy theories and urban legends of the second half of the 20th century from our guide.
Later, we will see Terazije Square, Hotel Moskva, Nikola Pašić Square, known as the square of Marx and Engels, the Union building, Pioneer's Park, the monument to Ivo Andrić, the Nobel Prize-winning Serbian writer and Serbia's ambassador to Berlin at the beginning of World War II, and the Dedinje district of Belgrade, famous for its numerous embassies and residential villas. During this time, we will take a 20-minute tour with Yugos, known as the famous Yugoslavian car of the past.
Finally, we will visit the Yugoslavia Museum, dedicated to the life and deeds of the famous leader Josip Broz Tito, who carried the country to a bright future, and the mausoleum known as the House of Flowers, where Tito is buried. After our tour, we will return to our hotel to rest and stay overnight.
Nikola Tesla Museum & Zemun & Gardosh Tower Tour: 70 Euros per person
Red Belgrade Communist Tour: 80 Euros per person
DAY 4 (January 01, 2025) BELGRADE, ISTANBUL
After a late breakfast that will continue until 12:30 in the morning, we will vacate our rooms and check out of the hotel. Then, at the time determined by our guide, we will set off for Belgrade Nikola Tesla Airport. After arriving at the airport, we will complete our luggage and passport procedures and depart for Istanbul at 21:30 with a special flight by Freebird Airlines. We will arrive in Istanbul at 01:15 local time and end our tour…
