Difference between revisions of "Niš"

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== Hitching in and around ==
 
== Hitching in and around ==
  
There is a [[toll station]] Niš - Nais, just before Niš, if you're coming down south from direction of Belgrade using the motorway. There you can get rides straight to [[Sofia]], or rides south towards [[Skopje]] and further on towards [[Greece]], without entering into the city.
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==== Bus lines around the city ====
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To help you to navigate around the city and to take necessary buses to your hitchhiking spot, here is the map of the bus lines (September 2021)
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https://www.jgpnis.rs/linije/gradske-linije/
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==== Toll gates ====
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There are 3 toll gates around the city: Niš South - https://goo.gl/maps/HutQubncm5K1MLJQA | Niš North - https://goo.gl/maps/kU4kYyKBpThLBtaQ6 | Niš East - https://goo.gl/maps/fADyXt17D34D3ZqCA | Additionally there is one more toll gate around 10 km from the city called Niš Malča - https://goo.gl/maps/QoJByKXJLMCvxQFb7
  
 
== Hitchhiking out ==
 
== Hitchhiking out ==
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=== East towards [[Sofia]] ([[Bulgaria]]) {{European Route Number|80}} ===
 
=== East towards [[Sofia]] ([[Bulgaria]]) {{European Route Number|80}} ===
  
Take a city bus from the central square to Niška Banja (a one-way ticket should cost around 50 RSD, which is about 0.50€, conductors will charge it once you get on the bus). Get off the bus on the second-to-last stop, just before roundabout (before bus crosses over the railroad tracks), after about a 15 minutes journey. There is a roundabout and you can thumb after the roundabout. Here, you may catch 70% of all locals driving out of the city to your direction.
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'''Option 1 (highway):''' You need to get to the toll gate called "Niš istok" which is located here https://goo.gl/maps/4WTEMmG5PphHWGjc8
  
However, from this point you can walk 3.5 km further to reach an ideal hitchhiking position in the village of Prosek (Просек), where this road joins the highway and all the other traffic going towards Bulgaria. After 3 km down the road, you will notice a small junction where roads merge, and after some 400-500 m more, you will be standing in the right spot with a couple of well-frequented Turkish restaurants around and some roadside parking area for long-distance trucks (most of them again being Turkish). Although it is possible to get a ride at the previous spot, this one in Prosek (Просек) should be your goal for international rides, as you have excellent chances to find a straight ride to [[Bulgaria]] or even further towards [[Turkey]].  
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==== Bus ====
* [[User:Antonopa|Antonopa]] (May 2016) This option works well, the walk to Prosek is far, possibly better to take the bus directly there. Once you are in Prosek it is not hard to find a lift to Bulgaria. I waited approximately 45 mins for a ride direct to Sofia.
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To get there, take a '''bus number 2''' from the city center. Bus ticket costs 60 dinars or 0.5 euros and a ride will take around 10-15 minutes (9-10 stops). Follow GPS on your phone and get off the bus just before intersection of "Knjaževačka street" and "Matejevački put". Walk 300 meters more until intersection and turn left to "Matejevački put" street ''(btw. you can also come to the same intersection by taking a '''bus number 4''' from the city center)''. Keep walking in the same direction for 1.5 km. If you feel like not walking so much, you can try to hitchhike until the toll gate right after you cross intersection of "Matejevački put" and "Somborska street" (when 6 lanes boulevard becomes 2 lane street). Most of the cars go to the villages along the road and some to the highway (same direction). You may get lucky and save your legs of 1 km walking. If not, just keep walking to the toll gate. At the toll gate make sure with the driver that he goes direction of Bulgaria or Pirot at least. Car should go over the bridge to join the highway. Don't make a mistake and take road to the right side before crossing the overpass. You will get lost in the highway intersections and it will be difficult to come back. If you don't find anyone going directly to the border, you can accept rides going to Pirot. From there the border is much closer and you will have better chances.
  
Alternative and possibly easier way to get to Prosek hitchhiking point is to get one of those suburban buses that go around local villages. Get to the main bus station just around the fortress, don't enter main terminals but find a smaller one with only one ticket selling booth (looks like a bus stop with buses constantly flowing through, just by the street, and not by fortress walls), and get on a bus to village of Prosek (Просек). Ticket should not be more than 1.25€, and these buses depart at every 60 minutes or so. Ask driver to let you know where to get off as this is still a local suburban bus line and stops aren't well marked. Anyway, bus stop where you're getting off has a restaurant meters away with big neon STOP sign, so you can't miss it. Once you get off, walk some 100 meters backwards and there you are, right at the position described above.
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You can also take a '''bus number 5''' from the city center. Get off at the last stop at "Somborska street". From the last stop walk 2 km to the hitchhiking spot explained above. Note this: "Somborska street" has changed name in January 2020, but on Google maps it still has the old name. If the new name ever gets updated on Google maps, don't get confused if you don't find "Somborska street" but instead you find "Bulevar svetog Pantelejmona".
  
Another option towards Bugaria is to go to the Nais toll gate.
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==== Taxi ====
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Another option is to '''take a taxi'''. Taxi in Niš is really not expensive. According to Google maps it's 5.5 km from the city center to the hitchhiking spot. Start costs 110 dinars and every km is 40 dinars. That's around 330 dinars total which is less than 3 euros. If you take taxi from different location which is closer to the hitchhiking spot it can be even cheaper. You can also take a bus (explained in previous steps) and from there take a taxi to hitchhiking spot. For 2 km it would cost no more than 200 dinars or 1.6 euros. We don't really have those taxis that rip of tourists because we don't have many tourists so they are not used to it. There are few scammers around main bus station, but not at the outskirts of the city. Legal taxi in Serbia always have TX as last two letters on car plates. To order a taxi you have to make a call. Waiting time is usually 3-4 minutes. If you don't have local sim card, ask someone to call taxi for you and to explain where taxi should pick you up from. Most popular taxi companies are: Prvi, City, Cool, Eko, Bros, TDI,...
  
* ''[[User:TurtleGrass|TurtleGrass]] (August 2015) Worked out excellently, there are cars and trucks stopping all the time, although I was quite unlucky and got in one that had just a dribble of petrol! Anyway, plenty of traffic to Sofia, definitely recommend it!
 
  
=== North towards [[Belgrade]] {{European Route Number|75}} ===
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'''Option 2 (local road):''' This option used to be the best one before the highway was completed in November 2019. Now mostly local traffic goes there and international traffic uses the highway, trucks especially because they are not allowed to use local road anymore. This route is not advisable as there are few examples of hitchhikers coming back to the city after unsuccessful day of hitchhiking at this spot.
  
There are several possibilities.
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Take a city '''bus number 1''' from the central square to Niška Banja. One-way ticket costs 80 RSD, which is about 0.70€. After about a 15 minutes journey, get off the bus on the second-to-last stop, just before roundabout (before bus crosses over the railroad tracks). There is a roundabout and you can thumb after the roundabout. Here, you may catch some traffic driving out of the city to your direction. After the highway was completed, most of the people use highway and this road is mostly used for local traffic to the nearby villages and maybe even city of Pirot, which is on the way to the border. The road is free and in good condition, so some people choose this road instead of paying for the highway.
  
==== Walking ====
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=== North towards [[Belgrade]] {{European Route Number|75}} ===
From the main bus station walk straight along the "Bulevar 12. Februar" blvd after 3-4km you will get on the highway, but a good place to hitchhike is just before the highway, you will pass under an overpass few hundred meters after there will be a turn right for "Aleksinac" hitchhike after it, get a ride at lest to the Pay Toll name "Nais", using a sign with "NAIS" written on it is advisable. From the Pay toll you can hitchhike directly north to Belgrade or cross the highway and hitchhike south towards Skopje or Thessaloniki.
 
  
It is possible to get from the "Aleksinac" turn described above to the Nais tolls on foot (it may also be possible to get a short lift). Approximately 6 kilometres up the Aleksinac road, you can walk west through a village and then some fields to reach the motorway. Once you reach the motorway, you'll find the hotel Nais, a petrol station just beyond it with truck parking and then the toll area itself.
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You need to get to the toll gate called "Niš north" which is located here https://goo.gl/maps/22qEprCexNWg9KHp8
  
 
==== Bus ====
 
==== Bus ====
  
Next to the main bus station there's a suburban buses terminal and a bus stop on 'Bulevar 12. Februar' street, with "Branković" bakery being right across the street from the bus stop (adding this info for easier orientation). Get on a bus (bus ticket is 50 dinars(Feb.2013), although if you play dumb you can pass without paying), to Donji Komren (number 12 or 12s), and get off at the last stop. Continue walking that way and after few hundred meters, passing by petrol station on your right and under a motorway overpass, you should walk a few hundred meters past the overpass, there should be a turn towards Aleksinac, hitchhike just after it, preferably with a sign NAIS, it may take a while but, get a ride at least to the Nais toll area (''naplatna rampa Niš'') where you can then stand with a sign for your destination. All cars have to stop to get a ticket, it usually takes from 5-10min to get a ride to Belgrade. You can also hitchhike next to gas station and below highway overpass, as many cars comes from road on the left side and they usually stop as they have to enter bigger boulevard 12. februar.
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Take a '''bus number 3''' from the city center. The bus ticket is 60 dinars or 0.5 euros. Bus ride will take around 10 minutes or less. Get off at the last stop. You will see a small roundabout after the bus stop. Keep walking further for 900 meters until you reach toll gate. This info is just for your orientation - you have to pass under the highway overpass on your way to the toll gate. From there you can easily hitchhike to Belgrade. You may even catch some traffic going to Bulgaria or south to Macedonia. Probably not direct rides to those countries, but for sure some cars go to nearby cities. All traffic on this toll gate will be from the city.
 
 
Easier to take bus 3 till the last stop, which start from the eastern outskirts of Nis going through the city center and stops somewhere very close to the motorway pass.
 
  
If you are going straight to Belgrade accept only direct rides, since a lot of cars are going there and it's the biggest pay toll on the way.
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==== Taxi ====
Hint: If you are patient and you have time to wait, it's also possible to get a ride straight to Austria or Germany as many people from Bulgaria or Turkey are going back home and they have to pass this way. Also if you have a driving licence is good, because those people drive for about 20 hours and they need some time to sleep, so they would be grateful if you can drive for awhile.
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Taxi in Niš is not expensive. According to Google maps it's 4.5 km from the city center to the hitchhiking spot. Start costs 110 dinars and every km is 40 dinars. That's around 300 dinars in total which is around 2.5 euros. We don't really have those taxis that rip of tourists (because we don't have many tourists so they are not used to it). There are few scammers around main bus station. Legal taxi in Serbia always have TX as last two letters on car plates. It's very difficult to get a taxi by waving with a hand like in movies. Most of taxis are not moving unless they have a ride. To order a taxi you have to call them by phone. If you don't have local sim card, ask someone to call taxi for you and to explain where taxi should pick you up from. Waiting time is usually 3-4 minutes. Most popular taxi companies are: Prvi, City, Cool, Eko, Bros, TDI,...
  
Sanja_spit was kicked out (October 2018) from the toll gate by a policeman. Returned back to the petrol station NAIS and got a ride there.
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==== Few advices ====
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* If you are going straight to Belgrade accept only direct rides, since many cars are going there.
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* It's not advisable, but if in some almost to impossible situation you don't find a direct ride to Belgrade, you may accept a ride to "Pojate toll gate" or "Batocina toll gate". Those two are on the intersection with the road coming from western and central part of Serbia and you have higher chances to get a ride than if you go to any other city on the way. People want to help hitchhikers, but please don't accept rides which will make you stuck on some small toll gate without any traffic.
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* You may only accept rides to "Požarevac toll gate" because from there it's super easy to find a ride to Belgrade. Note that Požarevac city is another 17 km further from the toll gate. You don't want to go to the city, only to the toll gate which is located 100 meters from the highway. Traffic using this toll gate is not only from that city itself, but also from some bigger portion of eastern part of Serbia.
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* Try not to accept a ride to Smederevo because it's a dead end since most drivers will use the south toll gate "Kolari" to enter the city, but people going to Belgrade will never use it because they use southwest toll gate called "Vodanj". One hitchhiker stuck in "Kolari toll gate" once and had to hitchhike back to "Požarevac toll gate" to get a ride to Belgrade form there. If your driver is going to Smederevo, you can kindly ask him if he is willing to take you to "Vodanj" toll gate. It will be 7 km more for him, but will save you from being stuck in a wrong toll gate.
  
=== South/Southwest towards [[Prishtina]] ([[Kosovo]]), [[Skopje]] ([[North Macedonia]]) {{E|75}} {{E|80}} ===
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=== South/Southwest towards [[Skopje]] ([[North Macedonia]]), [[Prishtina]] ([[Kosovo]]) {{E|75}} {{E|80}} ===
  
Take bus no.10 ("9. maj") from the central square (the bus stop is next to McDonalds). Get off at the last stop, in a suburban area called Novo Selo (also referenced as "Naselje 9. maj"). The bus ride should cost around 50 RSD. Walk straight on in the same direction and cross a bridge over the motorway. You will come to a roundabout, and the left path leads to the motorway, heading south. You can hitch from here. The E80 and E75 split shortly afterwards, so make sure you're going in the right direction. For [[Skopje]], Leskovac is on the way, so you can accept a ride to that vicinity.
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==== Macedonia ====
(I did not find a roundabout, but highway was easy to approach from the bridge and parking spot is like 50 metres far. - Solop, Dec 2016)
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You need to get to the South toll gate called "Niš jug" which is located here https://goo.gl/maps/KEQJefmYByfgjnZC9
  
*The bridge mentioned may actually be the bridge over the railroad tracks. If you get off the bus at the stop after going over the bridge and walk back you can find a roundabout whose left path does indeed leads to a second roundabout whose left path leads to the motorway. However, if you are headed towards Kosovo it might be easier to ride to the last stop and then hitch/walk about 6 kilometers further as this road merges with the actual road leading to Kosovo and said road to Kosovo is fairly easy to hitch on because it isn't officially a motorway.
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Take a bus number 10 from the city center. Bus ticket costs 80 dinars which is around 0.70 euros. There will be many roundabouts on your way and after 5th one I think, you need to get off after the last roundabout which is located here https://goo.gl/maps/xaHZMjieMgQHLYuf8
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Walk back 10 meters. Local road going South will take you to [[Leskovac]]. If you want to go further, better take the highway. Walk direction North for another 1.5 km (or you can try to hitchhike even there instead of walking). There will be another roundabout on your way. Go left there and you will see the toll gate. Note that local road will probably not take you far, but highway could take you even to the border with Macedonia.
  
Another possibility is to take the train towards Doljevac from the main railway station. Get out at Doljevac station (10 -15 minutes ride, ticket price 64 RSD, about 30 RSD if you manage to bribe the conductor), and take a 10 minutes walk to the motorway toll station (accros the fields).
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==== Kosovo ====
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If you are going to '''Kosovo''' get off at the last bus stop (same bus number 10 as described above) and then hitch/walk about 6 kilometers further as this road merges with the actual road leading to Kosovo and you can get more traffic coming from the highway. Road to Kosovo is fairly easy to hitch on because it's a local road. You can use sign Prokuplje as it's the first city on your way or Kuršumlija which is the last town before border with Kosovo. Don't go to Kuršumlija center. Get off the vehicle before the road goes towards the city. You will see it on GPS.
  
My friend from Nis told me that I can also catch bus 28 in the direction to Vrtosniki and ask driver to take me "blizu pruge, blizu autopute". I did not try this option. (Solop, Dec 2016)
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After passing town of Prokuplje, number of vehicles is getting somewhat lower. You better get a lift from vehicles registered to a foreign plates, as not many Serbian registered vehicles cross into Kosovo at all. A considerable number of trucks going into Kosovo also pass here. If you use signs for hitchhiking, after Kuršumlija write Merdare. that's the name of the border crossing with Kosovo.
  
For Kosovo:
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What is important to notice here is the traffic structure on this particular road. Serbian vehicles are in most cases heading not further than town of Kuršumlija and nearby villages. Those that pass Kuršumlija in most cases head to Prolom Banja (mineral springs health resort site) or Đavolja Varoš/Devil's Town, natural rock formations site that is a tourist hot-spot nowadays. Both of these are pretty much off the main road. These vehicles going to the border with Kosovo (Merdare village) and further, are very low in numbers.  
After passing town of Prokuplje, number of vehicles is getting somewhat lower. You're better taking a lift from vehicles registered to a foreign plates, as not many Serbian registered vehicles cross into Kosovo at all. A considerable number of trucks going into Kosovo also pass here.
 
  
What is important to notice here is the traffic structure on this particular road. Serbian vehicles are in most cases heading not further than town of Kuršumlija and nearby villages. These that pass Kuršumlija in most cases head to Prolom Banja (mineral springs health resort site) or Đavolja Varoš/Devil's Town, natural rock formations site that is a tourist hot-spot nowdays. Both of these are pretty much off the main road. These vehicles going to the border with Kosovo (Merdare village) and further, are very low in numbers.  
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Therefore, have in mind that if you catch a ride that heads to some of these previously mentioned sites, you may easily get stuck on the road for those last 10 or 15 kilometers before Merdare/Kosovo checkpoint, without much traffic at all.
  
Therefore, have in mind that if you catch a ride that heads to some of these previously mentioned sites, you may easily get stuck on the road at these last 10 or 15 kilometers before Merdare/Kosovo checkpoint, without much traffic at all.
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=== Northeast towards [[Zaječar]], [[Vidin]], [[Romania]] ===
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Depending where your location is, you need to catch bus number 2 (also labeled as "Bubanj - Donja Vrežina"), towards Donja Vrežina neighborhood. The bus costs 60 RSD. Get off at the last bus stop. You will easily recognize it by suburban atmosphere. Once you are there, you can start hitchhiking, as visibility is very good at that point. Have in mind that international and transit traffic, and good percent of locals use highway rather than this road. However, some general experiences are that about 50% of the locals going into your way are passing here. For the other half of a local traffic, you would have to hitch on the motorway, and it's not too easy to get on the city/motorway intersection for this route by public transport.
  
=== Northeast towards Zajechar, [[Vidin]], [[Romania]] ===
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Once you hitch a ride, don't worry if the driver doesn't go all the way. All you need is to get a ride for next 6 km to the intersection near the village of Malča where highway and local road merges together. Vehicles must pass there, and there's no other intersection road, so you can't miss the place. Once you get there, thumb. There is a good hitchhiking spot right at the crossroads. From the intersection you will see the "toll gate Malča" located here https://goo.gl/maps/utSoEu6QkfcH92Bf9 and you can even hitchhike there if you prefer to ask drivers face to face instead of just waiting on the road. On this spot you are catching almost 100% of traffic going towards Zaječar and further.
Depending where your location is, you need to catch bus no.2 (also labeled as "Bubanj - Donja Vrežina"), towards Donja Vrežina neighborhood. The bus ride should cost about 50 RSD. Hop off at the last stop. You will easily recognize it by suburban atmosphere. Once you're there, you can start hitchhiking, as visibility is very good at that point. Have in mind that international and transit traffic, and good percent of locals use motorway rather than this road. However, some general experiences are that about 50% of the locals going into your way are passing here. For the other half of a local traffic, you would have to hitch on the motorway, and it's not too easy to get on the city/motorway intersection for this route by public transport.
 
  
Once you hitch a ride, if the driver doesn't go all the way you need, it is recommendable to get out of the car some 8 km away at the motorway intersection near the village of Malcha. Vehicles must pass there, and there's no other intersection road, so you can't miss the place. Once you get there, thumb. There is a good hitchhiking spot right at the crossroads. You are catching almost 100% of traffic going toward Zajechar and further, and visibility is good.
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Another option to get to Malča village or even further instead of hitchhiking is to take a suburban bus number 16 or 17. Bus number 16 is going to village Vrelo and you can ride that bus until the last stop and hitchhike from there. If you take a bus number 17, make sure to get off the bus before it goes to the village which is off the main road. Check on Google maps where those villages are located and see what is the best option for you.
  
 
=== Route to Istanbul ===
 
=== Route to Istanbul ===

Latest revision as of 07:16, 25 September 2021

<map lat='43.35865692013493' lng='21.93244384765625' zoom='11' view='0' float='right' height='300' width='400'/> Niš is a city in southern Serbia with a population of 250,000. It is located on the motorway (autoput) between Belgrade and Skopje, as well as the highway between Belgrade and Sofia.

Hitching in and around

Bus lines around the city

To help you to navigate around the city and to take necessary buses to your hitchhiking spot, here is the map of the bus lines (September 2021) https://www.jgpnis.rs/linije/gradske-linije/

Toll gates

There are 3 toll gates around the city: Niš South - https://goo.gl/maps/HutQubncm5K1MLJQA | Niš North - https://goo.gl/maps/kU4kYyKBpThLBtaQ6 | Niš East - https://goo.gl/maps/fADyXt17D34D3ZqCA | Additionally there is one more toll gate around 10 km from the city called Niš Malča - https://goo.gl/maps/QoJByKXJLMCvxQFb7

Hitchhiking out

East towards Sofia (Bulgaria) E 80

Option 1 (highway): You need to get to the toll gate called "Niš istok" which is located here https://goo.gl/maps/4WTEMmG5PphHWGjc8

Bus

To get there, take a bus number 2 from the city center. Bus ticket costs 60 dinars or 0.5 euros and a ride will take around 10-15 minutes (9-10 stops). Follow GPS on your phone and get off the bus just before intersection of "Knjaževačka street" and "Matejevački put". Walk 300 meters more until intersection and turn left to "Matejevački put" street (btw. you can also come to the same intersection by taking a bus number 4 from the city center). Keep walking in the same direction for 1.5 km. If you feel like not walking so much, you can try to hitchhike until the toll gate right after you cross intersection of "Matejevački put" and "Somborska street" (when 6 lanes boulevard becomes 2 lane street). Most of the cars go to the villages along the road and some to the highway (same direction). You may get lucky and save your legs of 1 km walking. If not, just keep walking to the toll gate. At the toll gate make sure with the driver that he goes direction of Bulgaria or Pirot at least. Car should go over the bridge to join the highway. Don't make a mistake and take road to the right side before crossing the overpass. You will get lost in the highway intersections and it will be difficult to come back. If you don't find anyone going directly to the border, you can accept rides going to Pirot. From there the border is much closer and you will have better chances.

You can also take a bus number 5 from the city center. Get off at the last stop at "Somborska street". From the last stop walk 2 km to the hitchhiking spot explained above. Note this: "Somborska street" has changed name in January 2020, but on Google maps it still has the old name. If the new name ever gets updated on Google maps, don't get confused if you don't find "Somborska street" but instead you find "Bulevar svetog Pantelejmona".

Taxi

Another option is to take a taxi. Taxi in Niš is really not expensive. According to Google maps it's 5.5 km from the city center to the hitchhiking spot. Start costs 110 dinars and every km is 40 dinars. That's around 330 dinars total which is less than 3 euros. If you take taxi from different location which is closer to the hitchhiking spot it can be even cheaper. You can also take a bus (explained in previous steps) and from there take a taxi to hitchhiking spot. For 2 km it would cost no more than 200 dinars or 1.6 euros. We don't really have those taxis that rip of tourists because we don't have many tourists so they are not used to it. There are few scammers around main bus station, but not at the outskirts of the city. Legal taxi in Serbia always have TX as last two letters on car plates. To order a taxi you have to make a call. Waiting time is usually 3-4 minutes. If you don't have local sim card, ask someone to call taxi for you and to explain where taxi should pick you up from. Most popular taxi companies are: Prvi, City, Cool, Eko, Bros, TDI,...


Option 2 (local road): This option used to be the best one before the highway was completed in November 2019. Now mostly local traffic goes there and international traffic uses the highway, trucks especially because they are not allowed to use local road anymore. This route is not advisable as there are few examples of hitchhikers coming back to the city after unsuccessful day of hitchhiking at this spot.

Take a city bus number 1 from the central square to Niška Banja. One-way ticket costs 80 RSD, which is about 0.70€. After about a 15 minutes journey, get off the bus on the second-to-last stop, just before roundabout (before bus crosses over the railroad tracks). There is a roundabout and you can thumb after the roundabout. Here, you may catch some traffic driving out of the city to your direction. After the highway was completed, most of the people use highway and this road is mostly used for local traffic to the nearby villages and maybe even city of Pirot, which is on the way to the border. The road is free and in good condition, so some people choose this road instead of paying for the highway.

North towards Belgrade E 75

You need to get to the toll gate called "Niš north" which is located here https://goo.gl/maps/22qEprCexNWg9KHp8

Bus

Take a bus number 3 from the city center. The bus ticket is 60 dinars or 0.5 euros. Bus ride will take around 10 minutes or less. Get off at the last stop. You will see a small roundabout after the bus stop. Keep walking further for 900 meters until you reach toll gate. This info is just for your orientation - you have to pass under the highway overpass on your way to the toll gate. From there you can easily hitchhike to Belgrade. You may even catch some traffic going to Bulgaria or south to Macedonia. Probably not direct rides to those countries, but for sure some cars go to nearby cities. All traffic on this toll gate will be from the city.

Taxi

Taxi in Niš is not expensive. According to Google maps it's 4.5 km from the city center to the hitchhiking spot. Start costs 110 dinars and every km is 40 dinars. That's around 300 dinars in total which is around 2.5 euros. We don't really have those taxis that rip of tourists (because we don't have many tourists so they are not used to it). There are few scammers around main bus station. Legal taxi in Serbia always have TX as last two letters on car plates. It's very difficult to get a taxi by waving with a hand like in movies. Most of taxis are not moving unless they have a ride. To order a taxi you have to call them by phone. If you don't have local sim card, ask someone to call taxi for you and to explain where taxi should pick you up from. Waiting time is usually 3-4 minutes. Most popular taxi companies are: Prvi, City, Cool, Eko, Bros, TDI,...

Few advices

  • If you are going straight to Belgrade accept only direct rides, since many cars are going there.
  • It's not advisable, but if in some almost to impossible situation you don't find a direct ride to Belgrade, you may accept a ride to "Pojate toll gate" or "Batocina toll gate". Those two are on the intersection with the road coming from western and central part of Serbia and you have higher chances to get a ride than if you go to any other city on the way. People want to help hitchhikers, but please don't accept rides which will make you stuck on some small toll gate without any traffic.
  • You may only accept rides to "Požarevac toll gate" because from there it's super easy to find a ride to Belgrade. Note that Požarevac city is another 17 km further from the toll gate. You don't want to go to the city, only to the toll gate which is located 100 meters from the highway. Traffic using this toll gate is not only from that city itself, but also from some bigger portion of eastern part of Serbia.
  • Try not to accept a ride to Smederevo because it's a dead end since most drivers will use the south toll gate "Kolari" to enter the city, but people going to Belgrade will never use it because they use southwest toll gate called "Vodanj". One hitchhiker stuck in "Kolari toll gate" once and had to hitchhike back to "Požarevac toll gate" to get a ride to Belgrade form there. If your driver is going to Smederevo, you can kindly ask him if he is willing to take you to "Vodanj" toll gate. It will be 7 km more for him, but will save you from being stuck in a wrong toll gate.

South/Southwest towards Skopje (North Macedonia), Prishtina (Kosovo) E 75 E 80

Macedonia

You need to get to the South toll gate called "Niš jug" which is located here https://goo.gl/maps/KEQJefmYByfgjnZC9

Take a bus number 10 from the city center. Bus ticket costs 80 dinars which is around 0.70 euros. There will be many roundabouts on your way and after 5th one I think, you need to get off after the last roundabout which is located here https://goo.gl/maps/xaHZMjieMgQHLYuf8 Walk back 10 meters. Local road going South will take you to Leskovac. If you want to go further, better take the highway. Walk direction North for another 1.5 km (or you can try to hitchhike even there instead of walking). There will be another roundabout on your way. Go left there and you will see the toll gate. Note that local road will probably not take you far, but highway could take you even to the border with Macedonia.

Kosovo

If you are going to Kosovo get off at the last bus stop (same bus number 10 as described above) and then hitch/walk about 6 kilometers further as this road merges with the actual road leading to Kosovo and you can get more traffic coming from the highway. Road to Kosovo is fairly easy to hitch on because it's a local road. You can use sign Prokuplje as it's the first city on your way or Kuršumlija which is the last town before border with Kosovo. Don't go to Kuršumlija center. Get off the vehicle before the road goes towards the city. You will see it on GPS.

After passing town of Prokuplje, number of vehicles is getting somewhat lower. You better get a lift from vehicles registered to a foreign plates, as not many Serbian registered vehicles cross into Kosovo at all. A considerable number of trucks going into Kosovo also pass here. If you use signs for hitchhiking, after Kuršumlija write Merdare. that's the name of the border crossing with Kosovo.

What is important to notice here is the traffic structure on this particular road. Serbian vehicles are in most cases heading not further than town of Kuršumlija and nearby villages. Those that pass Kuršumlija in most cases head to Prolom Banja (mineral springs health resort site) or Đavolja Varoš/Devil's Town, natural rock formations site that is a tourist hot-spot nowadays. Both of these are pretty much off the main road. These vehicles going to the border with Kosovo (Merdare village) and further, are very low in numbers.

Therefore, have in mind that if you catch a ride that heads to some of these previously mentioned sites, you may easily get stuck on the road for those last 10 or 15 kilometers before Merdare/Kosovo checkpoint, without much traffic at all.

Northeast towards Zaječar, Vidin, Romania

Depending where your location is, you need to catch bus number 2 (also labeled as "Bubanj - Donja Vrežina"), towards Donja Vrežina neighborhood. The bus costs 60 RSD. Get off at the last bus stop. You will easily recognize it by suburban atmosphere. Once you are there, you can start hitchhiking, as visibility is very good at that point. Have in mind that international and transit traffic, and good percent of locals use highway rather than this road. However, some general experiences are that about 50% of the locals going into your way are passing here. For the other half of a local traffic, you would have to hitch on the motorway, and it's not too easy to get on the city/motorway intersection for this route by public transport.

Once you hitch a ride, don't worry if the driver doesn't go all the way. All you need is to get a ride for next 6 km to the intersection near the village of Malča where highway and local road merges together. Vehicles must pass there, and there's no other intersection road, so you can't miss the place. Once you get there, thumb. There is a good hitchhiking spot right at the crossroads. From the intersection you will see the "toll gate Malča" located here https://goo.gl/maps/utSoEu6QkfcH92Bf9 and you can even hitchhike there if you prefer to ask drivers face to face instead of just waiting on the road. On this spot you are catching almost 100% of traffic going towards Zaječar and further.

Another option to get to Malča village or even further instead of hitchhiking is to take a suburban bus number 16 or 17. Bus number 16 is going to village Vrelo and you can ride that bus until the last stop and hitchhike from there. If you take a bus number 17, make sure to get off the bus before it goes to the village which is off the main road. Check on Google maps where those villages are located and see what is the best option for you.

Route to Istanbul

Niš could be on your route to Istanbul. Check the Istanbul Category Page for more information and tips.

Sleeping

There is a lot of space, trees and empty little buildings in the area of Nis Fortress.