Travelling from Belgrade (Serbia) to Pristina (Kosovo) by Bus
From Belgrade in Serbia, we decide to take the bus to Pristina (Kosovo).
I don’t think there’s an official website to buy tickets. So I bought our tickets on the GetByBus platform. The bus company is called Adio.
I usually avoid going through middlemen, but we had already used them for a trip between Montenegro and Albania without any problems.
The tickets cost us 15 euros per person. If you’re near the bus station, you can buy tickets at the counter directly, which will probably cost you a few euros less.
We traveled on a weekday (a Thursday) and we would have gotten seats without any problems buying at the last minute.
The departure was scheduled for 12pm (and it left on time!). GetByBus indicated an arrival at 5:30pm, but the arrival time on the bus’s sign was 6pm.
We finally arrived at 5:57pm. It’s very pleasant, and quite rare to have bus journeys so punctual, especially with a border crossing.
The Belgrade bus station is located here (Google Maps link). Google reviews are pretty awful, so I expected the worst, but I found it very acceptable.
Many criticisms come from the fact that you have to pay to access the platform (190 RSD per person). You need to buy a ticket at counter no. 12.
Remember to ask (or look at the screens) for the platform number of your bus, because once on the platform… there are no signs…
The toilets are also paid (50 RSD). You wonder where that money goes, but apparently not into keeping the toilets clean 😀
The attendant accompanying our driver spoke a few words of English. There are no extra fees for luggage in the hold.
The bus toilets were not accessible. There will be two breaks of about 15 minutes during the journey.
A few minutes after departure, the attendant comes by to check tickets. I even think you can get on the bus without a ticket and buy it directly once the journey has started.
He collects ID cards and passports and returns them a few minutes later, after filling out a passenger manifest (probably for the border crossing).
As you may know, Serbia does not recognize Kosovo’s independence (which can be a problem if you enter Serbia from Kosovo with your Kosovar stamp). But there is indeed a border post (with a big sign saying “Funded by the European Union”).
First, you have to leave Serbia. The attendant collects passports and IDs again. We stay on the bus, and he brings them back a few minutes later.
The bus moves a few meters, and this time a Kosovar officer gets on the bus to scan IDs and passports. If, like us, you present your passport, he will get out to stamp it and bring it back a few minutes later.
That’s it, you’re in Kosovo! Despite the information online, for this border crossing at least, Kosovo did not ask us for any documents regarding Covid vaccines or tests.
A short break, and 45 minutes of road left to reach Pristina.
You’ll easily find taxis (very cheap, with a meter, no need to negotiate). To our great surprise, there’s a taxi company with a fleet of Tesla cars! So it’s in Kosovo that we rode in a Tesla for the first time. Who would have thought?
