The journey begins quietly, leaving Belgrade’s plains for the wooded hills of central Serbia. Soon the red walls of Žiča Monastery appear beside open fields — the place where Serbian kings were once crowned. Further south the road winds through the Ibar Gorge, where the ruined fortress of Maglič suddenly rises above the river cliffs. By the time you step inside Studenica’s white marble church and look up at its 12th-century frescoes, the scale of the medieval Serbian kingdom — and why this region is called the Valley of the Kings — starts to make sense.
If you prefer visiting historically important monasteries closer to Belgrade, see our Manasija and Ravanica tour, which also includes a visit to Resava Cave and the scenic landscapes of Eastern Serbia.
#YourSerbiaHost will pick you up at your Belgrade address (usual pickup time is 9am) and the journey begins south toward Western Serbia. As the city gradually gives way to the rolling landscapes of the Šumadija region, your guide introduces the historical background of the area and explains how this region became the core of the medieval Serbian state.
After about two hours on the road you arrive at Žiča Monastery, the first seat of the Serbian Orthodox Church and the coronation monastery of medieval Serbian rulers. Walking through the complex, your guide explains why Žiča played such an important role in the kingdom. According to tradition, a ruler was not considered a legitimate king unless he had been crowned here.
The route continues through the Ibar River Gorge, often called the Valley of the Kings. Along the way you will see the medieval Maglič Fortress rising above the river cliffs. Although it can only be viewed from the road, its position clearly shows how this valley was once protected and controlled.
A short drive further into the mountains brings you to Studenica Monastery, the most important monastic foundation of medieval Serbia and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. During the visit you explore the Church of the Holy Virgin and its remarkable 12th-century frescoes, including the famous Crucifixion of Christ.
After the visit, the tour continues to the nearby village of Bogutovac for lunch at the long-standing family restaurant “Kod Mira.” The restaurant has been run by the same family for generations and is known for traditional Serbian cuisine and hospitality.
After meal in “Kod Mira” we’ll take you straight to Belgrade. Usual arrival time is around 6pm.
* Price is per private group, not per person
*Limited availability due to the private format.
* Price is per private group, not per person
*Limited availability due to the private format.
This was my second trip with Serbian Private Tours – I was keen to revisit after the first one last year. I actually did a combination of two day trips made into a three day/two night trip which was truly fantastic and the flexibility to plan something like this was greatly appreciated. The trip was superbly organised by the owner who is highly professional, has very good connections with all the suppliers en route to ensure that the guest has a good experience and chooses good guides if he can’t do the trip himself. My guide for the three days was Vladica, a very charming and knowledgeable young man who could not have been more solicitous and was excellent company. Just a brilliant trip and I will certainly be using Serbian Private Tours again.
The comment is taken from TripAdvisor review page connected to our service, to see the source follow this link.
We had a really special day, experienced Serbia in the best way – visiting 2 most important monasteries for the Serbian people and their history. And our guide Miljan is superb guide, he made us feeling as he was also part of our family that day. We are comming agian to experience more!
The comment is taken from TripAdvisor review page connected to our service, to see the source follow this link.
When we thought that we’d have to give up Monasteries Žiča and Studenica because of the complicated transportation we happened to see Serbian Private Tours and had a wonderful day trip from Belgrade to the monasteries. Besides the amazing culture and frescos it impressed me so much with our kind tour guide, his knowledge about whatever we wanted to know, the easy and comfortable trip, the fast online reply of the team and the cheap and nice restaurant (especially the dessert I loved it). The route was so well designed and the trip is definitely worth taking. Thank you so much for today and we’ll come back to travel with you again! The comment is taken from TripAdvisor review page connected to our service, to see the source follow this link.
From Belgrade, I did 3 tours with Serbian Private Tours: Fruska Gora Monasteries & Sremski Karlovci, Monasteries Manasija & Ravanica and Monasteries Zica & Studenica. I can highly recommend all 3 of these tours. Dobrosav (aka Dobri) was my guide for all 3 tours. His English is excellent. Dobri arrived on time and well prepared with water and juices for the journey. He was mindful of my needs as I have mobility issues and he would drop me as close to the venue as possible, then go and park the car and come back to me to tour our site and then repeat in reverse. This was very sensitive and kind and certainly increased my ability and enjoyment to see and do more. Dobri had great knowledge of the area and monasteries and also general knowledge of Serbia. I enjoyed your conversations very much and we also had pleasant silences as I enjoyed the view for which words were not necessary. Dobri certainly knows the history, architecture, art and religious significance of all the monasteries but without being boring or overly verbose. Serbia is rich in history and natural beauty and the monasteries were breathtaking. I was pleasantly surprised by the authenticity of our lunch stops. The wine tasting and lunch in Fruska Gora was with the winemaker himself – food was delicious as was the wine and we got to taste Bermet which apparently had at one time been served on the Titanic. These little stories are treasures and make for memorable experiences. The lunch at Kod Mira (on the Studenica tour) and the lunch at Veliki Buk waterfall (the Ravanica tour) were both delicious examples of local delicacies – this was a really authentic experience with all local clientele (no tour buses here!). I cannot finish this review without mentioning another kindness and delightful service from Dobri – we had discussed my father serving me a local plum dumpling (knedle) when I was a child and on our second tour Dobri surprised me with knedle which he had gone to a local bakery to find for me and which we had at our morning coffee break. It genuinely brought tears to my eyes and a flood of memories of my father (and yes, they were as good as I can remember my father making!). I can’t impress enough how thoughtful and kind this was and I was (still am) delighted by the experience. This is definitely a memory I will cherish – thank you Dobri! Serbian Private Tours provides exceptional value and service and I highly recommend them. I will most definitely use them again when I next find myself in Serbia. The comment is taken from TripAdvisor review page connected to our service, to see the source follow this link.
* Price is per private group, not per person
* Price is per private group, not per person
*Limited availability due to the private format.
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Belgrade for Beginners – A Private City Tour with a Local Guide
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