Holiday Gift Guide: Atlas Obscura Books and Calendars
On this dramatic road trip across Serbia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, we’ll explore the Balkans in search of Yugoslav memorial sites. Scores of these wonderfully bizarre monuments lay scattered across the hills and mountains of the region, vast Modernist effigies raised to commemorate the deeds of anti-fascist partisans and revolutionaries. Once upon a time, these striking sites were busy with tour buses and school children, but ever since the collapse of Yugoslavia, the visitors have dwindled. Over the course of this one-of-a-kind adventure, we’ll visit more than a dozen of these remarkable monuments—known locally as spomeniks—and treat them to the well-deserved attention that they’ve been largely missing for these past few decades. We’ll honor them not as political symbols, but rather as extraordinary works of art commemorating events that should never be forgotten. However, it won’t just be concrete and steel we’re looking at—along the way we’ll see mountains and lakes, explore underground tunnels, stay in Brutalist hotels, dig into local cuisines, and get to know the people who make up this diverse region of Eastern Europe.
Arrive in Belgrade and settle into your room at Hotel Jugoslavija, located in the Novi Beograd district of Belgrade. It’s just a short taxi ride from the airport, in a part of the city famed for its Brutalist and Modernist architecture. We’ll meet this evening and admire some of the local sights before settling down for a traditional Serbian dinner and an opportunity to meet your fellow travelers.
Hotel Jugoslavija, Belgrade
Welcome Dinner
This morning, we’ll set out for a walking tour of Belgrade, taking in sights such as Republic Square and the Kalemegdan Fortress. We’ll get a sense of the city’s diverse architecture, ranging from Serbo-Byzantine through Baroque and Classical, to striking works in the Modernist style. Lunch will be a traditional meal in the Old Town area, ‘Skadarlija.’ In the afternoon, we’ll visit an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Belgrade where we’ll wander through the ruins of a once-thriving site of Yugoslav manufacturing. We’ll relax at the end of an exciting day with dinner back at the hotel.
Hotel Jugoslavija, Belgrade
Breakfast
This morning our bus will collect us from the hotel, stopping first at the partisan monument on Mount Kosmaj. We’ll then drive south to visit the Šumarice Memorial Park at Kragujevac, the site of terrible atrocities during WWII and now a place of great national significance. After a tour of the museum, we’ll explore the sprawling park on foot and admire the many monuments placed in memory of the victims. By early evening, we’ll arrive in Niš, where we’ll head directly for a visit to the Bubanj Memorial Complex. For dinner, we’ll sample some of the local barbecue cuisine.
Boutique Hotel, Niš
Breakfast
Before we leave the city, we’ll stop at the infamous 'Skull Tower of Niš'. Then, we’re on the road again, heading west. Southern Serbia is densely packed with bizarre Yugoslav-era monuments, and today, we’ll visit some of the best—stopping at the Mausoleum in Čačak, the Monument to the Strong at Ostra, and the Sniper Monument at Popina, before finally arriving at our accommodation for the night.
Boutique Hotel, Užice
Breakfast
Užice is a paradise for architecture geeks. We’ll take a walk through the city in the morning, admiring some truly mad examples of the Brutalist and Modernist styles. Later we’ll hit the road to visit the nearby Kadinjača Memorial Complex... and then we bid Serbia “Zbogom” as we cross the border into Bosnia and Herzegovina. We’ll drive first to the Tjentište Monument, located down south in the remote Sutjeska National Park. There’ll be a variety of interesting stops along this scenic drive, before we eventually pull into Sarajevo come evening, and head out after dark to get out first taste of the Bosnian capital.
Boutique Hotel, Sarajevo
Breakfast, Dinner
Today you'll have the opportunity to learn about the Bosnian War and the 1992-96 Siege of Sarajevo. Survivors of the conflict will share their stories with us during a walking tour of the abandoned Olympic bobsleigh track, which became a front line during the conflict. In the afternoon, take some free time to explore the city’s many markets, mosques, plazas, and coffee shops; Sarajevo is an extraordinary place, rich and layered with history. This evening, you’ll have the opportunity to explore a thriving contemporary craft beer scene.
Boutique Hotel, Sarajevo
Breakfast
Leaving Sarajevo in the morning, we’ll drive northward. There’ll be some interesting smaller monuments to look at along the way, and we’ll have lunch near the historic city of Zenica. By late afternoon, we’ll arrive in Banja Luka: the largest city in Bosnia’s 'Republika Srpska' region. Here we’ll take a look around the city center, before gathering for dinner in a modern restaurant in the centre of Banja Luka.
Boutique Hotel, Banja Luka
Breakfast
Crossing the north of Bosnia today, we’ll drive first to Mount Kozara to visit the memorial tower built on the site of a WWII battlefield. Next, we continue west to Bihac to see the Garavice Memorial Park, and learn about the town’s troubled history. After that, we’re crossing the border—out of Bosnia and into Croatia—to reach our final stop, a cosy guesthouse in the Plitvice National Park.
Guesthouse, Plitvice National Park
Breakfast, Dinner
Today, we’ll see the famous Plitvice Lakes before heading out to explore (access allowing) the nearby Željava Air Base, an abandoned tunnel complex hidden deep beneath a mountain on the Croatian-Bosnian border. Afterward, we’ll drive north to see the largest monument of this tour: the colossal memorial house on Petrova Gora. After taking our time to explore this extraordinary ruin we’ll continue on towards the Croatian capital, Zagreb, where we’ll have dinner and settle in.
Boutique Hotel, Zagreb
Breakfast, Dinner
On Sunday morning, we’ll explore the Croatian capital and its Old Town in the company of a local expert. From there, we’ll head up the mountain to see an abandoned sanatorium, with views overlooking the capital. We’ll return to Zagreb for some free time to relax or explore on your own, followed by dinner and a second night in the city.
Local Hotel, Zagreb
Breakfast
A handful of curious Croatian monuments awaits us today. We’ll stop at the Monument to the Revolution of the People of Moslavina, just outside Podgarić, and then drive on to Sisak to see the partisan monument in the forests on the edge of town. Finally, we’ll drive south to Jasenovac to visit the Stone Flower monument and the concentration camp museum. It’s one more hour from here to our accommodations, a rustic, traditional-styled hotel in the town of Slavonski Brod.
Local Hotel, Slavonski Brod
Breakfast
On our last full day, we’ll begin with a drive towards Vukovar, a town that played a key role in the Croatian War for Independence, and where we’ll visit the peculiar Dudik Memorial Park. Right after that, we’ll cross the border, back into Serbia. Upon reaching Belgrade mid-afternoon, we’ll visit the Museum of Yugoslav History and the House of Flowers to pay our respects at the tomb of Marshall Josip Broz Tito. By early evening, we’ll be back at Hotel Jugoslavija, ready to wind down with one final dinner and drinks in the Serbian capital.
Hotel Jugoslavija, Belgrade
Breakfast
Today’s breakfast will be our last group meal—but the fun doesn’t have to end here. You’ll find plenty more to explore in Belgrade, from Brutalist architecture to curious museums and quirky bars. If you'd like to extend your stay, your guides will be on hand to share their tips and advice, pointing you towards all the highlights of the capital. Until next time!
Breakfast
The total cost of this trip is $4,215. For those traveling by themselves, single accommodations can be provided, subject to availability, at an additional cost of $765. Please contact us to request a single room.
This tour is suitable for guests of all ages (18 and above) and is not very physically strenuous—just be sure to pack your walking shoes, your flashlight, and your sense of adventure. Be aware that this tour also involves a good amount of driving time, so dress for comfort.
Sometimes we’ll stay at modern 4-star resorts, while other nights we’ll be immersed in retro hospitality at Brutalist 1970s hotels. Some of these buildings are as interesting as any monument we’ll see.
Over the course of these 13 days we’ll travel more than 2,200 kilometers (1,367 miles), and through three very different countries. We will have our own private bus for the journey, a modern, air-conditioned vehicle with a professional driver.
Belgrade has one of the best-connected airports in the Balkans. You should plan to arrive by 4 p.m. on Day 1 and depart anytime on Day 13. If you plan to arrive early or stay later, we’re more than happy to help in arranging your accommodation and suggesting activities in Belgrade.
Funny you ask—turns out, no one can really agree on the exact answer to that question. (See: What Language Do People Speak in the Balkans, Anyway?) Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian are all recognized as distinct and separate languages, though in practice they are more similar to one another than some dialects of the English language are (say for example, English as it is spoken in Texas vs. Scotland). Croatia uses the Latin alphabet, Serbia primarily uses Cyrillic, and Bosnia uses a mixture of the two. We’ll share with travelers a set of Serbian phrases that will prove useful in all three countries.
We’ll encounter three different currencies during this tour: Serbian dinars (RSD), Croatian kuna (HRK) and Bosnian marks (BAM). These units vary considerably in value (one U.S. dollar will buy you approximately 100 RSD, 6.20 HRK or 1.60 BAM) and so there’s just no way around it—this is going to get complicated at times. We’ll make a gas station stop before each border, in case people have leftover money they want to exchange for drinks and snacks, and after crossing each border, we’ll stop at the first ATM we see in order to stock up on the next currency. Teamwork can help too. For example, you might lend someone the last of your kuna at a souvenir shop in Croatia, and they’ll repay you later in Bosnian marks.
Great question! For starters, we recommend reading our guide Darmon’s article on the subject, “The Misunderstood History of the Balkans’ Surreal War Memorials,” which gives a great introduction to the complexities at play. If you’re ready to dig deeper, be sure to check out “Spomenik Monument Database” by Don Niebyl, a photographic compilation of over 75 of these striking monuments. You can also browse this Place List of spomeniks in the Atlas Obscura database.
