Tara National Park from Belgrade: Banjska Stena, the House on the Drina and Which Trip to Book
5 min read
If Tara itself is the point, book the Tara National Park and Drina River Valley Tour: €115 per person, 5.0 stars from 146 reviews, 11 hours, small group of up to 7. If you would rather have a train ride and a film-set village with only a glimpse of the Drina, the Western Serbia day tour has far more reviews.
Be clear about what “Tara” means here
Two of the trips below go to the Banjska Stena viewpoint in Tara National Park. The Western Serbia trips do not: their itineraries run to the Šargan Eight railway, the Drvengrad village at Mećavnik, the House on the Drina at Bajina Bašta and a viewpoint at the Gate of Podrinje. It is the same river valley and the same famous house, but a different day.
The trips side by side
| Tour | From, per person | Stars | Reviews | Length | Highlights listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tara National Park and Drina River Valley Tour | €115 | 5.0 | 146 | 11 hours | Gate of Podrinje, House on the Drina, Zelenika and Banjska Stena viewpoints |
| Western Serbia 1-Day Tour of the Key Sites | €110 | 4.8 | 459 | 10 hours | Šargan Eight train, Drvengrad, House on the Drina |
| Wooden Town, Šargan 8 Train and Drina River | €110 | 4.6 | 47 | 12 hours | Same sights, with two pickup and two drop-off locations |
| Tara NP, Drina River and House on the Drina | €129 | 5.0 | 17 | 12 hours | Banjska Stena, Zaovine Lake, about 3 hours in the park |
The Tara National Park trip
The itinerary has about 2.5 hours in the van to the Gate of Podrinje, stops at the House on the Drina and the Zelenika viewpoint, an hour at the Banjska Stena viewpoint with a walk, and a 1.5-hour lunch stop that is listed as an extra fee. The page lists hotel pickup and drop-off, an English-speaking guide, a driver and a half-litre bottle of water; the itinerary names Trg republike as the start and end point. Two cautions from the page: Banjska Stena needs good weather because of its altitude, and in bad weather the viewpoint is replaced by the Šargan 8 train at Mokra Gora. Bring your passport or ID card; the page asks for it. A shared tour needs at least four people.
The Western Serbia trips
The Western Serbia day tour stops for 1.5 hours at the Šargan Eight, a narrow-gauge railway the page says dates from 1925, with a panoramic ride, then 1.5 hours at Drvengrad, the wooden village the page says Emir Kusturica built while filming Life Is a Miracle. The House on the Drina and the Gate of Podrinje follow. It is limited to 15 people. The page lists the Šargan Eight ticket and the Wood Town entrance fee; food and drinks and gratuities are not included. It needs at least three people. The 12-hour version covers the same sights, with two pickup and two drop-off locations. Lunch and tips are not included. It lists people with mobility impairments as not suitable.
One caution for the cold months: according to the 2026 timetable reported by the news site 021.rs, the Nostalgija train on the Šargan Eight runs daily from 28 March to 31 October, and from 1 to 15 November only on a shorter route to Jatare. Outside that window, ask the provider before booking what replaces the train ride. The same applies to the 11-hour Tara trip, whose bad-weather alternative is this train.
The 12-hour small-group trip
The Tara trip with Banjska Stena and Zaovine Lake spends about three hours in the park, with about three hours in the van each way. Its page says it runs from March to the end of October, that the view depends on the weather, and that part of the road is winding. Food and drinks are not included. It is limited to seven people and has few reviews.
Which one
Choose the 11-hour Tara trip if the viewpoint is why you are going and you want a small group. Choose the Western Serbia tour if you are more drawn to the railway and Drvengrad, and accept that Tara itself is not on the route. Between mid-November and late March, check the train season first. Choose the 12-hour small-group trip if you want the most time in the park, but only between March and October. All of these are long days on the road, so if you want something gentler, read about Novi Sad and Sremski Karlovci, or browse all day trips from Belgrade.
