Where to Stay for EXPO 2027 in Belgrade: Best Areas and Booking Tips

Hotel counts vary by year and by what is included. Danas reported in October 2024 about 120 hotels with roughly 7,500 rooms. Figures summarised by Bloomberg Adria put it at 109 hotels with 10,084 beds, plus 3,184 peer-to-peer units, and estimated that the city needs 30–40% more hotel capacity (about 3,000 rooms) for Expo. A September 2026 visitor guide from srpske.rs counts 119 hotels with about 10,580 beds, and around 30,000 beds once private accommodation is included.

Against that, the organiser expects more than 4 million visits over 93 days, and RTS has reported estimates of about 60,000 visitors a day on weekdays and 120,000 at weekends (not an official figure). Expo also overlaps with Belgrade's normal summer season, so expect central rooms to go first, especially at weekends.

The site is on the south-western edge of the city, so the usual advice to stay in the old town now competes with how quickly you can reach Surčin. Two planned links matter: the new railway, with stations at Zemun Polje, Singidunum, the airport, Surčin and National Stadium/EXPO, and a direct electric bus from Block 45 in New Belgrade. The railway is targeted for spring 2027; our guide to getting to Expo 2027 tracks what is planned and what runs today.

Novi Beograd (New Belgrade)

The most practical all-round base. Six electric buses are planned to run from Block 45 straight to the Expo site, which works without depending on the railway opening on time. New Belgrade also has the city's larger modern hotels and apartment blocks, and the A1 airport minibus stops at Fontana on its way to the airport. The trade-off is less character and a longer ride to the sights.

Zemun and Zemun Polje

Zemun Polje is the first station on the new line, with an announced ride of 15–20 minutes to the Expo station and trains every 15 minutes during Expo. Old Zemun, with its riverfront and Gardoš Tower, is the more pleasant place to stay, but it is not on the line, so check how you would get from your door to Zemun Polje before you book.

Stari Grad and Dorćol

This area is the best base if Expo is one part of a longer city trip: you can walk to the fortress, Knez Mihailova and Skadarlija, and Dorćol is quieter. For Expo, take free city transport to Prokop station, then the train, about 30 minutes once the line opens. Expect the highest summer demand here.

Vračar

Vračar is leafy, residential and central, with good tram links. Its edge at Slavija is where the A1 airport minibus starts, and the A1 route runs via Prokop, so Vračar is a sensible compromise between city life and the rail link from Prokop.

Savamala and Belgrade Waterfront

Savamala is the design and nightlife district along the Sava, with Belgrade Waterfront's new-build towers next door. Waterfront is one of the charging points for the new electric bus fleet, but no Expo route from there has been announced. A Sava river dock is part of the Expo project, but a visitor boat from the Waterfront appears only in unofficial guides. Choose this area for the river and evening life.

Surčin and near the airport

The closest you can get: the site is about 5 km from the airport, and Surčin has its own station on the new line. It suits short Expo-focused trips and early flights, but it is quiet, has little nightlife and sits about 15 km from the old town. The official post-Expo plan for the site includes a hotel, but no opening date for visitors has been announced.

For more on each district, see our guide to where to stay in Belgrade and, if you are staying for weeks rather than days, the best neighbourhoods to live in.

Private accommodation is a big share of Belgrade's supply. According to RTS (May 2026), there are about 15,000 beds in registered private accommodation, plus an estimated 10,000 or more unregistered units. RTS also reports that villas within 100 km of Belgrade are expected to be used during Expo.

Apartments give you space and a kitchen; hotels give you a front desk and fewer surprises. Either way, prefer registered accommodation. Every foreigner must register their address within 24 hours of arrival; hotels and registered hosts do this for you online, and with an unregistered flat you may have to sort it out yourself.

How to book safely

• Book and pay through a booking platform or the property itself. Never move payment to Wise, crypto or Western Union because a host asks you to.
• Be wary of listings priced well below similar places in the same area, especially with pressure to "reserve today".
• Reverse-image search the photos if something feels off. Copied photos are the standard rental scam in Belgrade.
• Ask the host to confirm they will register your stay. A host who refuses is a red flag.
• Ignore "official Expo accommodation" offers unless they are linked from the official Expo website. No official accommodation partner has been announced, and several unofficial lookalike Expo sites already exist.

Our guide to renting an apartment in Belgrade explains how local rental scams work, and is Belgrade safe for tourists covers taxi overcharging and other scams to watch for on arrival.

New rooms are coming, but estimates vary widely. Nova.rs reports 1,500–2,000 new units under construction, and another report expects 8–15 new hotels between 2024 and 2027. The state offers subsidies to hotel investors, with five applicants reported.

Keep expectations modest. President Vučić once said the city needed 120 or 130 new hotels, while a property valuer quoted by Danas said six or seven new hotels by 2027 was the realistic figure. If you book a hotel that has not opened yet, check that the booking is fully refundable in case the opening slips.

No reliable figures for Expo-period room prices have been published, and we will not guess. The reporting is qualitative: demand will peak during Expo, and prices are expected to correct afterwards. Plan for summer rates to be higher than usual and for weekends to be tighter than weekdays.

• Go on weekdays. The reported estimate for weekends is double the weekday figure.
• Look beyond the old town. New Belgrade and Zemun usually give more space for the money, and New Belgrade has the direct Expo bus.
• Remember that city buses, trams and trolleybuses are free, so a base a few stops out costs nothing extra to reach. Our public transport guide explains which lines still charge.

No official booking window has been announced. Book as soon as your dates are fixed and choose free cancellation, so you can switch areas if the railway opens late or visitor bus routes favour another part of town. Re-check your plans once the line starts passenger service.

If Belgrade is full or too expensive, Novi Sad is the realistic alternative. The Soko high-speed train covers the roughly 75 km in about 35–45 minutes to Belgrade Centre (Prokop), and from Prokop the new line is planned to reach Expo in about 30 minutes. No through connection or combined timetable has been announced, so allow extra time for the change. See our day trips from Belgrade guide for Novi Sad.

Villas and rural houses within 100 km are another option RTS mentions, but most will need a car, and no visitor parking at the Expo site has been announced.