The summer season has officially kicked off, and with it comes hellish traffic jams at Serbia’s busiest border crossings! Thought you’d breeze your way to Greece or Hungary? Think again. Preševo, the main gateway to popular Greek holiday spots, is swamped with vehicles, with wait times ranging from 20 minutes to a staggering 3 hours! Yes, you read that right — up to 180 minutes of waiting just to enter Hungary via Horgoš! Travelers are grumbling but trying to dodge the chaos by picking alternative crossings, though the situation changes by the minute.
The new integrated border control system, dubbed “stop control,” designed to speed up crossing between Serbia and North Macedonia at Preševo and Tabanovce, is still in its infancy and hasn’t eased the pain yet. Passengers from North Macedonia and other countries are stuck waiting for hours, many losing their patience.
At Horgoš, Serbia’s busiest crossing, vehicles with Turkish, Austrian, German, and North Macedonian plates dominate. One traveler from Novi Sad said it took him over an hour to cross both borders, while another from North Macedonia claimed to have waited up to three hours.
Authorities urge drivers to use less crowded crossings, but the reality is that summer has just begun, and traffic nightmares are already peaking. Planning a trip? Better arm yourself with patience or find a secret backdoor crossing.
Is this just the start of border chaos, or will the new control system finally save the day? One thing’s for sure — summer 2024 is not for the faint-hearted. Got any tips on surviving these traffic hell days? Drop a comment, maybe your trick will save someone from a meltdown!
