Discover green and lush Šumadija – an area that combines history and wine with amazing nature, on your own self-guided tour. With this wine region self-guided tour you will visit several excellent wineries and experience true local hospitality. If you are looking for a more active way to spend your time, check our East Serbia self-guided tour.

What to expect from the Wine region self-guided tour?

Expect fulfilled three days tour and lots of interesting sights. This wine region self-guided tour will take you to prominent Serbian wineries mixed with authentic local restaurants to try tasty Serbian food specialties. You’ll also have a chance to learn more about rich Serbian history and culture.

We will provide accommodation reservations, wine tastings, lunch, and a step-by-step itinerary with detailed information and contacts. Yours is just to go with the flow.

Tour flow

1st Day – Topola, Oplenac

Your wine region self-guided tour starts in the small town of Topola. This charming Šumadija town is a place of great historical importance for Serbian history and a place of birth of a modern Serbian state. In the center of the town, you will visit “Karađorđe town” which was a small fortress and now is turned into a museum of the First Serbian Uprising. The next stop will be nearby hill Oplenac where you will find an interesting museum and a beautiful mausoleum of the Royal family Karađorđević.

The highlight of this complex is the gorgeous St.George’s church in which lie 27 members of the royal family Karađorđević. The church is built from a high-quality white marble and from the inside is decorated in amazing 40 million mosaic pieces in 15,000 shades of color.

The royal family started producing wine in 1936 and they still own a winery which you will visit as a part of this self-guided wine tour. Today they have a small capacity and most of the facility is turned into a unique museum in which everything is authentic and preserved from the 1930s.

After exploring Topola you move on to the village Vinča, which is just a few kilometers away. This village is well known for wine production and here you will find one of the best Serbian wineries – Aleksandrović. Friendly and knowledgeable hosts will take you through the facilities and show you around the winery. After exploring the winery, wine tasting will be next. All of their labels are great but if you are looking for something unique, then you must try Prokupac which is a Serbian indigenous variety.

The rest of this dynamic day you will spend at household “House of Colovic”, another special place on your tour through Šumadija. Warm hosts will make you feel at home during your two nights stay. Here you’ll experience true Serbian hospitality mixed with amazing homemade food and atmosphere.

2nd Day – Rudnik Mountain hike and local winery

The second day starts with a tasty homemade breakfast which will give you enough strength for your hike. Rudnik Mountain is located in the heart of Šumadija and with its altitude of 1100m promises great panoramic views over the area. The starting point is around half an hour drive from your accommodation and the hike itself is not demanding and lasts app. 3,5 hours during which you will visit 3 different viewpoints.

After you finish exploring Rudnik it will be time for lunch and we know just the right place for you. In the center of Šumadija, near Kragujevac city, you will find cozy family winery “Rujevica”. Local family owns this calm and peaceful place which will make you feel true countryside atmosphere. Your hosts will show you their household and serve you great lunch followed by some of theirs finest wines.

Rest of the day you can enjoy yourself either at “Rujevica” or have a swim at the “House of Colovic” pool. Dinner is planned at your accommodation.

3rd Day – Monasteries and Despotika winery

The morning starts with another tasty breakfast after which you say goodbye to your hosts. This day is reserved for exploring hidden gems of Šumadija. The whole area is historically and culturally rich with lots of different sights to visit and we will help you discover some interesting and yet less mainstream attractions.

First on the itinerary is Vraćevšnica (difficult to pronounce even for locals) Monastery in a nearby village. Many stories are related to this monastery from the XV century, especially turbulent times were during the Serbian uprisings when this monastery was in the center of the action.

The next one is the Koporin Monastery which is the endowment of our great ruler despot Stefan Lazarević. Its peaceful surroundings and interesting architecture hold a record of prominent Serbian knights from the XV century.

The third monastery on your route is Pokajnica. This unique wooden church tells a story of how the war was triggered between two ruling families Obrenovići and Karađorđevići back in 1817. The church was build out of remorse by Vujica Vulićević who assassinated Karađorđe.

For the end of this wine region self-guided tour, you will visit another great winery. Despotika is a young and ambitious winery which already achieved a reputation for making excellent wines. Here you will have a full tour which includes: visiting a small museum, production area, wine cellar, and of course wine tasting with an amazing view over picturesque Šumadija. If you prefer light white wines with some fruit notes then Tamjanika will be a delight for you.

Here your self-guided tour ends, but we’ll be more than happy to help you with more recommendations.

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