Gridlock Hell at Batrovci: Waits Exceed Five Hours
Travelers exiting Serbia into Croatia face multi-hour delays, compounded by scorching temperatures. Even bigger crowds are expected over the weekend.
Travelers exiting Serbia into Croatia face multi-hour delays, compounded by scorching temperatures. Even bigger crowds are expected over the weekend.
At the Batrovci (Bajakovo) border crossing, on the exit from Serbia into Croatia, drivers on Friday are enduring a veritable traffic ordeal. According to reports from the field, waits are stretching beyond five hours, with vehicle queues stretching for kilometers, causing widespread frustration among travelers.
Data on the exact length of the queue and waiting times vary depending on the source. The FoNet agency reports a queue about 5.5 kilometers long with waits of around four hours. On the other hand, Kurir journalist Aleksandra Dražić, reporting from the scene, cites somewhat different figures. "We are near the border, from where you can see an endless column of vehicles stretching about a kilometer and a half to the crossing itself," Dražić told Kurir TV, adding that some drivers report waiting in line for about five hours already.
What is indisputable is that the congestion is massive. "At the exit from Serbia towards Croatia, the wait is currently over five hours, while delays at the entry into the country are shorter," Dražić warned. Due to the long wait in temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius, nerves are fraying among travelers, which is also audible in the sound of car horns.
A somewhat better, but still demanding, situation prevails in the north of the country at the Horgos 1 border crossing towards Hungary. Kurir journalist Aleksandra Orlić reported an increased frequency of vehicles. Although crossing from the Serbian side is relatively quick, with delays of up to half an hour, on the Hungarian side, exiting Hungary involves a wait of about an hour. "Bigger crowds are expected during the day and over the upcoming weekend due to the intense tourist season," Orlić said.
Given the critical situation, travelers are advised to check the situation at the borders before setting off, for instance via online cameras, and to consider alternative border crossings. In the north of Serbia, besides Horgos 1, the crossings of Horgos 2, Kelebija, Bački Vinogradi, and Bajmok are also available, with extended hours during the weekend.
An additional challenge for travelers this year is the new biometric system of the European Union, which came into effect in April 2026. The system has replaced traditional passport stamping, and travelers believe it has contributed to the creation of multi-kilometer queues, including those at the Batrovci crossing. Forecasts for the upcoming weekend are even more pessimistic, with expectations that congestion at this, one of the busiest crossings between Serbia and Croatia, will be equal to or even worse than on Friday.
