A day trip from Belgrade: a salaš 50 minutes from the city

Salaš “Isailovi” is about 50 minutes’ drive from Belgrade along the E70 motorway, and another five from the Sremska Mitrovica exit to the gate. That is close enough for a group to set off after breakfast, eat an unhurried lunch at the salaš and be back in the city in the afternoon — and far enough for it to be a genuine day out of Belgrade rather than lunch in a suburb.

How far it really is

The salaš is at Rumski drum bb, about 5 km from the centre of Sremska Mitrovica. The times below are the ones we know reliably, because we plan group arrivals around them every week.

We speak plainly about the approach, because it is better learned from this page than from behind the wheel: the road is partly asphalt, and the last stretch is macadam, crushed stone. The asphalt does not run all the way to the gate. There is plenty of room to manoeuvre and a coach can turn without difficulty, and the parking in front of the salaš is free — it holds two coaches at the same time or thirty to forty cars, since it is one and the same space.

Who a trip like this is for

Because the smallest group is 25 people, this is a day out for a party that already exists: a company’s staff, an association, a sports or hiking club, a pensioners’ club, a school year gathered for a reunion, a large family gathering, or an agency putting together a programme for a coach.

If you are organising a day out for a company, the Corporate Events page will be more use to you. If you are building a programme for a coach group, everything agencies usually ask for is on the Tourist Groups page, and ready-made suggestions for the day are on the Group programmes page — the half-day trip from Belgrade is described there as Module 3.

What there is to eat

The cooking is salaš cooking and Srem cooking; the menu is agreed in advance and nobody orders at the table. The reason is practical: all the food is prepared immediately before the guests arrive, so that it is served hot and fresh, which means the number of guests and the make-up of the menu have to be known before the coach sets off.

• Pečeno prasence, roast suckling pig from the brick oven, with crisp crackling — sometimes smoked as well
• A traditional Srem lunch — home-made noodle soup, boiled meat and vegetables, štrudla
• Mezetluk — home-cured meats and dairy products from local producers
• All sorts under the sač, the bell-shaped baking lid — veal, beef and rabbit
• Salašarski roštilj, the farmstead grill, over charcoal
• Salašarski paprikaš of beef, mildly hot, with home-made wide-cut noodles
• Breaded chicken breast with farmstead potatoes and sauce
• Desserts — baklava, štrudla, krofne (doughnuts) with jam, knedle sa šljivama i šufnudlama (plum dumplings with šufnudle)

The whole choice is on the Food page, and suggested complete menus for groups on the Set menus for groups page. We do our best to make sure that everything reaching the table was made or picked here at the salaš. The food is prepared on site — outside catering is not possible.

If anyone in the group needs a special diet, tell us in advance how many meals are needed and of what type. We will confirm what we can prepare before you confirm the visit; we do not promise every variation in advance.

What happens between arrival and departure

A group usually stays two to three hours. This is not a roadside halt for a quick meal but a stage in the day’s programme — you sit down, eat without hurrying and look round the property.

There are two ponies on the property, Srećko and Lokica, and then hens, ducks, geese, dogs and cats. You may feed and pat the ponies, with an adult responsible for the children’s safety present; riding is not offered. In the yard there is also a playground with swings and a wooden climbing castle. The gift shop sells home-made produce from the salaš, magnets and small gifts.

If the programme includes music or a short presentation, a raised platform and a projector are available. You may bring your own band or DJ. On request we can also arrange tamburaši or a wine tasting with a sommelier — that is what turns a lunch break into part of the programme.

How to make a whole day of it

Since the salaš is 5 km from the centre of Sremska Mitrovica, and the town is ancient Sirmium — one of the four capitals of the Roman Empire and the birthplace of several Roman emperors — a tour of the town and lunch at the salaš fit into the same half-day out of Belgrade. The town lies on the official cultural route “The Roman Emperors Route” (Itinerarium Romanum Serbiae).

A usual running order looks like this, and we agree the exact time of the meal separately for each date:

• Departure from Belgrade; about 50 minutes to the salaš.
• A tour of the Roman heritage in Sremska Mitrovica.
• Transfer to the salaš — 5 km.
• Lunch from the menu agreed in advance, a look round the property and the gift shop: 2–3 hours in all.
• Back to Belgrade: about 50 minutes.

What to know before you book

More answers of this kind are on the Frequently Asked Questions page, and the detailed layout of the rooms and the bad-weather plan on the Capacity of the salaš page.

If you would rather not go back the same day

There are three rooms at the salaš, each with two beds, a private bathroom, air conditioning, a TV and free Wi-Fi, and a seating set on the terrace. The Booking.com rating is 9.4. The rooms are most often used when a celebration runs late into the night or when guests come from far away. The details are on the Accommodation page.

How to get an offer

We need three pieces of information for an offer: the number of people, the date and the time of the meal. On that basis we send our prices and a suggested menu, and together we fix the arrival time.