Camping Serbia Laws (1 Viewer)

[anac]

Hey, has anyone been to Serbia lately? We have just been woken up by police telling us we are not allowed to park one km away from a military base, or wherever actually he threatened us to call a judge saying that this is the law. We didn’t comply so he told us to leave the country. Is this true in any way?

 

[Kups]

This is a UK based motorhome owners forum site. We're not international lawyers.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Just move on. It probably safer.
Did he have a gun?

 

[anac]

This is a UK based motorhome owners forum site. We're not international lawyers.

Got it, no need for sarcasm. I was just trying to find a quick answer, didn’t get the chance to look more into the content of the forum. Thank you for taking time to answer me!

 

[anac]

Just move on. It probably safer.
Did he have a gun?

We moved to a place where we found some other campers. They did have guns.. and they were very aggressive

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[125BEER]

Serbia can come across as aggressive but it is their way.
Hope you find other more suitable places.
Near a military Base not the best place eh....

Cheers

 

[meanders]

Lots of countries forbid you to even stop a vehicle within a certain distance of a military or government site, let alone camp. If a group of foreigners pitched near Mildenhall or Aldershot base to give just two examples, there would likely be an outcry from the locals and they would be getting a fairly insistent instruction to move on.

I would say lack of compliance on your part was a mistake. Their country, their laws and their law enforcement.

 

[Jim]

This is a UK based motorhome owners forum site. We're not international lawyers.

This is a UK based forum that has survived the last 17 years because we always call out those smart-arse unhelpful comments that discourage new members from posting.

 

[VXman]

We didn't have an issue with park ups in Serbia but we stayed in places recommended on park4night.

 

[Jev88]

Having seen the unusual relationship between bar/club bouncers and the police there I would just smile, apologise and move on and say sorry you didn't know.
They are strict and expect compliance - like we used to respect UK plods when we were kids.

I've watched two police cars waiting at the end of a road with a busy bar that a stag do pushed their luck in. The bouncers popped outside and chatted to police and then very physically rejected the mob (there was blood spilled) and then the police just watched and any idiot that didn't disperse was cuffed and bundled - it was military precision.

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[anac]

Lots of countries forbid you to even stop a vehicle within a certain distance of a military or government site, let alone camp. If a group of foreigners pitched near Mildenhall or Aldershot base to give just two examples, there would likely be an outcry from the locals and they would be getting a fairly insistent instruction to move on.

I would say lack of compliance on your part was a mistake. Their country, their laws and their law enforcement.

I totally agree, but we did not know about any military base around there. There was no signs and the parking was recommended by other campers.

 

[dazandandrea]

I would suggest that if police in any country ask you to move . Do it.
After all , they have the law on their side and the guns .

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

We moved to a place where we found some other campers. They did have guns.. and they were very aggressive

You did the best thing.some foreign police forces are best not to be messed with especially the gun carrying ones.
Now you are with other campers best to ask them where they have been, going to or can recommend anywhere else in Serbia to stay. Send us some pics of where you are.

 

[Jimbohorlicks]

Some info here

Adventures in Serbia - vintrica.com

Serbia offers a fascinating backdrop for adventure and active travel, ranging from historic cities to pristine landscapes.

www.vintrica.com

Wild camping in Serbia

lll➤ Is wild camping allowed in Serbia? Up-to-date information, tips and tricks ✓ The most important facts at a glance!

www.caravanya.com

There is a note in the last link about parking up near govt buildings ( which I assume includes military places)

 

[MisterB]

As a principle, the fact that they had guns is irrelevant, (they carry them at all times and I have never heard of a motorhomer being shot by the police for not moving), BUT if directed by ANY police officer to move, then that's what you should do, especially when they explained the reason you couldn't park where you were. Why you didn't initially comply seems strange, but you must have your reasons ...... though the fact that you did eventually comply perhaps shows those reasons were not strong enough to override the police officers directions in the first place.

I would have apologised immediately and moved on, I understand why you would ask where you can park and they could have been more helpful, but if they were p##d off by your initial response, why would they?

It might be worth leaving a comment on the source you used to identify the park up, advising others not to park there?

I hope the rest of your trip goes smoothly and you can put last night down to sh"t that sometimes happens and you keep us up to date with photos, places to visit etc as there may be others who might like to visit Serbia.

Enjoy your travels

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[BouncyBoatFolk]

"I fought the law and the law won", good advice in any country.
Mike.

 

[Kups]

This is a UK based forum that has survived the last 17 years because we always call out those smart-arse unhelpful comments that discourage new members from posting.

Apologies Jim. It was nearly midnight and it was a purely factual response.

I was also teed off at my awning LED set up refusing to work despite buying a new mains unit and controller battery.

 

[Jim]

Apologies Jim. It was nearly midnight and it was a purely factual response.

I don't need an apology, but the new poster who took the time to register and ask their first question, then got short shrift from you because you were tired and frustrated might appreciate it. Thanks.

 

[anac]

As a principle, the fact that they had guns is irrelevant, (they carry them at all times and I have never heard of a motorhomer being shot by the police for not moving), BUT if directed by ANY police officer to move, then that's what you should do, especially when they explained the reason you couldn't park where you were. Why you didn't initially comply seems strange, but you must have your reasons ...... though the fact that you did eventually comply perhaps shows those reasons were not strong enough to override the police officers directions in the first place.

I would have apologised immediately and moved on, I understand why you would ask where you can park and they could have been more helpful, but if they were p##d off by your initial response, why would they?

It might be worth leaving a comment on the source you used to identify the park up, advising others not to park there?

I hope the rest of your trip goes smoothly and you can put last night down to sh"t that sometimes happens and you keep us up to date with photos, places to visit etc as there may be others who might like to visit Serbia.

Enjoy your travels

The reason why we did not comply is because I read a comment on park4night about police here using this situation to scam campers, asking them for money saying that they will proceed to inform the judge about the situation. I recognized the pattern immediately when he started threatening to call the judge so late at night which seemed strange. Normally if our mistake was true we should have received a warning, or a fine, but when he saw we did not cooperate the way he wished, he told us to leave the country immediately. Which again.. is strange because how can a police officer tell us to leave the country without presenting any relevant reason.

 

[anac]

"I fought the law and the law won", good advice in any country.
Mike.

It was not about the law, we fought a scam! I did not get to write the whole story because i wished to know information as quick as possible, but the police tried to get money from us by saying they will not call the judge. They made everything seem so much more serious than it was. We never refused to leave, we just did no believe what they were saying

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[MisterB]

i wasnt there, so dont know the circumstances but im still not sure why you just didnt say, ok, i will leave then, sorry for parking in the wrong place and then just leave as directed..... your initial post says that you didnt 'comply' with no mention of them asking for money for you to stay there?

other peoples comments on the 'source' you used for the park up re being scammed would have suggested to me that its not a good place to park up anyway ....

hope the rest of your trip goes smoothly without any other potential scams ......

 

[BouncyBoatFolk]

It was not about the law, we fought a scam! I did not get to write the whole story because i wished to know information as quick as possible, but the police tried to get money from us by saying they will not call the judge. They made everything seem so much more serious than it was. We never refused to leave, we just did no believe what they were saying

O.K. my response was based on the information in your #1. You have subsequently added more information to the storyline. Whether it was a scam cannot be determined from an on line forum several thousand KS away,but if asked in the first instance to move on by plod I would have thought it prudent to comply and deal with any fallout later.
Mike.

 

[meanders]

how can a police officer tell us to leave the country without presenting any relevant reason.

It may be in their statute that the police have the right to ask someone to leave the country. I would not assume that the situation here is reflected in any other country. https://www.thelawyerportal.com/blog/top-10-weirdest-laws-around-world/#:~:text=In%20Samoa%2C%20it's%20illegal%20to,forget%20her%20birthday%20in%20Samoa.