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Witness / Attend in Bajina BastaRS
The Drina-side town below Tara mountain that stages the Drina Regatta, the largest water party in Europe, every third Saturday of July.
Organized by Turisticka organizacija Tara-Drina Bajina Basta, which publishes the official dates and program.
Dates & details verified against: Official event site ↗
Why here
The Drina Regatta is billed as the largest water party in Europe, and the billing survives contact: on the third Saturday of July, thousands of rafts, dinghies, and traditional wooden splavs push off below the Perucac dam at eight in the morning and float twenty-some kilometers of emerald Class I water past the famous House on the Drina to Rogacica, with over a hundred thousand visitors packing the week around it. The identity is the flotilla, not the paddling: fish-soup contests, brass bands, concerts at Raca, and raftsmen who still build the wooden splavs that open the descent. Local operators rent skippered regatta boats, and outside regatta week the same float runs all summer as a quiet river day.
Best months
The Great Descent falls on the third Saturday of July, the centerpiece of a week-long program: July 18 2026, around July 17 2027. Viewing is free along the banks; a rented raft splits about 25,000 dinars among a crew. The civilian float runs May to October.
Getting there & around
Four hours' drive from Belgrade; book regatta-week lodging months ahead or base in Uzice. The descent starts below the Perucac dam; swimming ability is sensible on the water.
Skill levels: beginner
Schools & guides (2)
Extreme Serbia
OutfitterRents skippered regatta boats for the Drina Regatta descent with IRF-certified guides, and runs river trips on the Drina, Lim, Ibar, and Uvac.
Spust Drinom
OutfitterPerucac-based skippered Drina descents past the House on the Drina to Bajina Basta, running May to October beyond regatta week.