See Belgrade differently · a 2 hour experience
Dive into Hive: two hours and one open hive
There are places you visit. And there are places you remember. If you are looking for something different in Belgrade, step into the Honey Garden and discover a world most people have never had the chance to see up close.
01Two hours
Two hours in a completely different Belgrade
On the bank of the Danube, in the Silosi, stands our Honey Garden, a small green oasis given over to bees, pollinators and nature in the middle of the city. There is no watching from the sidelines here.
During the experience you will get to know the fascinating world of bees and learn how one of the most complex communities in nature works. With an experienced beekeeper at your side you will put on a protective suit and, if you wish, come up to the hives and see up close what usually hides behind their wooden walls.
Then comes a completely different part of the experience: the api chamber. You will lie down above the active hives and, for a few moments, just listen to the characteristic buzzing, feel the vibration of thousands of bees beneath you and breathe in the scents from the hives.
To finish, we will introduce you to bee products through a tasting of different kinds of honey and other products from the hive.
The experience is led by one of the Mardešić brothers, Dario or David.
02Overview
What can you expect?
Put on a beekeeping suit, look inside a real hive, get to know the life of the bee community, taste products from the hive, and live through one of the most unusual moments of our experience: a rest above living bee colonies in our api chamber.
- Bees and the cityGetting to know bees, urban beekeeping and biodiversity
- The glass hiveA view into the life of a bee colony
- Suit and hivesPutting on a beekeeping suit and walking among the real hives
- The api chamberLying above the bee colonies
- The tastingDifferent kinds of honey and products from the hive
- The gardenTime to enjoy the Honey Garden
03In order
Eight steps, always in the same order
This is what the two hours look like, from the gate to the way out. Nothing gets added and nothing gets left out.
Arriving in the garden
Through the gate of Dom kulture Silosi, and the concrete ends. The floor is wood chip, the red and white chimney stands overhead, and you hear the hives before you see them.
Who lives in a hive
Before anything is opened, we talk about the colony. Who the queen is, what a worker does, and why a drone brings in not a single gram of honey.
The glass hive
Behind the glass the colony works as if nobody were there. This is where you first see full comb up close, with no suit and no smoke.
A real suit
The suit is a beekeeper’s, not a costume. It goes on over your clothes, the hood closes, and only then do you walk up to the hives.
Opening the hive
The hive really opens. Smoke goes over the frames, the lid comes off to the side, and a frame covered in bees comes out into the light to be looked at closely.
The api chamber
Lying on the planks above living hives. Through the openings in the planks, the warmth of the colony, its sound and its vibration reach your back.
The tasting
The honey is tasted only now, once you know where it came from and how many bees flew for it.
Time in the garden
The last part is not guided. You stay in the garden, in the pallet amphitheatre or at a table in the BeeFe bar.
You lie down on the planks.The hive below you keeps working.
04The api chamber
What comes up through the plank
The api chamber is a timber cabin with beds in it. Living hives sit under the beds, and there are openings drilled through the planks.
Through them comes the warmth of the colony, with a sound your back picks up before your ears do. The vibration never stops, because nothing in a hive ever stops.
Breathing hive air belongs to apitherapy, which is a separate programme. It can support rest and breathing, and it is run apart from this experience.
05A gift
Give someone something they have probably never tried
He does not need another thing. But maybe he needs a story he will keep retelling.
You can buy Dive into Hive in the Honey Garden as a gift too, for a birthday, an anniversary, for guests coming to Belgrade, or simply for someone you want to give something different.
You are not giving an object. You are giving an experience.
06Questions
What people ask us before they come
Is the experience with bees safe?
Yes. So far we have never had a single incident during our experiences with bees. Still, we want to be completely open: any time spent in the immediate vicinity of bees carries a certain risk of a sting, and we cannot guarantee with 100% certainty that it will not happen.
You will be given all the protective equipment you need, and our trained staff assess the state of the bees and lead the experience so that we disturb them as little as possible.
What if I am afraid of bees?
A fear of bees is completely natural, and that may be exactly what makes this experience special.
Before we go near them, we will introduce you to how they behave and show you why bees are not animals looking for conflict with us. A bee mainly reacts when it feels threatened, which is why we approach them calmly, carefully and with respect.
After this experience you may look at bees completely differently.
Do I have to go near the hives?
No. Although coming up to the hives is one of the most exciting parts of the experience, you do not have to do anything you do not feel comfortable with.
You can take part in the rest of the programme and watch this part from a safe distance.
Is the Experience suitable for children, and from what age?
It is. Our recommended minimum age for this experience is 7.
Our own children took their first beekeeping steps at exactly that age.
What should I wear and bring?
We recommend long trousers and light-coloured clothing. If you are coming on a very hot day, you can bring a change of clothes to put on for the part of the experience at the hives.
On the day of the Experience it is important not to use perfume, strongly scented deodorant or other intense fragrances, and not to wash your hair with scented products that morning. Bees register scents very well, so while we work around the hives we want to keep strong, unfamiliar smells to a minimum.
You get all the protective equipment from us. Just bring good energy.
What happens if it rains or the weather is bad?
Bees have their own rhythm, and now and then their own mood.
In bad weather, or if our staff judge that conditions in the apiary are not right that day, we reserve the right to move the Experience to another date.
The safety of our guests and the wellbeing of the bees always come first.
How long does the Experience last?
The Experience lasts about two hours, depending on the size of the group.
With smaller groups and individual bookings it can run a little shorter, because we can take each part of the programme more directly.
Can I buy the Experience as a gift?
Of course, and we think this is one of those gifts that gets remembered for a long time.
On our website you can buy a gift voucher and enter the details of the person you are giving it to. If you do not have them, enter your own details and simply forward the voucher you receive by e-mail to the person you want to give the Experience to.
Is the Experience available in English?
Yes. The Experience can be held entirely in Serbian or in English.
Ready to step into the hive?
Come and see Belgrade from a perspective you probably did not expect. Buy a ticket for yourself, bring someone along, or give an experience that is not forgotten.
07Tickets