Bosnia and Herzegovina is a very beautiful and unique country that is worth visiting. Despite the sad historic events that happened not so long ago, the country is safe to visit although it still holds remains from the Bosnian war and still faces crime issues. Nevertheless, if you visit Sarajevo, Mostar, national parks, or any other lovely town, some things need to be taken into consideration before exploring the country. In this blog post we will explore 8 things that you need to know before travelling to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Disclaimer: These tips don’t necessarily cover all areas of travel as we traveled with a motorhome and didn’t encounter public transport between towns and experiences with hotels or other accommodations. But I hope that these tips will be helpful regardless if you are a vanlifer or any other type of traveler.
Cash
Almost everywhere, except supermarkets and some restaurants, cash is the only way to pay, as credit cards in most places aren’t accepted. One of the ATMs that we trusted was Nova Banka which didn’t charge any extra commission but it also depends on what kind of credit card you own as sometimes there might be extra commission based on the specific bank.
Smoking
Smoking in common areas is very much accepted. Bosnia and Herzegovina in this case was the worst country that we came across in this occurrence. If you are sensitive to cigarette smoke, be aware that they are almost everywhere, despite the signs that smoking is prohibited indoors.
Public Transport and Google Maps
We didn’t use public transport in our time in Bosnia and Herzegovina at all. Not that we didn’t want to, we just couldn’t find any routes on Google Maps. Despite that, in every town, you can easily get around by walking as well as in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it was very much needed there. To get around the city, there are buses, trams, and trolleybuses, the tickets are pretty inexpensive but don’t count on Google Maps to help you plan the routes on public transport. The same applies when using Google Maps to plan a route with a car as it seems that a lot of places aren’t properly marked on the Maps either.
Car Safety
Breaking into cars is very common. I would recommend spending some time researching a good place to park. We usually use the Park4Night App to find a parking place and we always read all the comments, and if there’s even one about breaking into a car, we don’t risk it.
When we were visiting Mostar, we spent the night at a parking spot by a park. The place was rated pretty high but in the morning when we wanted to explore Mostar’s old town, there were some strange activities from locals and we didn’t feel safe leaving our motorhome there so we drove to a different spot near a gas station and felt much better. If your gut feeling is telling you that something is off, trust it and find a different place. Gas stations are also a good option to spend a safe night if there are no signs of limited-time parking. No one usually is against that but I wouldn’t recommend staying there for a long time as it’s not also permitted to camp there.
Pickpocketing
Similarly to the previous point, pickpocketing is also very common. We didn’t face any problems but I have heard many stories from other travelers so it is good to keep that in mind.
Is it generally a safe country?
One of the presumptions about Bosnia and Herzegovina is that it’s not a safe country to travel to because of the Bosnian war that happened in the years from 1992 to 1995 and crime that is still going on nowadays. If you travel the country by car or other transportation and see the rural places as well as in the capital itself, many buildings still have holes from gunshots and frankly, it doesn’t seem too pleasant but the country generally is safe for travelers. It’s important to add as well that it’s not safe to explore unknown land as there still might be some unmarked landmines.
People
When it comes to local people, in general, they are very kind and helpful but if there is an instance that you have a disagreement, you better be prepared for some temperament from the locals. 🙂
Internet
It’s very hard to find a public place with available and speedy Wi-Fi, usually, they aren’t open to the public but instead have passwords. Generally, the locals were helpful and there weren’t any problems with using the Wi-Fi but as we needed to use it for work, it wasn’t sufficient enough. If you plan a longer trip around Bosnia and Herzegovina and need a reliable internet connection, I would recommend buying a local SIM card. We used local company Mtel which was fairly cheap – 4 KM or around 2 Euros for 15GB – and the connection in most places was great. What was interesting, if you need to top-up your SIM card, you could do it at local stores or gas stations by just providing your mobile number and it automatically placed the amount you required.
Despite the inconveniences, Bosnia and Herzegovina is such a breathtakingly beautiful country that offers a different cultural experience from its neighboring countries, delicious local food and so much to see that the two weeks we spent driving through the country wasn’t even close to enough in exploring all the beauty that the country offers.
Check out my other blog post about 5 places we visited in Bosnia and Herzegovina with a motorhome!
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