BOSNIA

Country Updates

I was travelling on an Australian passport and in theory I needed a visa (obtained from B.H embassy Australia) for A$13 for a one month single entry/exit visa. In practise, the visa wasn't needed - it was never stamped at the land border crossing from Croatia - so I entered Bosnia twice from Croatia using my "single entry-exit visa". A friend of mine (on a French passport) had no problem crossing between Republika Serbska and the Croat-Muslim Federation.

The currency (in theory) is the Bosnian "Konvertable Mark" (KM) which is valued at 1 DM. Currently notes in denominations of 50 Phennig to 20 KM circulate. Shop keepers (but not the Bosnian post office) accept DM for transactions. I don't know how "convertable" the KM is outside BiH - to play it safe, I always insisted on Deutschmarks for my change. In the Croat "Hercog-Bosna" area, Croat Kuna can be used. I bought some stamps in Medugorge which were issued by the Croat HPT in the name of the "Hrvatska Republika Herceg Bosnia" and are in Kuna denominations. Otherwise Deutsche Marks were accepted. (KM does work in Mostar, outside of that I don't know - as I used DM & Kuna in Medugorge).
L. Patrick Ferry, Australia (Aug 98)

It was not a problem entering the country by car from Croatia in the north east in August, 1997. You'll get to Sarajevo via Tuzla, crossing a narrow strip which belongs to the Serbian "entity". In summer, 1997, no visas were required for Germans and I didn't even get my passport stamped. Bring lots of Deutschmarks, preferably small banknotes and also coins.
Cornelius Rott (May 98)

The Bosnia visa fee in Ljublijana (Slovenia) was DM 100.
Andrew Henshaw - Australia (Mar 98)

It is now possible to get to Sarajevo by plane. Both Swissair and Austrian Airlines each have a daily flight to Sarajevo. Swissair fly Zurich-Sarajevo/return and Austrian fly Wien-Sarajevo/return. There are no facilities at the airport as the terminal was destroyed, but some parts are in use. There are no tax-free or other shops at the airport.

Airport tax is DM20 at the check in counter before departure and possible to pay in cash but there are no cash dispensers or bank at the airport.
Sven Gj. Gjeruldsen (Aug 97)

Travel Tips

The overnight bus from Split arrives in Sarajevo at 3 am and it is very cold. Best accommodation is at the train station in converted first class train couchettes. Ask at the train station for "Penzion Train", five minutes walk.

Tourist information has pre war tourist maps and some museums have re-opened. Be very wary taking photos of nice castles that are now military installations.

Do not dodge fares on the trams - you will be caught and the fine is DM50.

When crossing between the Federation and the Republic, you will come across a rather large black market. Our bus stopped for ten minutes or so for the driver to buy goods. The stuff is very cheap, even though we were probably paying top dollars. Note that Bosnia marks are not convertible in any country outside Bosnia, so here is a good place to get rid of that left over currency.
Shane Buckham, New Zealand (Dec 98)

Sarajevo is incredible. As much as anything, it's worth going because the Bosnians are easily the friendliest people in this corner of the world. I have never been made more consistently welcome; from the guy at the Pension to the waiter who gave us free beer glasses, to the slightly unhinged woman at the tourist information centre who would scale mosque towers for anyone but American tourists looking for Sniper's Alley. The city's built in a Balkan green valley spiked with mosque pencils and sprinkled with everything from picturesque huts to the great, blackened corpses of bombed-out skyscrapers. The castles themselves have been commandeered by the camera-shy military, but you get fantastic views of Sarajevo on one side and perfect country Bosnia on the other.
Matthew Price (Dec 98)

Sarajevo is looking good again. I would imagine in a couple of years it will be it's good old self again. Plenty of war damage, bullet holes, mortar pot-holes in the road. Public transport is functioning well. Travel to all outlying areas of the city is possible. Shops well stocked - no shortage of essentials but there is no budget accommodation in Sarajevo.

Zenica is nothing much to see except to bathe in the river with the locals in the sun. The town is very industrial and with a huge Turkish army presence.

Mostar is blitzed, totally! You can't imagine the amount of damage without seeing it. There are the shells of some nice old buildings left, but that's about it.

Neum - Bosnias little coastal resort is totally Croatian with token checkpoints at each border. The Bosnian flag flies along with the Croatian/Bosnia flag at both borders. Croatian currency is accepted.
Andy Ganner, UK (Aug 98)

I found the country and it's people extremely safe and welcoming and Sarajevo is a positive vibrant city getting on with life. The devastated buildings are initially shocking but after a day or two you don't really look at them anymore and are more touched by the resilience, warmth and lack of bitterness of the people of the city.

The arts scene and nightlife there is pretty happening too! Visit FIS, an underground bar where all the groovy local people hang out, the internet Cafe, where all the groovy tourists hang out, and the Soros Center for Contemporary Arts.

War Tourism is having it's effect : the entrance to the tunnel out to the airport is being made into a museum and you can buy engraved bullet shells in the Muslim quarter.

The area around the 1984 Olympic Stadium is particularly moving. All the playing fields and tennis courts had to be converted to cemeteries during the siege and it's there that I really got a feeling of the magnanimity of what happened. People still tell you you're mad if you're going to Bosnia. It's a misconception that needs to be dispelled.
Maeve Murray, Ireland (Sept 98)

Visiting Sarajevo was a very good experience and it seemed like a peaceful and secure place - even though NATO SFOR- soldiers were all over the city. It is really worth a two or three day visit. There are direct bus connections to Sarajevo from a lot of towns in Croatia; Ploce, Dubrovnik, Rijeka and Zadar. We went with Centrotrans from Ploce - Mostar - Sarajevo in five hours and there are about five departures every day. In Bosnia 1 DM = 1 convertible mark and the banknotes are used interchangeable - that must be the only place in the world with no fee for changing money (D Mark). There are a lot of possibilities for accommodation - at least six hotels and we saw four agencies renting private rooms for about 70 DM/double. You can even go for a swim at the public swimming pool. Follow the river up west and you will see the wonderful contrast between the city of war and the citizens of today enjoying loud music in the pool area just below the road full of SFOR-military personnel driving in their military vehicles. You should also go up the hillside from the swimming pool and enjoy the view from the small cemetery.
Nana Bjerg & Jan Sturm, Denmark (Aug 98)

With the exception of Medugorje, which totally went over the top with tourism, Bosnia and later, Yugoslavia, were the exact opposite and with good reason. The war in Bosnia and sanctions, which have reduced the tourist flow to a trickle along the Montenegrin coast, have all but wrecked any tourist infrastructure in those countries.

The border crossing into Bosinia was a breeze. They did look at our passports, but didn't stamp them, either out of Croatia or into Bosnia.

Heading up the valley of the Neretva - whose aqua blue waters were so strange and beautiful - we saw immediate war devastation. Whole villages destroyed. (A few days later, close to Sarajevo, there were temporary bridges set up and guarded by NATO). Mostar was a mess, especially on the Muslim side of town (the east side of the Neretva). Damage is still very heavy, though rebuilding is proceeding at a fairly rapid pace on the Croat side of town.

The money situation in Bosnia is confused at best. Deutschmarks are, indeed, best. Better than US dollars. In most of Bosnia, DM's can be used as it if were the local currency. There is also the Bosnian dinar, but it is not accepted in Serbian-controlled areas or Bosnian areas near the Croatian border.

Medugorje is a gaudy display of religion and commercialism clashing. There were more tourists and more tour buses there than any other place we visited across the Balkans. The main street that runs past the church is lined with shops that are packed with religious trinkets of every size and shape imaginable. Credit cards of all kinds are accepted - as long as the purchase exceeds US$30.

Sarajevo is beautiful. Bascarsija, the Turkish old town, is lively and probably the best Oriental bazaar in Europe. The mosques are there and finally hearing the prayer call was like being welcomed back to the Muslim world. Cafes are open and crowded. Still, among this are 30 story buildings with gaping chunks missing, heaps of rubble that used to be buildings and a heavy NATO presence. Everyone was beyond nice to us and when we crossed over to Serbian-controlled territory, it was the same there.
John Ellis (June 98)

In Sarajevo, one of my biggest disappointments was to discover the empty, gutted shell of the Olympic museum.
Scott Eden (June 98)

At the beginning of 1998, negotiators announced agreement on a new currency, pegged 1:1 to the DM, known as the konvertibilna marka (convertible mark, or KM), which is supposed to be valid throughout all of Bosnia, including the Republika Srpska Many shops have changed their pricing signs to show prices in KM instead of DM, but as of yet, I have not seen any of the new notes or coins on the street, and the mixture of DM and dinar continues as before.
Greg Slade (Mar 98)

A small guide to Sarajevo is now available for DM10 and is available at small shops and bookstores. The guide is called "Welcome to Sarajevo".
Sven Gj. Gjeruldsen (Aug 97)