Bosnia

[Mika_98]

Hi all,

Just wondering if anyone has been to Bosnia on holiday? If so, I have a few queries. But lets first see if anyone has previously visited

Thanks

[tivver500]

Went skiing there last year. Very little snow and the resort was rather expensive!!
Did have an afternoon trip (guided) into Sarajevo which was very interesting.

Lovely city to wander around - where the west meets the east on the same street.
Nice to see that the prices were way lower than the resort we stayed in.....

[Dan_1981]

Visited Mostar... It was stunning

[loskie]

Drove from Cavtat on S Side Dubrovnik bay to Mostar in about 2004. Had a nice day out in rental Kangoo. Some of the villages still were a bit eerie but quiet, beautiful countryside and Mostar was quite nice. But jeez that's 21 years ago. Time certainly flies.

[Bill]

Went to Trebinje on a day trip from Dubrovnik at Easter.

[OMITN]

Not for a specific holiday to Bosnia, but we had a day trip to Mostar and Kravice waterfalls when holidaying in Croatia.

I suspect there is far more to the country than we found on a single day. Seeing buildings with the scars of the war in Mostar reminded us that some places take longer than others to recover. Kravice waterfalls was a bit of a weird experience..!

I suspect that Bosnia suffers through the lack of a meaningful coastline (other than the short 20km section carved out of Croatia), which is usually a good draw for tourism. Montenegro is luckier in that regard.

Edited by OMITN on Friday 20th June 22:57

[elise2000]

I've visited a few times. As others have said, Mostar is worth a visit. Also Sarajevo.

Not sure it's worth a whole holiday though. Maybe combine with Croatia/Montenegro etc.

What are your queries? May be able to help as I live in Croatia so know a fair bit about Bosnia too.

[Mika_98]

Thanks for the replies all. Would love to do Croatia and Bosnia. But unfortunately, funds this year won't permit. Croatia still remains on the list though

elise2000 said:

I've visited a few times. As others have said, Mostar is worth a visit. Also Sarajevo.

Not sure it's worth a whole holiday though. Maybe combine with Croatia/Montenegro etc.

What are your queries? May be able to help as I live in Croatia so know a fair bit about Bosnia too.

Thanks, local knowledge would really help. Seeking some advice on an itinerary please. Family of 5, 2 adults and 3 children (all 10yrs +) and the plan is to rent a car. I was thinking Sarajevo for about 3 days and Mostar 3 days. Can possibly use those as a base for day trips for other locations too.

However, thinking of visiting or staying at other towns/cities/villages - Which would you recommend and how many nights?

Also, are there any good family friendly resorts close to Sarajevo? And of all the waterfalls, which are most spectacular and suitable for families?

Any other tips or suggestions would be greatly welcome

[StevieBee]

I worked on a project there between 2017 and 2019. Visited five times, each for a week to 10 days, visited most of the country but based mainly in Sarajevo.

It's a nice place. Some lovely scenery and interesting places. It's also completely bonkers. It's essentially three countries not one so there's some interesting cultural differences as you travel around.

Sarajevo is a nice little city but you only need a day or so there. Most of what's interesting and worth seeing and experiencing is concentrated in the centre.

I'd advise caution on taking younger children to the museums that cover the conflict. Obviously it's an important part of European history but some of the displays and photographs are a touch graphic to say the least. There's a lot of evidence of conflict when you look around - this was the side of the hotel stayed in... nice bit of mortar damage deliberately kept:



The only thing I'd highlight is that it's one of the poorer balkan nations and still very much in the 'development' stage. A lot of international development money has and continues to be spent there (Wold Bank, EU, etc) and there's lots of evidence of this in the city centres with beautification projects, nice new hotels, business zones and historical renovations. But then you'll find yourself in a town or village and think you've been transported to the 1920s and not necessarily in a good way. Here's and example of the old and new(ish):



Driving's not too bad there but out of town, traffic regulations are treated more like traffic 'suggestions' - but no more so than any other similar nation.

Couple of other pics to whet the appetite:

[chopper602]

Dan_1981 said:

Visited Mostar... It was stunning

I have an almost identical photo I took of that bridge (the original one) when I was about 10 and it was called Yugoslavia, We were on a family camping holiday in Dad's Simca 1300 estate. It was quite an adventure at the time (mid 70's) and remember getting harassed by people wanting to buy my jeans or my very cheap Timex watch!

[Skodillac]

Mika_98 said:

Thanks, local knowledge would really help. Seeking some advice on an itinerary please. Family of 5, 2 adults and 3 children (all 10yrs +) and the plan is to rent a car. I was thinking Sarajevo for about 3 days and Mostar 3 days. Can possibly use those as a base for day trips for other locations too.

However, thinking of visiting or staying at other towns/cities/villages - Which would you recommend and how many nights?

Also, are there any good family friendly resorts close to Sarajevo? And of all the waterfalls, which are most spectacular and suitable for families?

Any other tips or suggestions would be greatly welcome

What do you mean by "family resorts"? There are ski resorts near Sarajevo which have some summer mountain type activities, such as Jahorina. Is that what you're after, or did you just mean tourist attractions rather than resorts?

I go there a fair bit for skiing and visiting family/family events. My wife has just inherited her father's mountain village house, which we're planning to use as a holiday home. But that's just for our own leisure, there's not much to do in the area I'm most familiar with (Pale/Sokolac/Rogatica) for tourists.

As others have said, Trebinje is worth a visit if you're in the far south.

Car rental is pretty cheap (I recently rented a Megane for 12 euros a day plus insurance from Sarajevo airport), and although driving is harem scarem, traffic light and not too intimidating. Cops are everywhere looking for speeders though, so make sure you know the limits and have all your docs in order. Usually when they pull you over (and they will pull you over), and find out your a foreigner in a rental, they'll wave you on, but not always.

Flights out there are currently silly cheap from Luton to Sarajevo with Wizzair.

[elise2000]

Mika_98 said:

Thanks for the replies all. Would love to do Croatia and Bosnia. But unfortunately, funds this year won't permit. Croatia still remains on the list though

elise2000 said:

I've visited a few times. As others have said, Mostar is worth a visit. Also Sarajevo.

Not sure it's worth a whole holiday though. Maybe combine with Croatia/Montenegro etc.

What are your queries? May be able to help as I live in Croatia so know a fair bit about Bosnia too.

Thanks, local knowledge would really help. Seeking some advice on an itinerary please. Family of 5, 2 adults and 3 children (all 10yrs +) and the plan is to rent a car. I was thinking Sarajevo for about 3 days and Mostar 3 days. Can possibly use those as a base for day trips for other locations too.

However, thinking of visiting or staying at other towns/cities/villages - Which would you recommend and how many nights?

Also, are there any good family friendly resorts close to Sarajevo? And of all the waterfalls, which are most spectacular and suitable for families?

Any other tips or suggestions would be greatly welcome

I can’t add much to steviebees reply tbh. A couple of days in Sarajevo is plenty- it’s a very small city!

Hiring a car and just exploring is certainly the way to go. From personal experience, be a little careful with border guards and mechanics (both hopefully won’t be required!). Not the most honest shall we say. Although things may have changed since I last visited

[toon10]

Similar to others, I did a day trip to Mostar while in Dubrovnik. It's a stunning place. Interesting to see the effects of recent history on some of the buildings.

[Mika_98]

Apologies for the delay, lots going on with end of summer term!
Thanks for the replies all. We have booked a holiday and will be doing a tour across various locations around Bosnia. The plan is to drive so we can go at our own leisure rather than having a guide/tour.

Skodillac said:

What do you mean by "family resorts"? There are ski resorts near Sarajevo which have some summer mountain type activities, such as Jahorina. Is that what you're after, or did you just mean tourist attractions rather than resorts?

I go there a fair bit for skiing and visiting family/family events. My wife has just inherited her father's mountain village house, which we're planning to use as a holiday home. But that's just for our own leisure, there's not much to do in the area I'm most familiar with (Pale/Sokolac/Rogatica) for tourists.

As others have said, Trebinje is worth a visit if you're in the far south.

Car rental is pretty cheap (I recently rented a Megane for 12 euros a day plus insurance from Sarajevo airport), and although driving is harem scarem, traffic light and not too intimidating. Cops are everywhere looking for speeders though, so make sure you know the limits and have all your docs in order. Usually when they pull you over (and they will pull you over), and find out your a foreigner in a rental, they'll wave you on, but not always.

Flights out there are currently silly cheap from Luton to Sarajevo with Wizzair.

Thanks for the pointers. With regards to resorts, it was mainly something with activities suitable for younger children, a place to relax at the end of a busy holiday.

The police sound like those I came across in Morocco. Trying several ways to make a bit of a buck. Presuming Google Maps will pick up/identify the speed limit? If not, hope there are signs displaying the maximum speed.

12 Euros a day is a bargain compared to the quotes I have received. Which company was that with?

Our plan is to start in Sarajevo, visit a few locations (possibly stay a couple of nights too) on route to Bihac. Down to Mostar and then back to Sarajevo for the return flight home.