I’m so happy that you’re considering a Bosnia trip! This land full of water, untouched nature and culturally rich cities will fascinate anyone who dares to visit.
Quick facts about this trip:
When? June 28th - July 12th
Who? Me and two friends (all 30M)
Why? My family is from Bosnia and I love showing friends that haven’t been there its beauty
Budget? We didn’t have to spend too much on accommodation due to personal connections. ±1000€ per person
If this short profile fits yours or in general you are still unsure about a trip to Bosnia, I’ll gladly guide you through ours and will share my highlights and tips so that you can get the most out of this beautiful country.
Our trip
TL:DR; Tuzla →Doboj →Jajce →Bosanska Krupa →Bihac →National park Una →Banja Luka →Sarajevo →Tara Canyon →Mostar →Kravica Waterfalls
This two-week long trip starts from Frankfurt, Germany and we arrive in Bosnia at Tuzla Airport. We quickly picked up our car for which we paid online ±30€ per day. Bosnia isn’t in the EU so mobile data roaming doesn’t work. I had already downloaded the route to our house near Doboj and since there aren’t too many roads we arrived safely at our base.
Note: our base was my parents vacation home, which of course won’t work for most but not having a base isn’t a problem. Just go directly to your first destination.
The West
After we spent some time on the country side, we took the long but beautiful trip to across the west of Bosnia. Our first goal was the small city of Bosanska Krupa and we decided to spend the night at UNA KAMP, which offered some cheap housing in pristine environment. Since the roads heading west are so incredibly peaceful, we took a detour to have a quick stop at the royal town Jajce to wander along the river and check out the massive waterfall in the middle of the town.
After a short night, we briefly visited the rather large city of Bihać, but were quickly off to National Park Una. Here you have many options to stop and enter, and we picked one at random rather south. The main attraction is the big waterfall but our highlight was just stopping next to the road and jumping into the freezing but beautiful green river.
We left our oasis and headed to Banja Luka, the capital of Republika Srpska in Bosnia. It’s a rather large city with many students, cafés, bars and lots of culture. We visited my aunt and stayed in a bar for a bit but spent the night back at our base. I can highly recommend Banja Luka during your trip since it's politically and culturally the most important city for the Serbian population in Bosnia.
The East
So, time to visit the capital - Sarajevo. The city of amazing food and bad air pollution. While the capital has kept many things including delicacies from the Ottoman rule, it's also as its original name suggest located in a valley between mountains. Thanks to it the smog unfortunately stays above the city and regularly brings it the award as the most polluted city of the world.
Still, I love strolling through the Baščaršija, the historic center of Sarajevo and staring at all the sweets, food and souvenirs being sold. You can just sit in a café, order a traditional coffee, observe locals & tourists and then walk around a bit until you stop at the next café. Welcome to Bosnian life.
Best things to do in Sarajevo:
Take a walking tour and learn about the history of the country & city.
Try as much local food (sarma, tikvica etc.) as you can in the Baščaršija area.
Visit the surrounding mountains Bjelašnica, Jahorina and Trebević where the 1984 Winter Olympics were held. Walking in the bobsleigh track, driving quads and skiing are just a few of the things you can do there.
Explore some of the museums in the city or go to civil war relics like the Tunnel of Hope.
We spent two nights in an Airbnb but were quickly ready to get back into nature. Next stop: the second deepest canyon of the world. Wait, what? Yes, you read correctly. The Grand Canyon is the deepest, but the contender is indeed the Tara Canyon in Montenegro. Going on a rafting tour through that canyon and sleeping in this beautiful area was a must-do for us and so we finally arrived after hours of mountainous roads in DMD Camp. I visited the exact same camp with my father many years ago and it's just perfect. From authentic huts, to professional skippers and delicious food, it’s the best experience you can have while also being available for low budget travellers. The camp is located in Bosnia so you don't have to worry about crossing the border. The rafting takes about half a day and has a couple of stops where you can fill the boat up with beers 👀
As all good things come to an end, we left for Mostar after our day of rafting and obviously wanted to see Bosnia’s most famous bridge - Stari Most. Mostar has a peculiar history and as such quite the charm. From wherever you manage to park, walk toward the bridge and enjoy the touristic attractions that surround it. If you’re really lucky, you’ll even see someone jump from the bridge!
Since we then visited some family in the south, this part of the trip won’t be easy to replicate, but you can just as well make Mostar your base to explore the surrounding. You can visit beautiful villages like Stolac or Trebinje, or go on a historic exploration in Daorson. If you still haven’t had enough of water, please go to Kravice Waterfall to have your mind blown.
What can be unexpected
People smoke, a lot. Unfortunately also indoors, so take care of your lungs.
You always have to turn your lights on when driving through Bosnia. If you don’t know this, you’re an easy cash grab for the police.
Roads mainly have one lane and it's also used by agricultural vehicles. Please drive carefully. Bosnia is expanding its freeway system and its super fun to drive since you’re almost alone on a completely new road.
They can speak English! People are actually easier to converse with than you might think. Just try and in the worst case you'll have sore arms from moving your hands a lot.
Bosnia is majority muslim and especially in Sarajevo you'll see women in religious veiling. Be respectful.
Top 5 Tips
Euros are widely accepted but I would still recommend you to bring cash and exchange it at one of the many exchange offices to the local currency, KM.
Renting a car is quite cheap (as long as you plan to stay in Bosnia), easily available at the airport and definitely the best way to get around.
Get a local SIM card at one of the many kiosks you'll find in each city. There aren't big differences amongst the providers and they all have a basic package that comes with the card, which is often already enough for the trip.
Be local and take it slow. Bosnian people love their food and coffee. We love sitting in a café and just looking at the world as time passes by.
Reaching out to camps, hotels etc. via email is quite common and you’ll generally get a better price than going through aggregation platforms like Booking.
Bonus: Something we haven’t done during this trip, but visiting the Bosnian Pyramids can be a fun experience.
