Getting in and visas for Bosnia and Herzegovina

Entering Republika Srpska from Federation territory [Photo: RP] Entering Brcko from Croatia [Photo: RP]

By plane

No visa is needed for entry by citizens of the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and most European countries. Citizens of Croatia and Serbia can enter Bosnia and Herzegovina with an ID. Sarajevo Airport [6] (IATA: SJJ) is located in the suburb of Butmir and is relatively close to the city centre. There is no direct public transportation, and taxi fares to/from the airport are surprisingly expensive for the short distance - your best bet is to take a taxi to the tram terminus at Ilidza and board the tram for the last part of your journey, cost 1.8KM) The national carrier of Bosnia & Herzegovina is BH Airlines (formerly known as Air Bosna). They operate a handful of flights to European destinations using two ATR-72 planes. Check their website for flight information, and note that they do not have internet bookings, or appear on many search engines for flights into Sarajevo! Some of their destinations include Skopje, Cologne and Istanbul. Croatia Airlines connects Sarajevo via Zagreb at least twice daily, and from there connections are possible to Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Munich, Paris, Zurich and several other cities. Croatia Airlines was the first airline to operate regular passenger flights into Sarajevo in 1996 following the recent conflict. It is believed that with the delivery of 4 more smaller planes to expand the Croatia Airlines fleet in 2008-9 that Sarajevo will get a third-daily service. Serbia's Jat Airways connects Sarajevo daily via Belgrade (with a late night-early morning service), and from there one can connect with other JAT domestic and international flights. Some of the other airlines which operate regular services into Sarajevo include:

• Adria Airways to Ljubljana
• Lufthansa to Munich
• Austrian Airways to Vienna
• MALEV to Budapest
• British Airways to London Gatwick (3 times weekly)
• CSA Czech Airways to Prague

For other services, check the Sarajevo Airport [7] website. Mostar [8] and Banja Luka [9] also have international airports, though services to these (from Istanbul, Zurich, Belgrade and Vienna (from mid-2008) are spasmodic at present.

By train

Train services across the country are slowly improving once again, though speeds and frequencies are still low. Much of the rail infrastructure was damaged during the recent conflict, and lines have been opened on a priority basis, though not to the high level of service pre-war. The train services are operated by two separate entities (based on the political situation in the country), but in nearly every instance results in the locomotives being changed rather than changing from one train carriage to another to continue your journey.

• To/from Croatia

There are two daily trains running from Sarajevo to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, and onwards to the rest of Europe. The 'daytime' train leaves from Zagreb around 9h in the morning and arrives in Sarajevo at 18.30h. The return journey departs Sarajevo around 10am. Ticket costs 24 EUR one way (return ticket holds some discount). During the summer months, an overnight service also operates between the two cities. Check the Croatian Railways website for further information. There are not usually any sleeper/couchette cars on this train so expect to struggle finding sleep in the regular upright seats. Trains also operate from Sarajevo heading towards Mostar and the Adriatic Sea terminating at Ploce in Croatia. Services operate a few times daily, are relatively empty and provide possibly the most stunning rail journey in all of Bosnia! You should buy your ticket before you board the train. If you don't buy before you board then buy from the conductor onboard but beware that he/she may only sell you a ticket for his/her part of the journey - the staff and locomotives usually change when the train leaves Croatian territory and again when the train goes from the territory of Republika Srpska into the Federation.

• To/from Hungary

The night train service between Budapest and Sarajevo ended on December 15, 2006. A day train now leaves Budapest (Keleti pu. station) daily at 9.30, arriving in Sarajevo at 21.39 via Osijek in Croatia. One-way tickets cost 52 Euro or the return ticket costs 48.10 Euro (11,600 forint + 750 forint compulsory reservation). Note that this is cheaper than a single ticket. There is a dining car. You will be bothered at least four times for your passport, and around four times for your ticket, and once by very nosy and insistent EU customs staff. The return train departs at 7:14 every morning for Budapest and costs 96 KM arriving at Keleti pu. station at 19:03.

• To/from Serbia

There is no direct train service. However, there is a train from Banja Luka into Eastern Croata which connects to the trains operating to/from Belgrade (Beograd) each day.

By car

Bosnia is a beautiful country to drive in as the scenery is spectacular. However, due to the mountainous terrain, atrocious driving by many road users (including dangerous overtaking on narrow highways), and generally poor condition of the road around the country, do not expect speeds will be fast - especially given the relatively short distance 'as the crow flies'. The US State Department's advisory on Bosnia and Herzegovina reads thus: Road travel is possible throughout most of the country. However, some roads are still damaged from the war, and poorly maintained. Roads are sometimes blocked due to landslides, de-mining activity, and traffic accidents. Bosnia and Herzegovina is among the rare countries in Europe that has fewer than ten kilometers of four-lane highway. The existing, two-lane roads between major cities are quite narrow at places, lack guardrails, and are full of curves. Travel by road can be risky due to poorly maintained roads, and morning and evening fog in the mountains. Driving in winter is hazardous due to fog, snow, and ice. Petrol stations can be hard to find in some spots - often the best place to fill up is on the edge of towns and cities rather than in them. Border crossings normally pose few problems. Mechanics who speak English may be hard to find, and licensing may be an issue so ensure that you are allowed to actually drive there. Police regularly set up road blocks on the road and don't be surprised to be pulled over to check your papers and have a chat!

By bus

Buses are plentiful in and around Bosnia. Most international buses arrive at the Sarajevo bus station (austobusna stanica) which is located next to the railway station close to the centre of Sarajevo. However, buses from Belgrade, the Serbian-held parts of Bosnia, and Montenegro mostly use the Lukavica bus station in Istočno, or Eastern Sarajevo (an ethnic Serbian suburb of Sarajevo). Frequent coach services run from Sarajevo to:

• CROATIA: Zagreb (4 daily), Split (4 daily), Rijeka and Pula (daily), and Dubrovnik (daily at 6.30am)
• SERBIA: between Belgrade and Istočno Sarajevo there are 5 daily services
• SLOVENIA: Ljubljana (daily)
• MONTENEGRO: Kotor daily (the trip is 7 hours and has spectacular views)

in addition to the longer-distance buses further afield to Macedonia, Austria and Germany. From Mostar, Banja Luka and Tuzla there are also frequent international services. Hercegovina also has many bus services from the Dalmatian coastal cities in Croatia. International bus services are nearly always in modern, luxurious 5-star coaches - the only exceptions to this are normally the local buses operating slightly over the border (max. 3 hour trips).

By boat

Ferries are available from Neum to other cities on the Adriatic connecting to Croatia and other countries. There are no international ferries across the Adriatic to Italy, but these do operate from Dubrovnik and Split. Similarly transport is available along the inland rivers and lakes, some of which is privately run.