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r/bih•
___JustMe___

Bosnia and Herzegovina travel and safety concerns

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I plan to visit Bosnia and Herzegovina next month and will be spending 10 days solo travelling and exploring the country. For context I’m am 19m from the UK.

I know you guys get these types of posts fairly often so I’ll try to keep my questions as concise as possible.

I have a few questions regarding safety:

  • Are there any local scams I should know about?
  • Are there any parts/cities I should avoid?
  • How strict is religion in the country?

I also have some questions with regard to general travel:

  • Best short term sim deals with at least 5gb data ideally?
  • How well is English understood out side major cities?
  • Any way to get to more rural destinations for hikers without hiring a car or motorcycle?

I hope my questions aren’t too exhaustive. Also If anyone knows of some online resources to help me gauge a better understanding of Bosnian culture that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Posted Mar 8, 2020, 1:41 PM UTC · edited

1135
Patrick_Is_Nazi:Zenica: Zenica•
  1. As far as I know, no. Altough I'd avoid giving money to beggars because some of them aren't really poor as you think they are.
  2. Depends on city and suburb you are in, but it's mostly goes to not pick a fight and keep to yourself.
  3. Some people are very religious, some aren't at all. Mostly older people are religious.
  4. haloo sim card, you'll find it at a kiosk. https://www.haloo.ba/ihalooi-tourist-s240 try and get the tourist sim version as it has 20gb and that is plenty for you
  5. Outside major cities, it is best if for example you are lost or something, to ask some younger people in English, because I doubt older people know English.
  6. Well as far as I know, buses are your way to go for rural destinations.
13
frostbitehotel•

op, i use haloo and they are awesome. just thought i would let you know.

8
Patrick_Is_Nazi:Zenica: Zenica•

yes they are. also they are dirt cheap and that's why I like 'em. also since u use haloo, how's the 4g signal coverage?

6
frostbitehotel•

Its good but only in major cities.

6
Patrick_Is_Nazi:Zenica: Zenica•

okay thanks

3
___JustMe___OP•

Do they do e-sims by any chance?

2
frostbitehotel•

sadly, no

3
___JustMe___OP•

Thanks for your answers. Would you say in Bosnia the crime situation has worsened because of refugees passing through? Ive read stories that in France and Germany a large influx of refugees have lead to a sharp increase in crime would you say the same applies to Bosnia?

3
Patrick_Is_Nazi:Zenica: Zenica•

Yes, unfortunatly there is a bit more crime because of refugees. Most notably I've seen is in Sarajevo. Just don't mess with them, don't be flashy, watch your belongings and you'll be fine.

Also some of them are selling stuff, so don't be suprised.

8
ExtremeProfession:Sarajevo: Sarajevo•

Well it's only petty crime here so avoid dark alleys at night I guess, Bihać and Krajina as a whole had much worse atrocities.

6
Patrick_Is_Nazi:Zenica: Zenica•

sarajevo je mala maca za imigrante

4
getinthezone•

I have heard so many stories from people in bihac

1
ExtremeProfession:Sarajevo: Sarajevo•

Interesting, I'd say that mostly younger people are religious, since most older folks grew up in times when religion was considered unfashionable, nowadays everyone has a choice and won't be discriminated either way.

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Patrick_Is_Nazi:Zenica: Zenica•

jarane ja znam mnogo ljudi muslimanske vjeroispovijesti al' za nikog nisam cuo da ide na džumu. više je kontra od tog što kažeš.

4
ExtremeProfession:Sarajevo: Sarajevo•

Pretjeruješ malo, ja radim u IT sektoru što je eto daleko od neke stereotipne religiozne grupe i sigurno preko 50% muške populacije <30 godina ide na džumu, a bar jedan od 7 i na ostale namaze makar u praznu sobu za te namjene, ako već ne može izaći do džamije.

Imamo i Zeničana i Visočaka i ostalih, nikakve razlike nema u religioznosti procentualno.

4
___JustMe___OP•

Interesting view point, in the UK among the Muslim communities especially, the youth in general are much more invested in their religion and are more proud. You’ll often see students get up in the middle of a lecture and leave for Friday prayers and almost all Universities have prayer rooms to help accommodate all major religions (Islam, Christianity and Judaism).

3
[deleted]•

It's strange how often people ask out of fear how religious Bosnia is.

Watch out boyo, you in the caliphate now.

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___JustMe___OP•

I’m not sure how strict religion is in Bosnia, just don’t want to offend anyone by accident.

5
astipak•

Bosnia is still a relatively PC-free zone. We don't get offended easily. In major cities religion seems omnipresent but it's mostly casual religion - no one will give a shit if you're not religious. Depends on the people you hang out with - my friends mostly agnostic and atheists although rarely anyone cares tbh.

6
Hanyman13•

The train from Sarajevo to mostar is really nice and new. So go for that rather than a broken bus. And you should try rafting in Konjic which is between Mostar and Sarajevo.

5
___JustMe___OP•

Thanks for your answer. The rafting does sound very interesting, do have any idea as to how much you’d expect it would roughly cost for the day?

2
Hanyman13•

Go on visitkonjic.com. They have som really good offers, it's around 40 euros for everything. Maybe a bit more with food and drinks. But they speak good English and really nice people. Went rafting with my friends there this summer. Was so much fun. Plus Neretva is the coldest river in the world. But so refreshing when it's 30+ degrees.

2
East-Truth•

https://www.reddit.com/r/bih/comments/f6ecpw/hello_i_will_be_going_to_bh_for_a_few_days_in/

This topic might help you a bit, some of the answers you are looking for are there.

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___JustMe___OP•

Very useful thanks.

2
kenchi279•

As for the local scams have in mind a noticable presence of migrants in almost all major cities and probably travelling in betwen. They sell handkerchieves or just wonder around.

3
[deleted]•

[deleted]

1
michalfabik•

- Any way to get to more rural destinations for hikers without hiring a car or motorcycle?

Apart from buses that u/Patrick_Is_Nazi mentioned, hitchhiking is a viable option. It's a lot easier in Bosnia than in most of the rest of Europe. The locals will tell you it's very dangerous and unreliable and stuff - just don't listen to them.

2
___JustMe___OP•

Thanks for the response. Hitchhiking is a solid no go for me especially as a solo traveler, mainly because of the risk involved. In most parts of the UK hitchhiking is illegal for good reason and our government travel advisories are strongly against it.

Also my insurance will not cover me if something where to happen whilst hitchhiking as it’s considered a very high risk activity.

If I can maybe find a form of public transport towards a location it’s often safer and more reliable.

1
michalfabik•

In most parts of the UK hitchhiking is illegal for good reason

Source? I've never heard of this, a quick Google search on hitchhiking legality in the UK gave no results and I've hitchhiked in England without any problems.

our government travel advisories are strongly against it

That seems to be true for Russia, Israel, Palestine, Belize, Venezuela, Kyrgyzstan and Honduras, according to https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice, not Bosnia.

my insurance will not cover me if something where to happen whilst hitchhiking as it’s considered a very high risk activity

Have you got a link to your insurance policy? I Googled several insurance companies in the UK and didn't find any that even listed hitchhiking as a recognized activity.

1
makcode•

stay away if you want to live

-8
___JustMe___OP•

Why?

2
edvin123212:gradacac: Gradačac•

Don't listen to this guy.

stay away if you want to live

Please don't think that there are ANY reasons to fear for your life in almost any part of Bosnia. I've lived 19 years and have barely gotten into fights let alone attacked by somebody or anything of that nature.

Of course, if you pick fights you will find them. Also, I'm a guy so I won't comment on how it is for women.

Bosnia is beautiful and the younger people are very very hospitable. Most of my friends were religious but a lot of if not, most people in BiH are not very religious so you'll be fine. Go into it with a positive attitude and don't be an asshole and you'll be fine. But that goes for any country and any place imo. Have fun!!!

2
makcode•

I wouldn't recommend to go there now at this time

  • Corona Virus crisis: Bosnia is (one of) the poorest countries in Europe. The public health system is outdated and corrupted. In some regions (like western Bosnia) it is even worse.

  • Illegal migrants; violence: in some regions there are thousands migrants in camps, forests and parks, waiting to cross borders to the EU but being pushed back hard to Bosnia. As a result, they get more and more aggressive and violent. Personally I got attacked by migrants in the city of Bihac last summer because I refused to give one of them my Phone to call some other dude. Police (Idiots) doing nothing to help you. In cases like this, they pretend it never happened.

Hospitality is getting worse and worse every year. This could be also because the younger population is moving the fuck out of that country and in the tourist business lost jobs are filled with unqualified workers with no experience how to behave with tourists and guests.

Also the majority gives a shit about their environment. They pretend they are clean, the cleanest, but in reality they behave like people in India. Garbage everywhere! Forests, caves, rivers, lakes, wherever you look, you find garbage. Fresh garbage, like fuck the nature I throw that shit where I want but just not in the trash can. Climate change? Not in Bosnia - western propaganda. Let's pollute everything everyday.

  • Very religious and far right opinions: People hate. I think they like to hate. They just don't want to admit it. If you are for example a Jew, you will be treated like garbage. Same if you are an Atheist or something else. Because more and more young people leaving the country, this becomes more and more important for the other people who stayed and they bringing it up all the time. If you say something against that, I wouldn't recommend that either, you can end up dead. Free speech and opinion in theory yes in praxis no.

There is much much more.

-6
Patrick_Is_Nazi:Zenica: Zenica•

Koliko god te downvote-ovali, ovo je surova istina. However much they downvoted you, this is the bare truth.

3
michalfabik•

While all of these are valid issues, they're more reasons against living in Bosnia rather than reasons against visiting it as a tourist.

2
___JustMe___OP•

Whilst I understand some of your points I don’t think it’s entirely fair to so easily dismiss a whole country just because of a few issues. I’ve visited much much poorer regions of the world and still managed to stay safe and have a both insightful and enjoyable experience.

1