Bosnia and Herzegovina Visas Passport Respect Credit card Sleep Work safe

Practical Information

Location
Southeastern Europe.
Time
GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).
Area
51,129 sq km (19,741 sq miles).
Population
4 million (2005 estimate).
Population Density
88.8 per sq km.
Capital
Sarajevo. Population: 420,000 (2005 estimate).
Language
The official languages are Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian. The Croats and Bosniaks use the Latin alphabet, whereas the Serbs use the Cyrillic.
Religion
40% Muslim, 31% Orthodox, 15% Roman Catholic, 4% Protestant and 10% other denominations and religions.
Electricity
220 volts AC, 50Hz. Two-pin plugs are in use.
Social Conventions
Bosnia & Herzegovina is charaterised by its ethnic and religious diversity and visitors should respect the customs and traditions of the various ethnic and religious groups. The main ethnic groups are the Bosniaks (48%, also sometimes referred to as Bosnian Muslims), the Serbs (37.1%) and the Croats (14.3%). As a sign of acknowledgement of the three main religious communities (Islamic, Orthodox and Roman Catholic), the government of Bosnia & Herzegovina allows its citizens to take off two working days per year for religious purposes. Visitors should be aware that drinking alcohol in public may be considered offensive by Muslims. Visitors should avoid expressing opinions about the war or other sensitive issues.

Passport Required?
British Yes
Australian Yes
Canadian Yes
USA Yes
Other EU Yes
Visa Required?
British No
Australian No
Canadian No
USA No
Other EU No
Return Ticket Required?
British Yes
Australian Yes
Canadian Yes
USA Yes
Other EU Yes

Passports
Valid passport required by all nationals referred to in chart above except:
(a) holders of valid national identity cards issued to nationals of Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain and Sweden;
(b) nationals of Germany holding valid identity cards issued for minors called a Kinderausweis, with photo.
Passport Note
Bosnia & Herzegovina does not recognise passports issued by the Former Yugoslav Federation Republic (Serbia & Montenegro), which has a red cover.
Visas
Not required by nationals referred to in the chart above for stays of up to three months.

Note: Nationals not referred to in the chart above are advised to contact the embassy to check visa requirements (see Contact Addresses).

The official currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina is Konvertibilna marka (KM).

• 1KM=100 Pfennig
• Notes: 1 KM, 5KM, 10KM, 20KM, 50KM, 100KM, 200KM.

• Coins: 5KM, 2KM, 1KM, 0.5KM=50 Pfennig,
0.20KM=20 Pfennig, 0.10KM=10 Pfennig, 0,05KM=5 Pfennig

€ banknotes are mostly accepted, but coins won’t serve you much in shops, cafés, restaurants.

• 1KM=0,51129 €

Personal and travel checks are rarely accepted, but can be used in banks and exchange offices.
Credit cards, however, are accepted in most shops and some restaurants (check the labels at the front door). There are several ATMs in downtown area, and are mostly located in front of the banks.
Below are listed some of the banks in Sarajevo. Please keep in mind that opening/closing hours are usually 8am/8pm, except on Saturdays ( 8am/ 3pm). Banks are closed on Sundays.

Geography
Roughly triangular in shape, and the geopolitical centre of the former Yugoslav Federation, Bosnia & Herzegovina shares borders with Serbia and Montenegro in the east and southeast, and Croatia to the north and west, with a short Adriatic coastline of 20km (12 miles) in the southeast, but no ports.
Government
Parliamentary democracy. Under the terms of the 1995 Dayton Peace agreement, Bosnia & Herzegovina consists of two entities: Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine (the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina) and Republika Srpska (the Serbian Republic). Each has its own president, although there is also a three-member rotating presidency, elected every four years. The presidency then appoints a chairman of the council of Ministers. A central government, based in Sarajevo, is responsible for national functions including foreign, external trade and finance policies. Two thirds of the seats in the national assembly are reserved for Federation candidates and one third for Serbs. In addition, Republika Srpska elects its own president and national assembly, while the Federation elects a national assembly.
Head of State
The presidency of Bosnia & Herzegovina consists of two members and one chairperson: one Bosniak, one Serb and one Croat. Current members and chairman are: Haris Silajdic, Nebojsa Radmanovic and Zeljko Komsic, all since 2006. The chair rotates every eight months.
Head of Government
Prime Minister Nikola Spiric since 2007.

Economy
Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked next to The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as the poorest republic in the old Yugoslav federation. Although agriculture is almost all in private hands, farms are small and inefficient, and the republic traditionally is a net importer of food. Industry has been greatly overstaffed, one reflection of the socialist economic structure of Yugoslavia. Tito had pushed the development of military industries in the republic with the result that Bosnia hosted a large share of Yugoslavia's defense plants. The bitter interethnic warfare in Bosnia caused production to plummet by 80% from 1990 to 1995, unemployment to soar, and human misery to multiply. With an uneasy peace in place, output recovered in 1996-99 at high percentage rates from a low base; but output growth slowed in 2000 and 2001. GDP remains far below the 1990 level. Economic data are of limited use because, although both entities issue figures, national-level statistics are limited. Moreover, official data do not capture the large share of activity that occurs on the black market. The konvertibilna marka - the national currency introduced in 1998 - is now pegged to the euro, and the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina has dramatically increased its reserve holdings. Implementation of privatization, however, has been slow, and local entities only reluctantly support national-level institutions. Banking reform accelerated in 2001 as all the communist-era payments bureaus were shut down. The country receives substantial amounts of reconstruction assistance and humanitarian aid from the international community but will have to prepare for an era of declining assistance.

Culture
Ethnic groups
Bosniak 48%, Serb 37.1%, Croat 14.3%, other 0.5% (2000)
note: Bosniak has replaced Muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam
Religions
Muslim 40%, Serbian Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other 10%
Climate
Hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along coast

Terrain
Mountains and valleys; Natural hazards : destructive earthquakes.

Get around
The best way to get around (if you are not with your own car, that is) is with bus or train. The network between the two is extremely extensive. Surprisingly, prices do not differ very much, neither do the travel times (bus might be slightly cheaper), but the bus network is significantly more extensive and run more frequently than trains (many train lines were damaged in the recent conflict, and have not been rebuilt to fast speeds, in addition to there being a lack of carriages and trains to provide frequent services - even on the busy lines like Mostar-Sarajevo, Tuzla-Banja Luka and Sarajevo-Banja Luka.

Hitching is not advised, and walking between towns can prove dangerous (including in areas which may not have been de-mined).

Talk
The official languages in the Bosnia and Herzegovina are Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian. Both Serbian and Bosnian are written in both Latin and in Cyrillic, making them the only Slavic languages to officialy use both scripts. However, Bosnians and Herzegovinians are sensitive about their language so be careful when you say they speak "Serbo-Croatian." In the Republika Srpska you'll see signs in Cyrillic, so a Serbian-Engish dictionary would be helpful there.

The languages differ only in the most academic of venues and also in traditional homes so the languages are easily mutually comprehensible, despite small differences. There are different versions of the languages throughout the area and spoken language changes between regions. Academic and official language on the other hand is usually consistent and understood by all.

A lot of Bosnians, especially the younger generation will speak English, German or Russian (another Slavic language), and the older generations tended to have studied English, French or Russian in school.

Many Bosnians speak excellent English. None of these people work in hotels, restaurants, bus stations, or drive taxis. Stated positively, every day Bosnians will insist upon buying you coffee and cakes while engaging you in long and deep intellectual discussions, in perfect English. You'll need to learn a little Bosnian to buy a snack at a bakery and tell a taxi driver where you're staying, but this is easy enough.

Buy
The official currency is the konvertibilna marka (convertible Mark), at a fixed rate of 1.95 towards the Euro (1 EUR = 1.95 KM). Be sure to get small bills, as anything above 20 KM will most likely get you into trouble when you want to pay due to lack of small change. You can pay almost everywhere with Euro bills, and will be able to change them almost everywhere (shops, taxi) - at a rate of 1 EUR = 2 KM; for changing, up to 50 EUR should be fine in most cases; for paying, up to 10 EUR.

Credit cards are not widely accepted - ATMs are available in the bigger cities (mostly VISA system, sometimes Maestro), though they will most probably provide you with big bills (>=50 KM) that you will again have trouble paying with.

Most towns and cities will have markets and fares where any number of artisans, sellers, and dealers will offer any kind of stock. Different foods are readily available, both fresh and cooked, as well as clothing, jewelry and souvenirs. At the markets you are able to negotiate with the seller, although that may take some practice. Like in most such venues prices may be inflated for foreigners based on a quick 'means test' made by the seller. Often those who look like they can afford more will be asked to pay more.
Large shopping centers and stores do exist in most cities and towns.
Sarajevo is fine for buying clothes and shoes of good quality and relatively cheap. The main shopping streets of Sarajevo are also great for black market products including the latest DVDs, video games and music CDs. Most tourists who visit Sarajevo no doubt leave with a few DVDs to take back home.

Visoko and the central Bosnia region are very well known for their leather work.

Mostar has an excellent shopping mall on the Croatian side with some typical European-style clothes shops and jewelers.

Sleep
In Bosnia and Herzegovina you can choose from the great number of hotels, hostels, motels and pensions. At the seaside town of Neum you can book hotels from 2 to 4 stars. In the other cities many hotels are 3 stars, 4 stars and some of them are 5 stars. In Sarajevo the best hotels are: Hollywood, Holiday Inn, Bosnia, Saraj, Park, Grand and Astra. Reservation is possible via the internet or by contacting Centrotrans-Eurolines travel agency in Sarajevo, phone number: +387 33 205 481, languages spoken: English, German, French and Dutch.

Work
With one of the highest unemployment rates in Europe (in some areas up to 40%, official rate 17%), it will be unlikely you will find legitimate employment in the country unless you are working for a multi-national organisation.

Stay safe
If you plan on traveling off the beaten path in Bosnia, be aware that the nation is still in the process of clearing many of the estimated 5 million land mines left around the countryside during the war of 1992-1995. In rural areas try to stay on paved areas if possible, and never touch any unarmed explosive device. Houses and private property were often rigged with mines as their owners fled during the war. If an area or property looks abandoned, stay away from it until it has been cleared by a demining team.

Bosnia experiences very little violent crime, as long as you stay on paved roads and marked routes. Beware of pickpockets, however, in larger cities, especially Sarajevo.
There are approximately 600,000 land mines in Bosnia. Areas around Sarajevo are extremely hazardous, so be careful.

Stay healthy
All Bosnian employees undergo regular health checks to ensure that they are physically capable to do their jobs and that they will not transmit any disease or injure anyone. People in the food industry are particularly checked and random health and safety checks for the premises are held often. Food providers are held to the highest standards. A Bosnian kitchen is expected to be spotless and food safety is very important.
If getting a tattoo, ensure that your instruments are being steralised. While this may be a common practice, one should still be careful.
Since the food is very rich, some extra exercise may help.
And as above, never walk off dedicated paths in case of land mines.

Respect
Respect the religious differences of the people in the region and their effort to move past the Yugoslav civil war. It is important to be careful in areas where there is still tension and to ensure that one does not offend a particular group due to indifference or sheer ignorance.

Similarly, respect the environment. A lot of the country has been saved from pollution and it is important to be careful of one's influences. Moreover, it is equally important to be careful as the rivers tend to be fierce, the mountains and valleys often unguarded and the footing unsure. Always have a tour guide with you or consult a local for advice on the natural dangers that may arise.