Bosnia and Herzegovina Travel Guide

Passport holders of the following countries do not need a visa to enter Bosnia and Herzegovina when the purpose of the visit is tourism for up to 90 days (unless otherwise noted): Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Latvia, Liechtenstein,…

The official currency is the konvertibilna marka (or marka) (convertible mark), denoted by the symbol KM (ISO code: BAM). It is fixed with the euro at the precise rate of KM 1.95583 for €1. Euro cash is also widely accepted, though mostly in denominations of €20 or less. 1 konvertibilna marka is equal to 100 fenings.

Bosnia is a beautiful country to drive in; the scenery is often spectacular. Renting a car is a reasonable option, especially if you are visiting remote destinations outside of Sarajevo. However, due to the mountainous terrain, dubious driving behaviour by some road users (including dangerous overtaking on narrow highways), and generally poor road conditions throughout the country, do not expect speeds will be fast - especially given the relatively short distance 'as the crow flies'. Default speed limits are within cities, on rural roads, on expressways and on motorways.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has three official languages: Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian. These are mutually intelligible standardized varieties of a single language which historically bore the official name "Serbo-Croatian" (it is still called that in linguistics) with differences posing no communication barrier. Examples include "coffee" being kafa in Serbian and kava in Bosnian/Croatian, while Bosnian features more Turkish loanwords. City dwellers speak a shared urban vernacular, and phrasebooks f…

Be very careful when travelling off the beaten path in Bosnia and Herzegovina: it is still clearing many of the estimated 5 million land mines left around the countryside during the Bosnian War of 1992–1995. Do not leave paved roads, even for a pee-break in areas you are not familiar with. In 2024, Bosnia was estimated to have 840 km² of landmines fields still not cleared. From 2020 to 2025, 6 people were killed by landmines.

All Bosnian employees undergo regular health checks to ensure that they can physically 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 handlers and providers are held to the highest standards. Bosnian kitchens and food storehouses are expected to be sanitary and spotless and food safety is very important.

There are three postal services, serving each ethnolinguistic community, so stamps are separate and cannot be used at other postal services. In addition, the postal services charge different rates and may operate in the same city (e.g. Hrvatska post and BH Posta both operate in Mostar).

It is of utmost importance to respect the religious differences of the people in the region, and their effort to move past the 1990s war, as it still affects those that survived those times to this day. Be careful in areas where there is still some form of ethnic tension, and ensure that you do not offend a particular group. Avoid talking about the war, or any other controversial topic in the Balkans, such as the legitimacy of Kosovo or Republika Srpska; it's very disrespectful and you won't get any good information from doing so, since everyone tends to be biased on what they perceive to be g…