Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina is bordered by Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to the north and southwest. It is not entirely landlocked; to the south it has a narrow coast on the Adriatic Sea, which is about 20 kilometres (12 miles) long and surrounds the town of Neum. The inland Bosnia region has a moderate continental climate, with hot summers and cold, snowy winters. In the central and eastern interior of the country the geography is mountainous, in the northwest moderately hilly, and in the northeast predominantly flatland. The smaller southern region, Herzegovina, has a Mediterranean climate and mostly mountainous topography. Bosnia and Herzegovina is created when the former Yugoslavia broke up (since April 5, 1992). The capital is Sarajevo.

There is not (yet) much cycling in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are no cycle paths and the country consists largely of hilly landscape with deep green valleys and steep mountain roads. Most roads are quiet and therefore very easy to cycle. Unpaved mountain paths are a challenge for those who want to cycle off-road. For those who like climbing, the country is very suitable anyway. The road from Sarajevo to Zenica / Travnik and on to Banja Luka is busy and narrow in some places and therefore less pleasant to cycle, in others (the transition between Muslim and Serbian zones) almost deserted.

The population can generally be described as hospitable and outspoken. In addition to their own language, there are people who speak German, English or even French.

Some nationalities can enter Bosnia and Herzegovina without a visa for up to 90 days.

Source: Wikipedia.

There are still many landmines. All roads and verges are free of landmines. In case of wild camping you should always inquire or check (for example, is it an area that the population avoids) whether there are mines. Look here for overview maps. In principle there are no areas that should be avoided.

Cooking fuel

We have regularly seen gas shot tanks in supermarkets and hardware stores.

Supermarkets

In most areas, there are plenty of shops for shopping. The somewhat larger towns have large modern supermarkets.

The drugstore chain 'dm' has a limited range of organic products. The dm shops can be found in the larger cities.

**Restaurants
**

Restaurants are cheaper than in the netherlands. Typical dishes are cevapcici (sausages) and stews.

There are kebab shops everywhere where börek is sold. Seasoned minced meat in one kind of puff pastry. There is also a variant that is filled with cheese or spinach, but this is not available everywhere. Yogurt is often drunk with it.

Vegetarian food in restaurants is no problem. The concept of vegetarian is well known. However, there is not much variation, it remains with the baked cheese slice and various omelets that are almost always on the menu.

Drinkable water

Tap water is usually drinkable, sometimes it is chlorinated. Along the way you can find springs that produce wonderfully cool water.

Best time to cycle

Seasons (dry / wet)

Spring and autumn are the best cycling season. In the winter it can get quite cold and in the summer quite warm, depending on where you are, it can cool down pleasantly in the evening.

Tourist high season

The real high season (if it actually exists in bosnia) only starts around the third week of july. Before that it is quieter.

Average temperature

We cycled at the end of august in a heat wave with temperatures up to 40 ° c. In the evening it cools down nicely, to about 15 ° c.

Spare parts

Bicycle repairers can mainly be found in the larger towns. The tire size is usually 26 "inch, but 28" can also be found. The combination with French valves then only presents a problem. Near the campsite in Illidza (Sarajevo) is one of the few bicycle shops with modern equipment and nice and helpful employees, you can also go here for trips (accompanied or not) through the mountains around Sarajevo.