Just Landed in Bosnia and Herzegovina? Your First 7 Days

Mobile coverage is good in cities and along main roads but patchy in mountainous rural areas, and fixed home broadband via BH Telecom, m:tel or Telemach is fast and cheap in urban areas. The three national operators loosely map to the country's regions but all sell nationwide prepaid SIMs, and passport registration is mandatory when you buy one. Cafes, restaurants and most flats have reliable Wi-Fi, so staying connected day to day is straightforward.

Typical cost: Prepaid SIM with 5-10 GB from around 10-20 BAM per month; home fibre broadband from roughly 25-45 BAM per month

The Convertible Mark (BAM) is pegged to the euro at roughly 1.96 BAM to 1 EUR under a currency board, so prices are easy to estimate and the exchange rate is stable. Cards and contactless work in supermarkets, hotels, chain shops and larger city businesses, but cash is essential for taxis, green markets (pijaca), small cafes, bakeries and almost anything rural. Always keep a float of marks in small notes.

Opening an account: Opening a bank account usually requires a residence permit and registered address; UniCredit Bank, Raiffeisen Bank and Intesa Sanpaolo Banka are the most foreigner-friendly and have English-speaking staff in Sarajevo, while Nova banka and NLB are strong in Republika Srpska. Expect to bring your passport, residence card and sometimes proof of address or employment. Revolut and Wise are widely used by newcomers for holding money and cheap transfers before a local account is open, though not all local merchants accept them.

Cash: Bosnia is heavily cash-based, so always carry marks in small denominations. Many taxis, bakeries, market stalls and family-run places do not take cards, some will refuse large notes, and ATMs occasionally run dry at weekends, so withdraw a little ahead of need.

Tipping: Tipping is modest and not obligatory: rounding up the bill or leaving around 10% in a sit-down restaurant is normal and appreciated, while rounding up the fare for taxis and the change for cafes and bars is customary.

All foreigners staying more than three days in private accommodation must register their place of residence with the local police foreigners' affairs service (Sluzba za strance, under the entity MUP). Hotels and registered lodgings register guests automatically, usually within 12 hours of check-in; private renters must register themselves, normally within 48 hours of arrival and typically with their landlord or the landlord's proof of ownership present. Registration is genuinely enforced and failing to do it can cause problems when extending your stay, applying for a residence permit, or during any police check, so treat it as your first priority.

Deadline: Within 48 hours of arrival at private accommodation (hotels register guests within 12 hours)

Where: Local police station / foreigners' affairs office (Sluzba za strance) in your municipality, within the relevant entity

Cities are compact and walkable, and Sarajevo has trams, trolleybuses and buses using paper tickets bought from kiosks or the driver, which you validate on board (single rides cost around 1.60-2 BAM). Intercity travel relies mostly on buses (Centrotrans, Globtour, Kompas and others) running from each city's main bus station, as the rail network is limited, slow and infrequent. Driving is straightforward but mountain roads are winding, and parking in central Sarajevo is tight.

From the airport: From Sarajevo Airport (SJJ), official taxis to the centre cost about 15-25 BAM (insist on the meter) or take the Centrotrans airport shuttle bus. There is no train link and app-based ride-hailing is very limited, so use the official rank or a pre-booked transfer. From Banja Luka (BNX) and Tuzla (TZL) airports, taxis and occasional shuttle buses connect to the respective city centres.

Renting is cheap by European standards, with most listings on OLX.ba and through local agents or Facebook expat and rental groups. Furnished flats are common in Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Mostar; many landlords prefer cash and informal, unwritten arrangements, so ask explicitly for a written lease if you need one for residence paperwork or a bank account. Viewing in person before paying anything is essential, as fake listings and deposit scams do occur.

Typical rent: One-bedroom flat roughly 500-800 BAM per month in central Sarajevo, and around 300-500 BAM outside the capital or in smaller cities

Deposit norm: Usually one month's rent as deposit, sometimes plus the first month in advance; utilities are often paid separately on top

Public healthcare is organised separately by each entity and can be under-resourced, with older equipment and long waits, though emergency care is available to anyone regardless of status. Many expats and better-off locals use private clinics in Sarajevo (such as Eurofarm Poliklinika or Sanasa) and Banja Luka for faster, English-speaking service at prices far below Western Europe. Pharmacies (apoteka) are widespread and pharmacists can advise on minor ailments.

How to access it: For emergencies call 124 or go to the nearest hospital emergency department (hitna pomoc). For routine care, register with your local health centre (dom zdravlja) if you have public insurance, or simply book and pay out of pocket at a private clinic, where a GP consultation typically costs 30-60 BAM. Bring your ID and any insurance documents to appointments.

Insurance: Public health insurance is tied to legal employment and residence, and contributions and coverage differ by entity, so new arrivals without it should hold private or international health insurance. Paying cash at private clinics is common, affordable and often faster than the public route, and specialist visits and basic scans remain inexpensive by European standards.

• Accept the offer of Bosnian coffee (kafa); coffee is a slow social ritual, and refusing outright can seem cold. Take your time rather than rushing off.
• Remove your shoes when entering someone's home, where slippers are often provided for guests.
• Dress modestly and stay quiet when visiting mosques, churches or Orthodox monasteries, and ask before photographing people at prayer.
• Be sensitive about the 1990s war: let locals raise the subject rather than probing about ethnicity, politics or which side someone was on.
• Greet people warmly and expect generous hospitality; guests are often pressed to eat and drink more, and a small gift when invited to a home is appreciated.
• Learn a few local phrases such as hvala (thank you) and molim (please), which older people especially will value even if your accent is imperfect.
• Be patient and polite in offices and shops; a friendly, unhurried manner gets far better results than visible frustration with slow bureaucracy.

• Ethnic and political topics are delicate; the same place can have different names, scripts and flags across communities, so avoid taking sides or making jokes about them.
• Some rural and remote areas still contain uncleared landmines from the war, so stick to marked paths and paved roads and never enter fenced or signposted danger zones.
• Administrative rules and paperwork differ between the Federation, Republika Srpska and Brcko District, so always confirm requirements for the specific entity where you live.
• Air pollution in Sarajevo can be severe in winter, when the valley traps smog, so consider an air purifier and check air-quality readings on bad days.
• Smoking is still common indoors in many bars and cafes despite regulations, which can surprise newcomers used to strict bans.