Dobro jutro
DOH-broh YOO-troh
Good morning
Greeting someone in the morning
Travel guide
Learn Bosnia and Herzegovina before you go
A mountainous land of rivers, stone bridges and old bazaars, where East and West have met for centuries, with a tiny strip of Adriatic coast.
CapitalSarajevo
CurrencyBosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark (KM), fixed to the euro
Drives on theRight
Calling code+387
10 phrases to learn
In Bosnian. Capital letters show the stressed part. Tap the heart to practise a phrase later.
Dobar dan
DOH-bahr DAHN
Good day, hello
The polite greeting for most of the day, in shops and with strangers
Merhaba
MEHR-hah-bah
Hello
A friendly greeting from Turkish, heard mostly among Bosnian Muslims
Laku noć
LAH-koo NOHCH
Good night
Saying goodbye late in the evening or before bed
Do viđenja
doh vee-JEH-nyah
Goodbye
Leaving a shop, a restaurant or people you don't know well
Kako ste?
KAH-koh steh
How are you? (polite)
Asking an older person or a stranger how they are
Dobro sam, hvala
DOH-broh sahm, HVAH-lah
I'm fine, thank you
Answering 'How are you?'
Drago mi je
DRAH-goh mee yeh
Nice to meet you
Meeting someone for the first time
Hvala lijepo
HVAH-lah LYEH-poh
Thank you very much
Thanking someone warmly
Nema na čemu
NEH-mah nah CHEH-moo
You're welcome
Answering when someone thanks you
At the table
- Guests visiting a home are almost always offered coffee, together with something sweet made at home.
- Bread is served with nearly every savoury meal.
- Pork is not eaten by many Bosniaks, who are mostly Muslim, so beef, lamb and chicken are the most common meats. Ask before offering pork to a guest.
- When glasses are raised, people say 'Živjeli!' (cheers).
- Drinking coffee together is a daily custom and an important part of any social visit.
- During Ramadan, restaurants may separate guests who are eating during fasting hours from other guests, so be discreet.
Local tips
Carry some marks in cash
Prices are in convertible marks (KM), fixed at 1.95583 marks to the euro. Cards are not accepted everywhere, so carry cash, and avoid paying small shops with 100 or 200 KM notes. Euro cash in small notes is often accepted. Change leftover marks before you leave, as they are hard to exchange abroad.
Stay on paths in the countryside
Landmines and unexploded weapons from the 1992 to 1995 war remain in some rural areas. Towns and main roads are largely clear, but do not step off roads, paved areas and marked paths without an experienced guide, keep away from abandoned buildings, and never touch an unknown object.
Your stay must be registered
All foreign visitors must be registered with the police within 72 hours of arrival. Hotels usually do this for you; if you stay privately, check that your host has arranged it.
Emergency numbers
The emergency numbers are 122 for police, 123 for fire and 124 for an ambulance. The European number 112 also works.
Two alphabets
Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian are easy for each other's speakers to understand. Serbian is written in both Cyrillic and Latin letters, so in Republika Srpska many signs are in Cyrillic, while Latin letters are more common in the Federation.
Winter driving
From November to April, cars must have winter tyres and carry snow chains, to be used when signs say so. Roads through the mountains are slow and winding, so allow plenty of time.
Speak gently about the war
The war of the 1990s still touches many families. Listen if people want to talk about it, but avoid debating it or other political questions, and show respect for all three communities and their places of worship.
Smoke in cafés
Smoking is common in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The rules on smoking indoors differ between the entities and are not always followed, so some cafés and bars can be smoky. If smoke bothers you, sit outside or ask for a non-smoking area.
Dishes to try
- Ćevapi (ćevapi): Small fingers of grilled minced beef, served five or ten at a time in a warm, soft flatbread called somun, with chopped raw onion and often kajmak, a rich clotted cream.
- Burek and other pita (burek, pita): Paper-thin pastry rolled around a filling of minced meat, coiled into a big spiral and baked. In Bosnia only the meat version is called burek; with cheese it is sirnica, with potatoes krompiruša, and all of them together are called pita.
- Spinach pie (zeljanica): A savoury pie of thin pastry filled with spinach, or sometimes chard, and fresh white cheese bound with egg. It is eaten warm or cold, for breakfast, lunch or supper.
- Bey's soup (begova čorba): A creamy chicken and vegetable soup with rice and dried okra, finished off the heat with soured cream, egg yolks and a squeeze of lemon. It is a festive dish offered to guests at weddings and religious holidays.
- Stuffed onions (sogan-dolma): Whole onion layers filled with minced beef, rice and spices, gently cooked in a light tomato sauce and served with soured cream or yogurt.
- Cabbage and vine leaf rolls (sarma, japrak): Minced meat and rice rolled in pickled cabbage leaves, or in vine leaves, then slowly simmered in a pot.
- Meat under the bell (meso ispod sača): Lamb, veal or goat with potatoes, slowly roasted under a metal or clay lid called a sač, which is covered with hot coals and ashes.
- Somun bread (somun): A round, soft, flat bread with a golden crust, the classic bread for ćevapi. During Ramadan, a special Ramadan somun sprinkled with nigella seeds is baked.
Cities to see
- Sarajevo (capital): Baščaršija, the old bazaar, The 1984 Winter Olympics, The Sarajevo Film Festival.
- Banja Luka: The Vrbas river, Banja Luka ćevapi, joined in a square, A UNESCO City of Music since 2023.
- Mostar: The Old Bridge, Stari Most, Divers leaping from the bridge, Herzegovinian wines.
- Tuzla: Salt lakes in the city centre, Its two universities, Industry and salt.
- Zenica: The Zenica ironworks, Vranduk, a castle of the Bosnian kings, nearby, Its university.
- Bihać: The clear Una river, Una National Park, Preminger beer.
Landmarks and the city map are on the Bosnia and Herzegovina trip