What You Need to Know Before Visiting Sarajevo

But, there are a number of issues about Sarajevo that each one these articles received let you know. Like the truth that you want a winter jacket useful October by means of May, since you by no means know when it would snow. Yes, it could actually occur in May!

So, right here’s a native’s information to all of the belongings you want to know earlier than visiting Sarajevo, so as to actually take pleasure in your keep!

Guide to visiting Sarajevo

Everyone Smokes

Smoking is allowed within the overwhelming majority of Sarajevo pubs, eating places and cafes, so be ready to breathe in a whole lot of second hand smoke. The ban on smoking continues to be not one thing the federal government is making an attempt to implement, largely as a result of there are such a lot of people who smoke within the metropolis that prohibiting it in institutions would severely injury the native companies.

Some locales do have smoking and non-smoking areas, however that’s largely eating places and cafes – Mrvica, Manolo, Metropolis and many others. Be positive to verify TripAdvisor and Google Maps critiques of a spot you’d like to go to, if you would like to ensure that they’ve a non-smoking space – this data is often not marketed wherever else.

Don’t Get An Apartment With A “Scenic View”

If you need to get a cute AirBnB, keep away from something that’s marketed as having a scenic or panoramic view of the town. It would possibly sound like a good suggestion, however you’ll notice the extent of your mistake when you arrive in Sarajevo.

The metropolis lies in a valley, and it’s surrounded  by hills and mountains. All these flats with a scenic view are positioned within the surrounding hills, which have little or no to none public transport. Meaning you’d both have to spring for a taxi everytime you need to exit, or stroll uphill for some 20 minutes.

Local Cuisine Is Finger Licking Good

Sarajevans are largely carnivores, so plant-based individuals be at liberty to skip to the following factor you want to learn about Sarajevo!

The greatest identified Sarajevan dish is evapi – small minced meat kebabs served with flatbread, chopped onion and kajmak. They are fatty, decadent and scrumptious. It’s the one dish you completely have to strive, even when you’re not likely within the temper to check out overseas cuisines.

Most of the opposite native dishes embrace minced meat in some type, so vegans and vegetarians may have a tough time discovering a spot to eat within the metropolis. If you’re within the temper to check out Bosnian delicacies, undoubtedly check out Sarma, Dolma, Burek and another dish you could find. The Singing Nettle is without doubt one of the high native eating places within the metropolis, and it’s extremely advisable by each vacationers and locals.

On high of that, you may have to have a correct dessert – baklava is taken into account the standard must-eat dessert in Sarajevo. And the very best baklavas are in a small patisseries in Ferhadija road – Sarajbosna. We suggest baklava with kajmak, for a mind-blowing symphony of flavors in your mouth.

You Can Walk Everywhere – Avoid The Trams

Sarajevo is a small metropolis, and the easiest way to discover it’s to stroll in every single place. Especially the world across the metropolis middle and the previous city – it can take you lower than quarter-hour to get from BBI procuring middle (widespread assembly spot in metropolis middle) to the well-known Sebilj in Baščaršija .

Trams are technically the quickest method to get across the metropolis, for the reason that tracks largely run between the primary roads, however you’ll be greatest off avoiding them fully. They are soiled, unreliable, and if a controller catches you and not using a ticket, they may strive to take all of your cash.

If this occurs, it is best to know that the positive for not having a tram ticket is 15 Euros. Do not give them a penny extra – be at liberty to name the police, or ask a pleasant native to step in. The one factor Sarajevans have in widespread is the hatred in direction of tram ticket controllers and the willingness to argue with them any time of the day.

The most dependable type of public transport in Sarajevo are Centrotrans busses. You have to get a ticket as quickly as you enter, which prices 1 Euro. They have WiFi and screens that point out which cease you’re at the moment at – you may all the time cross reference this with Google Maps, and you’ll by no means get misplaced!

Taxi Drivers Will Try To Rip You Off

Taxi drivers in Sarajevo love ripping off foreigners. So, the very first thing it is best to do once you get in a car is ask them to activate the meter. If they refuse, get out of that car and discover one other one.

They may even doubtless take longer routes, simply to squeeze additional cash out of you – don’t allow them to try this. Especially when you’re making an attempt to get someplace that’s shut to the primary highway – actually, most driving in Sarajevo goes straight, so don’t allow them to take you thru all these slim alleys simply to get a number of extra Euros out of you.

Cash Is King

The foreign money in Sarajevo is Bosnian Convertible Mark (KM), and it’s the one foreign money accepted in every single place. Some outlets will settle for Euros, however these are very uncommon, they usually normally domestically owned companies.

Cash continues to be king in Sarajevo, so be certain that to have loads of it readily available for taxi rides, public transport tickets, payments in cafes and many others. Card acceptance is getting higher within the metropolis – the overwhelming majority of upscale eating places will settle for playing cards, particularly institutions which are positioned inside procuring facilities. But, a whole lot of locations nonetheless solely take money, notably smaller pubs, cafes and bakeries which are positioned in neighbourhoods additional away from the town middle.

It’s greatest to ask if a locale accepts bank cards earlier than you sit down for a drink. In case they don’t, the excellent news is that there’s an ATM on the road each 10 meters or so.

Restaurants Don’t Serve Pork

The majority of the inhabitants in Sarajevo are muslims, and as you in all probability know, muslims don’t eat pork. Which signifies that little or no to none eating places may have pork on the menu. 

You can nonetheless purchase it in supermarkets, however not in a number of the bigger procuring facilities within the metropolis – extra on that later. Just don’t be shocked that you may not get a burger with bacon wherever in correct Sarajevo.

If you’re actually craving it, head to eating places in Istono Sarajevo. Its technically a distinct metropolis from Sarajevo as a result of it’s positioned within the entity of Republika Srpska, nevertheless it’s geographically a part of the Sarajevo space – the politics make the excellence complicated even for locals, so let’s not dwell on that. The primary factor to know is that you just’ll discover loads of eating places there that do serve pork.

Beware Of Pickpockets

Sarajevo nonetheless has a difficulty with pickpockets – it’s not as massive because the Lisbon one, however it’s nonetheless a difficulty. Always carry your backpack kangaroo fashion, and don’t let your valuables out of your sight.

You ought to be notably cautious in trams and trolleybuses. It’s doable to enter these autos and not using a ticket, in order that they’re sort of the office for many pickpockets. And when the afternoon crowds rush house from work, it’s just about unimaginable to listen to your bag.

You will bump into a number of indicators all through the town middle that warn you of this, so be additional cautious in these areas. But, so long as you retain your purse shut, don’t go round flashing wads of money and costly jewellery, you may be positive.

Some Hotels Don’t Serve Alcohol

Certain motels and procuring facilities in Sarajevo that had been constructed up to now decade had been financed by traders from the Middle East. Which means alcohol and pork are strictly forbidden there. You can”t purchase them in outlets and you’ll get them in eating places on these premises.

This applies to BBI and SCC procuring facilities, in addition to Swissotel and Bristol Hotel. The worst half is that the motels don’t promote this wherever on their web sites, so lots of people make the error of reserving a room, solely to notice too late that they’re unable to get a correct drink within the lodge.

The Weather Is Extreme

Saying that the climate in Sarajevo is excessive is placing it mildly. Or to be much more exact, the climate modifications in Sarajevo are excessive. You all the time want to have a jacket and an umbrella, even when you’re visiting in the midst of July and it’s 40 levels Celsius outdoors – it’s very a lot doable that the temperature will drop by 20 levels within the night.

The similar goes for climate within the winter – someday it’s snowing a lot that there’s 20 centimeters of snow on the bottom, and the following day the solar is out and all that snow is melting. You can stroll round in a skinny leather-based jacket initially of December, and want a thick down coat per week later – the temperature modifications are fixed and fairly excessive.

Also, it’s good to all the time have a small umbrella in your bag. You by no means know once you would possibly want it – the potential of showers exists even on the clearest and sunniest summer time days.