Balkans..

[EuropeanNC30R...]

..more specifically Croatia, Bosnia, Montenegro, Serbia.

Has anybody first hand experience/advice of travelling through these countries they could share? Just been looking at the viability of a run down the Croatian coast then a little loop back up inland for the more interesting seeing the real country side of things.

I'd be concerned about safety of camping, state of roads, friendlyness of locals etc.

Thanks

[Nath]

I went up North from Greece through Bulgaria and Serbia, then across Bosnia to the Croatian coast.

To me the area seemed pretty safe, no worse than the eastern nations of the EU. There were plenty of camping grounds in Croatia on the Adriatic highway, but in Bosnia and Bulgaria hardly any at all - I think you'd have to wildcamp, plan heavily ahead, or hotel it. Bare in mind a premium former-state-owned hotel in Bosnia costs the same as a shitty guesthouse in France or the UK.

Bosnia looked like a real interesting place to tour. The people seem very happy and friendly, and the mountains are incredible - It's on my list of places to tour thoroughly at some time in the near future. Roads seemed okay, but the only small local roads I took were border crossings. Main roads are certainly twisty and empty enough compared to here.

Remember to consider the cost of insurance. Bulgaria was cheap (10 euros). Bosnia was a bit dear (I think about 40-50 euros), but Serbia was fookin expensive (around 70 euros as I recall).

The only photo I took in Bosnia:
https://homepage.ntlworld.com/steven.coy/images/europe_2006/bosnia-1.jpg

And camping in a cornfield in Bulgaria:
https://homepage.ntlworld.com/steven.coy/images/europe_2006/bulgaria-1.jpg
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Hard livin', hard luck.

[sceats]

I lived out in Serbia, Bosnia and Macedonia a few years back with work; didn't get the chance to bike out there, but think it should be amazing as not too dangerous, incredibly friendly people and beautiful landscapes. I travelled around a lot on public transport & by car (e.g. Sarajevo to Mostar, then down to coast, up to Dubrovnik etc, Sarajevo to Belgrade, Belgrade to Budapest, coast of Montenegro etc) and found it v easy to get around. Didn’t speak virtually any Serbo-Croat (although don’t call it that now – it’s Croatian to a Croat, Serbian to a Serb, Bosnian to a…etc)

Mountain roads can be a bit hairy, and badly surfaced in places, and watch out for drunk drivers. Oh, and there’s a speed trap every 100m in Bosnia as the Dayton accords de-militarised a lot of the fighters by swapping their military uniforms for police ones and exchanging an AK47 for a VW Polo with speed camera. Bit of a hassle, but be respectful, learn a few words, smile a lot and you’ll end up on the piss with them later. Amazing friendly throughout the place (ethnicity permitting…)

Just take it easy and you’ll have an amazing time. Did I mention how beautiful the women are….

[EuropeanNC30R...]

Thanks for all the information

It sounds (and looks in the photos) quite attractive, however reading in the foreign office website for Bosnia & Herzegovina they've got this worringly near the top of the page:-

[G]

When you thinking of going?

[sceats]

Some of the less accessible walking trails have landmines on still, (in Bosnia at least, v few elsewere other than ex-Serb areas of Croatia) but most places where you can wild camp and get your bike nearby will have been walked on by humans on animals so you should be fine. The FCO website is always in Old Lady Alarmist mode for Brit travellers who don't have any common sense...

[EuropeanNC30R...]

[Bendy]

Very high on my list of places to go, so be interested to hear how you get on.

Nothing to do with my fetish for eastern-european accents whatsoever.

[natv4]

Croatia is very European, you will be fine there. The only downside would be that things are more expensive.

Although I haven't ventured into bosnia/serbia myself, I spoke with several Ozzies and Kiwi's on Van tour whom had come through that way. They said it was very friendly, with no intimidation/threat of violence. They did warn that opportunistic theft was a bit of an issue. One van had been broken into whilst parked (the occupants scared the intruders away).

Another group mentioned that they were told to use gated campsites whilst in serbia due to the high risk of theft from tourist campsites.

Other than that, all reports were of a very beautiful country with friendly locals and fascinating sights. Be warned, some parts will be very poor, which can be tough to see first hand.

Like Nathan, I will certainly be spending a bit of time travelling around that area.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience.
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Travelling around the world...a bit at a time. Where am I now? / Visit my BLOG
Bike: Blue Honda VFR800fi (*NEW*) Mileage: 22k Countries visited: GB/F/D/CZ/PL/E/I/B/A/HR/H/Rus/E/MA
West Europe...2004, East Europe...2005, Russia/France...2006, Morocco...2007

[fle]

The roads in Croatia are very poor in my opinion. But from a few years they have a new seaside road (Jadranska transverzala) that goes straight down the country. I traveled all the countries that u mentioned and I have to say that Bosnia had the best roads (unbelievable) and Montenegro is the best country for parties ever(alcohol almost for free! ).
And be aware of the police (especially in croatia and montenegro) they tend to fool tourists for a little extra money. It's almost like Russia if u know what I mean.
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bite the dust

[niff5855]

Take an AK47
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