Driving in Bosnia?
In our Bosnia Driving Essentials report, we cover all the basics for that you need to know for driving your motorhome or campervan in Bosnia. We have tips and tricks which we gained from our own personal experience on our Bosnian Road Trip.Â
Our Bosnia Road Trip Itinerary covers a great route for you to follow too, if driving in Bosnia is something you have on our mind. Its a 2 – 4 weeks trip, depending on how long you have – and don’t forget, Bosnia is out of the Schengen zone.
Driving in Bosnia - Jump To...
Bosnia Driving Rules - the basics
The good news is that driving in Bosnia really is very straightforward. Lets do a whistlestop tour on the basics:
- In Bosnia you drive on the right hand side of the road and overtake on the lefthand side of the road.
- When driving you give way to the traffic that is coming from the right.
- As with most of the world, it is compulsory to wear seatbelts in the front and the back seats of a vehicle.
- It is actually illegal for a front seat passenger to be under the influence of alcohol – more on the drink driving road rules of Bosnia in a minute.
- Your headlights should always be dipped for driving in Bosnia. That means for the day and night.
- You should keep your documents on you at all times (licence, registration, insurance).
- You must be over 18 to drive your own car in Bosnia and over 21 to rent a car. If you are younger than 25 years old, they will often charge a surcharge for you to be able to rent a car.
- It is illegal to have speed camera detection devices whilst driving in Bosnia.
Download our Handy Road Trip Planner
Use our handy ready made PDF planner to help you plan your trip. We created a 9 day planner to use to plan a 1 week trip. Simply print out more copies for each week of your travels. Capture everything you need from your start and end points to where you will stay. There is space to write all the things you want to see and more. Plenty of room for jotting down notes as you plan too.Â
*Road Trip Planner
*By downloading our planner, you give us permission to send you our newsletter. We send this approx every 6 – 8 weeks.
Bosnia Road Speed Limits in a Motorhome
The driving speed for your motorhome under 3.5 tonnes are:
- Urban – 50km/h (30mph)
- Minor roads – 90km/h (56mph)
- Major roads – 110km/h (68mph)
- Motorways – 130km/h (80mph)
The driving speed for your motorhome over 3.5 tonnes are:
- Urban – 50km/h (30mph)
- Minor and Major roads – 80km/h (50mph)
- Motorways – 80km/h (50mph)
Essential Driving Requirements for Bosnia
The following items are those which are either legally required (M) or advised (A) whilst driving in Bosnia:
- Current passport (M)
- Valid Drivers Licence (M)
- Proof of Insurance (M)
- Registration documents for the motorhome or camper (M)
- Reflective vest (for each person in the motorhome) – you can get a fine if you are not wearing one if you breakdown on a motorway. (M)
- 2 x Warning triangle in case of breakdown or accident (M)
- Spare wheel for your vehicle
- Headlight beam converters (already fitted to the motorhome) (M)
- First Aid Kit (M)
- Spare bulbs and fuse box (M)
Be aware of others when you drive – the locals will definitely overtake you when it is perhaps not ideal and driving at night is best limited if you can.
Drink Driving whilst driving in bosnia
Whilst enjoying your epic Bosnia road trip, the recommendation is that you do not drink and drive in Bosnia. The drink drive limits are lower than those in the UK. In the UK it is 80mg per 100ml blood in England (0.8%) and in Scotland it is even lower, where it is only 50mg per 100ml of blood (0.5%). In Bosnia, the legal drink drive limit is only 30mg per 100ml blood (0.3%). Based on this, our recommendation is that whilst you are driving in Bosnia, you stick to the local Bosnian coffee if you are the designated driver!
Driving in Bosnia in the Winter
If you choose to take your Bosnia road trip in the winter time, then winter tyres are compulsory from November 15th through to April 15th. When you are driving in Bosnia in the winter, they also advise the use of snow chains when the snow is over 5cm.Â
You must ensure that your windscreen wipers are operational and that your motorhome, car or campervan roof and bonnet are clear of snow. Â
Driving, Landmines and Wild Camping
Bosnia has landmines which are still uncovered – so hiking and trekking as well as off-road driving – is better done with maps. Be mindful of off grid camping/parking still. There are still around 2 – 3 million landmines in Bosnia (the 8th highest in the world) but to get this into context – Croatia still has 2 million (9th highest) but people don’t think of that as being a dangerous place to go. (Statistics taken from landminefree.org).Â
Driving on the tarmac roads though is safe – so don’t feel like you can not get about without taking your life into your hands but you should know this if you are mostly a wild camper in your motorhome or car.
Speeding and police checks whilst driving in Bosnia
Bosnia is quite strict on their speed limits and you are more likely to get stopped if you have foreign number plates. The easiest way to avoid any stops is to enjoy your Bosnia road trip and just stick to the speed limits. We saw a lot of police with speed guns, but we didn’t get stopped throughout our entire 7 weeks of driving in Bosnia.
On our road trip through Bosnia, the journey is also the destination, so cruising along within the speed limits was extremely enjoyable. Bosnia is an absolutely stunning country. At over 3.5 tonnes our maximum speeds are 30mph in a town or village and 50mph anywhere else.
We did get one police fine, which was for mistakenly parking in a space not meant for motorhomes. The police were very nice! They simply gave us a ticket, explained what we had done wrong and we just went to the nearest police station to pay the ticket. Never pay a police officer directly – you will always need to pay an official parking fine in a police station.Â
Driving Phrases for your bosnia road trip
I definitely recommend having Google translate or another useful translation app on your mobile phone. Sometimes though, it is useful to have a handful of phrases at hand, so these are our useful Bosnia driving phrases.
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- My car has broken down – moj auto se pokvario
- Where is the nearest petrol station? – gdje je najbliža benzinska postaja
- Can you help me please? – možete li mi molim Vas pomoći
- Â I am lost – izgubljen sam
Final thoughts on driving in Bosnia
Driving a motorhome in Bosnia really is a lovely way to explore this beautiful country. The roads vary from well-maintained highways to smaller, less maintained country roads, so it’s important to plan your route accordingly. Expect some winding mountain roads and the odd narrow streets, especially in some of the old town centres.
Parking for motorhomes can be limited in city centres and you should be aware of petty theft. Around some of the bigger towns like Sarajevo and Mostar, there are reports of break-ins so we stayed on sites in these two areas as a precaution.
Fuel stations are readily available and we didn’t have any problems in finding LPG. Make the most of opportunity and fill up with LPG and diesel if you are going into the more remote areas to explore.Â
Driving a motorhome in Bosnia requires confident driving and it will reward you with stunning landscapes and the freedom to explore at your own pace.
Our Bosnian Road Trip includes: Bihac ~ Una National Park ~ Kozara National Park ~ Banja Luka ~ Jajce ~ Travnik ~ Visoko ~ Sarajevo ~ Konjic ~ Blidinje National Park ~ Mostar/Blagaj ~ Medugorje/Kravice ~ Neum ~ Tribinje ~ Tjintiste ~Foca
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