If you read my post yesterday then you already know that I think Sarajevo is one of the coolest cities ever and that you shouldn’t miss it the next time you are in Europe. What I failed to mention though, and what is of primary importance, is how to get there. It’s actually not as convenient as you would think which is why I think the topic deserves its own post.
The easiest way for me to get to Sarajevo from Malmö/Copenhagen was by first flying to Belgrade. Belgrade is a pretty solid starting point and also a beautiful city to visit so I would recommend searching for flights there if direct ones to Sarajevo are way out of your price range.
The mileage from Belgrade to Sarajevo is approximately 300 kilometers (186 miles) – easy, right?
Wrong. Whether you choose to go by bus, train or car, it will take you at least 6 hours to travel between cities. Driving in a rented or private car being the quickest though least recommended for a first time visitor. Those roads are scary as….
Traveling by bus is the best choice in my opinion because they are faster than the trains because a train between the two does not exist anymore (see below) and you are less likely to get stuck sitting next to a chain smoker. Smoking is “prohibited” in both but I noticed people on the train really didn’t seem to care, nor did the conductors.
I took a bus from Belgrade to Sarajevo and the journey was about 7 hours. At that time (2011) there was only one bus a day going from Belgrade’s main bus station to Sarajevo’s main bus station. It left at 4pm and arrived just before 11pm. I don’t remember the exact price but know it cost between 15 and 20 Euros one-way. You can check the Belgrade bus station’s site to see if anything has changed.
As for traveling back from Sarajevo to Belgrade, this was the last update from someone on the ground – thanks Vas!
*Update – April 2, 2013*
Thanks to Vas for leaving a comment with bus information on getting back from Sarajevo to Belgrade. There is one bus a day that leaves from the main train station at 06:00 and gets in at 16:00 (!) – a Eurolines bus. Then five a day from Istočno Sarajevo to Belgrade:
08:00 arriving 15:35
09:45 arriving 17:45
12:30 arriving 20:00
15:00 arriving 21:50
22:00 arriving 04:30 (t+1)
Train travel, although romantic, is extremely slow in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Much of their rail network was badly damaged during the war and as a result, many tracks still remain in disrepair. I was shocked to find out that it was just as recent as December 2009 that the main train line between Belgrade and Sarajevo reopened. I took a train from Sarajevo to Belgrade and I kid you not, this took about 9 hours. Yeah. Gorgeous, gorgeous scenery and of course trains are a lot sexier than buses, but pretty inconvenient if you are short on time. And sorry to break it to all the flashpackers out there but no, there are no power outlets or free wifi to make that lengthy ride any more bearable. You will be lucky if you can even find some food to buy after a certain point. Hint, hint *bring your own*.
There is one train a day from Sarajevo to Belgrade (and one a day from Belgrade to Sarajevo). My train left at 11:35am and arrived in Belgrade around 8:30pm.
**UPDATE March 26, 2013** Through several sources on the ground and further research I have done, it appears as if the Serbian railway has cut many of its international routes including Belgrade – Sarajevo. No word on why, but from here on our looks like it’s going to be a bus or bust if trying to get between the two cities!
The last option, which in my opinion is the best option, is private transfer through Gea Tours. They are not a perfect company to deal with and I am in no way affiliated with them, but at present it’s the only way I go between Belgrade and Sarajevo (minus the time I am on my own hired bus for the Balkan tours I run – you should join one!). With Gea Tours, it is 25 euros one-way for door-to-door service in a private van which is pretty convenient and not that much more expensive than taking the bus. It can be a hassle as sometimes they give you like a 2 hour time frame of when they will pick you up since the final schedule all depends on how many people they fill the van with (usually not more than 10), but still the better option in my opinion.
Good luck and please feel free to drop a comment below if you’d like to share your experience, have updates to any of the information I’ve provided, or have stumbled upon a better option. Happy travels and if you’re looking for some things to do in Sarajevo, make sure you check out my posts on one of the greatest cities in the world!
6 Things You Shouldn’t Miss (But Might) in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina
6 More Things You Shouldn’t Miss (But Might) in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina
63 Comments
elenaccia
January 14, 2013 at 5:04 pmHello Blonde!
I was undecided between bus and train but after this post… it’s train!
A question: should I book our ticket (me & my boyfriend) or just go, maybe 1/2 days before, and buy it directly at Sarajevo station – we’re going the week before Easter? Any suggest?
Thanx :)
Larissa
January 14, 2013 at 7:05 pmHello Elenaccia, my 500th fan! :)
Thanks for the comment and great to hear you will be doing this trip in spring. Assuming things are about the same as when I was there (it’s coming up on two years now since I’ve been, can’t believe it!), I would say just buy the tickets a day or two before at the station once you are there. I don’t know about buying in advance and it’s one of the places where I couldn’t even imagine they have a system in place for online orders but who knows, things might have changed. If trains are sold out in the worse case, at least you know there are several buses. Have a nice time, you’re going to love the two cities!
davide
January 17, 2013 at 11:44 pmhey
after a gruelsome 8h train ride from zagreb to belgrade i wasnt very eager for another train ride with an average speed of say 40 km/h…i would have wasted an entire day in the train at shitty weather conditions (meaning low visibility meaning no gorgeous scenery to enjoy)…travel by bus seemed likean option but also takes ages…so i looked at the last possible option: flying. indeed there is a company callled JAT airways that offers daily flights from belgrade to sarajevo….takes only 50 minutes and cost me 70 euro at the time. just saying that this is also an option worth considering.
Larissa
January 18, 2013 at 12:20 amHi Davide, thanks for sharing this information! I was on a serious budget when I was there but something I will personally think about the next time. 70 euros isn’t too bad at all if you’re trying to make the most out of limited time.
Nate
February 22, 2013 at 11:07 pmWhy, hello there!
So, here I am randomly searching how to get to Sarajevo in google, and who should pop up right near the top? My favourite Blonde Gypsy.
Bus or train, that is the question. Leaning towards train, so that I can chain smoke all the way ;)
Belgrade has been amazing, looking forward to the next stop…
Larissa
February 23, 2013 at 4:55 amYesss sir! I did something right on that one as it’s one of my most popular posts. When are you going? Keep in mind this info is from when I was there almost 2 years ago. You’l have to let me know what’s changed, if anything.
Hope they’re still cool with chain smokers on the train for your sake…just tell em’ who you are if they give you any trouble ;)
baran
March 10, 2013 at 7:00 pmHı!
Im baran from turkey
Im planning a trip in april between belgrad to sarajevo. But i ve a question. While you were going to sarajevo by bus or train; have you passed through any croatia border ? This’s important for me because croatia’s goingto apply visa to us after april 1st and i dont want to get any visa from any country.
Larissa
March 12, 2013 at 6:39 amHi Baran,
I do not recall passing through Croatia, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some buses do. Pretty sure that most Serbian buses don’t though – just double check the scheduled stops are only in Serbia or BiH if they show them online or with someone working at the bus station before you buy your ticket. Hope this helps a little, have a great trip!
elenaccia
March 15, 2013 at 11:55 pmHi Baran,
I’m going too in a week (so excited!) and I read that train must pass thru Croatia due to post-war railway problems.
Take a look here http://www.raildude.com/train/belgrade-sarajevo-train-t3383.html, the timetable says there’s a stop in Vinkovci, Croatia :(
Larissa
March 16, 2013 at 1:42 amSo just take a bus?
elenaccia
March 22, 2013 at 2:04 amOuch! I think everybody must take the bus, I’ve just read an update from the site I linked below which says there’s no train anymore. Fuck!
Larissa
March 26, 2013 at 1:22 amReally? Hopefully they are making big repairs or something. Thanks for sharing that information!
elenaccia
March 26, 2013 at 11:06 amHi gypsies, posting from Sarajevo (it’s snowing <3): I went to the train station to ask, they told me a big NE about the train, pffffff. Well, OK, tomorrow 10 hours gettin' mad in the bus -_-
Larissa
March 26, 2013 at 3:47 pmAw, well safe travels! I bet Sarajevo is beautiful in the snow :) Will make a note above so again, thanks for checking back in and letting me know!
Vas
April 2, 2013 at 12:07 amHi! Just some useful info for the way back from Sarajevo to Belgrade:
08:00 arriving 15:35
09:45 arriving 17:45
12:30 arriving 20:00
15:00 arriving 21:50
22:00 arriving 04:30 (t+1)
All these are departing from Istocno Sarajevo (for logical political reasons)
There is another bus from the main station which departs at 6:00 and is in Belgrade around 16:00 (Eurolines).
Ticket price for all options: between 11 and 20 EUR.
Larissa
April 2, 2013 at 5:38 pmHi Vas! Thanks so much! Very useful considering bus is the only option between the two cities now so I have made another update in the post with these times.
Milady
April 4, 2013 at 2:01 pmHi! I have just arrived to Sarajevo for 1-month stay. I am thinking to visit Belgrad. On the Eurlines webpage there is no bus Sarajevo-Belgrad (http://www.centrolines.ba/loc/template.wbsp?wbf_p_id=2)
Vas did you take that bus on 2/04/2013?
What about that buses from Istocno Sarajevo ? You just go there and buy ticket on the station?
thx for info !
kellan
April 2, 2013 at 7:14 pmHi,
the site you posted for Belgrade to Sarajevo buses seems to have only one route per day, at a fairly inconvenient time of 16:00. However, it doesn’t seem to have any information about the fare of said bus. Do you know how much it would be?
Larissa
April 2, 2013 at 8:32 pmI don’t know the current price, sorry. I remember it being between 15 and 20 euros in 2011 though.
elenaccia
April 2, 2013 at 10:46 pmHello guys,
just came back to Berlin from the Balkans :)
We took the 9.45 one from Istocno Sarajevo; we booked it the day before at the bus station – the mid-ages employee was very very kind :D – and paid something like 20€ each.
You can go by taxi (be sure it has a taximeter: call a yellow taxi which’s the fairest, in case) or catch the 31A bus westbound from Titova Street, downtown – it’s a one-way street, you cannot be wrong. We caught it at Bank stop. The ticket is around 0,80€, to be got only on-board at the driver.
Consider that bus and tram stops have neither line number nor timetable, so just make sure to be there a bit in advance and ask some local. I’ve been told this bus runs every half an hour.
Get off at the last stop, follow the main street (a 5-minutes walk) and you easily reach the bus station.
The bus to Belgrade is a comfortable extra-urban coach which stops very, very often and every 2 hours has a 15/20 mins break – enough to have a coffee, a cigarette and visit some filthy toilet.
It can be really slow, especially across the mountains, but the view you get then, is a good reward – we got tons of snow :P
Bear in mind Bosnian-Serbian border and don’t forget your passport, those bulls aren’t that much friendly :D
Larissa
April 3, 2013 at 7:57 amGreat! Hope you had a nice time – so cool you got a bit of snow. I’m just remembering that there was still a tiny bit left on the ground when I arrived there in March but it melted quickly. Thanks for checking in again, so helpful for you to map out getting to the bus station as well! That’s probably the trickiest part and as I never made it to that one, I have no idea. Glad to hear they were kind there, too :)
Guido
April 3, 2013 at 10:04 amThanks to everyone’s contributions on this, managed to collectively answer all the questions I was asking (in my head)! Happy and safe travelling. G
Milady
April 4, 2013 at 2:05 pm:) Ok so It is needed to check buses from Istocno Sarajevo. Is it also easy to find the bus back from Belgrad to Sarajevo?
Anyone scheduling the route in next days?
Larissa
April 4, 2013 at 7:41 pmYes, if it is anything like the train was, you should go buy it from Istocno Sarajevo and perhaps going to do it some days before is a good idea so you know where you are going when the time comes! When I purchased a ticket to Sarajevo from Belgrade it was very easy to do to at the bus station which is pretty easy to find from the center of Belgrade so you should have no problems.
Have a great time, safe travels, and yes, thanks for everyone’s collective help on this! :)
elenaccia
April 4, 2013 at 8:49 pmAbsolutely much easier from Belgrade: central bus station is downtown, near Central Train Station where many buses and trams stop. In Belgrade bus stops have line number and timetable, sometimes a partial map too (wowowow!), therefore finding your way won’t be as difficult as in Sarajevo ;)
Have a nice trip!
filippo
May 31, 2013 at 10:47 amcan you tell me if it is possible to carry bikes on bus fram sarajevo to be belgrade?
thanks
Larissa
June 4, 2013 at 11:37 pmI’m sorry, I really don’t know. I suppose if they fit under the bus and perhaps you pay a little extra? Just a guess.
filippo
June 5, 2013 at 10:32 amHi Larissa
thanks for the answer.
I hope it’s possible.
I will let you know.
Larissa
June 5, 2013 at 11:48 amPlease do and have a fantastic time :)
elenaccia
June 5, 2013 at 12:01 amHi Filippo,
I don’t know but I’d quote Larissa: it’s a coach bus and i saw a lot of space under…
cuneyt
June 25, 2013 at 11:07 amHi, I have rent a car to travel from Sarajevo to Belgrade. Why do you think the roads are scary? What is the danger?
Larissa
June 25, 2013 at 6:56 pmThis is just a matter of personal opinion. I think any road is scary that is not in the best condition yet people are driving a bit crazy/fast. I noticed all over the Balkans though, it isn’t just between Belgrade and Sarajevo.
Serhan
February 6, 2014 at 3:32 pmHello Cuneyt,
I plan to travel between 2 cities (Sarajevo and Belgrade) this summer with my family by a rented car. Could you please share your observations with me? Is there any thing to beware of etc.?
Thanks
pol
June 26, 2013 at 1:45 pmhi, this July I will route Dubrovnik – Sarajevo – Belgrade and would like to know if the bus schedule you uploaded is 100% reliable because im very interested to take the bus that leaves Sarajevo at 22 and reaches Belgrade 4.30
08:00 arriving 15:35
09:45 arriving 17:45
12:30 arriving 20:00
15:00 arriving 21:50
22:00 arriving 04:30 (t+1) <— THIS ONE
thank you! (:
Larissa
June 26, 2013 at 8:55 pmHi Pol. Unfortunately, I can’t guarantee that is schedule is 100% reliable as I am not in the country, haven’t taken the journey in a while and, well, nothing is ever 100% reliable when it comes to transportation in the Balkans I’ve found. I don’t think Vas would have posted it if he didn’t find it written down somewhere on his recent trip, but if you need to know 100%, your best bet would be to try and contact the bus station directly. Otherwise you’re going to have to wait to find out once there.
ana
June 27, 2013 at 11:56 amHey guys!
I’m gonna do a trip trough the Balkans on July and i was thinking of doing it by train (with the Balkan Flexipass). Do you think it’s worth? Is the railway between Belgrad and Sarajevo still not working?
Thank u ^^
Larissa
June 27, 2013 at 5:58 pmIt is still not working. Not sure how much the Flexipasses cost but train travel is pretty cheap there. You might want to determine how many rides you would be taking and divide the cost by that. If it works out to be being even just a little bit over what the average cost of a journey is, could still be worth it just so you don’t have to worry about buying a train ticket each time. Not sure if reservations would still be required though.
Mauro
July 6, 2013 at 2:31 pmHi guys,
any news about connections between SARAJEVO -> BEOGRAD???
I would like to travel by night, or late in the evening, but it looks like to only “Sarajevo to Beograd” bus leaves Sarajevo at 6 in the morning…
Can someone update me about the Istočno Sarajevo solutions? Where exactly does these buses should leave from?
Thank you very much for all the useful informations I’ve found among your comments ;)
Mauro
Larissa
July 6, 2013 at 4:55 pmWhat kind of news are you looking for? Based on comments that were written in the past couple of months, times from Sarajevo Istočno to Belgrade are still as follows:
08:00 arriving 15:35
09:45 arriving 17:45
12:30 arriving 20:00
15:00 arriving 21:50
22:00 arriving 04:30 (t+1)
These buses leave from Sarajevo Istočno which is about a 10 euro cab ride from the center. Address is Srpskih vladara 2, Istočno Sarajevo. Map is here: http://www.visitsarajevo.biz/travel/bus/lukavica-bus-station//goto-map
Liz
September 20, 2013 at 7:32 pmI was traveling between Belgrade and Sarajevo in August. The trains were still not running (no news if the service will resume) and we took a private company shuttle bus called Gea Tours.
It was soo much more convenient – for 25 euros they pick you up from wherever in Belgrade and drop you off wherever you like in Sarajevo and they usually have several of these shuttles operating throughout the day. Although they are not good at communicating by email, call them. They were really reliable and picked us up exactly when and where we specified.
Although someone snobbily said to me, “oh but that takes all the experience out of traveling”, it was truly an experience. Those roads are not for the faint of heart (don’t drive unless you are 100% capable of driving in the most insane mountain roads), and we were traveling with many locals on the shuttle who prefer them to taking the bus when traveling between cities.
It’s at least an option for those who are not sure about the bus!
ruo
October 11, 2013 at 8:10 pmthanks Liz! I’m heading out to Sarajevo in Christmas time. Looking forward to this, minimize travel time as much as possible!
Rob
July 22, 2014 at 9:45 amWish I read this FIRST! I booked ahead for the first time in 5 years and had to cancel and lose the cash on a reservation. I saw 255km and thought no big deal – wow was I wrong.
Larissa
July 22, 2014 at 9:51 amWhere did you book ahead? I’ve decided the best way to get between both is Gea Tours. Can be a pain in the ass because you have about a 2 hour window of time when they can come pick you up and when you get dropped off depending on which time of the day you choose to go, but it is door to door from wherever you are to wherever you are going and costs 25 euros – http://www.geatours.rs
beatriu
August 13, 2014 at 8:09 pmHi!
I’m looking forward for further and actually information about travelling from Belgrado to Sarajevo. I’ve read too many things and I don’t even know what I have to believed. Can someone tell me how can I managed to make this tram of my travel?
Thank u so much guys!!!!!
Larissa
August 13, 2014 at 8:18 pmIf you read this post, it will tell you. By train it is no longer possible, only by bus or as was mentioned several times above, a minivan through Gea Tours.
Tanya
October 24, 2014 at 8:42 amHi,
Last week I travelled with my kids (14 and 11 years) with Gea from Belgrade to Zagreb. There were four passengers in rather small car. I called Gea center and asked for some explanation and reduce of regular price and person called Zoran – Kiza from Gea tours was very unpleasant and cinik. On the other hand on our way back to Belgrade we succeed to catch a tramp with gay I get connected to through Facebook group 442. It is a group that connects the one who has car and usually regularly make relation Belgrade – Zagreb (the one I drove with is from Rijeka Croatia and has a girlfriend from Belgrade :)) and the one like we were. It was very pleasant drive and since there were again four of us without asking he made us a 20% discount.
Larissa
November 11, 2014 at 7:18 pmThanks for the info, sounds like a good service to know about! I have to admit, I’ve had some not very nice communications with Gea but was placing the blame on the language barrier…
Sead
January 23, 2015 at 4:47 pmActually there is another Taxi-Van transfer which we consider & recommend to our Vagabonds as a most comfortable, quickest and fair-priced way to get from Belgrade to Sarajevo and vice versa. One way ticket costs 25 EUR both directions. It is just a best possible combo between driving an own/rented car and taking a bus. After picked up on current location they deliver to the exact street/place in the city. Drivers are familiar with local roads, know the best & shortest way to cross the border and it`s not pricey at all comparing to the Bus ticket. They are called Taxi Travel, here is the site:
http://www.taxitravel.rs/kontakt/
Larissa
January 27, 2015 at 5:18 amI have never used them before myself so can neither confirm nor deny if they are the best – or at least better than Gea Tours. Same price though. Thanks for sharing.
Arturo
February 5, 2015 at 1:50 amHi, Im Arturo from Mexico. I will visit Belgrado in June, and I want to go to Sarajevo from there. Well, my question is how can I contact people of Gea Tours, to bring me to Sarajevo.
Thanks.
Wait, did you visit Dubrovnik?
Larissa
February 7, 2015 at 6:51 pmYes, I have been to Dubrovnik before but not via Sarajevo. You can contact the people of Gea Tours through their site – there is a link to that in the post.
Herbert
August 9, 2015 at 11:35 amThanks for this post Larissa. I just booked my one way ticket from London to Belgade and was looking for any ideas on how to get to Sarajevo, Monsar, Dubrovnik back to London :-)
Joanie
August 25, 2015 at 7:28 pmHi I’m researching an Oct. trip through Croatia, Serbia, etc. I was assuming we’d rent a car (automatic), but is it really that bad driving from say Zagreb to Belgrade to Sarajevo (then Montenegro and up the coast back to Zagreb)? Am torn between having someone take that out of our hands and saving time/having more flexibility. Thanks.
Larissa
September 1, 2015 at 9:31 amI think you will be ok if you are an experienced and cautious driver. I wrote this after my first trip to the Balkans in 2011 and having seen the condition of the roads and drivers in the surrounding countries, Croatia and Serbia seem like a walk in the park.
Stavros
September 16, 2015 at 7:39 pmHello, that was a very helpful article. I have a question, though:I am going to visit Belgrade and I want to go to Sarajevo, also.As Greek EU citizen, I would like to know if having passport is necessary for this transport. The official website (http://www.bhtourism.ba/eng/visas.wbsp) write is not necessary. I don’ t have one and this information is important to me.
Thank you in advance.
Can
July 18, 2016 at 9:43 pmHi; I’m Can from Turkey. Thank you for your posts on Belgrade and Sarajevo, loved them! I’m planning to travel between Belgrade and Sarajevo by car that I’ll rent. Familiar with crooked roads from Turkey, however I’m planning to depart early (around 8.00 am) since I want to finish it while the sun is up. :) And then I’ll see Sarajevo for a couple of hours, then, I’ll be heading to Mostar in which I booked a room for one night close to the old bridge. Next day, after the breakfast, I’m planning to go back to Sarajevo first, and then Belgrade. Again, I want to arrive Belgrade before the sun goes down. I’m not sure how many hours I should spend on the first and the second day in Sarajevo since Sarajevo is a way station in my trip. Let’s see! I’ll be writing once I did!
Wilford
August 14, 2016 at 2:47 amThis site was… how do I say it? Relevant!! Finally I’ve found something which helped me.
Appreciate it!
Larissa
September 15, 2016 at 2:08 pmSo happy to hear that, Wilford! Hope you had/have a nice trip :)
Fort Mac
September 14, 2016 at 10:29 pmThe information on this site is very un reliable.How come she is just posting many trips from Sarajevo to Belgrade and only 1 KNOWN TRIP BY BUS from 4pm to 11pm?
Larissa
September 15, 2016 at 2:10 pmBecause that is the only 1 KNOWN TRIP BY BUS you can still find on the Belgrade bus station’s website. If you have something useful to add to this discussion, perhaps a 2ND OR 3RD KNOWN TRIP BY BUS, then please feel free to enlighten us.
fiona
April 13, 2017 at 4:03 pmHi, we will be travelling from Tuzla to Belgrade in June 2017, and planned to travel by hire car. You mention the roads are scary as.. in what way are they scary? the roads themselves or the drivers or both? We’ve driven a little in Albania and Macedonia and found the driving there to be quite hare raising although the roads themselves were fine.
Larissa
April 15, 2017 at 10:17 amThis post was written quite a while ago, after my first visit. Now it’s been almsot 5 years I’ve been traveling through and two years since I’ve been living in the region so I’m quite used to the pace of driving here. It’s actually fine, the drivers can be a little crazy but you can find it to be that way in a lot of places. It’s more or less similar to Albania and Macedonia, maybe even slightly more mild, so you will definitely be fine between Tuzla and Belgrade – just proceed with caution as you would anywhere else that is unknown to you.
Fernanda Gonzalez
September 18, 2017 at 4:53 pmHi! Me and my bf will be travelling to the balcans from december 22 – december 4. Our trip includes Belgrade, Sarajevo, Mostar, Dubrovinick, Kotor, Split and Hvar (13 days). We were planning to travel intercity and cross the border by bus or with a rented car (we are both from Brazil and have plenty of experience with horrible bumpy roads, but no experience with driving during snowstorms). Does the bus work during the holiday season? (24,25,31,01) should we rent a car and drop it off in Croatia (was thinking bout sixt company)
Thanks in advance!