How safe is Bosnia and Herzegovina for travelers?

Landmines

This is the one genuinely serious safety point in this guide, and it is thirty years old and still current.

• Mines and unexploded ordnance from the 1992-95 war remain in the ground across parts of the country.
• Clearance is ongoing and incomplete. Bosnia is among the most mine-affected countries in Europe.
• Stay on hard surfaces, marked paths and areas in regular use. Do not walk into abandoned villages, overgrown fields, forest edges or ruined buildings.
• Marking is inconsistent. Some areas carry red-and-white tape or skull signs; some contaminated ground carries nothing at all.
• Do not touch any munition you see. Report it and move away by the route you came.
• This does not make Bosnia dangerous to visit. Cities, roads, trails in regular use and tourist sites are safe. It makes wandering off them a genuinely bad idea, in a way that is not true anywhere else in Europe.

Crime

• Violent crime against visitors is rare.
• Pickpocketing in Sarajevo's old town is the usual level.
• Stray dogs are common in Sarajevo and can be aggressive in packs at night.

Politics

• The country's constitutional arrangement is contested and periodically tense. It does not affect visitors.
• The 1990s are living memory and personal. Follow your host's lead on the subject.

Roads and weather

• Mountain roads are demanding and fog is a serious hazard in the valleys.
• Winter equipment is compulsory from 1 November to 15 April.