Trip readiness checklist for Bosnia and Herzegovina

What to pack

Bosnia and Herzegovina is Ottoman bazaars, Austro-Hungarian boulevards and mountains in every direction, with coffee as a way of life. Pack for cobbles, modest mosque visits and a surprisingly cold evening.

• Comfortable shoes with grip

  Sarajevo is hills and cobbles, Mostar's old town is polished stone that turns to ice in rain, and the mountain trails are rock.

• Modest cover for mosques

  Shoulders and knees for everyone, a headscarf for women inside the prayer halls of Gazi Husrev-beg and Koski Mehmed Pasha. Scarves are lent at the door.

• A warm layer

  Sarajevo sits in a mountain bowl: hot afternoons, cold nights, snow from December to March. Even in July the evenings want a jacket.

• Cash in small notes

  Much of the country is cash-only, and a 100-mark note is hard to break at a market stall or a ćevapi counter.

When to go

July and August are peak, with the Sarajevo Film Festival in August and Mostar's bridge divers performing for the day-trip crowds from Dubrovnik. May, June and September are the sweet spot: warm, green and quiet by the river. Winter brings skiing on the Olympic mountains above Sarajevo and a cold, atmospheric old town.

Money & getting around

Bosnia uses the convertible mark (BAM), pegged to the euro at just under two to one; euros are sometimes accepted in Mostar and at the border, usually rounded against you. It is a cash country: cards work in Sarajevo's hotels and bigger restaurants, and almost nowhere else. Tipping is around 10 percent, left on the table. Sarajevo's trams are cheap and the tram line is one of Europe's oldest; buses link the cities, and the Sarajevo to Mostar train is the most scenic two hours in the Balkans.

Local quirks worth knowing

Bosnia is three faiths, two alphabets and one coffee ritual. It is warm, wry and done at its own pace, and it rewards visitors who sit down for a while.

• Coffee is a ceremony, not a caffeine delivery

  Bosanska kafa comes in a copper pot with a sugar cube and a piece of rahat lokum. Sip it slowly over an hour; ordering it to go is a small heresy.

• Dobar dan opens every door

  Good day, then the question. In the bazaars, a greeting and a little patience turn a transaction into a conversation.

• Dress for the mosques

  Covered shoulders and knees, shoes off at the threshold, scarves for women inside. Sarajevo's old town has a mosque, a cathedral, an Orthodox church and a synagogue within a few hundred metres; the same respect works in each.

• Smoking indoors is still normal

  Cafés and many restaurants allow it and plenty of people do. Ask for a terrace if it bothers you.

• The Mostar divers take a collection first

  The young men on the Old Bridge jump only when the hat has enough in it. If you want to see the dive, chip in; if you are told it is free, it is not.

A week in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the list starts here

Quantities scale with your dates, the weather groups arrive once we have your travel days, and your own plans add their gear on Trip Pass.

• Passport & travel documents1
• Phone charger & adapter1
• Wallet, cards & some local cash1
• Toiletries bag1
• Any daily medicationsenough for the trip
• Underwear7
• Socks7
• T-shirts / tops5

• Everything in my carry-on, and why each thing earns its spot
• The packing trick that got me through 3 countries with one carry-on