Most public offices have working hours similar to West European during five working days a week (08:00 to 16:00 hours). Banks are open until 18:00 on weekdays and until 13:00 hours on Saturdays. The post office is also open on Saturdays, and the Main Post and the Post Office at Ćemaluša Street are open until 20:00 hours. Stores usually open earlier in the morning and usually stay open until 20:00, while shopping centres are open until 22:00.

In Sarajevo, Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian are spoken, which are basically a variant of one base language. Sarajevans also learns foreign languages ​​and many understand the basics of communication in English and German.

Smoking in Sarajevo is allowed in almost all places. Smoking ban is implemented very flexibly so that some hotels or restaurants have designated areas for smokers and non-smokers. Smoking is mostly banned in ćevapi places, traditional food places and some pastry shops in the old part of town, as well as some restaurants and pastry shops in shopping malls.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Sarajevo are in the Central European Time Zone (GMT +1).

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s currency is a convertible mark. Bills of 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 BAM, and coins of 1, 2 and 5 BAM are in circulation. The smaller denomination is a convertible pfennig (1 BAM has 100 KF), and the coins are 5, 10, 20 and 50 KF. Currency can be exchanged in authorised exchange offices, banks and post offices, as well as hotels according to the daily exchange rate. Commission fee varies from 1 to 1.5%.

Most stores and restaurants accept American Express, Diners, Mastercard and Visa credit cards. However, in most cafes and crafts you will have to pay in cash. The same goes for parking fees or tickets for city transport.

Foreign nationals, upon leaving the customs area of ​​BiH, are entitled to Value Added Tax refund (VAT).

The buyer pays the goods in full amount with the VAT included. The minimum amount of invoice eligible for VAT refund is 100.00 BAM, whereby the seller issues the fiscal invoice in full amount, a filled-out VAT-SL2 form in three copies and an invoice.

In order to get a VAT refund, the buyer who had previously purchased goods must take the goods out from the country within 3 months. When crossing the border of BiH to another country, the buyer is required to report the invoiced goods and have the PDV-SL2 form stamped at customs.

The buyer is then required to supply the seller with a valid PDV-SL2 form and an invoice certified by the Customs within 6 months.

Rules that apply are like in the European Union. Speed ​​limitations follow standardised rules. Permissible speeds: in settlements 60 km/h; outside settlements 80 km/h; on the highway 120 km/h.

In the period from November to April, winter driving rules apply, so pay attention to the skidding of the road and possible heavy snowfall.

In the event of a road failure, assistance on the road will be provided by the Bosnian Motorcycle Motor Club BIHAMK by calling 1282. For international calls, use the following number +387 33 282 100.

Geographic coordinates of Sarajevo are: 45°53’28’’ north latitude and 18°25’50’’ east longitude.

The Sarajevo region is characterised by a moderate continental climate and four clearly distinguished seasons. January is the coldest with a mean temperature of -1.3°C. Sarajevo has an average of 28 ice days. July is the hottest month with a moderate mean temperature of 19.1°C. Sarajevo has 68 days of summer. Autumn is warmer than spring due to a strong thermal influence of the Adriatic Sea. The average annual temperature in Sarajevo is 9.7°C. In Sarajevo, there are 1830 sunny hours per year, on average. The average annual rainfall is 919 litres per square meter.

According to the 2013 Census, there are 503,109 inhabitants living in the Sarajevo Canton.

Sarajevo is located in the central part of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is linked to the transversal of the two most important main routes in the region; that is, the Adriatic highway and Zagreb – Belgrade highway.

Electrical supply is 220V with frequency 50Hz.

It is safe to drink tap water in Sarajevo.

Metric system

You can buy prepaid mobile phone cards and top-ups, as well as cards and top-ups for mobile internet at newsstands or stores. Many hotels, restaurants and cafes have free Wi-Fi. Local operators also offer mobile internet, but the cost of roaming internet traffic can be very high.