Thursday, April 19, 2012

Sarajevo - Summer Festivals



I%26#39;m looking at Sarajevo for next August or July.



1) Festivals - They have two major festivals - the Nights of B...; and the International Folk Dance. Does anyone have the pros and cons about these two festivals and how busy the city gets; how difficult or expensive to get tickets, hotel reservations, etc.





2) Getting There - this would be either the beginning or end of a trip to Italy (near Bari) . Based on the posts in this forum, it sounds like the best way is to catch a ferry day trip across the sea. Is this a quick drive to or from Dubrovnik to Sarajevo? or would one take a train ?





3) Is Mostar worth a sidetrip and where is it in relation to Sarajevo. Sounds like a lot of peope have recommended this to others.





Any advice would be greatly appreciated!





Cyg




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Sarajevo in August and July these days can get REALLY hot, but all that aside, Bascarsijske Noci is the first festival that you were referring to, I believe, it is fun time to be in the city. There is a ton of free concerts in Bascarsija (hence the name) which is the old town (downtown Sarajevo). Tix for other shows are rather available and I do not believe that any of those would run you more than $20-25.





I do not know about the International Folk Dance festival...





City is always busy, and it does get busier at the time of festivals, and I am not aware of a lot of hotels still being available, I know of Holiday Inn, Hotel Bosna, and that is about it. But I never had to stay in the hotel in Sarajevo, so I am not the best source of info on that topic.





How to get there...Yes jumping onto a ferry to Dubrovnik, def do some sight seeing if you have not done so before, and take the bus. Car rental would be great, but if you are not used driving in the area, well it might be a bit tricky. Also, there is not a whole lot of rental companies that allow cars to be taken into Bosnia, and if they do, they make you pay up for that. So, do take a bus, tix will be about $15-25, and if possible, do make a stop at Mostar. It is a beautiful city. It is about 2-3 hours south of Sarajevo. Not sure that is on your way to/from Dubrovnik, but if the opportunity presents its self go for it.



Good Luck!





P.S. I am guessing that it will take you up to 8hrs to get from Dubrovnik to Sarajevo, its been awhile since I%26#39;ve done this...




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Hello there.





1) I believe that the International Folk Dance Festival is a part of the Nights of Bascarsija festival. (You can see more at http://www.bascarsijskenoci.ba/index_eng.htm .) I believe that the city gets the busiest during the Sarajevo Film Festival (www.sff.ba), which happens in August and you might also consider. :-) An acquaitance of mine from Netherlands was here during SFF this year and he said he had troubles finding accommodation, but he eventually found it. I guess the prices rise too during that period. Tickets, however, shouldn%26#39;t be hard to get, since most of the shows are free. :-)





2) I have been visiting Dubrovnik for number of years, since I was a child. I always went there by car. It%26#39;s around 280km (if I%26#39;m not wrong, cause I usually don%26#39;t remember distances right :-)). The road is ok, except for the Ivan-Sedlo. It usually takes me 6-8 hours to get there. I believe there%26#39;s a train from Ploce to Sarajevo twice a day, the ticket price is 18,50KM(BAM) [1BAM=1,955euros]. You%26#39;d have to travel Dubrovnik-Ploce by bus though.





3) Mostar is definitely worth it. It%26#39;s halfway from Dubrovnik to Sarajevo, and not off the road at all. I would also recommend Pocitelj, which is on your way to Sarajevo, too.




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Thanks. This is really very helpful. I will be sure to keep all of this information in mind.




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I know that Mostar to Dubrovnik is abt 2-3 hours by car. It%26#39;s a really straight forward journey. From Mostar drive through Metkovic and you are as good as there. When you leave Hercegovina and enter Croatia you will go through 2 or 3 border checkpoints. If you%26#39;re in Mostar then take the time and visit Medogorje which is where an apparition of Holy Mary appeared to 6-7 children. For the record I felt totally safe in Mostar although there are constant reminders of the civil with shell holes in many of the buildings still visible which does make you think of the suffering that the residents of Mostar had to go through.




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