Questions about traveling to the countries of former Yugoslavia?

Question

As an American, I find it difficult to find any info on this part of the world. It unfortunately still has the reputation of being violent, chaotic, and unsafe for travel. I'm sure this isn't the case. So what parts of former Yugoslavia are safe to travel and good spots for traveling to? I would love to see this part of the world, but don't know anything about it.

Answer 1

Hi. I travelled to Slovenia and Croatia a year or so ago and would really recommentd them as places to visit. I was travelling by myself, which was fine. I travelled in April and the weather was nice and not so many people.
Slovenia is mountainous and has great and cheaper skiing than other places in europe. I spent a day too long in Lubljana the capital (they call it little prague)...its nice but a day or day and a half is enough....mind you it depends on how much time you want to spend there.
I went (by bus) to Lake Bled which was lovely. The lake has a little island you can get a boat to and there is a castle on a hill. There is another lake nearby call Bohinj which is less populated. Its nice for a quick trip and its nice to get away from people.

That was all I saw there really. I got a train into Croatia to firstly Zagreb, which is quite different to the coast. It has some nice things to see (the cathedral, a church with the croatian coat of arms) and it has a nice feeling to it.

You really have to travel by bus and to go from Zargreb to Dubrovnik is 12 hours by bus...you can do it overnight and save on accommodation, but its not the most comfortable.
Be careful to get registered accommodation as there are literally "tourist police" who go into unregistered places and fine the people who stay there (as happened to an American guy i met on the bus, he wanted to stay somewhere cheap and the guy whos b&b i was staying at told me, the place this guy was staying at and was fined $100!)
Dubrovnik is lovely and going round the old town wall is a great way to see the old town and views of the sea (the water is amazing colours with the white rocks too). The old town is lovely too. I only spent a day and a half, but I saw hte main highlights.
I took a bus back north to Split. It has the or one of the oldest christian cathedrals in the world (which has a egyptian theme to it). Its also right by the coast. I again only spent a day there, but there are some lovely buildings.
I went north to Zadar. This was the only place I had difficulty with language. ie them not understanding English (I did have a small problem wiht a taxi driver in Zargreb who only understood german...luckily I know a tiny amount..but that was it really). This has a couple of nice churchs and squares.
Going up the coast is amazing, but being restricted by a bus can sometimes be a pain...ie you want to stop at some amazing loking places but can't. Apparently hiring a car is agood way to get around.
I didn't go to the national park...the name escapes me, but I met some people who went there and thought it was great. THere are some lakes and the scenery is great.
Well I continued north to Trieste where i had flown in and out via another town...forgot name...which has nothing really except transport links to lots of places.
I really recommend these places. Going into serbia etc is also not supposed to be that bad either, but slovenia nad coratia were up there in the best places I travelled to.

Answer 2

You have no reason to worry, the war ended 12-13 years ago and it is quite safe - and don't believe everything you see on tv.
This part of the world got a bad reputation during the 1990's but it actually very friendly and absolutely beautiful.
you can basically start anywhere - ley's say you start in the west -Slovenia (which is a part of EU) - plenty of things to see, beautiful mountains (Triglav) - you have to see the lake Bled. Then you can drop down to Istria - a part of Croatia - In my opinion Croatia has the most amazing coastal line in the Adriatic - plenty of islands to check out (I recommend Vis, although I am sure the other ones as just as good) and they have some seriously good wine you have an option of seeing Split and Dubrovnik, from there you can go to Montenegro, you can choose between the coast and the mountains - then you can go to Bosnia, see Sarajevo - excellent ethnic cuisine, from there you can go to Serbia, check out Belgrade and/or Novi Sad, there is a wonderful resort on the mountain Tara - with a whole village built by Kusturica (the mad director - maybe you have heard of him) you can go rafting there as well if you interested in that kind of thing, you have Vrnjacka banja close by - a spa, probably best maintained the the country, further south you have a couple of interesting monastries and churches, further to the south you can check out Pirot where they still make traditional rugs - kilims the old fashined way - by hand, manual loom - if you are in the area during the summer you might check out Leskovac, a town best known for it's burgers -there is a burger fest there every sommer - a complete madhouse - amazing!
further to the south you can visit Macedonia and the capital Skoplje and the Vardar valley, the lake Ohrid is also beautiful. and from Macedonia you you can go anywhere you want - Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey --- or back again.

I didn't include any links here because you might like to do the search yourself. Type in some or all of the localities that i mentioned and see what you think - I am sure that reagrdless of whether you decide to visit all of the former republics of just one you would have great time. People are amazing no matter where you go. Let me know if there is anything more I can help you with.

And it is as SAFE as anywhere else in Europe.

Answer 3

Yugoslavia Tourist Attractions

Answer 4

I live in Croatia, and I can assure you its quite safe. The major cities have changed a lot in the last 10 years since the war, and one of the biggest industries at the moment is tourism.
All the major hotels and tourist attractions have employees who speak a range of different languages, especially english.
The Croatia coastline is really beautiful, and so are the islands. Make sure you see places like, Krk, Rab, Brach and Korcula, all islands. The island of Hvar would have to be the most lovely, and has the best weather in Croatia.
Inland, Plitvice Lakes are a must see, its a huge national park with lots of waterfalls all cascading into each other. The capital Zagreb is a hip and happening city, great shopping there. Cities like Rijeka, Zadar, Split and Dubrovnik have heaps to see and are all very popular.

Bosna is really cheap, the coastal city of Neum is nice, Mostar is lovely and of course Medugorije is a must.

Slovenia is already part of the European Union, and so is the most advanced country. Their coastline is also beautiful, Portoroz in particular.

Dont worry, if you want to see it, just go, you'll love it! Oh, one more thing, the food is great, cheap too and coffee is only about $1 US.

Answer 5

You already get some answers, I will just fill the blanks.
I don't know who told you that this area is unsafe, actually criminal rate is lower than in some european countries, not to mention USA. Only area where you might reconsider coming is Kosovo, where there is violence till now.
Ex Yugoslavia area is now area of independent states, as follows:
Slovenia, on north, is the only republic that managed to enter in EU. Small mountain country, similar to Austria. Very interesting is it's capital, Ljubljana:
http://www.slovenia.info/?home=0
Croatia is famous because of its coast line. From all ex-Yu republics, it's the most visited, precisely in summer, on its coast. You probably have heard of Dubrovnik, but there is many more:
http://www.croatia.hr/English/Default.aspx
Bosnia, in the middle, have different sightseeing spots - a little bit of everything: a little of coast line, Olympic mountains, old cities, religious tourism, etc:
http://www.bhtourism.ba/eng/
Serbia, on east, has many interesting things (spas and health tourism, monasteries, villages, etc.) and I would especially recommend cities like Novi Sad or capital Belgrade, where you can have a lot of fun. It's a big city with it's own special charm:
http://www.serbia-tourism.org/index_e.php
Montenegro have the coast line too and mountains:
http://www.visit-montenegro.org/
The less I know about FYRM, never been there:
http://www.exploringmacedonia.com/
Where ever you go, it's safe, a lot of people can speak english, you can use credit cards (all of this and much more is for big cities, but also for small ones).
Relax and enjoy

Answer 6

It's perfectly safe to travel! There's nothing to worry about, all the countries that used to be a part of former Yugoslavia are normal, friendly and modern states, just like any other part of Europe. People just have prejudice about ex - communist countries for no reason and are expecting to see wild people there who are just waiting to ambush western tourists. Slovenia is great if you wanna go skiing, Croatia and Montenegro if you wanna vacation at seaside, but for me Serbia is definitely the best. Lots of historical places, medieval monasteries, great mountains like Kopaonik, Tara and Zlatibor. It's great if you like fishing and hunting also. And rafting! :) And the capitol Belgrade is really something. There's a Turkish fortress called Kalemegdan, great lake in the middle of the city, museums and stuff like that. Night life is AWESOME, lots of night clubs and cafes that are open all night long. Food is great, especially the bar-b-q, like chevapchichi, but there's sarma and other things. And people are very friendly, they wanna help you get around the city, and almost everyone speaks English, so there's nothing to worry about. Just go for it and have fun!

Answer 7

Yugoslavia and most of the foreign Communist countries (Eastern Europe) are tourist friendly in the larger cities - after all the government wants you tourist dollars.

If you cannot speak the native language fluently; I would strongly recommend getting a guide, many of the tourist hotels can provide one for you (for a fee of course).

You must or should use some travelling common sense and always be aware of scams, and always keep you passport close to you (very important!) and if you feel you still are unsafe you can always register at your Embassy of origin, but you may need to do a little research on that.

Have fun and travel safely

Answer 8

Join the US army...
and you will safe travel everywhere...
Former Yugoslavia? Strongly recommended places:
Pristine
Prizreni
Ferizaji
Gjakova
Peja
Gjilani
Podujeva

HOW BRAVE YOU ARE! (safe to travel ...)
RELAX, IT IS MUCH SAFER THAN IN YOUR COUNTRY. YOU DON'T DESERVE TO SEE CROATIA, BOSNIA, SERBIA ETC
STAY HOME!