Montenegro and Bosnia

Alan R · Jun 26, 2014

I have trip planned in August 2014 which has a 4 day period where I will travel from the ferry port of Bar in Montenegro, wandering northwest -ish to arrive from Slovenia into Austria. I have bike insurance with BMW (Equity Red Star), who decline to cover Bosnia and Montenegro. I have searched for information regarding a UK insurer from whom I may be able to purchase cover specifically for these countries but have had little success. I have seen a reasonably informative thread on Adventure Rider about purchasing green card (third party liability only) insurance at the borders of these countries, but the thread is some months old and does not appear to be current.
I am fairly confident in the information I have about a 10 euro charge at the Montenegro border but cannot find any reliable information about purchasing locally, the same for Bosnia. There also seems to be an opinion in Adventure Rider about the so called 'Neum corridor' which is a short section (about 6 miles) of Bosnian coastline that divides parts of Croatia. Some say you will be waved through, while other opinions state that one can expect to be stopped and have to purchase Bosnian insurance. Is this accurate? Will a green card purchased in Montenegro be valid in Bosnia?
Any up to date experience that people may have and be willing to share would be most welcome. I'm going anyway and want to spend some time in Bosnia: it would be useful to know what to expect.
Thank you Alan R :thumb2

Alan R · Jun 26, 2014

No one visited the Balkans this year? :nenau

Alan R

its all poo · Jun 26, 2014

Bosnia

hi on all international crossings green card insurance is available 24 hrs a day. On some you migt have to wait but they will call out the local agent and they will come. Out. The insurance is 3 rd party and I think is around 20 euro for 10 days. In Bosnia. Macedonia is 50 euro for 2 weeks.

mark71 · Jun 26, 2014

Hi Alan

I went to Bosnia last year and it cost 15 euros at the border and it doesn't matter if you green card says Bosnia on it, they still charge you and by the way don't try and claim on it.

Drop me a line if you need any further info.

Mark

Timpo · Jun 26, 2014

A couple of weeks ago, the crossing we used into Bosnia was not letting any vehicle through who did not have 'green card', no matter what your UK insurer may have had on the cert issued. No 'green card', no entry in to Bosnia.
Some folk did already have 'green card' and they were allowed in. Me, no. So i crossed back into Montenegro and there was an agent in the first house that sold me a 'green card', 14 euro for 4 days iirc.
I went straight back to the Bosnian border and the guard was fine, he even smiled!

Also, ensure you take your V5......one of the numpties in our group didn't have his, so Greece into Albania was not permitted until he had a sanned copy sent to him from home.
At every border crossing, our docs were checked, especially the V5.

Alan R · Jun 26, 2014

Thank you all,
Your responses are just what I was looking for. You can't beat practical experience from people who have been there and done it. One other query, are euros readily accepted in Bosnia or is it prudent/good manners to get some local currency?
Alan R

GADGET · Jun 26, 2014

Good point about the Euro's, I'm on a similar trip in September, how readily are Euro's accepted in the Balkans generally?

Timpo · Jun 26, 2014

Yes Euros are generally excepted, but I am never happy unless I have some local currency on me.....which i usually find some way of getting rid of near the exiting border crossing, fuel stations are ideal.

paintman · Jun 26, 2014

I traveled up from Greece last September in a motorhome, I was able to get a comprehensive insurance quote from the NFU for the non EU countries, but in the event to change over from our current insurer was too expensive. We managed to buy insurance with agents at the borders without any problems.

We were told that if you buy your insurance outside the UK, eg Germany you have full European cover not just EU cover as offered in the UK.

John.

gavinbell · Jun 27, 2014

mark71 said:
Hi Alan

I went to Bosnia last year and it cost 15 euros at the border and it doesn't matter if you green card says Bosnia on it, they still charge you and by the way don't try and claim on it.

Mark

Never found that to be the case - if you have a proper green card - not just your UK policy cert - then they will not make you buy new cover...... jolly decent bunch - animals when alcohol and food get involved .... but ripping off travelers is not the norm

Timpo · Jun 27, 2014

paintman said:
We were told that if you buy your insurance outside the UK, eg Germany you have full European cover not just EU cover as offered in the UK.

Indeed, I found some of the Belgian and Dutch riders on our trip had 'green card' cover for some or all of the Balkan states.

dadster · Jun 27, 2014

I've had a green card last two years and never had to pay anything else also got stopped for speeding and just told to take it easy :nenau

Great part of the world :beer:

Alan R · Jun 27, 2014

dadster said:
I've had a green card last two years and never had to pay anything else also got stopped for speeding and just told to take it easy
Great part of the world

green card obtained from where Dadster?
Alan R

swissrob · Jul 5, 2014

mark71 said:
Hi Alan

I went to Bosnia last year and it cost 15 euros at the border and it doesn't matter if you green card says Bosnia on it, they still charge you and by the way don't try and claim on it.

Drop me a line if you need any further info.

Mark

I was on the same trip as Timpo, well over 30 people all going through different border points and no one that had a green card was required to pay for "extra" insurance.

We only had 1 small issue going thru macedonia and the guy wouldnt accept a home printed green card (common for dutch insurance companies), quick word with the boss man and all was fine.

ref comments about cover from mainland europe , yes its true the standard policy covers nearly every country within mainland europe and those surrounding the med. serbia is the exception on mine.

gstipe · Jul 8, 2014

Just to make clear, green card purchased in Montenegro is NOT valid in Bosnia. You have to buy new one on Bosnian border. Regarding "Neum corridor", there is a huge possibility you will be just waved to go on, especially if you go through EU citizens line.

Have a nice trip, Stipe

Alan R · Aug 8, 2014

gstipe said:
Just to make clear, green card purchased in Montenegro is NOT valid in Bosnia. You have to buy new one on Bosnian border. Regarding "Neum corridor", there is a huge possibility you will be just waved to go on, especially if you go through EU citizens line.

Have a nice trip, Stipe

Thanks for that. As I type this I'm sitting in a bar in Imola with three days to meander down to Bari. Be interesting to see the difference between Italy and the Balkan countries.
Alan R

louisdut · Aug 8, 2014

Alan R said:
Thanks for that. As I type this I'm sitting in a bar in Imola with three days to meander down to Bari. Be interesting to see the difference between Italy and the Balkan countries.
Alan R

Hi Alan

Have been on the ferry in 2010 and there was no where to buy any food or drink, so might be a good idea to take some with you just incase

Have a good trip

Louis

Alan R · Aug 8, 2014

louisdut said:
Hi Alan

Have been on the ferry in 2010 and there was no where to buy any food or drink, so might be a good idea to take some with you just incase

Have a good trip

Louis

Thanks Louis, that's really useful information. After a hard day in the heat I would be really p.....d off if there was nowt to eat or drink on the ferry.
Regards Alan R :thumb2

I of the Strom · Aug 13, 2014

Was in the Balkans in June.
Montenegro is beautiful and well worth the visit. Kotor and the bay area is well worth visiting and the ride up the coast from Bar is a good one. From Kotor the road over towards Niksic from there is a good one as is the road over the hills from Kotor towards the capital Podgorica, or towards Danilovgrad. The Durmitor National Park and the Tara Gorge are well worth visiting. If your passing Danilovgrad say hello for me, my bike is still there but I'll be back for it once the shoulders in one piece. (best ice cream I've ever eaten is sold here and theres a great cafe/club/bar/restaurant overlooking the River Zeta -also known as the Emerald River- next to the bridge). The club mgr is called Goran, the 3rd generation Macedonian Ice Cream cafe 'Iskra' has been there since 1947.
The locals are excellent and couldn't do enough for me. Montenegro uses the Euro and food and drink is good and relatively cheap. '98' fuel is cheaper there than '95' in most other countries so I opted for that as the bike had felt the poor quality of fuel at times.

Enjoy your trip and hopefully you'll share your opinion of the place.

Montenegro and Bosnia

Alan R

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Alan R

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its all poo

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mark71

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Timpo

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Alan R

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GADGET

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Timpo

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paintman

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Timpo

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dadster

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Alan R

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swissrob

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gstipe

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Alan R

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Alan R

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I of the Strom

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