Its time to change destinations again. I have been in Bosnia for a decent amount of time and thoroughly enjoyed my summer here. Now I’m heading to a neighbouring country! My travel day Bosnia to Montenegro via Copenhagen on SAS was pretty good, all things considered.
Meet Bosnia Airport Shuttle
First thing is figuring out how to get to the airport in Sarajevo. When I arrived, I got scammed by the local taxi mafia and was scared of that happening again. Well, turns out, they are so strong, it is unavoidable. I was staying one single night in a hotel and asked at the front desk if they could call me a metered taxi. They said no, the only taxi to the airport are the ones that cost €20. 😒 They will call me a meter taxi and travel the equal distance to the Latin Bridge for €3, but going to the airport is a flat €20. What a rip off. This puts such a sour taste in my mouth.
Instead, I booked a shuttle online with Meet Bosnia. It is the same price, but I was hoping that my money would be supporting a more legitimate service. Whether this is true, your guess is as good as mine. The gent arrived promptly, loaded my suitcase and we were off.
SJJ Sarajevo
The airport at SJJ is new, just opened very recently. While it is small, its bright and clean and so much better than the old one. I am flying with SAS (Scandinavian) and they were the only airline that did not open their check-in counter 3 hours prior to departure. Instead, their policy is 2 hours, and wow does this make a difference to the poor saps in the back of this long line.
Once I checked in and offloaded my suitcase, I headed for the gift shop to spend my last KM’s. Next, I made my way to security.
Never have I seen this, but when you show your boarding pass at this desk before the x-ray, they weigh and measure your carry-on baggage! This seemed like it is not affiliated in any way, with a singular airline. Mine is luckily only a tote bag so they didn’t bother, but you bet they were checking the other travellers.
After security the area is really small, so if you have some time to spare, better off staying pre-security and having access to more space. There is a duty free and two small cafeteria’s serving coffee and bad looking food.
SAS
With my plane at the gate, it is time to board. We are loaded on and then informed that there would be a 30-minute delay because ‘the skies over Europe are too busy’. This flight was packed, the airplane clean, comfortable seating and the staff very professional and friendly.
Flying for two hours was just enough time to watch most of a movie. SAS served free tea & coffee, such a pleasure to be offered a drink at no cost.
This pilot has skill. The landing was smooth as butter, I mean really smooth, like silk. Upon exiting the craft, the pilot was standing with the stewards at the front of the craft, saying goodbye. What a nice touch. I was able to tell him his landing was stellar.
CPH Copenhagen
Never been to this airport in my adult life before. There seemed to be an older and somewhat dirty portion and a newer or renovated area. I was surprised by the state of the toilets, filthy and old fashioned.
Because of the delay, I only had 1.5 hours here, so I walked around trying to find food. Unless I went through passport control, I could not access the main portion of the terminal, so instead my options were greatly limited.
I have never seen these free standing 711 stations before. Wow a true system of trust is in place here. I watched people using these, and they simply order on the screen to select what they want, pay with their card and open the door to remove their item.
Doesn’t sound weird, except once a customer opens the door, they have access to everything inside that case! There are no stoppers on the wire hangers, preventing someone from taking more than they paid for. This would never fly in Canada. Someone would steal everything within minutes. ☹️
I did find one café with sandwiches that were $20 CAD each, no thanks, and a 711 store. Here I purchased a single meat ball, yogourt with nuts, vitamin water and bun with cheese. Not inexpensive, it came to $23 CAD but was enough for dinner on the next flight.
CPH to TIV on SAS
Another flight on SAS, this one a little longer duration, but just as uneventful which is perfect. An added bonus were the two vacant seats next to me! The plane was perhaps only 1/5 full.
This ride was also delayed by ½ hour but I couldn’t understand the pilot when he explained why. His voice was an absolute mumble. Free coffee and tea again, which was so lovely.
Tivat TIV
The arrival into Tivat is incredibly scenic. I was here last year in September. The airport is old and tiny. The only interior section is the immigration counter and the baggage carousel, which immediately exits onto the pavement and parking lot.
When I was visiting last year, I chose to stay in Tivat to keep my costs to a minimum by not having to pay for an airport shuttle to my accommodation. Like many places in Europe, the ride from the airport can be extremely expensive.
Wanting to explore a different city, this time I have chosen Budva, but that entails driving for 25 minutes. For this I booked online with Terrae-car. After reading horrendous reviews about the taxi mafia ripping people off with rides here and there, I felt safest with a pre-booked shuttle. It cost €50 or $75 CAD, a shocking amount in my opinion, but this is the going rate here at the moment. UGGGG.
Arriving at the vehicle, I noticed a huge crack right down the front of my suitcase that I had purchased only last year. 😟😭😢 I’m not sure if I can make a claim now that I have left the airport. It was a choice of going back into the airport to make a claim and losing my €50 ride. Or taking the ride and trying to make a claim after the fact. I’ve chosen not to lose my ride and am in the process of seeing if I can get compensation for the broken suitcase. I’ll keep you posted.
I arrived at my Airbnb where I will be staying for the next few weeks. I’m in Budva Montenegro, and excited to explore this new destination with you.
