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How to travel to Medjugorje on a pilgrimage in corona times

or How to get get into Bosnia and Herzegovina within 48 hours after testing


On May 28th 2020 The Council of Ministers of BiH changed and amended its Decision on Prescribing Additional Conditions for the Entry of Foreigners into Bosnia and Herzegovina and enabled entry into BiH for citizens of neighbouring countries, namely Montenegro, the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Serbia, still excluding EU and the rest of the world, see English home page of the Border Police of Bosnia and Herzegovina (granpol.gov.ba/home) under "FAQ - COVID-19 – Conditions for crossing the state border of BiH due to the coronavirus pandemic for Bosna and Hercgovina Citizens and Foreigners Citizens"

On July 16th 2020 the Council reopened its borders for EU citizens and Schengen state citizens. if they have a certificate of negative test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, not older than 48 hours until the moment of entry into Bosnia and Herzegovina, see the same English home page of the Border Police.

Update: On September 11th 2020 the Council reopened its borders for all foreigners, if if they have a certificate of negative test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, not older than 48 hours until the moment of entry into Bosnia and Herzegovina, see the same English home page of the Border Police.

So, jubilant as I was after reading this news, I wondered does this "48 hours after testing" mean 48 hours after your body samples had been taken or 48 hours after they had been analysed and tested in a lab? In the former case the 48 hours include the waiting time for the lab results, which means a lot less then 48 hours travel time, the latter case means you have almost 48 hours. Since the law talks about testing I decided to take the bet and called my physician for a test.

Step 1: call your physician and find a test location in your country


Q: "Doctor, can I have a corona test for a pilgrimage to Bosnia? I need a document to cross the border."

D: "Yes, you can go to your municipal health service and have yourself tested for free, to the GGD".

Q: "GGD, can I have a corona test, I need a document to cross the border"

GGD: "You can have a test, but we do not send a document, we only send an SMS"

Q: "That is not enough for the border guard, they need a document, not older than 48 hours, that one was tested negative for coronavirus"

GGD: "No, we do not give documents. Coronavirusfree-documents do not exist. The moment you step out here you can have attracted the virus already."

Q: "I know, but I only need a document that I was tested negative at a point in time, not older than 48 hours. That is enough for the border guard."

GGD: "No, coronavirusfree-documents do not exist. We do not give them."

etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.

So much for the intelligence of the municipal health authority here in The Netherlands, a first world highly industrialized nation.

Back to square one, physician.

Q: "GGD does not want to give a document to cross a border. Now what?"

D: "Oh, we did not know that. Then there is a facility at Amsterdam Airport, but it costs €145"

Q: "Is that covered by medical insurance?"

D: "No, since a pilgrimage is not medically necessary". Never mind the answer, my insurance said the same.

Q: "Amsterdam Airport, can I have a corona test and a document for €145?"

AA: "Yes"

Q:  "Is this the cheapest possibility in the Netherlands?"

AA: "No. If you look on the Internet, there are several locations, including cheaper ones. You have to search for PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction)-test". Really helpful guy.

Searching for PCR-test on the Internet I found Het Huisartslab, https://www.hethuisartslab.com/, set up by U-diagnostics, with a PCR - test €80, document €10, total €90. Cheaper, with a document, I could not find them. Test locations: more than 20, varying opening times. You have to apply, after which a bar code is being sent to you by e-mail, which you can print (or show with your cell phone) with which you can enter the test facility. After sampling your body, you will get ultimately the next day between 3PM and midnight a signed e-mail from a German laboratory with a positive or negative corona test result, which e-mail you can print as a document. Great! It looks to me that this private company started up because they saw a market opportunity, because of the attitude of the government not to provide travel documents. General question: are all private enterprises the result of such a government attitude? :)

So, step 1: call your physician and find a test location in your country. But do not test yet.

Step 2: check your printer to see whether you can print the document


It is a very ordinary remark, but check your printer (paper, ink cartridges) to see whether you can print the document you will receive by e-mail from your Health Check Centre. You do not want to receive this e-mail on Saturday at 5.30 PM, with all the ink cartridge shops closed on Saturday at 5PM and none of your friends available to print the document elsewhere. I do not know whether a document on a phone is good enough for the Bosnian border guards. I only know in my case that a document on paper was good enough for them, see later. In my case the colour cartridge was out of one colour and yes, the document of my Health Check Center used that colour. Print a test page on your printer to see that everything works fine.

So, step 2: check your printer to see whether you can print the document. But you cannot print yet.

Step 3: See if you can reach Bosnia-Herzegovina in 48 hours


The quick way of course to get into Bosnia is by plane. On the news here in The Netherlands is that flights in these corona times have resumed, but that people are packed close together on all chairs of the plane. In buses and trains here the rule is 1,5m distance and you are fined €95 for not doing so.
Furthermore, on the news here was that if you book a flight, many times the flight is cancelled and you get only a voucher to book a flight in the future, it takes a court case to get your money back.
I have to insert here, that when I had reached Medjugorje, I heard from my pension keeper that one flight to Dubrovnik indeed had flown.

Then the less quicker way, is to use the train with an Interrail Pass, https://www.interrail.eu/. It is half the price of a two way train ticket to Bosnia, the ticket is valid in high speed trains often without paying extra, many trains have bistro's for which no reservation is required, people use social distancing, in the bistros wearing a face mask is not obligatory (otherwise you cannot eat :) , it is highly comfortable and you can buy the ticket at a fixed price at the day of departure. However, couchettes must be reserved beforehand. However, you do not know if you want to reserve a couchette, if you do not know the result of the corona test, right? So, asking the International train Travel desk at my nearest big city, they said that usually the conductor of the sleeping wagon has an overview of people who did not show up for their couchette. Having done this several times in the past for the night train Munich-Zagreb, always with success, I knew this was the way to go.

Check the timetable on the website of the German railways, https://reiseauskunft.bahn.de. They are the best, covering all of Europe. There is also an Interrail App with all the info on Google Play and Apple Store, but you know which intelligence agency then is tracking your ways.

Until some years ago, the train Zagreb-Sarajevo-Ploče left at around 9 AM from Zagreb, however there are no train connections any more between the EU and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bosnia is isolated. (Or you have the opposite opinion, like the British, who say "The continent is isolated" :) Zagreb, like all major cities in the world, having a high infection rate, I decided to pass through as quickly as possible. I remembered from former bus travels a cosy border crossing, with a city on both sides of the border, Hrvatska Kostajnica and (Bosanska) Kostajnica and wanted to head for the latter one, and finding a motel there, crossing the border as quickly as possible.

Also the people at Seat 61, https://www.seat61.com/trains-and-routes/zagreb-to-sarajevo-by-train.htm, describe this itinerary, but their guide was written at pre-corona times.

Hrvatska Kostajnica was the one but last stop of the train Zagreb-Sarajevo in Croatia, Volinja being the last stop in Croatia, but after Volinja comes only a railway bridge over the river Una, the border, not a bridge for cars, buses or a bridge that you can cross on foot. At Hrvatska Kostajnica you can cross the bridge and border on foot. Of course you can take a bus Zagreb-Medjugorje, but then you run the chance to be tightly packed in a bus and that was the reason you wanted to buy the Interrail Pass anyway, wasn't it? The reason to travel by train in corona times is the comfort and low infection chance. So, we travel by train as much as possible. Hrvatska Kostajnica now is the one but last stop of the local train Zagreb-Volinja. At Hrvatska Kostajnica the EU stops, and adventure begins.

If you look at OpenStreetMap at https://www.openstreetmap.org and type Hrvatska Kostajnica and place the green starting point at the railroad station in the north of Hrvatska Kostajnica and the red destination point at the bridge and border crossing, you see it is a 33min walk. Make that 45 minutes.

To check with reiseauskunft.bahn.de from which departure stations in Europe you can reach Hrvatska Kostajnica within 48 hours minus 45 minutes walking time, you can use the opposite, to leave Hrvatska Kostajnica and see what destinations you can reach in 48 hours minus 45 minutes walking time. You will be pleasantly surprised to see that almost all of Europe can be reached from there and vice versa, for instance from Stockholm you can reach it in time.

Take into account that, after the document arrives and you have printed it, you have to travel to the International Desk (take into account their opening times) of the city selling Interrail tickets, waiting in line, buying the ticket, and travelling to Hrvatska Kostajnica from there.

At this point in time you know in theory all the departure times in your country and you know, when the e-mail with the test document arrives, which train to take to the nearest big city that sells Interrail tickets.

So, step 3: contact your railway company for international travel from your country and make sure your travel information is correct. But do not book yet.

step 4: find a motel just across the border in Bosnia and Herzegovina


Having to cross a foreign border within 48 hours from your own country is fatiguing, barely sleeping in couchettes, so you need rest as soon as you made it and came into Bosnia. As quick as the journey went through foreign (flat) countries, so slow it goes through the terrain of Bosnia. Anyone who travelled by train through the Neretva Canyon from Sarajevo to Ploce, one of the most beautiful railroads of Europe, knows what I am talking about. So take your time. Pressure is off now. Travelling from the border to Medjugorje can take a whole day, so finding a resting point in (Bosanska) Kostajnica is your priority now.

There is hotel Central in Hrvatska Kostajnica (prices from €33 to €77) , but what is the point of staying there if you need to cross the border over the bridge as quickly as possible?

Searching the Internet for motels in (Bosanska) Kostajnica I found

For motel Jelen, after the bridge, on the main road turn left. After a 45 min walk it lies after several 100m after a large car shop on the left side above a gas tank station on the right side. Martin will open up for you.

So, step 4: contact your motel to find out whether you have an opportunity to rest once you have crossed the border. But do not book yet.

step 5: go!


Once you have verified step 1 to 4, go and perform step 1 to 4: have yourself tested, wait some 24hours for the test result, it will be mailed to you right after the testing, pack your things in the mean time, in case of negative test result print the document (and one spare), buy the Interrail ticket, hop on the train, preferably a high speed one, where you can combine your travelling, eating or sleeping time at the same time and book your motel.

The practice was in my case

On the way back

Travelling to Medjugorje can be done in corona times!

Next time photo's and addresses of Internet café's in and around Medjugorje that are still open! Stay tuned!


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Wednesday September 30th, 2020