Bosnia too far for a week?

gingerbeemer08

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So a mate and myself fancied going back to Bosnia this year on the 21st anniversary of our Op Tour there, just to see how its changed.
Only problem is, we've only got a week to get there, tour and get back.
Is it possible to do this or would we just be thrashing ourselves to get there and back? Any experiences greatly appreciated

Thanks
 
Assuming this isn't a wind up......
According to google maps its 1300 miles from Hampshire to Sarajevo.
So if we say 400 miles per day
at least 3 days to get there
at least 3 days to get back
= less than 1 day touring

Alternately, fly there, rent bikes, tour for a week, fly home.


....would have thought a military man could have figured that out.
 
It's got to be 1,200ish miles, 3 x 400 miles days there, 3 x 400 miles home, leaves you 1 x day for a rest before getting back on the bike to come home. Or, 2 x 600 mile days each way leaves you 3 days to tour.
It would be a great ride but it comes down to how tolerant/fit you are over high mileage runs. You could easily test this out by maybe doing Hampshire to Aviemore and back over two days and see how you feel, that's got to be 550ish miles each way depending on where in Hampshire you are.
 
Been there and Croatia a couple of times on the bike. I think a week is to short but if you could make it 10 days then perhaps worth it.
You would need 4 days if you pushed on a bit to get there and back with a few stops to get you near. Then only 3 days to tour which is not much and there is a lot to see. Make it 14days a you could do Mostar and Dubrovnic.
Enjoy
 
I went back a couple of years ago, 20th anniversary of op grapple 3. Did it over two weeks and wouldn't want to take any less than that.
Glad I did it, some bits have changed beyond recognition (for the better), some places are still bombed out sh1tholes.

Justin
 
On the recent Henry Cole programme on the region there was a company on there doing very reasonable bike hire in the region, fly and hire a much better bet
 
So a mate and myself fancied going back to Bosnia this year on the 21st anniversary of our Op Tour there, just to see how its changed.
Only problem is, we've only got a week to get there, tour and get back.
Is it possible to do this or would we just be thrashing ourselves to get there and back? Any experiences greatly appreciated

Thanks
Funny old thing......

Trying to talk a mate into the is trip in 2017

Interested also in seeing how Bozanski Petrovac, Sanski Most etc and a few other places are doing (Dec 94- May 95 tour)

Looking at shipping bikes to either Southern Germany or Hungary then flying in for an 8 day run.

Haven't really costed it yet but shipping will be about £5 - 600 retun and then the cost of a return flight.


Now I wonder if I will feel the same about Iraq and Afghanistan?

I fkn think not!!!!!!!

Sent from my SM-T230 using Tapatalk
 
Thanks for all the (helpull) advice, not so the sarcasm!
Think we may have to scrub this until we have more time (maybe next year) and do something else instead.
Always knew the distances involved but that makes no odd's until you find out peoples experience of doing the ride.

As for going back to Afghanistan Hutchy, well.......
Last year I rode the Pamir highway on the border with Tajikistan/ Afghanistan. Cant say I wanted to cross the river to touch Afghan but the Tajik side (and the riding) was stunning!
 
Remember that if you're taking two weekends - leaving on Saturday, returning on Sunday – you have nine days, not seven. That still leaves you staring down the barrel of three 300-milers in each direction, but gives you THREE days to tour the country, not just one.

If you can leave straight from work on a Friday night, get an evening Chunnel and push to - say - St Quentin or Laon for a late check-in, then you're biting away at the distance left to cover on the outward leg.

All of which suggests it is possible, but it will be more like a military detachment than a holiday.
 
Bosnia in a week...

I've been down this route a few times from Hampshire, on a tight schedule. A few thoughts:

Getting away Friday evening and using the Chunnel would give you a head start, perhaps getting past Brussels.

Leaving Brussels a 500 mile ride would get you to the Austrian border and a similar day to Sarajevo.

Riding around Bosnia now, is a joy on a bike. There are no straight roads and the surfaces are very good. Not sure where you want to visit but Sarajevo is a delight and almost completely repaired, the Mostar bridge is a must see but the town still shows a fair bit of damage in places. Lots of minefields still in place in the countryside.

If still thinking about it, you could get a few days to see the countryside before heading back.
 
We just did 12 days from Manchester to Kotor bay in Montenegro (we were in the car :( )
Autozug from Düsseldorf to Vienna was great - we used it both ways. But make sure you book a sleeper cabin to get a decent kip ;)
We didn't do any days with stupid mileage, and it was a pretty relaxed trip :)

Bosnia is a pain in the arse for insurance though unless you go to the right places!
 
I've been down this route a few times from Hampshire, on a tight schedule. A few thoughts:

Getting away Friday evening and using the Chunnel would give you a head start, perhaps getting past Brussels.

Leaving Brussels a 500 mile ride would get you to the Austrian border and a similar day to Sarajevo.

Riding around Bosnia now, is a joy on a bike. There are no straight roads and the surfaces are very good. Not sure where you want to visit but Sarajevo is a delight and almost completely repaired, the Mostar bridge is a must see but the town still shows a fair bit of damage in places. Lots of minefields still in place in the countryside.

If still thinking about it, you could get a few days to see the countryside before heading back.


Only just seen this thread. We rode through Bosnia in October 2014. We found the Garmin maps to be very poor, their version of Mostar bore no resemblance to reality. further west some of our group ended up in a minefield because the Garmin map did not show the new (and rather wonderful) road built to avoid it. My openstreetmap showed said new road and was actually useful. I agree riding in Bosnia is a pleasure, very little traffic an mostly good road surfaces.

John
 


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