How Much Does It Cost to Stay in Sarajevo, Bosnia for a Month?
The budget for a month in Sarajevo, Bosnia depends on the level of luxury required. We believe that traveling full-time requires a moderate level of comfort. Most people (us included) could not stay in a hostel month after month and continue to travel indefinitely. With that in mind, two people can stay a month in Sarajevo comfortably for less than $2,200. On the other hand, if you require 4-star accommodations and white tablecloth meals, it will cost significantly more.
Where did this number come from? Well, we spent a month in Sarajevo, and I kept a detailed spreadsheet with all our daily expenses. I used this spreadsheet to put together three budgets (low, mid, and high) depending on various requirements. The budgets include a breakdown that will allow you to put together your own estimate based on your needs.
Of course, these budgets assume you live like us and stay in one place for the entire month. If you move around during the month, your budget will go up for the increase in lodging (shorter stays cost more per day) and transportation.
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Monthly Budget for Two People in Sarajevo, Bosnia
There are substantial savings when visiting Sarajevo as a couple or with a friend compared to traveling alone. For example, there are some savings on the grocery bill. It’s more than it would be for one person, but it’s not twice as much. On the other hand, some costs are twice as much. There are rarely discounts on museum tickets or other entertainment in Sarajevo.
If you want to estimate how much it would cost one person to stay a month in Sarajevo, you can make some deductions for Groceries and Dining, Entertainment, Transportation, and International Health Insurance. However, the Lodging and Miscellaneous costs will be about the same for one person as for two.
Lodging
Short-term rental apartments are relatively inexpensive in Sarajevo.
| Low Monthly Budget | Mid Monthly Budget | High Monthly Budget | |
| Airbnb in Old Town – Entire Home | $800 | $1,000 | $1,600 |
Groceries and Dining
We enjoy eating traditional food and drinking local wine in the places we visit. Mainly, we bought food at the grocery store and cooked meals in our apartment. This took some research and planning, but it’s fun and accounted for a large part of our entertainment. We did eat at restaurants multiple times and found them reasonably priced.
| Low Monthly Budget | Mid Monthly Budget | High Monthly Budget | |
| $600 | $900 | $1,100 | |
| Groceries | Y | Y | Y |
| Wine | N | less than $15 per bottle wine | $15 to $20 per bottle wine |
| Street Food | N | Y | Y |
| Sit Down Restaurants | N | two $50 dinners | four $50 dinners |
Entertainment
Most of our entertainment budget in Sarajevo went to museum fees. There are combo tickets offering discounts like the Sarajevo City Card.
| Low Monthly Budget | Mid Monthly Budget | High Monthly Budget | |
| $100 | $150 | $200 | |
| Weekly Budget for Tickets and Experiences | $25 | $38 | $50 |
Transportation
Although we arrived by private car transfer from Dubrovnik, most travelers arrive and depart by plane. Consequently, the budget assumes you will be flying into Sarajevo.
As far as other transportation costs, you could take the 2-hour train to Mostar. If so, factor in another $15 per person for roundtrip tickets.
If you are traveling to/from Sarajevo by land and want to save money on transportation costs, check out FlixBus. You can see their schedules and purchase tickets online. We haven’t used them yet because they don’t allow dogs and we travel with our Frenchie, Gus, but they are very popular, and we see their buses often.
| Low Monthly Budget | Mid Monthly Budget | High Monthly Budget | |
| $5 | $20 | $20 | |
| Bus Transfer to and from Sarajevo airport | Y | N | N |
| Taxi Transfer to and from Sarajevo airport | N | Y | Y |
International Health Insurance
This fixed cost does not vary from month to month or location to location.
| Low Monthly Budget | Mid Monthly Budget | High Monthly Budget | |
| $300 | $350 | $400 | |
| Worldwide Coverage (except the USA) | Y | Y | Y |
| Inpatient Coverage | Y – $10,000 deductible | Y – $10,000 deductible | Y – $10,000 deductible |
| Outpatient Coverage | Y – $1,500 deductible | Y – $1,500 deductible | Y – $1,500 deductible |
| Wellbeing Coverage | N | Y | Y |
| Vision & Dental Coverage | N | Y | Y |
| International Evacuation | N | N | Y |
Miscellaneous
The miscellaneous expense budget is a catch-all for everything else. This includes toiletries, clothing, and technology costs. We only need one VPN subscription, one eSim plan, one Netflix subscription, and one Traveling Mailbox.
| Low Monthly Budget | Mid Monthly Budget | High Monthly Budget | |
| $300 | $400 | $500 | |
| VPN | $5 | $5 | $5 |
| eSIM | $7 for 3GB | $10.50 for 5GB | $16 for 10GB |
| Streaming Subscriptions | $15 budget | $30 budget | $50 budget |
| Traveling Mailbox | $21 | $21 | $21 |
Total
The monthly budget for Sarajevo is significantly less than most other places we have visited. Sarajevo is an excellent value when considering how much you get for your money.
| Low Monthly Budget | Mid Monthly Budget | High Monthly Budget | |
| $2,105 | $2,820 | $3,820 |
In addition to the factors discussed above, the budget for a month in Sarajevo will also fluctuate based on the season. The summer months are always more expensive than the winter months. However, Sarajevo is not one of the most popular tourist destinations, so the summer prices are not inflated significantly.
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I have also prepared monthly budgets for other cities we have visited. If you combine budgets to calculate the cost of a longer, multi-city stay, you will need to include additional transfer costs.
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