DebConf11/Travel-Arriving

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How to get to Banja Luka and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Below are the means of arriving to Banja Luka from other countries. Keep in mind, that all this data can change without notice. Therefore it is highly recommended that you personally check all the facts and details before you make any travel arrangements!

The most practical thing for most people is to get to Zagreb, then bus or train from there to Banja Luka.

  • There are 8/9 buses each way which take 3hrs30m. See #Bus via Zagreb
  • There are only 2 trains per day from/to Zagreb to BL, which take 4hrs20m. See #Train via Zagreb

Overview of all train and bus times from 2008: http://iaeste.ba/jump/howtoget.html (These times have changed somewhat, but give the general idea)

See the sections below for more specific plane, bus, train and car information!

Once you are in Banja Luka, and you want to get to the venue, see one of the following pages:

Contents

[edit] Visas

With the right papers, entering Bosnia and Herzegovina is easy. Procedures at both the borders and the airport are standardized and uncomplicated.

For all the visa-related information, please see:

[edit] Customs Rules

Bosnia and Herzegovina has various rules regarding personal belongings, please see:

[edit] By air to a nearby airport and then by land to Banja Luka

The Banja Luka airport (BNX) is not the most popular option, but it is possible to combine air with land transport, so you can fly to:

...and then take the rest of the trip to Banja Luka by e.g. bus.

Of those, Zagreb is probably the best connected to Banja Luka. See the section about arriving by bus for the remainder of the route from ZAG.

Most other airports only get two buses a day at most.

[edit] By air directly to BLX

Unfortunately Banja Luka has a very small airport, and most of the flights are charter flights. The only regular flights to the Banja Luka airport (BNX) are from following cities on following days in the week:[1]

Sadly, the direct flights from Frankfurt on Mondays and Thursdays that had been operated by BH Airlines were terminated in January 2011.[2]

Taking into account that Ljubljana is the best airway solution, we suggest using following website to get your route(s) to Ljubljana. All you need to know is the Airport code of your local airport and you're on your way. Do not use Banja Luka as the final destination, as it has no regular flights from most of other countries.

Note that multi-stop flights with Adria may have prices that don't reflect the cost of the last leg, so for instance searching on 7th May for London--Banja Luka for Sun 24--Sun 31 gives a price of €784.75. The LJU--BNX bit of that is a fairly reasonable €96.22 so if you can get to Ljubljana via another airline, even staying in a hotel overnight to do it may be cheaper.

[edit] Official transportation for select guests

NB: the local team was planning to operate their own buses from select airports, thinking if people recorded their long-distance arrival and departure at DebConf11/Arrivals and DebConf11/Departures it would be possible to compose a viable timetable for these buses.

However, that didn't happen, and there will be official shuttles only for some of our guests with physical disabilities.[3][4]

[edit] By bus

Banja Luka bus station information:


[edit] Bus via Zagreb

The Zagreb main bus station is called "Autobusni kolodvor".

Note: the arrival times below may be optimistic. e.g. the 22:00 bus on Saturday 16th actually arrived at Banja Luka around 01:35, not 00:40. Exact arrival times will be influenced by the delay at the border.

  • From Zagreb to Banja Luka:
    • Dep: 02:00 Arr: 05:25 (HRK 120)
    • Dep: 06:30 Arr: 09:54 (HRK 108)
    • Dep: 09:00 Arr: 12:00 (HRK 108) except Sun
    • Dep: 10:30 Arr: 13:40 (HRK 123)
    • Dep: 12:30 Arr: 15:50 (HRK 108)
    • Dep: 15:00 Arr: 19:10 (HRK 140) avoid it, prefer the next one, they arrive at the same time more or less
    • Dep: 16:30 Arr: 19:40 (HRK 123)
    • Dep: 20:00 Arr: 22:40 (HRK 123)
    • Dep: 22:00 Arr: 00:40 (HRK 108)
  • From Banja Luka to Zagreb:
    • Dep: 03:15 Arr: 06:00
    • Dep: 06:30 Arr: 09:15 except Sun, so it does not ride on the main Departuure Day, be careful
    • Dep: 08:45 Arr: 11:55
    • Dep: 09:10 Arr: 13:20
    • Dep: 11:30 Arr: 14:55
    • Dep: 11:45 Arr: 14:50
    • Dep: 16:00 Arr: 18:55
    • Dep: 17:35 Arr: 20:55

Authoritative information on buses from Zagreb to Banja Luka is at the:

There you can also see the ticket prices - 108, 123, 140 HRK (~14.8, ~16.8, ~19.1 EUR). Prices depend on the bus company. If you buy a return ticket, you have to use the same company, so take heed.

You need an extra few HRK (probably 12) to pay for putting large luggage in the hold underneath the bus. (They won't let you take large bags into the passenger part with you if they won't fit in the overhead compartments.)

Tickets are sold at the ticket booths in the Zagreb main bus station, bring the money (HRK) with you or take it out of one of the ATMs that are available on the premises.

Detailed information and some advice regarding return tickets, possibility to make reservations to secure your seat in the bus, even at the bus station ticket counter, etc can be found in this mail by Josip Rodin.

There's free wireless at Autobusni Kolodvor Zagreb. I have not checked the reach, but if you go to the floor above the ticket counters (look for signs pointing you to the post office) you can surf there well, possibly also from the seats in front of the ticket booths. SSID: Pretty fly for a WiFi, Password: 0123456789

[edit] Bus via Zagreb airport

If your plane lands in Zagreb and you need to get to Banja Luka by bus, you first need to get from the Zagreb airport to the Zagreb main bus station ("Terminal autobusni kolodvor") - see:

  • the standard "Pleso prijevoz" schedule
    • there is none other, you can't miss the white/blue buses parked directly in front of the airport (this picture shows the exit from the airport to the bus station and this one is the bus station outside)
    • the two stations are also the endpoints so ignore any stops
    • Every day at: 7:00 8:00 8:30 9:00 9:30 10:30 11:30 12:00 12:30 13:00 13:30 14:00 14:30 15:00 15:30 16:00 16:30 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:30 19:00 19:30 20:00
    • During the night, there are no regularly scheduled buses, but after each late landing of Croatia Airlines planes they will depart normally to handle those passengers.
    • Have a look at the map of the route that bus takes
    • the Zagreb airport-Zagreb central bus station ride is about 25 minutes long
    • Zagreb's central bus station (Autobusni Kolodvor Zagreb) advertises a free Internet Café. So, you may want to wait there, assuming you're in desperate need of sending some bytes over the wire.
  • the "Pleso prijevoz" ticket price
    • 30 HRK (~4.1 EUR) - the cheapest way to get to the train/bus station per person -- one driver appeared to accept 5 EUR per person from those who didn't have local currency
    • tickets are sold by the bus driver
    • there is no baggage extra charge

Moray Allan wrote a complete novel about his trip from the Zagreb airport to Banja Luka. His mail is full of interesting details for those of you who are scared of not knowing everything beforehand.

[edit] Taxis via Zagreb airport

If you decide to take a cab, there are two choices:

  • cabs from "Cammeo" - white Skoda Octavia - these are the cheapest! and the ride should be about 100kn (15e) - their price list implies it would be 15 HRK for the entry and first two km, plus 13 km * 5 HRK, which means 15+65=80 HRK (~10.8 EUR)
  • cabs from "Radio Taxi Zagreb" - various cars and colors, higher prices - their price list implies it would be 16 HRK for the entry, plus 15 km * 6 HRK, plus 2.5 HRK per piece of luggage, plus 20% if it's late in the night, which means 16+90+2.5+... >= 108.5 HRK (~14.6 EUR)

[edit] Bus via Zagreb train station

If your train arrives in Zagreb and you need to get to Banja Luka by bus, you first need to get from the main (train) station to the main bus station. It's either:

[edit] Bus via Vienna

There are also daily bus connections from Vienna for around 40 EUR: http://www.eurolines.at/en/home/. Currently, lines 5400 and 5430 frequent Vienna - Banja Luka.

[edit] Bus via Sarajevo

Sarajevo - Banja Luka bus schedule:

  • From Sarajevo to Banja Luka:
    • At 05:00, 07:30, 09:15, 12:30, 14:30, 15:30, 16:30, 18:30, 22:00 (takes 5 hours for all lines)
  • From Banja Luka to Sarajevo:
    • At 00:30, 05:00, 06:30, 07:45, 14:30, 16:00, 17:00 (takes 5 hours for all lines)

[edit] Bus via Belgrade

Belgrade - Banja Luka bus schedule:

  • From Belgrade to Banja Luka:
    • At 06:00, 07:00, 07:45, 08:30, 09:00, 09:30, 10:00, 12:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 17:30, 19:30, 21:00, 21:30, 22:30, 23:30

Authoritative information from:

  • Belgrade main bus station timetable - a non-English web site
    • just enter "Banja Luka" into the bottom right text input, select the eponymous entry from the dropdown, click the button "Traži", and then you'll see the list of connections - there's plenty.
    • The radio buttons 'Polasci' and 'Dolasci' switch directions from 'outgoing' from Belgrade to 'incoming' to Belgrade, respectively
    • The column 'povratna' indicates return journey, 'da' means yes, 'peron' is the platform, 'prevoznik' is the bus company, 'itinerer' means itinerary

The price of the bus ticket from Belgrade to Banja Luka is about 35 EUR for a return ticket and about 20 EUR one-way.

[edit] Bus via Belgrade airport

The airport web site has the authoritative info how to get to the city:

  • The bus #72 gets you from airport to "Zeleni venac".
    • Zeleni venac is the last stop, and it's about 5-10 min walking distance from the Belgrade main bus station - see approximate map
    • The bus ticket is 50 RSD (~0.5 EUR) if you buy it on a newsstand, 100 RSD (~1 EUR) if you buy it in the bus. (authoritative info on the GSP Beograd web site)
  • Taxis also get you from the airport to the city - fixed price 1500? RSD (~15 EUR) ([5]?)

Also see http://wikitravel.org/en/Belgrade#Airport_transfer

[edit] By train

European railway maps: http://www.bueker.net/trainspotting/maps.php

[edit] Train via Zagreb

Timings for arriving via train to Zagreb are given e.g. at:

To see current authoritative train information on the Zagreb-Banja Luka line, one can use:

There's also a possibility of using the fast train that goes up to Novska or Okučani and then switching to road transport, see DebConf11/Arrivals. See also: all trains Zagreb-...-Novska-Okučani Click on individual lines to see the exact timetable as well as pricing information.

It seems a new high-speed line from Zagreb to BL is being planned, but sadly that won't help us this year: http://infrastruct.wordpress.com/2011/02/21/high-speed-line-to-banja-luka/

[edit] Train via Budapest and Doboj

From Budapest to Banja Luka:

  • Train departs every day at 09:56, from Déli train station and arrives in Doboj (BH) at 18:12
  • Bus From Doboj to Banja Luka departs at 19:20 and arrives in Banja Luka at 21:37.
  • Bus From Doboj to Banja Luka departs at 07:50 and arrives in Banja Luka at 10:15.

From Banja Luka to Budapest:

  • Departs every day 09:58 from Doboj and arrives at 18:05 to Budapest.
  • Train From Banja Luka to Doboj departs at 01:38 and arrives in Doboj at 03:32.
  • Bus From Banja Luka to Doboj departs at 05:00 and arrives in Doboj at 07:25.
  • Bus From Banja Luka to Doboj departs at 17:00 and arrives in Doboj at 19:25.

Hungarian Rail's Homepage for further information: http://elvira.mav-start.hu/elvira.dll

[edit] Train via Sarajevo

Bosnian Rail website has timetables: http://vred.hznet.hr/hzinfo/Default.asp?NKOD1=BANJA+LUKA&ODH=&NKDO1=Sarajevo&DOH=&K1=&K2=&DT=31.07.11&DV=D&Category=hzinfo&Service=vred3&LANG=en&SCREEN=2

Banja Luka to Sarajevo. There are two direct trains per day:

  • #399 Departs BL 01:43, arriving Sarajevo 06:39 (~5hrs)
  • #397 Departs BL 13:15, arriving Sarajevo 18:05 (~5hrs)

[edit] By car

You can use Via Michelin services to find the best land route for anyone trying to get to Banja Luka with car, bus or train. ViaMichelin has proven before to be very reliable, nevertheless you should check all facts yourself. For example, this is the Zagreb-Banja Luka road route at Via Michelin.

Google Maps works pretty well in general, but it does not know how to calculate routes inside Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, you can calculate up to the nearby border crossing at Gradiška.

Open route service is another external resource that can be used to find routes to Banja Luka. For example, this is the Zagreb-Banja Luka road route at ORS.

Some arrival details are being listed at DebConf11/Arrivals#Banja_Luka_by_car

[edit] Getting to the venue once you have arrived

Once you are in Banja Luka, and you want to get to the venue, see one of the following pages:

[edit] Location of the Venue and Accommodation facilities

[edit] Banski Dvor (Venue)

The conference will be held at Banski Dvor.

  • Adress: Culture Center Banski Dvor, Trg srpskih vladara 2, 78000, Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Contact phone: To be added
  • Geographic coordinates: 44.772894 N 17.192327 E OSM GM

[edit] Hotel Bosna (Primary accommodation)

The primary location for attendees accommodation.

  • Address: Hotel Bosna, Kralja Petra I Karađorđevića 97, 78000, Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Contact phone: +387 51 215 775
  • Geographic coordinates: 44.77297 N 17.190776 E OSM GM

[edit] Hotel Vidovic (Secondary accommodation)

Should the number of attendees exceed the capacity of Hotel Bosna, Hotel Vidovic will be used for further housing.

  • Address: Hotel Vidovic, Ulica Jevrejska bb, 78000, Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina''
  • Contact phone: +387 51 245 800
  • Geographic coordinates: 44.769992 N 17.191649 E OSM GM

[edit] Hotel Palas (Secondary accommodation)

  • Address: Hotel Palas, Kralja Petra I Karađorđevića 60, 78000 Banja Luka, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Contact phone: +387 51 218 723 / 218 724 / 218 584
  • Geographic coordinates: 44.769436 N 17.188829 E OSM GM

[edit] Contact

Attendee emergency contact numbers:

  • Vedran Omeragic: +387 61 235700
  • Velimir Iveljic: +387 62 428361

[edit] Maps

(thumbnail)
Downtown city area
(thumbnail)
Main DC11 locations
(thumbnail)
Parking locations
(thumbnail)
General city area
(thumbnail)
Airport is located 3 kilometers from town

[edit] What to do when you arrive

Once you arrive, you will have to check in the hotel and at the DebConf front desk, separately. There is no particular order, but you should probably do the hotel first to leave the baggage behind.

Hotel front desk is open 24/7. One of our local team members will be there to ensure you're checked in as 'DC attendee'.

After you check in the hotel, proceed to check in the DebConf front desk at the venue building. The front desk hours at Banski Dvor will be 09:00 - 00:00 during DebCamp and 09:00 - 02:00 during the conference. All the information about talk schedules, hacklabs and workshops can be found here.

[edit] Parking

(thumbnail)
Parking locations

Parking P1 (Hotel Bosna)
For: hotel guests only
Capacity: 30
Notes: 24/7 Security

Parking P2 (Electrodistribution)
For: public use
Hourly: 0,50KM (~0,25€)
Daily: 3KM (~1,50€)
Capacity: 120
Distance: Banski Dvor 50m, Hotel Bosna 30m

Parking P3 (Old bus station)
For: public use
Hourly: 0,50KM (~0,25€)
Daily: 3KM (~1,50€)
Capacity: 350
Distance: Banski Dvor 100m, Hotel Bosna 20m

Parking P4 (Ban Milosavljevic Park)
For: public use
Hourly: 0,50KM (~0,25€)
Daily: 3KM (~1,50€)
Capacity: 80
Distance: Banski Dvor 100m, Hotel Bosna 120m, Hotel Vidovic 100m
Notes: Access may be a problem due to one-way streets

Parking P5 (Economy HS)
For: public use
Hourly: 0,50KM (~0,25€)
Daily: 3KM (~1,50€)
Capacity: 90
Distance: Banski Dvor 200m, Hotel Bosna 220m, Hotel Vidovic 200m
Notes: Access may be a problem due to one-way streets.

Parking P6 (Hotela Palas)
For: public use
Hourly: 0,50KM (~0,25€)
Daily: 3KM (~1,50€)
Capacity: 80
Distance: Banski Dvor 500m, Hotel Bosna 500m, Hotel Vidovic 200m

Parking P7 (Shoping)
For: public use
Hourly: 0,50KM (~0,25€)
Daily: 3KM (~1,50€)
Capacity: 60
Distance: Banski Dvor 600m, Hotel Bosna 600m, Hotel Vidovic 200m
Notes: Access may be a problem due to one-way streets.

Parking P8 (Kastel)
For: public use
Cost: unknown
Capacity: 150
Distance: Banski Dvor 800m, Hotel Bosna 800m, Hotel Vidovic 500m.
Notes: Not recommended due to distance and bad illumination.

Parking P9 (Market)
For: public use
Cost: unknown
Capacity: 50
Distance: Banski Dvor 400m, Hotel Bosna 400m, Hotel Vidovic 150m
Notes: Not recommended due to accessability.

[edit] Camping Sites

See DebConf11/Accommodation#Camping

[edit] Useful info

  • In case that you plan to stay in Bosnia longer than 48 hours, in private visit, out of official hotels and hostels, be sure to register your stay at the local Police station. You would get signed paper as a proof of your stay and while crossing the border, you can be asked to show that paper.

[edit] Travel Coordination

To coordinate your arrival at DebConf itself, use this page here:

To coordinate your departure from DebConf itself, use this page here:

Travel before DebConf

NameNotes

Travel after DebConf

NameNotes

[edit] See also

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