Banja Luka is a picturesque city in the western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the administrative capital and the largest city of Republika Srpska, and the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina.Banja Luka has a continental climate, with harsh winters and warm summers. The warmest month of the year is July, with an average temperature of 21.3 C (70 F). The coldest month of the year is January, when temperatures average near freezing at 0.8 C (33 F). Annual precipitation for Banja Luka is about 988 mm. Banja Luka has an average of 143 rainy days a year. Due to the city’s high altitude, it snows in Banja Luka almost every year as well. Strong winds come from the north and northeast.In Banja Luka, the capital of the Republika Srpska the local language is Serbian. In Republika Srpska official languages are also Croatian and Bosnian. Although, these languages are virtually the same.There are direct bus connections from the main bus station to See Please note that international bus companies driving for instance from Zagreb via Banja Luka to Sarajevo (Croatia Bus) are not allowed to take passengers for a domestic route. You won’t be able to buy tickets for these buses, no exceptions made.Buses to Sarajevo leave from the main bus station approximately four times a day. The journey takes approximately 5 hours, and costs around 31 KM.Ryanair flights are connected by bus to Banja Luka center for 5 euro. Bus to aeroport goes from Stara stanica at 17:00 for flight at 19:50. A taxi to Banja Luka will cost around 40-50KM. As an alternative you can take a minibus transfer from the old bus staton (stare autobuske), leaving at 13.30. The minibus transfer from the airport to the old bus station leaves daily at 15.30. The journey takes about 20 minutes and cost 10KM. Please note: There is no ATM on the airport. Wireless Internet is free of charge.The train (and bus) station is located about 2 km northeast of the center. By summer 2018, the city had connections with: Doboj (6 trains daily, 2h), Zenica and Sarajevo (2 daily, 3.5/5h), Prijedor and Novi Grad (5 daily, 1/2 h), and Bihai (1 daily, 3.5 h). (See ) From March 2017 there are no (international) trains anymore to/from Zagreb or/from Belgrade.You can have your bike fixed á la minute at the Bike Servis Shop , in the Ul. Gunduliieva 104 – next to the football stadion. Tel. 051/301-470. Another bike shop is 5 doors down in the row of buildings.The tourist office owns fifteen rental bicycles, which are maintained by the above bike shop. Rental: 1 KM/hour, or 15 KM/day.There are many historic things to see in the city of Banja Luka. Banja Luka is a city with the rich night life. The best place for night occasion is Kruna club at the top of merchant building in Gospodska street. Others are Opium in basement of hotel Bosna , cafe Focus in bottom of Gospodska street.The local currency is the Convertible Mark (KM), which is tied to the Euro at a rate of 1KM to 0.51129E (at the time of press). Convertible Mark coins come in denominations of 5, 10, 20, 50 pfenings and 1, 2, 5 Marks while banknotes come in 10, 20, 50, 100 and 200 Marks. Many establishments (especially hotels) accept Euros (notes only). ATMs are all over the place with MasterCard, Visa and other offshoots being accepted. Credit Cards such as Visa, MasterCard and Diners Club are readily accepted by larger establishments all over the country. When changing money, it is best to ask for small bills as shops often are hard-pressed for change. Traveler cheques can be readily changed at Raiffeisen and Zagrebaika Banks.Near the fortress in the center of the city there is a market, where you will be able to find every kind of products.In the main town square there is a big shopping mall, Boska, which has a wide variety of stores. Also, in the main pedestrian street you will find a lot of renowned stores, from food to clothing designer and sports stores.It is not compulsory to tip in Banja Luka, though a reward of about 10% for good service in restaurant or bar is always appreciated.You can get local, handicraft souvenirs for example at the shop of association “Duga”. All items there are made of natural materials by traditional technologies, and are decorated with ornaments from original traditional clothing from the area of Dinara. Their collection contains: ethno souvenirs, decorative products and clothing. Address: Etnoradionica “Duga”, Kralja Petra I Karaiorieviia 88 (the same street as the city hall) [http:/www.etnosuveniri.com] All of the handicrafts are produced in an ethical manner and by purchasing them you will help Duga to continue providing aid to all of its beneficiaries and support to other local humanitarian projects.If you like meat, you’ll love Banja Luka. Meat is a standard for any meal. However, there is still lots of interesting meals you can make do if you are a vegetarian.Serbs generally eat their largest meal, “ruiak,” in the late afternoon, often as a family, so foreign travelers seeking something approximating a western “lunch” may have to look a little harder for an establishment serving mid-day meals.Here is a list of the most popular traditional dishes:ievapi – small meat sausages from beef. They are usually served with fresh onions and a bun called Lepina. ievapi usually come in pointer finger size sausages and are offered by five or ten pieces, although the variety commonly found in Banja Luka (Banjaluiki ievap) usually consists of quadrangular pieces of meat.Teletina – is veal, usually served in cutlets. Veal in B&H is not produced by locking calves in a cage to ensure softer meat.Janjetina – lamb grilled over an open fire.Musaka – a meat pie made of minced beef, very similar to shepherds pie.Filovane paprike – fried peppers stuffed with minced meat and spices.Prut – air dried ham, similar to Italian proscuitto.Suho Meso – smoked beef.Sarma – meat and rice rolled in cabbage or grape leaves.”Ispod Saia” – similar to Dutch oven. A metal dish is placed on hot coals, the food is placed in the dish and covered by a lid which is then completely covered in hot coals and left to bake.Vlaiiki Sir – similar to Travniiki cheese. It is a highland cheese from the mountain villages on Vlaii Mountain in central Bosnia.Mladi Sir – Cottage cheese. It has a soft texture and is unsalted. Often times it is served with a cream sauce on top. It is very healthy.Kajmak – is analogous to clotted cream in the UK. The top layer of fat skimmed from milk, it is creamy and extremely tasty. Kajmak and Utipak (doughnut type roll) is a wonderful appetizer.Iz mjeha – sheep milk poured into a specially sewn sheep skin ‘bag’. After a time the dry cheese is taken out of the skin container and the result is a strong, dry cheese that resembles real Parmesan.”Restoran-Bar Mala stanica” KRALJA PETRA I KARAiORiEVIiA bb, Next to the Government building. +387051326730. http://www.malastanica.comRakia or Rakija is considered to be a national drink. Its alcohol content is normally 40%, but home-produced rakia can be a tongue burner, typically 50 to 60%!Frequently used as a common drink at all celebrations, birthdays, holy holidays, slava (Orthodox christian custom of honoring a patron saint) and even funerals.Common flavors are slivovitz, traditionally made from plums and lozova, which is made from grapes. But, you can also distill from pears, peaches, apricots, apples, figs and cherries.Plum and grape rakia are sometimes mixed with other ingredients, such as herbs, honey, sour cherries and walnuts after distillation.Nektar pivo is the local beer, brewed in Banja Luka.Do not talk about the former Yugoslav war, and do not talk about Kosovo. These are very sensitive matters, and locals can easily get offended without it being intended, and become aggressive. Also fans of the local Borac football team can sometimes attack whoever wears football shirts of another team, especially at night.Apart from that you have nothing to worry about if you use your common sense, there is practically no chance something will happen to you. As soon as you stroll around the city, you will notice how friendly and kind locals are.Just remember that there are still some unexploded land-mines in the fields across the whole country. So if you are trekking or hiking in the hills nearby, DO NOT go away from the marked pedestrian paths.

Airport: BNX Banja Luka International Airport Cities in Bolivia

Country: Bosnia And Herzegovina