Drove to a remote border crossing only to find out it's CLOSED TO ALL FOREIGNERS

Imagine driving for hours deep into the mountains to get from Bosnia to Croatia (or vice versa), only to find out you CAN'T get through.

An itinerary for Croatia often includes a day-trip to Bosnia, with bus tours beginning and ending in Split and Dubrovnik. For us, we simply made this trip with our rental car.

After a long day of driving from Split (Croatia) and exploring in Mostar (Bosnia), we set off towards the Bosnian-Croatian border to cross over to Dubrovnik (Croatia) for the night. As we didn’t have local SIM cards that worked, we relied on Offline Google Maps we’d saved on our phones before we entered Bosnia.

But we weren’t really prepared for what was to come.

All smiles, clueless as mice

It was REALLY beautiful, though

We’d driven a long way, past bushes, fields, valleys and mountains. We also had a taste of local Bosnian hospitality: a man sitting outside an inn had waved at us as we drove by. We’d even driven past a sign that said, “Welcome to Republika Srpska”.

What did that even mean? No idea. There wasn't any reception in the area we were in, so we didn’t have internet access to check, and simply kept going.

Hours later, a wide concrete path had turned into a narrow, windy, one-way mountain road that never seemed to reach an end. All this while, it was just us, in our lonely lonesome white car.

By the time we started seriously questioning our route, the clock was ticking past 630pm. Sunlight was escaping us by the minute. Without street lights, it would be too precarious to continue driving at night.

"Where are all the big tour buses that drive tourists that do day trips from Croatia? Those buses would not fit on this tiny road…" I wondered out loud.

"Hmm, yeah, I wonder…" Eric responded quietly, while focusing on the wheel.

After what seemed like an eternity, we finally caught sight of border control. All before it became pitch dark.

Photo taken off Google, we were so nervous that we forgot photos

But here’s the problem: the entrance was filled with RED CROSSES and DO NOT ENTER signs. ❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌❌

"Is this border...closed?!?!?!?!"

We were both very quiet. But I'm sure that was what we were both thinking.

We sat in the car in complete silence. A million thoughts ran through our individual minds, but neither of us uttered a word.

As we both reeled in shock, Eric edged the car closer to the Bosnian side of border control.

There was no one in sight.

The border was completely empty.

Our minds ran wild.

"I won’t be able to turn back in the dark. It’s too dangerous. We might have to sleep in the car tonight, in the mountains."

"Maybe… we could… crash the car through the border gates?"

But before we actually said anything to each other, I caught something moving – a gesture of sorts – from the corner of my eye.

A hand had popped out of the booth on the Croatian side of border control, waving at us.

We were not alone!!!!!!!!!!

Eric drove the car past the empty Bosnian booth, and winded down the window nervously. We greeted a man we never knew we wanted to meet so badly.

The Croatian officer took our passports and gave them a perfunctory flip. Without stamping any of our pages (as they did when we entered Bosnia), he gave a dismissive wave of the hand.

AND LET US THROUGH.

As we drove right back into Croatia, we both heaved a loud sigh of relief as our moods lifted and our GPS announced, “You are now back online.”

Entering Croatia, we were almost immediately welcomed by this view

With access to the Internet again, Cassie immediately looked up where we had driven through and found that we had just crossed the Orahov Do Border Crossing.

Holy shit! This was a border that many foreigners have tried (and failed) to pass through.

Someone even tried crying and was still refused entry. Lucky for us, we didn't have to pull any tricks to get into Croatia... What a close shave it was for us.

We're glad we made it through, and certainly hope anyone else following our paths will too.

There are certainly many things that can be done to avoid some of our pitfalls on this journey. Here's what we learnt (in hindsight):

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Things to avoid when driving from Bosnia to Croatia:

1) Do not blindly follow Google Maps

We’d both gotten SIM cards that only had data in EU countries. Bosnia is not one of them. So prior to entering Bosnia, we had Offline Maps saved – for how we’d get in, and how we’d get out. Having directions is enough, right? Well, roads can be closed. And you need Internet to find out, which brings us to the next point.

2) Do not enter Bosnia without a working SIM card

If we had not gotten through the border, a data connection would have been super crucial. Even if we had slept in the car and started driving the next day, we wouldn’t have data to get directions to the OTHER border either.

3) Do not brush off the tell-tale signs

Bosnian man waving ominously at us with a sinister smile…

Questions I was asking out loud in the car…

Unknown sign indicating a change in territory…

These were all signs that we hadn’t taken seriously, but really should have.

Most importantly...

4) Do not go to Orahov Do Border Crossing

Need we say more? According to the reviews, all foreigners should avoid this border.

*As of the time of writing, Google Maps has indicated the Orahov Do Border Crossing as permanently closed.

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With a stroke of luck, we had gotten away with our oversights. For those of you who don’t want to end up in a risky situation like we did, we hope our story and suggestions above have been helpful.

For those up for an adventure, though...

You may also completely ignore our advice and wing it like we did. We won’t discourage that either. 🙂 Who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky, too? Try at your own risk!