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I’m hitchhiking in Europe and it has been about a week and a half since the start. I’ve been in Greece, Albania, Montenegro and Bosnia.

Today I wanted to move to Croatia from Bosnia(Bosanski Brod to Slavonski Brod) but the border patrol did not let me cross. They asked me questions like where am I gonna visit, how long am I gonna stay etc. I said I’m just gonna spend one day in Zagreb and then I will move to Slovenia. They said I need to carry at least 100 euros cash to stay in Zagreb for one day. Otherwise they wouldn’t let me cross.

I didn’t have that much cash so they didn’t let me cross. They made me sign a paper which shows I accept the refusal and then I returned to Bosnia. In Bosnia people use “mark” instead of euro so ATM gives only mark and there are no exchange office at the Bosnian border so I’m not able to withdraw euro or exchange mark to euro. My problem begins here.

Now I’m stuck at the border, in a gas station. I decided not to see Zagreb. But still I need to get to Slovenia. Yes, I can go around Croatia and I can get to Slovenia through Serbia and Hungary but it’s a loss of time. It will take days.

So I’m thinking about going Slovenia by bus which crosses Croatia first. It’s like Bosnia-Croatia-Ljubljana. So is there a chance that I can do it? I mean they refused me today but will they let me pass anyway? I’m not gonna stop at Zagreb, just go Slovenia. It’s like that “transit” thing. Is this possible?

By the way there is no problem with my passport. It allows me to go many countries and includes I wrote at the bottom.

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    (1) Was it clear that the cash had to be in euros and not cash to the value of 100€ which could be changed in Zagreb? After all, Croatia doesn't use the euro. (2) What do you mean at the end by "[my passport] includes I wrote at the bottom"?
    – Peter Taylor
    Commented Jun 29, 2019 at 23:03
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    Do you have a Schengen visa? If so, what type? What is your nationality? Nations sometimes set different visa requirements for holders of different countries' passports or visas.
    – DavidRecallsMonica
    Commented Jun 29, 2019 at 23:43
  • Well, you got a point yeah. They don’t use euro. But the border patrol said I need to carry 100 euros. I don’t know. Maybe it’s about my nationalty. My passport provides entering many countries without any visa. I’n Turkish. Maybe they thought I’m syrian or something. Because you know, refugee problems. But my passport is only given to government workers and their family so it’s clear that i’m no refugee but still I don’t know. Is there a chance that they accept me by bus?
    – Rüzgar Özen
    Commented Jun 30, 2019 at 0:22
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    So do you have €100 or equivalent to €100 on your bank card? Have you told them that? Many people don't carry cash nowadays.
    – kiradotee
    Commented Jun 30, 2019 at 0:25
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    €100 is the amount of means per day of planned stay in the Republic of Croatia stated in Annex25 of the Schengen Visa Handbook ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/sites/homeaffairs/files/e-library/… For Slovenia, it’s €70
    – Traveller
    Commented Jun 30, 2019 at 3:01

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If I were you I'd take €100 or €200 cash from a bank in Bosnia. You won't get a great exchange rate but you will save having to get around Croatia. If you can't find a bank, use a foreign exchange office, but you'll get a much less favorable rate. You will probably have to wait until Monday.

I suspect that they'd accept any convertible cash that has the value of €100, but I would take euros because you will be more easily able to spend the euros eventually.

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