Day trip from Dubrovnik to Mostar
In the first half of 2019, I visited the Balkans; Montenegro and Croatia to be more precise. With a lot of free time in Dubrovnik, my friend and I decided to hop over the border and visit a new nation; Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this blog post, we will how to go about making a day trip from Dubrovnik to Mostar.
It is likely that if you are on Croatian soil, you already satisfy the requirements to enter Bosnia and Herzegovina and enter Croatia again. During this trip, it is likely that the bus driver or navigation may show you a route that requires you to enter and exit Croatia multiple times, so make sure you have a multi-entry permit for both countries. I had a valid EU residence permit which satisfied the entry and exit conditions for both, Croatia as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. Check out the visa policy of Croatia and the visa policy of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
There are three ways to make this trip:
- Get a car and drive yourself
- Opt for public transport
- Sign up with the tour agency
To keep it hassle free, my friend and I opted for the third scenario as we wanted to do a day trip rather than stay over. In addition, given the unfamiliarity of the region and roads, and only one of us having a driving license, driving seemed like an option ruled out as well. We booked our tour with Laus Travels via Get Your Guide.
We started our trip around 7 AM in the morning. One of the folks came in his car, picked us and a few people along the way and dropped us off at the point from where the bus departs. The bus, during this course of the journey, took this route.
We drove along the coastline of Croatia and then crossed borders into the only coastal town of Neum in Bosnia and Herzegovina for a short coffee break. After 15 minutes, we were on the way to Kravice waterfalls. During the journey, our guide gave us good insights about the wars that took place to split Yugoslavia into different countries that exists today. At around 11 AM, we were at Kravice waterfalls. My friend and I had multiple options to reach Mostar and we were glad we chose this one.
After strolling around for an hour and taking some beautiful pictures, we stumbled upon a guy there selling different flavored schnapps. We were allowed to try some, and if you are into trying new things, I would definitely recommend having it. We were now on the way to our main destination, Mostar. As you are on the way to Mostar and reach closer to Mostar, you see many buildings destroyed and marks of bullets or bombs. Those are some really sad things to see in the backdrop of nice greenery. You will also notice a massive difference once you leave Croatia which is part of the European Union.
The city of Mostar is divided into two parts seperated by river Neretva. One of the famous bridges connecting the two parts is the Mostar Bridge, or Old Bridge, or Stari Most. During certain time of the year, especially summer, people dive into the river right from the bridge itself, which is a height of 24m.
Our guides said that one of the sides is the predominantly Muslim side, while the other side is the predominantly Christian side. We entered from the Christian side where we strolled through different shops. My friend and I got some nice souvenirs for our loved ones back home. Souvenirs here are really cheap compared to other places in Europe. What is even better, you can bargain here to bring the price down; as an Indian, I would definitely do that if I think the price is too much to pay for.
We walked over to the Muslim side of the town to visit the famous Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque. My friend had to get a scarf but turns out you do not need a scarf unless you cross a particular section of the mosque which we did not intend too. However, my friend went up the minaret of the mosque but I did not because I have a fear of heights and it looked too steep for me. It is also said to be quite claustrophobic. So, I ended up enjoying the view from the bottom to take pictures like the one below. The entrance to the mosque is 4 Bosnian Marks and 2 more Bosnian Marks to climb up the minaret. You can also pay in Euro or Croatian Koruna equivalent. I have an interest in foreign currency and when I informed the cashier at the mosque about giving me some local money, he just gave them to me for free without accepting any other equivalent foreign currency.
There are also some museums of wars that you can visit if you have more time in hand. In the hindsight, I felt it would have been nicer to spend an extra day here than make a day trip but then, next time! While strolling through the streets, we dined out at some local restaurant. It is said that when you are in Mostar, make some space for Ćevapi. We ended up doing the same; we had quite a lot of them during our Balkan trip.
After a few hours, 3 hours to be precise, it was time to head back to Dubrovnik again. This was a very well spent day trip in terms of time, money and effort.
Here is an alternative tour if you wish to skip Kravice Waterfalls and visit the towns of Pocitelj and Medjugorje instead.
You can also make day trips to Montenegro from Dubrovnik, although we recommend you spend more time there. Read more about our trip to Montenegro on Kancha Lonka, a blog run by my friend, Sukanya.
If you wish to see more of Croatia itself, here are some day trips within Croatia from Dubrovnik.