Mostar
The Old Bridge, the cobbles of Kujundžiluk and the Neretva in its gorge, with Blagaj, Počitelj and Kravice within forty kilometres
- When to go
- October 17° · 8 rainy days
- Per day
- €€price 2 of 5
- How many days
- 2days
- For you
- 6 questions →
- Nearest airport
- 7 km Mostar · 68 km Sarajevo
- Right now
Mostar takes two days: the first for the Old Town around the Old Bridge, the second for Blagaj, Počitelj and Kravice. The bridge went up in 1566, fell to shelling in 1993 and opened again in 2004. The town around it has more to show than the single photograph most visitors take before they leave.
Mostar sits on the Neretva, and the Old Town fits into one morning. From Sarajevo the train takes about 2 h and the bus about two and a half hours. Mostar Airport at Ortiješ has a handful of routes, among them Eurowings from Stuttgart.
Walk it in the order the day allows. Before 9 am the bridge and the Kujundžiluk bazaar are nearly empty. Then come the museum in the tower, which takes 30–40 min and costs about €4, a lunch of ćevapi and the Koski Mehmed Pasha minaret in the late afternoon, followed by the Crooked Bridge upstream. The jumpers work mostly between 11 am and 3 pm from May to September, and after 6 pm the bridge is lit from the south bank.
The hours matter more than the season. Coaches from Dubrovnik and Split pour in around 10 or 11 am and leave around 4 or 5 pm, so the bridge is best before 9 am or after 6 pm. May, June and September are the kindest months, while July and August can pass 38 to 40 degrees in the gorge, and the stone turns slippery when wet.
Beyond town, Blagaj lies 12 km away and Počitelj 25 to 30 km. Kravice, at 40 km, has no public transport and charges €10.23 (entry), so Medjugorje is the one trip a bus will make. The town was divided into a western and an eastern half in April 1993, and the bridge fell that November.
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Guides for Mostar
Shorter, practical pages for one concrete question each — how many days, how much money, where to sleep, where to escape the city.
Mostar in 2 days
→Day one the Old Town before and after the coaches, day two Blagaj, Počitelj and Kravice, and a car decides how much fits.
Day trips from Mostar
→Blagaj and Počitelj in half a day by car, Kravice in half a day with a paid entry, and without a car the bus to Medjugorje.
Where to stay in Mostar
→The Old Town for mornings without the coaches, the west side quieter, the east side cheaper, hostels from eight euros.
Mostar Beyond the Old Bridge: A Cemetery, Mosques and Houses
→Bogdan Bogdanović's cemetery, a mosque from 1557, a house on the riverbank and a hammam, all away from the crowd on the bridge.
What to eat in Mostar
→Burek for breakfast, ćevapi in somun for lunch, trout by the river at night, with džezva coffee and baklava in between.
The best time to visit Mostar
→May, June and September for walking and Kravice, summer for the heat and the jumps, winter for rain, an empty bridge and short days at Kravice.
Getting around Mostar
→By train or bus from Sarajevo in about two hours, by bus from Croatia, on foot in Mostar, and to Kravice by car or tour.
Mistakes everyone makes in Mostar
→The mistakes are the Old Bridge at noon, a jump without the club, wet stone, Kravice without transport and the Sniper Tower from inside.
What to see in Mostar
- T
The Old Bridge
Built in 1566, destroyed by shelling on 9 November 1993 and reopened on 23 July 2004, the arch joined the UNESCO list in 2005. The stone is slippery when wet, and the jumpers usually perform between 11 am and 3 pm.
free
- O
Old Bridge Museum
The museum fills the Tara tower, with an exhibition on the reconstruction of 1999 to 2004, the remains of an archaeological site and a lookout on top.
about €4 · 30–40 min
- K
Koski Mehmed Pasha Mosque
Built in 1618 and 1619 and restored after the war damage of 1992 to 1995, the mosque has a minaret with a view over the bridge. The courtyard is free, and shoulders and knees must be covered.
about €5
- K
Kujundžiluk
The old bazaar street is cobbled and full of copper, and the coffee comes in a džezva, which is the little pot it is brewed in.
free
- T
The Crooked Bridge
This stone bridge dates from 1558 and crosses the Radobolja in a single arch of 8.56 m, about five minutes upstream from the Old Bridge. It is a miniature of its famous neighbour.
free
- F
Franciscan bell tower
The tower of the church of Saints Peter and Paul rises 107 m, the tallest in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a lift takes visitors up for the view. The church was set on fire on the night of 9 to 10 May 1992 and rebuilt after the war.
Nomadinho scores out of 100, the same ones behind “Where to go”.
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