Day trips from Mostar

Four day trips from Mostar answer four different questions. Blagaj asks how near is near, Počitelj asks how much of it costs nothing, Kravice asks how to get there without a car, and Medjugorje asks what is actually there. Only one of the four has no public transport at all, and that single fact decides how the day is built.

Blagaj is the closest of the four, 12 km from Mostar, and the trip takes about 15 min. The tekke stands at the spring of the Buna, and the cafés beside the water make the stop worth more than the building alone. Going inside the building is paid, while the yard and the terraces cost nothing, so a visit can be as short or as long as the coffee lasts.

Coach groups from Dubrovnik and Split also come to Blagaj, which makes the hour you arrive the only real decision here, and the advice is to be there before ten. Blagaj is also the calmer place for a jump into the water, though the river stays cold. If you have a single free morning, pick this one, and sit at one of the cafés along the river, which are open from spring to autumn.

Počitelj lies 25 to 30 km from Mostar, and the trip takes about 30 min. Entry and parking: free. The paths are steep and uneven, so the middle of the day is the wrong time for them. Climbing to the Gavran-kapetanović tower takes about 20 minutes, and the whole town fills between one and a half and two hours.

The walls probably go back to around 1383, Vladislav Hercegović strengthened the town, and the mosque of Šišman Ibrahim Pasha was added in 1563. Today Počitelj is a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Kravice is 40 km from Mostar, and the trip takes about 40 min. There is no regular bus, so the choice is a car, a taxi or a tour. This is the one trip that cannot be improvised from the bus station, so a morning without a car or a booked tour is better spent on the Medjugorje bus.

The waterfall park opens 7 am to 10 pm from June to September, 7 am to 8 pm in May, 7 am to 7 pm in October, 7 am to 6 pm in March and April, and 7 am to 5 pm from November to February. Adults from abroad pay: €10.23 (entry). Children under seven enter free. Parking, by the hour or by the day: €1.53 per hour, €3.07 per day.

Swimming is at your own risk, and pets are not allowed in the swimming area. In July and August the park is better before 9 am or after 4 pm, and the long summer hours make the late slot easy to use. In May and October the gates close at 8 pm and 7 pm, which still leaves an afternoon visit after Počitelj. In winter the gates close at five, so the afternoon is short and the light goes early.

Medjugorje is 28 km from Mostar, and the trip takes about 35 min. It is the one trip here that works without a car: buses leave the Mostar station about every two hours between 7 am and 6 pm, at about €5 one way. The winter timetable differs. Entering the village costs nothing, and the climb up Apparition Hill takes 30 to 45 minutes. Choose Medjugorje if there is no car.

What to combine in one day

By car, Blagaj, Počitelj and Kravice fit into one day, in that order and with Kravice last. The order does the work: Blagaj goes before ten, while the groups from Dubrovnik and Split are still on the road, Počitelj takes one and a half to two hours, and in July and August Kravice waits until after four. Kravice and Počitelj work as a shorter pair, and Medjugorje is better kept apart, since the bus sets its own pace. Sarajevo is a full day of its own, 130 km and about two and a half hours each way by bus, so it deserves a separate stop rather than a slot between two waterfalls.

The Kravice price is the entry for adult foreigners, and transport is extra. The Medjugorje price is for one way.

2 daysThe two-day plan puts Blagaj, Počitelj and Kravice on the second day and keeps the first for the Old Town.Mostar in 2 days →

Getting aroundRoads, trains and buses into Mostar are laid out on the getting-around page, along with the distances to the coast.Getting around Mostar →

When to goKravice has opening hours that change by month, and the seasons page sets them beside the weather.The best time to visit Mostar →

Where to stayThe accommodation page lists the areas near the stations, which are useful for an early start by bus.Where to stay in Mostar →

FoodTrout and ćevapi on the food page fit the end of a trip day better than any picnic.What to eat in Mostar →

MistakesThe mistakes page has the full account of why Kravice without transport goes wrong.Mistakes everyone makes in Mostar →

Hidden gemsFor the hours left over in town, the page on lesser-known places covers a cemetery, a mosque and two old houses.Mostar Beyond the Old Bridge: A Cemetery, Mosques and Houses →